Fabricio Werdum is one of the many representatives of the Brazilian MMA school. His nickname Vai Cavalo translates from Portuguese as "forward, horse." He was born on July 30, 1977 in Porto Allegri, Brazil, but currently lives in San Jose, USA, where he trains in Kings MMA. The fighting basis of Fabricio is Brazilian jiu-jitsu and muay thai.
Werdum earned the championship belt in the summer of 2015. On June 13, as part of the UFC 188 tournament, he met with Cain Velasquez, who at that time owned the title. The Brazilian dominated throughout the fight and eventually caught his opponent in a guillotine in the third round. In February 2016, he was supposed to meet with Velasquez in a rematch, but the opponent withdrew from the fight due to injury. Werdum's next entry into the octagon is scheduled for May 14, 2016 as part of the UFC 198 show. During the first defense, Fabriciou's opponent will be top contender Stipe Miocic.
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier
Daniel Cormier was born on March 20, 1979 in the American city of Lafayette. He currently resides in San Jose and trains at the American Kickboxing Academy. His background is freestyle wrestling and kickboxing. In addition, Daniel boasts a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Cormier's main problem at the moment is that many do not consider him a true champion. The best UFC fighter, regardless of weight categories, Jon Jones, in the rank of title holder, met with Daniel and got the victory. Later, Jones got in trouble with the law, causing the promotion to take the belt from him. The latter was soon played by Cormier and Anthony Johnson. On May 23, 2015, at UFC 187, Cormier defeated Johnson and sat on the light heavyweight throne, after which he made his first title defense in a battle with Alexander Gustafsson. The long-awaited rematch with Jon Jones will take place on April 23, 2016 as part of the UFC 197 tournament.
UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold
Luke Rockhold was born October 17, 1984 in the California city of Santa Cruz, is a citizen of the United States of America and trains with Daniel Cormier at the American Kickboxing Academy. He has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, but besides this type of martial arts, he is well acquainted with kickboxing and freestyle wrestling.
Rockhold won the UFC belt relatively recently, when he won a victory over the previously undefeated Chris Weidman in a dominant style. Initially, the battle, which took place as part of the co-main event of the UFC 194 show, proceeded to the accompaniment of the attacks of the current champion, but later Rockhold managed to seize the initiative due to the fact that he retained more strength. He pinned Weidman to the ground and began beating the helpless opponent until the match was stopped by the referee. Despite the fact that Rochkold had a serious advantage during the fight, the promotion bosses appointed an immediate rematch, which will take place on June 4, 2016 at UFC 199.
UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler
Robbie Lawler is one of the most daring UFC champions. This guy was born in San Diego on March 20, 1982, and currently lives in Coconut Creek and trains at the American Top Team fight club. The fighter came to mixed martial arts from karate, and often his fights are held in a stance and are nominated for the title of the best fights of the year.
He earned the UFC welterweight title on December 6, 2014 in a confrontation with Johny Hendrix. Ruthless (Lawler's nickname) got the victory in it according to the results of a separate decision of the judges. Robbie has since made two defenses of his title. First, at UFC 189, he defeated Rory McDonald by technical knockout, after which he will meet with Carlos Condit as part of UFC 195, held on January 2, 2016. Who will be Lawler's next opponent is still unknown.
UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos
Rafael Dos Anjos was born on October 26, 1984 in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Here he currently resides, training under the guidance of Rafael Cordeiro in Kings MMA. The basis of the fighter's fighting is Thai boxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Rafael dos Anjos became the champion after the title battle with Anthony Pettis. On March 15, 2015, as part of UFC 185, Rafael won the victory thanks to a unanimous decision of the judges. In December 2015, he made his first belt defense against Donald Cerrone. While many expected a competitive battle from this meeting, dos Anjos already in the first seconds of the debut round showed that he would not give Cowboy a chance, destroying him by technical knockout. The next outing of the fighter in the cage was scheduled for March 5, 2016. Rafal had to defend his belt from the encroachments of UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor. However, the Brazilian broke his leg and withdrew from the fight.
UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor is one of the most popular figures in the world of mixed martial arts. In addition, he brings the UFC the greatest income, and therefore enjoys the indulgence of the promotion management. The fighter was born on July 14, 1988 in Dublin, Ireland, where he lives at the moment. His background is diverse: karate, taekwondo, boxing and even capoeira. In addition, Conor has a brown belt in jiu-jitsu, but has not yet proven that he can be called successful in this type of martial arts.
McGregor has long attracted the attention of the whole world to his person, although he has taken possession of the championship belt relatively recently. It took only 13 seconds for him to overthrow the former title holder, the Brazilian Jose Aldo, from the throne. The exact gift of the jaw lifted the Irishman's glory to even greater heights, and dishonored the former champion. In his next fight, McGregor was scheduled to fight for the second belt against lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, but the latter was injured and pulled out of the fight. His replacement, Nate Diaz, caught Dana White's golden boy in the second round with a submission. With whom Notorius will now fight is still unknown, but it says a lot that Jose Aldo will be his opponent again.
UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominic Cruz
Dominic Cruz is another representative of the American school of mixed martial arts. Dominator was born on September 3, 1985 in Tucson, Orizona. Currently, his place of residence is the California city of Chula Vista. This guy trains with the Alliance MMA team, and his basic MMA techniques are boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and wrestling.
Dominick Cruz has lost only once in his long career and is one of the two men who defeated reigning flyweight title holder Demetrius Johnson. However, injuries prevented Dominka from fully revealing his talents. On July 7, 2012, Cruz was supposed to fight Juraj Faber, but this fight did not take place, because Dominik suffered a cruciate ligament injury. A series of injuries kept him out of the octagon until the fall of 2014, when he met with Takeya Mizugaki and got the victory, and then again went into idle time due to yet another health problem. On January 7, 2016, the fighter made a triumphant return to the UFC, taking the belt from then-champion TJ Dillashaw. Cruise's next fight will be against Juraj Faber again at UFC 199 on June 4, 2016.
UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrius Johnson
In this article, we will discuss weight classes in the UFC, talk about people who have distinguished themselves in this area. This championship attracts the attention of many martial arts fans, but not everyone knows the details of the formation or organization of fights. We will introduce you to information about which male and female weight categories in the UFC currently exist. Also pay special attention to the heroes of this championship.
Let's start from the very beginning and remember that when the UFC organization appeared in 1993, it did not have such divisions by weight that exist today. It was a simple sports organization that organized championships for fighters. The rules of the duel were mixed, and they still remain so. But there were only two categories:
- heavy weight - for fighters whose weight was more than 91 kilograms;
- light weight - for those whose weight was less than 90 kilograms.
A few years later, the division into subgroups changed, and an average weight had already appeared. At the same time, weight categories in the UFC have not stopped changing. A super light subgroup also appeared, and by 2001, the weight categories of fighters were already distributed into five different types:
- heavy;
- light heavy;
- average;
- welterweight;
- easy.
Weight classes in the UFC went through all these changes, primarily in order to be able to optimally distribute participants and achieve maximum performance in fights. After all, it is much more interesting to watch a duel of approximately equal rivals, and not to see how a heavyweight fights with a miniature and lightweight athlete. Many years passed before the subgroups were again revised and lighter weights were added, as well as separate weight categories in the UFC for women.
Weight categories
So, since 2012, the organization has been holding fights in ten categories, two of which are women's. Participants are distributed according to the following weight groups:
- heavy;
- light heavy;
- average;
- welterweight;
- easy;
- featherweight;
- the easiest;
- easiest,
- lightest for women;
- the easiest for women.
heavyweights
Speaking about this subgroup, it is worth noting that these weight categories in the UFC are divided into two types:
- heavy;
- light heavy.
The heavy category includes fighters weighing from ninety-three to one hundred and twenty kilograms. The English name is heavyweight. If a fighter weighs from eighty-four to ninety-three kilograms, then he is already referred to the light heavy category. The English name is light heavyweight.
Average weight
This group includes:
- middle category;
The first subgroup, whose English name is middle weight, includes participants weighing from seventy-seven to eighty-four kilograms. Lighter fighters belong to the welter weight category and must weigh a minimum of seventy kilograms, and a maximum of seventy-seven.
A light weight
This group of participants is formed for participants whose weight is from 53 to 70 kilograms. Divided into categories:
- featherweight;
- the easiest;
- the easiest.
The light category includes athletes with a weight of sixty-six to seventy kilograms. In the world it is known as light weight. The UFC featherweight division is comprised of fighters who weigh a minimum of sixty-one and a maximum of sixty-six kilograms. The English equivalent of the name is feather weight. Already by the name it is clear that the lightest group includes fighters with even less weight, from fifty-seven to sixty-one kilograms. The name of the category is known as bantam weight. And the last division of this weight group is the lightest category (or fly weight) with participants weighing from fifty-three to fifty-seven kilograms.
Women in the UFC
A great achievement for the beautiful half of the world's population was the selection of two categories that apply specifically to them. It was a kind of recognition of women as real participants and worthy opponents in this sport. Two groups were formed:
- the easiest;
- the easiest.
The lightest category called women's bantam weight unites women with a mass of fifty-seven to sixty-one kilograms. And the category women's straw weight, or the lightest, refers to athletes who weigh from forty-eight to fifty-two kilograms.
Current Champions
UFC champions in all weight divisions won their titles at different times and defended their right to hold this title a different number of times. We provide you with a list of the most relevant leaders that are currently.
- Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum of Brazil. He won the title in the summer of 2015 and has never defended it yet.
- Light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormet of the USA. He became it in the spring of 2015 and has already managed to defend the right to be the first in this category once.
- The middleweight champion is Luke Rockhold of the United States. He won the title in the winter of 2015 and has not had time to confirm it yet.
- The welterweight champion is Robbie Lawlier of the USA. In the winter of 2014, he received this title and has already justified the title of the best fighter in this category twice.
- The lightweight champion is Rafael DosAngus of Brazil. In the spring of 2015, he became the best in his weight category and once defended the right to be called that.
- Featherweight champion - Irishman Connor Became it in the winter of 2015, while he has never defended his title in battle.
- The bantamweight champion is Dominic Cruz of the United States. The most recent of the titles won in the winter of 2016, so he has never fought to defend the title.
- Flyweight champion Dimitrius Johnson of the United States. This fighter managed to fight for this title seven times and won every time, remaining the best in his category. He won the title for the first time in the fall of 2012.
- As for the women's categories, the American Holly Holm became the champion in the bantamweight division in the fall of 2015. She has never fought to confirm the title.
- The women's flyweight champion was Johana Enzeczyk from Poland. It happened in the spring of 2015, and she has already fought twice for the right to be the best.
It is worth noting that the fighter who wins the "title" fight becomes the champion in any category. This fight lasts five rounds, each of which lasts five minutes. To defend his title, the champion fights the next contender. If the reigning champion loses, then the title passes to the winner. Otherwise, the title remains with the former favorite. There is also the concept of an interim champion. It is given to a fighter if the current champion cannot fight to defend the title for a long time (for example, for health reasons).
Outstanding fighters
There are people who are not among the list of champions at the moment, but they left a bright mark in the history of the UFC. We want to recall some of them.
- Ronda Jean Rousey. First Women's Lightweight Champion. It is considered the highest paid female athlete in the world with an income of more than six and a half million dollars a year.
- was the light heavyweight champion. Eight times he confirmed the right to be a champion. Unfortunately, problems with the law did not allow the athlete to fully realize himself.
- Andersen Silva is rightfully considered the king of middleweight. He made ten fights to defend the title.
- Slightly fewer fights spent to defend the title in the welterweight category, Georges Saintpierre. Many experts believe this in the world.
- Famous names such as Chuck Lidel, Dan Henderson, BJ Peng, Tito Artis, Randy Couture, Met Hughes and others have left an indelible mark on UFC history. And this is not the whole list of significant people in this field.
In the end, I would like to add that the championships organized by the UFC are distinguished by excellent organization, are considered prestigious, and all fighters strive to get to this championship at least once in their lives. Watching competitions on TV, even at a distance and through the screen, you can feel the special atmosphere of the events. Victory in such a competition is a real achievement that fighters have been striving for since childhood, and everyone who is interested in martial arts knows the names of the champions.
Which UFC fighter has earned the most this year? We have an answer to this question.
It is worth noting that these amounts include only the official fees of the fighters, bonuses for the best performance and fight of the evening, plus sponsorship money from Reebok. Many of the most popular fighters receive additional bonuses and pay-per-view sales, not to mention the sponsorship money they earn outside the octagon.
Unsurprisingly, the top two spots on the list are headliners from two of the highest-grossing events in UFC history.
1. Conor McGregor (20-3) - $4,180,000
The Irishman has had two fights this year with varying degrees of success. In March, in the UFC 196 main event, he was strangled in the 2nd round by Nate Diaz, and already in August, in the UFC 202 title fight, Conor took revenge by a judicial decision.
For the fight at UFC 196, McGregor received a $1,000,000 fee, plus a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus and another $40,000 from Reebok. Total $1,090,000. For the rematch with Diaz, the earnings of "The Notorious" were already significantly higher: $ 3,090,000 ($ 3,000,000 fee, again a bonus of $ 50,000 for the "Fight of the Night" and all the same $ 40,000 from Reebok).
McGregor will be able to get even further ahead on this list on November 12 in New York, where he will fight lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez in the main event of UFC 205. Judging by the hype, McGregor's official earnings alone will amount to several million US dollars.
2. Nate Diaz (19-11) - $2,690,000
Diaz, who is in second place, is noticeably behind the leader of the list. For his March victory over McGregor, Nate received $620,000 ($500,000 cage show, $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus and $20,000 Reebok sponsorship money).
For the rematch with McGregor, Diaz Jr. also got much more, namely $ 2,070,000 ($ 2,000,000 for the cage, $ 50,000 bonus for "Fight of the Night" and $ 20,000 Reebok payout).
3. Brock Lesnar (6-3) - $2,550,000
Former UFC heavyweight champion Lesnar returned in July at UFC 200 in his first fight since 2011. Brock pretty confidently beat the experienced Mark Hunt on points and earned $2,550,000 for it ($2,500,000 for the check and $5,000 from Reebok). At that time, the official fee of $ 2,500,000 was considered the highest in the history of not only the UFC, but also all mixed martial arts. The following month, that figure was improved by $500,000 by Conor McGregor.
After his UFC 200 appearance, Lesnar's two positive antiestrogen doping tests became known, and Brock's MMA career is currently in limbo.
4. Dan Henderson (32-15) - $1,540,000
46-year-old Henderson made good money before retiring. Hando earned $860,000 ($600,000 cage show bonus, $200,000 win bonus, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus and $10,000 Reebok sponsorship) for a June 2nd round knockout win over Hector Lombard at UFC 199.
In October at UFC 204, Dan was defeated by unanimous decision against middleweight champion Michael Bisping in a rematch. For his last fight of his career, Henderson was paid $680,000 ($600,000 cage show bonus, $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus and $30,000 Reebok sponsorship).
Great year for middleweight champion Michael Bisping - 3 wins in 3 fights. In February at UFC Fight Night 84, Bisping, though not without difficulty, won a home crowd unanimous decision over Anderson Silva. The Brit's success was rewarded with $495,000 ($275,000 cage show, $150,000 win bonus, $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus and $20,000 from Reebok).
The “Count” got the belt at the June UFC 199 show, going out to fight Luke Rockhold on a two-week notice, which did not stop him from sensationally knocking out the champion in the 1st round. Despite winning the title fight, Bisping earned less than $330,000 for his fight against the legendary Brazilian ($250,000 for cage entry, including $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus and $30,000 from Reebok).
In October at UFC 204, again at home, Bisping took revenge on Dan Henderson, despite being knocked down twice during the fight. Michael's reward was $680,000 ($600,000 cage show, $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus and $30,000 Reebok sponsorship).
6. Alistair Overeem (41-15) - $1,477,857
Overeem never managed to conquer another peak. In September at UFC 203, he was knocked out by UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in the opening five minutes. 4 months before, in his native Holland, "Rome" knocked out Andrei Orlovsky in the 2nd round. For this fight, he earned $597,857 ($342,857 to show, $200,000 win bonus, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus and $5,000 Reebok sponsorship)
For the title fight at UFC 203, the Dutchman got $880,000 ($800,000 for the cage entry, $50,000 Fight of the Year bonus and $30,000 from Reebok).
7. Anderson Silva (33-8) - $1,280,000
Former UFC middleweight champion and multiple promotion record holder Silva is spending 2016 on a minor note. In February at UFC Fight Night 84, "Spider" lost in a competitive 5-round fight to Michael Bisping and earned $665,000 ($600,000 for cage entry, $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus and $15,000 from Reebok).
At UFC 200 in July, Anderson replaced Jon Jones against light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. During the three non-title rounds, DC, as they say, stale the Brazilian without any problems. Consolation for the loser is a $615,000 payout ($600,000 for checkered and $15,000 from Reebok).
8. Robbie Lawler (27-11) - $1,090,000
Former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler has had mixed success this year. In January at UFC 195, he struggled to defend his title with a split decision win over Carlos Condit. Not the most confident victory brought "Ruthless" $590,000 ($500,000 for a checkerboard, $50,000 bonus for "Fight of the Night" and $40,000 from Reebok).
But in July at UFC 201, Robbie was dethroned by Tyron Woodley, who knocked him out in a little over two minutes. Lawler's total official check for the fight was $540,000 ($500,000 for check and $40,000 from Reebok).
9. Stipe Miocic (16-2) - $1,069,000
Heavyweight champion Miocic has the most successful year of his career, both in terms of sporting performance and in terms of finances.
The year began for him with a bright knockout victory at the January event of UFC 195. Then Andrei Orlovsky was defeated by Stipe in a minute. The victory netted him $175,000 ($60,000 cage show, $60,000 win bonus, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus and $5,000 Reebok sponsorship).
In May, at UFC 198, Miocic in enemy territory, again in the 1st round, knocked out the belt holder Fabricio Werdum. The new champion's triumphant performance earned $204,000 ($62,000 cage show, $62,000 win bonus, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus and $30,000 Reebok sponsorship).
In September at UFC 203, Stipe successfully defended the belt, sending Alistair Overeem to sleep. Unsurprisingly, the champion earned his career-high $690,000 ($600,000 for cage, $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus and $40,000 from Reebok) for this fight.
10. Mark Hunt (12-11-1) - $930,000
Rounding out the top ten is 42-year-old heavyweight Mark Hunt. At UFC Fight Night 85 in March, he once again demonstrated his deadly punching power by turning off the lights on Frankie Mir three minutes into the fight. Mark's winning fee was $220,000 ($160,000 checkerboard, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus and $10,000 Reebok sponsorship).
At the July anniversary show of UFC 200, Hunt lost to Brock Lesnar, who returned after a long pause, who, as you know, failed two doping tests after the fight. In connection with the foul play of Lesnar and the fact that USADA made an exception for him, testing him before the fight for only a month, instead of the prescribed four, Hunt, after the release of the test results, burst into swearing at the promotion bosses. Whatever it was, for the fight in the co-main event of UFC 200, "Super Samoan" received $710,000 ($700,000 for a check and $10,000 from Reebok).
All Russian MMA fans expected that after Khabib Nurmagomedov wins the lightweight title, he will rise significantly in the rankings. Expectations were justified.
Behind him, the Russian left all his competitors, including Conor McGregor and Tony Ferguson. It is likely that Khabib will hold his first defense of the belt with one of them. Nurmagomedov is set to return to the octagon in November. Let's see how the UFC matchmakers work.
In the ranking of the best fighters, regardless of weight categories, Khabib rose to eighth place. This is a record for him. He has never climbed into the top 10 of this rating. Above him are only UFC champions, with the exception of McGregor. Why he is higher than Khabib in this ranking is a mystery, probably, even for Conor himself. But this will not really bother our athlete.
Everything is clear with Khabib. What about other Russian fighters?
US Featherweight Zabita Magomedsharipova nicknamed the ninja and kung fu master. The ex-champion of the ACB league has fallen in love with fans abroad: he is very cool and spectacular in his fights.
He spent three fights in the UFC, winning them, and for each of these fights he received bonuses in the amount of 50 thousand dollars from the leaders. This is very cool. But it’s also cool that Zabit has climbed to 14th place in the organization’s lightweight rankings after defeating American Kyle Bochniak at UFC 223. Now it remains to be hoped that the Russian will pick up an opponent from the TOP-10. Or maybe the opponent will be Yair Rodriguez, who is on the 11th line.
One of the favorite fighters of Ramzan Kadyrov, Magomed Bibulatov, is now in full swing preparing for the UFC Fight Night 128 tournament (April 22), where he will fight with the Japanese Yuta Sasaki.
Magomed unexpectedly lost his previous fight to John Moraga, but remained on the 15th line of the flyweight rating. Bibulatov is the favorite in the fight against the Japanese. The victory will definitely move him a few lines higher.
light heavyweight Gadzhimurad Antigulov held two fights in the UFC, winning them victories. This allowed him to rise to 13th place in the rankings.
When the Russian will hold his next fight is still unknown. UFC management considers Gadzhimurad a promising fighter, and there is no point in arguing with this. We are waiting for big fights and increase in the rating.
We have several people in the TOP-15 heavyweights at once. On the 13th line is located Shamil Abdurakhimov, who is now waiting for a decision on his next fight.
Will soon improve its position Alexey Oleinik. On May 13, at UFC 224 in Brazil, he will fight against the 14th number of the heavyweight rating Junior Albini. The Russian, by the way, is higher - in tenth place. The victory will allow Alexei to close the defeat from Curtis Blaydes and climb one or two lines in the ranking. The chances of success are good.
Well, the main hope of Russia in the UFC heavyweight is Alexander Volkov, who had a great run and four wins in the UFC. Drago is in third place. Only Alistair Overeem, Francis Ngannou and champion Stipe Miocic are ahead.
It is not yet known where and when, and most importantly, with whom, Volkov will fight next time. Everything depends on him, as well as on the duel between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier. However, it is safe to say that Alexander is very close to the title fight.
source: "Soviet Sport"
Denis Lebedev: Now Mchunu, and in the future Makabu Recall that the fight between Lebedev and Mchunu will take place on December 21 in Krasnoyarsk. The WBC Silver title will be on the line. 11/19/2019 08:00 Boxing Usachev Vladislav
Kral pulled the Czech Republic to Euro 2020, and Vlašić - Croatia The results of the qualifying round of the European Championship for legionnaires from the RPL. 21.11.2019 16:30 Football Zibrak Artem
Sultan Ibragimov: Kovalev's time is up and Joshua will take revenge on Ruiz Former WBO world champion Sultan Ibragimov shared his opinion on the most intriguing heavyweight fights that will take place at the end of this year. 11/22/2019 08:53 Boxing Usachev Vladislav
Johannes Book of Records. Studying Be's super season The 2018/19 World Cup ended with the complete triumph of the Norwegian Johannes Be, who set a lot of all sorts of records. 03/27/2019 19:47 Biathlon Tigay Lev
Khovantsev was asked from the men's team The coaching staff of the Russian biathlon team was reshuffled. And the most interesting thing is that they happened almost on the eve of the season. 11.09.2019 18:30 Biathlon Yuri Volokhov
