The top three spots for the featherweight buzz rankings were again unchanged in February, and have held steady for three straight months. Urijah Faber, Jose Aldo, and Jens Pulver continue to have a lock on fan interest for 145 pound fighters, and while it is a strong signal for the prospects of the upcoming Faber vs Aldo clash on the WEC 48 pay per view event, it also demonstrates the difficulty the promotion has had in building awareness and interest in their other fighters. As an example, Josh Grispi, the impressive 145 pound fighter who several months ago easily dispatched of Jens Pulver, is nowhere to be found among the list of fighters that fans are searching for. Full Top 20 rankings are below.
Continue reading “February MMA Buzz Rankings: Featherweight Division”
BJ Penn stayed atop the lightweight divisional buzz rankings in February, holding off the surge in interest in fellow 155 pound fighter George Sotiropoulos who rose 16 spots to second place in the division. Sotiropoulos defeated Joe Stevenson at UFC 110 in his home country of Australia and generated a surge of fan interest for the dominating performance. Japanese fighters Takanori Gomi and Shinya Aoki, who will be making their UFC and Strikeforce debuts shortly, lost some degree of fan interest but remained generally popular during the month. Full Top 20 rankings are below.
Georges St. Pierre maintained his grip on the welterweight buzz rankings in February, while Renzo Gracie rose sharply to come in as the second most buzzed about 170 pounder for the month. GSP’s upcoming title defense against #3 buzz ranked Dan Hardy at UFC 111 in late March will no doubt be the center of welterweight attention when it takes place. Coming right on its heels, however, is the return of the legendary Renzo Gracie at UFC 112. This bout against Matt Hughes may add another bit of marketing punch to what is already a stacked card with two title defenses. The biggest mover of the month for February was John Hathaway, who rose 67 spots and into the top 20. Full Top 20 rankings are below.
Anderson Silva and Wanderlei Silva remained the two most buzzed about middleweight fighters from January to February. Wanderlei’s solid victory over Michael Bisping at UFC 110 kept him in the limelight, while fans are anxious for “The Spider” to return when defends his belt against Demian Maia at UFC 112. Both Maia and Chael Sonnen, who each scored wins at UFC 109 early in the month, jumped 13 spots in the rankings to 3rd and 4th. Three fighters fell from the top 20 middleweights in February. Full Top 20 rankings are below. 
Randy Couture became the most buzzed about light heavyweight fighter in MMA in February following his flawless performance and victory over Mark Coleman at UFC 109. The over-matched Coleman came in second in the divisional buzz rankings, while last month’s leader Quinton Jackson fell to third. Ryan Bader also made a big move, rising eight spots after his knockout victory over Keith Jardine at UFC 110 in Australia. Sokoudjou and Ricardo Arona fell from the rankings. Top 20 rankings are below.
Fedor Emelianenko returned to the top of the overall buzz rankings for February, and by definition also to the top of the heavyweight division. Emelianenko is increasingly of interest to mainstream MMA fans despite not having been active since his November 2009 win over Brett Rogers. Brock Lesnar dropped one spot to second, while Cain Velasquez jumped all the way to third place following an impressive first-round knockout of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110. In the biggest move, Australian heavyweight Anthony Perosh rose 106 spots as fans curious about the late replacement for Ben Rothwell who took to the stage to fight the aforementioned Velasquez. Full top 20 rankings below.
Nine upsets took place among the major MMA organizations in February, making it a slightly busier month of oddsmaker surprises than in January of 2010. Topping the list was a major betting upset in Joey Beltran’s second round TKO victory over fellow UFC newcomer Rolles Gracie in the heavyweight division at UFC 109. Beltran began to control the fading Gracie until putting him away with strikes on the mat in the second round as a more than +600 underdog. Following in second place was Chael Sonnen, who as a +360 underdog defeated the middleweight contender Nate Marquardt, also at UFC 109. Also on the list was Cain Velasquez, who while barely even categorized as an underdog still put on an incredible display to defeat the very slight favorite Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110. Full results below.
Three events were held in February across the major MMA promotions. This produced a total of 25 professional bouts including one title fight. The UFC held two events, while Strikeforce held the third. Americans continued to make up the majority of the active fighters, with Brazil, Australia, and Croatia having good February representation. Middleweights were the most active division, decisions were the most common fight outcome, and the oddsmaker’s favorites won 63% of the time. Full results below.
