MMA Rankings > UFC Heavyweight Rankings
UFC Heavyweight Division Rankings
A review and ranking of the UFC's Heavyweight division - July 2010 Update
July 2009 saw the crowning of the first Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion in a number of years when Brock Lesnar beat Frank Mir into submission in the second round of their rematch. However Lesnar suffered a major helth problem causing the UFC to announce an Interim Heavyweight Championship bout to be determined at UFC 111 with Shane Carwin defeating Frank Mir. Once again Lesnar took down the Interim champ submitting Carwin at UFC 116. With many great heavyweight matchups since our February 2010 UFC Heavyweight Division Rankings update including several Top 10 match-ups with another one coming at UFC 117. Also be sure to see our MMA Heavyweight rankings as we take a look at the top heavyweight fighters in the UFC and other MMA organizations across the globe.
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Brock Lesnar's comeback win over Shane Carwin secured Lesnar atop the UFC, and MMA Heavyweight Rankings. |
1. Brock Lesnar – (5-1, 4-1 UFC) – The reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion remains at the top of the UFC Heavyweight Rankings thanks to his come from behind victory over Shane Carwin at UFC 116. While nobody would have predicted a submission for the 265 pound behemoth, even more surprising to many was Lesnar's more humble attitude.
2. Shane Carwin – (12-1, 4-1 UFC) – The Colorado-native gave Brock Lesnar quite a scare, and if we're lucky Carwin will get another shot at Lesnar sometime in the future. For now Carwin remains the #2 heavyweight in the UFC having defeated Mir in convincing fashion and having nearly defeated Lesnar in the first round of their UFC 116 fight.
3. Cain Velasquez – (8-0, 6-0 UFC) – Velasquez continually passes each test put before him defeating Ben Rothwell at UFC 104 in and then knocking out Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110. His next test will be his biggest by far as he is expected to face Brock Lesnar in the fall of 2010.
4. Frank Mir – (13-5, 11-5 UFC) – After losing a title bout against Lesnar at UFC 100 and the Interim Championship fight to Carwin at UFC 111 Mir has fallen a bit causing him to consider a move to the 205 pound division.
5. Junior dos Santos – (11-1, 5-0 UFC) – Ever since coming to the UFC from Brazil, dos Santos has been nearly unstoppable. He has stopped all five UFC opponents, four of which in the 1st round. He is finally getting the respect as a true title contender and owns victories against Fabricio Werdum, Stefan Struve, Mirko Filipovic, Gilbert Yvel and Gabriel Gonzaga since signing with the UFC. Dos Santos will face Roy Nelson on the UFC 117 fight card with the winner likely to get a title shot after Velasquez and Lesnar do battle.
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6. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira – (32-6-1, 1 NC; 3-2 UFC) – Although dropping two of his last three fights inside the octagon, Nogueira still remains one of the top heavyweights in the UFC. He was outworked by the speed and power of Cain Velasquez at UFC 110, suffering only his second stoppage loss of his career. He remains one of the best of all-time and arguably the best submission specialist in heavyweight history. He should be back in action this summer. 7. Roy Nelson – (15-4; 2-0 UFC) – The Ultimate Fighter season 10 champ is finally in the UFC competing against the world's best and has had quite a start to his UFC career. With consecutive KO wins over Brendan Schaub to earn his contract and the dangerous 6' 11" Stefan Struve at UFC on Versus 1, Nelson has earned a shot at a Top 5 heavyweight. Nelson will face Junior dos Santos with the UFC 117 results from their fight determining a title shot. 8. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic – (27-7-2, 1 NC; 4-3 UFC) – While “Cro Cop” has lost to Gonzaga, Kongo, and dos Santos in the UFC, these are high-level heavyweights. He recently demolished Anthony Perosh at UFC 110 and both hugged and choked out Pat Barry at UFC 115 for consecutive wins but followed his win over Barry with talk of retirement. With his contract with the UFC up Filipovic has stated that he will either sign again with the UFC or retire from MMA as a whole. |
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9. Gabriel Gonzaga – (11-5, 7-4 UFC) – The former number one contender stopped Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 102 with an impressive 1st round TKO in August but fell back down the ladder losing to Junior dos Santos at UFC on Versus 1 in March 2010. After a 4-0 start to his UFC career, Gonzaga is just 3-4 in his last 7 UFC fights, but not a single loss came to a lower-level heavyweight with Fabricio Werdum, Randy Couture, Shane Carwin & Junior dos Santos all having defeated Gonzaga in the UFC.
10. Cheick Kongo – (15-6-1; 8-4 UFC) – After consecutive losses to top-level heavyweights Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez, Kongo bounced back with a win over Paul Buentello at at UFC on Versus 1 in March 2010. At one time Kongo was 7-2 against UFC competition, but today he & Gonzaga are used by Joe Silva to test up an coming heavyweights to see where they are in their careers.
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By Luke Jernigan & Nick Russell
ProFighting-fans.com Staff
Published July 2010
Photo used with permission from the UFC
More UFC Rankings from ProFighting-fans.com:
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