Who’s up, down, and all around after dueling events from the UFC and Bellator (plus maybe even a little pro wrasslin’) over the weekend? There’s only one imaginary metric you can trust to tell you.
Max Holloway +356
If you sign your name on a piece of paper that says you have to go five rounds with this guy, your next move should be to reserve your bed at the hospital. Win or lose, you’re going on a trip through the meatgrinder. And if you’re anything other than the best featherweight on the planet, chances are you’re going to lose. Totally understand why Dana White is out here talking about Holloway getting a third crack at Alexander Volkanovski now, but what happens if/when he finally wins one of those fights? Then it’s 2-1 in favor of the little Australian guy and we’re locked into a best-of-five (at least) playoff series. Not saying that couldn’t be fun. Just saying.
Yair Rodriguez -4
If only someone could get him to fight maybe 20 percent smarter but without losing that buck wild creativity that makes him such a constant threat. Is that even possible? To tone down the yen without losing the yang or whatever? Maybe not. But here he clearly has the physical tools and the almost terrifying toughness, but can’t stop himself from front flipping onto his back at inopportune times.
Herb Dean -184
My dude, you know we can see you, right? When you act like you’re going to jump in and stop it after Ben Rothwell gets clipped by Marcos Rogerio de Lima, then you try to fade out once Rothwell snaps back to it and goes for a takedown, you’re aware that we can all see that on the TV, are you not? And then when Marcos looks up at you like, ‘dude I thought you were getting in here’ and that’s what convinces you to stop it? We can all clearly see that. And it’s not great.
Cris Cyborg +45
It’s not her fault that almost every opponent you could give her, save for maybe two or three women in the entire world, just feels like feeding time at the Coliseum.
Sinead Kavanagh -10
If you’re in Bellator and they tell you it’s your turn in Cyborg rinse-and-wash, what else can you do but take it and hope for the best? At least she managed to jack Cyborg on the jaw with a good hook before realizing with sudden horror that it had no apparent effect at all.
Khaos Williams +83
Whatever you do, don’t let that guy hang around and keep throwing those hammers at your head. Sooner or later one of them is going to do what they do.
Aaron Pico +72
Blazed through a previously unbeaten opponent and looked damm good doing it. It’s been an interesting ride as Bellator has tried to figure out the right matchmaking approach, but clearly this dude can really fight. He’s also just 25, but has had people hanging on every fight ready to deliver a final verdict basically since he started.
UFC women’s featherweight division -33
It does, technically, still exist. What this entry presupposes is, maybe it wouldn’t be so terrible if it didn’t?
Song Yadong +84
This man froze Julio Arce with that headkick and right hand follow-up, then took exactly one second to look at him like, ‘oh that actually hurt, huh?’ before he went ahead and closed out the show. Not bad, bro.
Junior Dos Santos +55
Don’t look now but the big homie is over in pro wrestling living his best life, hitting acrobatic moves and shit. Didn’t anyone tell him he’s supposed to be a broke-down heavyweight?? Go on and get it, JDS. We love to see it.
Valerie Loureda +11
We might need a new term for what it is that her fights are actually selling us. Allow us to suggest “fight-adjacent entertainment” as one possibility.
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