Consensus Rankings:   Official  |  Member Designed  |  This Ranking Updated 1 day, 11 hrs ago  |  All By Hellowhosthat

1. 1

   

   Alex Pereira

   "Poatan"

   10-2-0

   1987 - Brazil - UFC Champion
   
   Just has concussive power and doesn't even need to land fully clean to KO people. For some reason dudes seem to think they can stand with him but only really Izzy has ever shown that he can. TDD seems pretty solid, but it would be interesting to see it tested against someone like an Ankalaev.
   

2. 2

   

   Jiří Procházka

   "BJP"

   30-4-1

   1992 - Czechia - UFC
   
   Seems to be doing everything wrong, but it just seems to work out for the guy. Style puts him heavy on the front foot which makes him extremely susceptible to calf kicks but he seems to just be prepared to fight through it rather than adapt his style at all to avoid them. Super tough mentally and is going to be trying to win in every second of the fight until you put him out of there. Ability to overwhelm people with offence and an absolute nightmare if he gets you hurt.
   

3. 3

   

   Jamahal Hill

   "Sweet Dreams"

   12-2-0, 1 NC

   1991 - USA - UFC
   
   Completely wrong game plan against Alex, trusted his striking too much against a higher level guy there, ****** around and found out. Does have very sharp, fast and accurate boxing with good power so I guess I can see why he had a false sense of security but you'd think having shown an ability to grapple on top of decent people he'd have gone that route. Still a dangerous opponent but hard to think he didn't get a slightly fortuitous run to the title.
   

4. 4

   

   Aleksandar Rakić

   "Rocket"

   14-4-0

   1992 - Serbia - UFC
   
   Looked pretty good to me in return from long layoff against Jiri, just got out wilded. Striking looked good, landing hard, kicks still there, can mix wrestling in if he wants. Got lured into a bit of a wild brawl against a guy who excels at that, but probably could have won if he'd stuck to task and been more disciplined.
   

5. 5

   

   Carlos Ulberg

   "Black Jag"

   10-1-0

   1990 - New Zealand - UFC
   
   Seems fairly safe to put the Nzechukwu fight down to inexperience at this point. Dude is looking like a killer now, one of the hardest and most accurate fighters at the weight. Swarms with hooks and has great eyes when he has people hurt, picks his killing shots brilliantly. Cardio seems fine, defensive grappling is holding up well and he's even starting to develop a bit of an offensive grappling game.
   

6. 6

   

   Anthony Smith

   "Lionheart"

   38-19-0

   1988 - USA - UFC
   
   Seems on the decline but still grinds out a win sometimes. Not the same fighter he was when he was on the charge to a title shot though. Doesn't seem to be able to handle shots as well as he used to be, can get outworked by grapplers and held down. Does still have decent striking and offensive grappling himself. Gifted guillotine against Petrino.
   

7. 7

   

   Alonzo Menifield

   "Atomic"

   15-4-1

   1987 - USA - UFC
   
   Athletically gifted dude who's developed his technique over the years. Always been strong and been able to crack but now able to hang in there technically with good fighters like Dustin Jacoby. Got cracked before he had the chance to get going against Ulberg.
   

8. 8

   

   Vitor Petrino

   "Icão"

   11-1-0

   1997 - Brazil - UFC
   
   Arguably the most physical guy at the weight. Massive and strong for the weight, hits hard, drops hard ground and pound. Wrestling isn't the most technical but strong enough to just rag most guys about. Makes a few technical mistakes in the grappling but just muscling out of them so far. Didn't respect the guillotine against Smith and is going to have to learn from that.
   

9. 9

   

   Ivan Shtyrkov

   "Ural Hulk"

   23-2-1

   1988 - Russia - RCC
   
   Juicy ************ but very good MMA Light Heavyweight. Had a bit of a **** run in kickboxing which isn't exactly his strength but returned to winning ways in MMA with an easy enough victory over Antigulov after waiting out the initial rush then using his strength to turn down a takedown attempt and get some ground and pound off for the win.
   

10. 10

    

    Oumar Sy

    10-0-0

    1995 - France - UFC
    
    Beast of a grappler, excellent wrestling against the cage, really good at controlling wrists to stop guys coming back up and if they do just takes them down over the other leg. Really good at working to the back, slapping on a body triangle and finishing with a choke. Looks to have the potential to be a serious contender.
    

11+

11. 11

    

    Diyar Nurgozhay

    9-0-0

    Kazakhstan - UAE Warriors
    
    Quite small for the weight, mostly looks to sling crosses but doesn't always set them up that well. Does the stick your arms out whenever you disengage thing that Shogun used to do for some reason. Does have decent power and if he cracks you he's got good finishing instincts. Went through Sordi comfortably enough but I'm not quite sure exactly how good he is yet.
    

12. 12

    

    Wagner Prado

    "Caldeirão"  |  18-8-1, 1 NC

    1987 - Brazil - ACA
    
    I think his durability is starting to fade a bit. Used to be absolutely iron chinned but now gets wobbled a bit when he didn't used to. Still likes to get into wars and throws hammers and hopes he knocks the other guy out first. Has issues with wrestlers, but if you want to strike with him it's likely to be a violent night.
    

13. 13

    

    Ozzy Diaz

    9-2-0

    1990 - USA - LFA
    
    Former LFA MW champ looks a bit flabby at 185 but seems happy there for now. Looked rusty after long layoff but improved in Lewis fight. Takedown defence isn't great when he moves backwards, but better when he moves forwards. At his best when pressuring with the boxing where he can work to the body well and wear his opponent down. Gas tank looks good at 205.
    

14. 14

    

    Tuco Tokkos

    10-4-0

    1990 - England - UFC
    
    Pretty workmanlike usually, does have okay offensive wrestling, some subs and a bit of power. Unfortunate for him to have to debut against a beast like Sy, but he did work up well and show some good sub defence before the inevitable.
    

15. 15

    

    Ty Flores

    14-5-0

    1993 - USA - Tuff-N-Uff
    
    Very much a workhorse type of fighter. Doesn't really hit hard and isn't especially good at any one thing but always coming forward and always making life as difficult as he can for people. Kind of blankets people but not really in a grappling way, just in a coming into awkward range way and throwing a decent amount over the course of a fight, falls into a lot of clinches as part of his range, think he's intending to do it but not really good at level changing from there. Throws a decent amount of kicks and has a better high kick than you'd expect. Likely to have a ceiling as to how far he can go, but he's a good test for people.
    

16. 16

    

    Gadzhimurad Antigulov

    21-11-0

    1987 - Russia - RCC
    
    Usually tries for the first couple of minutes nowadays, if it works it's all good as he's still fairly dangerous and swings heavy but if it doesn't then he tends to want out of there pretty quickly.
    

17. 17

    

    Bevon Lewis

    "The Extraordinary Gentleman"  |  7-5-0

    1991 - USA - LFA
    
    Still looks flaky at 205. Had a good start against Ozzy, has a good single leg where he can pick it up from range and suck it in. Decent top grappling and works for chokes quite well. Fades pretty quickly in the 2nd and looks lost when he can't get a takedown. Struggled with pressure fighter, couldn't stop himself getting backed into the cage and then getting stuck there.
    

18. 18

    

    Emiliano Sordi

    "He-Man"  |  23-13-1

    1991 - Argentina - UAE Warriors
    
    Always been a glass cannon, now seems to give up at any sign of adversity. Looks softer and less explosive than the guy who won the PFL tournament just pre-covid.
    

19. 19

    

    Alexey Efremov

    23-15-1

    1986 - Russia - ACA
    
    Veteran moving up in weight. Still looks pretty big at 205. Fairly composed in his striking and throws decent straight shots. Defence not as good as his offence and doesn't look too durable.
    

20. 20

    

    Kerim Daidov

    "Doсtor"  |  10-1-0

    1997 - Kazakhstan - Octagon
    
    Got sparked by Abdurakhmanov hanging his chin too much a couple of times and seemed to overreact in his next fight just going the wrestling route to crush a can. Top control didn't look brilliant, but able to pass through bad triangle easily enough to get the arm triangle.
    

21. 21

    

    Navajo Stirling

    3-0-0

    1997 - New Zealand - HEX Fight Series
    
    Yet another City Kickboxing product transferring over to MMA and looking promising. Looks to be a patient striker who picks his shots. Keeps pressure on with good range, not a super high volume guy but educated pressure and landing accurate punches and a nice front kick as his opponents try and open up on him.
    

22. 22

    

    Jacky Jeanne

    4-1-0

    1994ish - France - Ares
    
    Good striker, hasn't really been tested against a grappler since he got wrestle****** by Augen, but that loss has aged pretty well and Ares have pretty much exclusively put him in against strikers in fights he should be winning since.
    

23. 23

    

    Marcus Gamble

    "All In"  |  6-3-0

    1988 - USA - Tuff-N-Uff
    
    Dude likes to come out and swing heavy early in a round but usually gets a bit tired and slows down part way through it. Looks to have solid enough takedown defence at least at regional level. Not a quitter, got dragged into a tough, sapping fight with Flores and never stopped trying against a dude who's known for those kind of scraps.