mma / Columns
411 MMA Heavyweight Rankings: Francis Ngannou, Derrick Lewis, More
411’s Official MMA Rankings
Heavyweight Division
1) Francis Ngannou (16-3)
Birthday: September 5, 1986
Height: 6’4
Weight: 255
Currently fighting with: UFC
Last 5 fights:
– vs. Stipe Miocic – Win via KO (punch) – UFC 260 – March 27, 2021
– vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik – Win via KO (strikes) – UFC 249 – May 9, 2020
– vs. Junior dos Santos – Win via TKO (strikes) – UFC 239 – July 6, 2019
– vs. Cain Velasquez – Win via KO (strikes) – UFC on ESPN – February 17, 2019
– vs. Curtis Blades – Win via TKO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – November 24, 2018
Next scheduled appearance:
– Unknown
Comment: Ngannou made history at UFC 260 becoming the new UFC heavyweight champion. He knocked out Stipe Miocic in the second round, avenging his loss from 2018. His four wins between these fights all ended in the first round with the longest fight lasting 71 seconds. Miocic made it to round two Saturday but could not make it past another Ngannou flurry which left no question.
If the UFC holds true to their word, his first title defense should come against former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones in his debut at heavyweight.
2) Stipe Miocic (20-4)
Birthday: August 19, 1982
Height: 6’4
Weight: 245
Currently fighting with: UFC
Last 5 fights:
– vs. Francis Ngannou – Loss via KO (strikes) – UFC 260 – March 27, 2021
– vs. Daniel Cormier – Win via decision (unanimous) – UFC 252 – August 15, 2020
– vs. Daniel Cormier – Win via TKO (strikes) – UFC 241 – August 17, 2019
– vs. Daniel Cormier – Loss via TKO (strikes) – UFC 226 – July 7, 2018
– vs. Francis Ngannou – Win via decision (unanimous) – UFC 220 – January 20, 2018
Next scheduled appearance:
– Unknown
Comment: Miocic now joins the ‘club’ of former UFC heavyweight champions to have lost the title at least two times (Couture, Sylvia, Velasquez). It’s been more than three years of fights with Daniel Cormier and Ngannou, so it will be interested to see Stipe in action against the likes of Curtis Blaydes, Alexander Volkov to see who gets in line after Jon Jones.
3) Derrick Lewis (25-7, 1 NC)
Birthday: February 7, 1985
Height: 6’3
Weight: 260
Currently fighting with: UFC
Last 5 fights:
– vs. Curtis Blaydes – Win via KO (punch) – UFC Fight Night – February 20, 2021
– vs. Alexey Oleynik – Win via TKO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – August 8, 2020
– vs. Ilir Latifi – Win via decision (unanimous) – UFC 247 – February 8, 2020
– vs. Blagoy Ivanov – Win via decision (split) – UFC 244 – November 2, 2019
– vs. Junior dos Santos – Loss via TKO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – March 9, 2019
Next scheduled appearance:
– Unknown
Comment: After UFC 260, there was some business being done by UFC president Dana White in the press conference. He pushed the idea of Ngannou’s first title defense happening against Derrick Lewis, not Jon Jones. This certainly seems like a business move to keep everyone’s hopes level. Jones wants to get paid for the potential heavyweight debut, knowing it’s immediately the biggest fight of the year once it’s signed. If White wants to get people warmed up to an idea of Ngannou/Lewis, everyone will still know the only reason it happens is because they couldn’t get Jones.
4) Curtis Blaydes (14-3, 1 NC)
Birthday: February 18, 1991
Height: 6’4
Weight: 250
Currently fighting with: UFC
Last 5 fights:
– vs. Derrick Lewis – Loss via KO (punch) – UFC Fight Night – February 20, 2021
– vs. Alexander Volkov – Win via decision (unanimous) – UFC Fight Night – June 20, 2020
– vs. Junior dos Santos – Win via TKO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – January 25, 2020
– vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov – Win via TKO (strikes) – UFC 242 – September 7, 2019
– vs. Justin Willis – Win via decision (unanimous) – UFC Fight Night – March 23, 2019
Next scheduled appearance:
– Unknown
5) Alexander “Drago” Volkov (33-8)
Birthday: October 24, 1988
Height: 6’7
Weight: 235
Currently fighting with: UFC
Last 5 fights:
– vs. Alistair Overeem – Win via TKO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – February 6, 2021
– vs. Walt Harris – Win via TKO (strikes) – UFC 254 – October 24, 2020
– vs. Curtis Blaydes – Loss via decision (unanimous) – UFC Fight Night – June 20, 2020
– vs. Greg Hardy – Win via decision (unanimous) – UFC Fight Night – November 9, 2019
– vs. Derrick Lewis – Loss via KO (strikes) – UFC 229 – October 6, 2018
Next scheduled appearance:
– Unknown
6) Ciryl Gane (8-0)
Birthday: May 6, 1990
Height: 6’5
Weight: 248
Currently Fighting With: UFC
Last 5 fights:
– vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik – Win via decision (unanimous) – UFC Fight Night – March 13, 2021
– vs. Junior dos Santos – Win via TKO (elbow) – UFC 256 – December 12, 2020
– vs. Tanner Boser – Win via decision (unanimous) – UFC Fight Night – December 21, 2019
– vs. Don’Tale Mayes – Win via submission (heel hook) – UFC Fight Night – October 26, 2019
– vs. Raphael Pessoa – Win via submission (Arm-Triangle choke) – UFC Fight Night – August 10, 2019
Next scheduled appearance:
– Unknown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir7b1tbXxKM
7) Jairzinho Rozenstruik (11-2)
Birthday: March 17, 1988
Height: 6’2
Weight: 248
Currently Fighting With: UFC
Last 5 fights:
– vs. Ciryl Gane – Loss via decision (unanimous) – UFC Fight Night – March 13, 2021
– vs. Junior dos Santos – Win via TKO (strikes) – UFC 252 – August 15, 2020
– vs. Francis Ngannou – Loss via KO (strikes) – UFC 249 – May 9, 2020
– vs. Alistair Overeem – Win via KO (punch) – UFC on ESPN – December 7, 2019
– vs. Andrei Arlovski – Win via KO (punch) – UFC 244 – November 2, 2019
Next scheduled appearance:
– Unknown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E4SdgN6RNE
8) Alistair Overeem (47-19, 1 No Contest)
Birthday: May 17, 1980
Height: 6’5
Weight: 240
Birthday: May 17, 1980
Currently Fighting With: Free Agent
Last 5 fights:
– vs. Alexander Volkov – Loss via TKO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – February 6, 2021
– vs. Augusto Sakai – Win via TKO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – September 5, 2020
– vs. Walt Harris – Win via TKO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – Nat 16, 2020
– vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik – Loss via KO (punch) – UFC on ESPN – December 7, 2019
– vs. Alexey Oleynik – Win via TKO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – April 20, 2019
Next scheduled appearance:
– Unknown
Comment: Overeem will turn 41-years-old in May and he will be competing next anywhere but the UFC octagon. He was released from his contract at the beginning of the month, following his loss to Volkov. Since his 2011 debut in the UFC, he went 11-8 and lost to Miocic in his only title fight. His biggest wins came against Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Junior dos Santos, Mark Hunt, and Fabricio Werdum. However, more often recently, Overeem proved to be a gatekeeper in the division where he lost to only the top contenders (Volkov, Rozenstruik, Blaydes, Ngannou).
If he wants to continue fighting, he’ll have natural interest from companies in Japan and probably Strikeforce, if he’s willing to expect less money than he has historically been getting.
9) Augusto Sakai (15-2-1)
Birthday: May 19, 1991
Height: 6’3
Weight: 264
Currently fighting with: UFC
Last 5 fights:
– vs. Alistair Overeem – Loss via TKO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – September 5, 2020
– vs. Blagoy Ivanov – Win via decision (split) – UFC on ESPN – May 30, 2020
– vs. Marcin Tybura – Win via KO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – September 14, 2019
– vs. Andrei Arlovski – Win via decision (split) – UFC Fight Night – April 27, 2019
– vs. Chase Sherman – Win via TKO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – September 22, 2018
Next scheduled appearance:
– vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov – UFC Fight Night – May 1, 2021
10) Marcin “Tybur” Tybura (21-6)
Birthday: November 9, 1985
Height: 6’3
Weight: 249
Currently fighting with: UFC
Last 5 fights:
– vs. Greg Hardy – Win via TKO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – December 19, 2020
– vs. Ben Rothwell – Win via decision (unanimous) – UFC Fight Night – October 10, 2020
– vs. Maxim Grishin – Win via decision (unanimous) – UFC 251 – July 11, 2020
– vs. Sergey Spivak – Win via decision (unanimous) – UFC Fight Night – February 29, 2020
– vs. Augusto Sakai – Loss via KO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – September 14, 2019
Next scheduled appearance:
– vs. Walt Harris – UFC Fight Night – June 5, 2021
Comment: This is a peculiar match-up for Tybura as he is 4-0 since last year. Next up is Walt Harris who has lost his last two fights, both by TKO. The only ranked heavyweight he’s beaten (at the time) was Alexey Oleynik in the summer of 2019. The only UFC contenders ranked above Tybura coming off wins are Gane and Volkov, so perhaps they’re a bit too far above him at the moment. Tybura and his team could be looking at this as a way to get that fifth consecutive win before jumping up against the likes of Jairzinho Rozenstruik or Curtis Blaydes.
11) Chris Daukaus (11-3)
Birthday: September 25, 1989
Height: 6’2
Weight: 234
Currently fighting with: UFC
Last 5 fights:
– vs. Alexey Oleynik – Win via TKO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – February 20, 2021
– vs. Rodrigo Nascimento Ferreira – Win via KO (punches) – UFC Fight Night – October 10, 2020
– vs. Danny Holmes – Win via TKO (strikes) – UFC 252 – August 15, 2020
– vs. Azunna Anyanwu – Loss via TKO – CFFC 73 – March 2, 2019
– vs. Edwin Smart – Win via TKO (strikes) – ROC 65 – September 21, 2018
Next scheduled appearance:
– Unknown
12) Walt Harris (13-9, 1 NC)
Birthday: June 10, 1983
Height: 6’5
Weight: 250
Currently fighting with: UFC
Last 5 fights:
– vs. Alexander Volkov – Loss via TKO (strikes) – UFC 254 – October 24, 2020
– vs. Alistair Overeem – Loss via TKO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – Nat 16, 2020
– vs. Aleksei Oleinik – Win via KO (knee) – UFC on ESPN – July 20, 2019
– vs. Sergey Spivak – Win via TKO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – May 4, 2019
– vs. Andrei Arlovski – No Contest (win for Harris overturned due to banned substance) – UFC 232 – December 29, 2018
Next scheduled appearance:
– vs. Marcin Tybura – UFC Fight Night – June 5, 2021
13) Sergei Pavlovich (14-1)
Birthday: May 13, 1992
Height: 6’3
Weight: 239
Currently fighting with: UFC
Last 5 fights:
– vs. Maurice Greene – Win via TKO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – October 26, 2019
– vs. Marcelo Golm – Win via KO (punch) – UFC Fight Night – April 20, 2019
– vs. Alistair Overeem – Loss via TKO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – November 24, 2018
– vs. Kirill Sidelnikov – Win via TKO (strikes) – FNG 79 – November 19, 2017
– vs. Mikhail Mokhnatkin – Win via decision (unanimous) – FNG 68 – June 2, 2017
Next scheduled appearance:
– Unknown
14) Alexey Oleynik (59-15-1)
Birthday: June 25, 1977
Height: 6’1
Weight: 240
Currently fighting with: UFC
Last 5 fights:
– vs. Chris Daukaus – Loss via TKO (punches) – UFC Fight Night – February 20, 2021
– vs. Derrick Lewis – Loss via TKO (strikes) – UFC Fight Night – August 8, 2020
– vs. Fabricio Werdum – Win via decision (split) – UFC 249 – May 9, 2020
– vs. Maurice Greene – Win via submission (armbar) – UFC 46 – January 18, 2020
– vs. Walt Harris – Loss via KO (knee) – UFC on ESPN – July 20, 2019
Next scheduled appearance:
– Unknown
15) Blagoy Ivanov (18-4, 1 NC)
Birthday: October 9, 1986
Height: 5’11
Weight: 251
Currently fighting with: UFC
Last 5 fights:
– vs. Augusto Sakai – Loss via decision (split) – UFC on ESPN – May 30, 2020
– vs. Derrick Lewis – Loss via decision (split) – UFC 244 – November 2, 2019
– vs. Tai Tuivasa – Win via decision (unanimous) – UFC 238 – June 8, 2019
– vs. Ben Rothwell – Win via decision (unanimous) – UFC Fight Night – March 9, 2019
– vs. Junior dos Santos – Loss via decision (unanimous) – UFC Fight Night – July 14, 2018
Next scheduled appearance:
– Unknown