Pitbull, Cyborg Top Inaugural Bellator MMA Rankings

Bellator MMA recently published its inaugural fighter rankings, tabulated by a 17-member media panel across nine weight classes, plus men’s and women’s pound-for-pound lists. As with the UFC rankings, champions sit atop the chart and are not eligible to be ranked.

Asterisks (*) denote number of first-place votes.

Not surprisingly, men’s two-division champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire has claimed the top pound-for-pound spot, with reigning featherweight titleholder Cris Cyborg stepping onto the top rung of the women’s ladder.

To find out how fighters are ranked after each Bellator MMA event click here.

MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Patricio Pitbull (31-4)
2. Vadim Nemkov (12-2)
3. Gegard Mousasi (47-7-2)
4. Ryan Bader (27-6)
5. Juan Archuleta (25-2)
6. Douglas Lima (32-8)
7. AJ McKee (17-0)
8. Phil Davis (22-5)
9. Emmanuel Sanchez (20-4)
10. Corey Anderson (14-5)

WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Cris Cyborg (23-2)
2. Juliana Velasquez (11-0)
3. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (11-1)
4. Julia Budd (14-3)
5. Arlene Blencowe (13-8)
6. Denise Kielholtz (6-2)
7. Liz Carmouche (14-7)
8. Cat Zingano (11-4)
9. Alejandra Lara (9-3)
10. Leslie Smith (12-8-1)

MEN’S HEAVYWEIGHT

C. Ryan Bader (27-6)

1. Timothy Johnson (15-6) – 13*
2. Cheick Kongo (30-11-2)
3. Valentin Moldavsky (10-1) – 3*
4. Fedor Emelianenko (39-6)
5. Linton Vassell (20-8)
6. Tyrell Fortune (9-1) – 1*
7. Steven Mowry (8-0)
8. Matt Mitrione (13-8)
9. Sergei Kharitonov (32-8)
10. Javy Ayala (11-8)

MEN’S LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

C. Vadim Nemkov (12-2)

1. Ryan Bader (27-6) – 11*
2. Phil Davis (22-5) – 2*
3. Corey Anderson (14-5) – 4*
4. Lyoto Machida (26-10)
5. Julius Anglickas (9-1)
6. Grant Neal (5-0)
7. Christian Edwards (4-0)
8. Tyree Fortune (5-0)
9. Melvin Manhoef (32-15-1)
10. Alex Polizzi (7-1)

MEN’S MIDDLEWEIGHT

C. Gegard Mousasi (47-7-2)

1. John Salter (18-4) – 10*
2. Anatoly Tokov (29-2) – 5*
3. Austin Vanderford (10-0) – 1
4. Fabian Edwards (9-1)
5. Costello van Steenis (13-2)
6. Johnny Eblen (7-0)
7. Charlie Ward (9-4)
8. Mike Shipman (14-3)
9. Romero Cotton (5-0)
10. Ed Ruth (8-3)

MEN’S WELTERWEIGHT

C. Douglas Lima (32-8)

1. Michael Page (18-1) – 8*
2. Yaroslav Amosov (25-0) – 6*
3. Neiman Gracie (10-1) – 3*
4. Logan Storley (11-1)
5. Derek Anderson (17-3)
6. Jason Jackson (13-4)
7. Joey Davis (8-0)
8. Sabah Homasi (15-8)
9. Oliver Enkamp (10-2)
10. Jaleel Willis (14-2)

MEN’S LIGHTWEIGHT

C. Patricio Pitbull (31-4)

1. Brent Primus (10-1) – 12*
2. Patricky Pitbull (23-9) – 3*
3. Goiti Yamauchi (25-4) – 1*
4. Benson Henderson (28-10) – 1*
5. Sidney Outlaw (15-4)
6. Myles Jury (19-5)
7. Adam Piccolotti (12-4)
8. Alfie Davis (14-3)
9. Aviv Gozali (5-0)
10. Georgi Karakhanyan (30-11-1)

MEN’S FEATHERWEIGHT

C. Patricio Pitbull (31-4)

1. AJ McKee (17-0) – 13*
2. Emmanuel Sanchez (20-4) – 4*
3. Adam Borics (16-1)
4. Pedro Carvalho (11-4)
5. Daniel Weichel (40-12)
6. Aaron Pico (7-3)
7. Jay Jay Wilson (7-0)
8. Jeremy Kennedy (16-2)
9. Tywan Claxton (6-2)
10. Mads Burnell (14-3)

MEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT

C. Juan Archuleta (25-2)

1. Sergio Pettis (20-5) – 10*
2. Patchy Mix (13-1) – 4*
3. Raufeon Stots (15-1) – 1*
4. James Gallagher (11-1)
5. Magomed Magomedov (17-1) – 2*
6. Leandro Higo (20-5)
7. Josh Hill (20-3)
8. Cass Bell (5-1)
9. Frans Mlambo (9-5)
10. Jornel Lugo (5-0)

WOMEN’S FEATHERWEIGHT

C. Cris Cyborg (23-2)

1. Julia Budd (14-3) – 16*
2. Arlene Blencowe (13-8)
3. Cat Zingano (11-4)
4. Leslie Smith (12-8-1) – 1*
5. Sinead Kavanagh (7-4)
6. Janay Harding (6-4)
7. Leah McCourt (4-1)
8. Amanda Bell (7-7)
9. Olga Rubin (6-2)
10. Jessy Miele (9-5)

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT

C. Juliana Velasquez (11-0)

1. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (11-1) – 16*
2. Liz Carmouche (14-7)
3. Denise Kielholtz (6-2) – 1*
4. Alejandra Lara (9-3)
5. Kana Watanabe (9-0-1)
6. Kate Jackson (11-5-1)
7. Veta Arteaga (5-4)
8. Mandy Bohm (7-0)
9. Valerie Loureda (3-0)
10. Bruna Ellen (5-3)

Patricio Pitbull takes on No. 2-ranked featherweight Emmanuel Sanchez at Bellator 255: “Pitbull vs. Sanchez 2” this Friday night (April 2, 2021) in what marks the promotion’s first-ever MMA event on Showtime.

For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.