Brock Lesnar returned to the top of the overall buzz rankings for January, and by definition also to the top of the heavyweight division. While much fan interest was rightly focused on the news of Lesnar’s return to action after widely reported health problems, other heavyweights also generated significant buzz. A trio of Strikeforce heavyweights – Fedor Emelianenko, Herschel Walker, and Bobby Lashley – made up the second, third, and fourth spots on the list. While it remains to be seen if Lashley and Walker can continue to deliver wins in the ring as their competition toughens, casual fans have no doubt taken notice and tuned in. Full top 20 rankings below.
Tapology’s Buzz Rankings measure fan interest in individual MMA fighters based on online searches and pageviews for information about each athlete. The rankings are not a measure of a fighter’s skill or competitive standing within their division, but rather how much activity or “buzz” surrounds them (positive or negative).
Top 20 Heavyweight Buzz Rankings for recent months:
- December 2009 (#1 Rank: Kimbo Slice)
- November 2009 (#1 Rank: Fedor Emelianenko)
- October 2009 (#1 Rank: Kimbo Slice)
- September 2009 (#1 Rank: Kimbo Slice)
| December Rank |
Heavyweight Fighter | December to January Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brock Lesnar | Up 1 |
| 2 | Fedor Emelianenko | Up 2 |
| 3 | Herschel Walker | New |
| 4 | Bobby Lashley | Up 5 |
| 5 | Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson | Down 4 |
| 6 | Frank Mir | Down 3 |
| 7 | Ken Shamrock | Up 12 |
| 8 | Alistair Overeem | Up 3 |
| 9 | Andrei Arlovski | Up 6 |
| 10 | Junior Dos Santos | Up 13 |
| 11 | Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic | Up 23 |
| 12 | Shane Carwin | Up 1 |
| 13 | Fabricio Werdum | Up 14 |
| 14 | Roy Nelson | Down 8 |
| 15 | Wes Sims | Up 20 |
| 16 | Gilbert Yvel | Down 2 |
| 17 | Tim Sylvia | Up 11 |
| 18 | Cain Velasquez | Up 6 |
| 19 | Brett Rogers | Up 11 |
| 20 | Houston Alexander | Down 15 |
Dropped out of Top 20:
Cheick Kongo (#23), Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (#26), Matt Mitrione (#28), Stefan Struve (#33), Brendan Schaub (#35), Marcus Jones (#36), Muhammed Lawal (#39), James McSweeney (#42)
[...] 20 Heavyweight Buzz Rankings for recent months: – January 2010 (#1 Rank: Brock Lesnar) – December 2009 (#1 Rank: Kimbo Slice) – November 2009 (#1 Rank: Fedor [...]
[...] 20 Heavyweight Buzz Rankings for recent months: – February 2010 (#1 Rank: Fedor Emelianenko) – January 2010 (#1 Rank: Brock Lesnar) – December 2009 (#1 Rank: Kimbo [...]