With her Strikeforce main event bout against Cristiane Santos in August, Gina Carano showed she has what it takes to ignite MMA fan interest and generate some serious buzz. Despite losing via first round TKO to the Brazilian powerhouse, Carano still jumped to the top of Tapology’s fighter popularity rankings for August. Pushing Brock Lesnar from his July UFC 100-driven perch, Carano joined several other fighters who made big moves in the month.
Tapology’s fighter popularity rankings are a measure of American fan interest in mixed martial arts, and gauge who the average person wants to see competing in MMA. These rankings do not assess a fighter’s skills or competitive standing, yet they are just as important in an industry where TV ratings and pay-per-view buys are how promoters measure their performance. More detail on these rankings can be found at the end of this article.
Key Moves in August:
Fueled by their heavily promoted August 15th Strikeforce clash on Showtime, Carano and “Cyborg” Santos achieved unprecedented MMA fan interest. Carano jumped 23 spots in the rankings to generate the most interest of any fighter during the month, while Santos rose nearly 70 spots to 6th in the rankings.
Even with his August 1st fight cancelled, Russian-born Fedor Emelianenko is showing increasingly wide appeal among North American fans, hovering near the top in 3rd place. Another non-UFC heavyweight, Bobby Lashley, dropped 10 spots to 13th place now that he is two months removed from his most recent fight against Bob Sapp. Despite the waning interest caused by inactivity, Lashley is showing incredible potential as a marketable fighter.
Other fighters with bouts in August, including Kenny “KenFlo” Florian, Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, BJ Penn, Forrest Griffin, and Anderson Silva all received notable spikes in fan interest. With his 1st round destruction of Forrest Griffin, Silva appears to be finally turning the tide in his ability to be a major draw for the UFC.
| August Rank | Fighter | July to August Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gina Carano | Up 23 |
| 2 | Anderson Silva | Up 5 |
| 3 | Fedor Emelianenko | Down 1 |
| 4 | Brock Lesnar | Down 3 |
| 5 | Forrest Griffin | Up 11 |
| 6 | Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos | Up 69 |
| 7 | Chuck Liddell | Up 2 |
| 8 | Randy Couture | Up 3 |
| 9 | Shane Carwin | Down 1 |
| 10 | Lyoto Machida | Up 2 |
| 11 | Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson | Down 7 |
| 12 | Tito Ortiz | Up 2 |
| 13 | Bobby Lashley | Down 10 |
| 14 | BJ Penn | Up 17 |
| 15 | Georges St. Pierre | Down 5 |
| 16 | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira | Up 13 |
| 17 | Dan Henderson | Down 11 |
| 18 | Quinton “Rampage” Jackson | No change |
| 19 | Kenny Florian | Up 21 |
| 20 | Rashad Evans | Up 3 |
Dropped out of top 20: Ken Shamrock (#30), Frank Mir (#33), Tim Sylvia (#38), Thiago Alves (#40), Royce Gracie (#58), Josh Barnett (#62)
