We are very proud to be able to bring you these rankings. We sincerely hope that they will not only serve as a good and credible reference for you, but also provide some good talking points as well. We have done our best to create a system that provides the most objective rankings possible. If you’d like to read more about how we compute our rankings, click here for details.
Q3 2010 Fighter Rankings
Pro Fighters
| Pound for Pound Top 10 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | - | Adam Schindler | Gracie Barra Champions Forest | 2.5 |
| 2 | 10 | Brian Melancon | Paradigm Training Center | 2.75 |
| 3 | 1 | Chad Robichaux | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 3 |
| 4 | 2 | Sam Hoger | Hoger MMA | 4.5 |
| 5 | 3 | Levi Forrest | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 4.75 |
| 6 | - | Daniel Pineda | 4 oz Fight Club | 6.75 |
| 7 | 4 | Rey Trujillo | 7.5 | |
| 8 | - | Steve Garcia | 4 oz Fight Club | 7.75 |
| 9 | 6 | Mike Bronzoulis | Paradigm Training Center | 8 |
| 10 | - | Artenas Young | Hoger MMA | 9.25 |
| Flyweight (125lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Humberto Deleon | Bushi Ban | 1 |
| 2 | 2 | Andy Sandoval | Death Row MMA | 2.25 |
| 3 | 3 | Brian Garmon | Silverback Mixed Martial Arts | 2.75 |
| Bantamweight (126 – 135lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Chad Robichaux | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 1.25 |
| 2 | 3 | Steve Garcia | 4 oz Fight Club | 1.75 |
| 3 | 9 | Lewis Mackenzie | 3.25 | |
| 4 | - | Nate Garza | Rocky Long MMA | 4.75 |
| 5 | 7 | Frank Ortega | Star Jiu-Jitsu | 4.75 |
| 6 | - | Angel Huerta | Gracie Barra Texas | 5.75 |
| 7 | - | Warrent Stewart | 7.25 | |
| 8 | - | Navied Sadeghi | 7.5 | |
| 9 | Marcus Dupar | Rocky Long MMA | 8.75 | |
| 10 | - | |||
| Featherweight (136 – 145lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 4 | Daniel Pineda | 4 oz Fight Club | 1 |
| 2 | 2 | Jose Santibanez | Silverback Mixed Martial Arts | 2.25 |
| 3 | 8 | Greg Bellomy | Gracie Barra Texas | 3 |
| 4 | 6 | Tim Snyder | Paradigm Training Center | 4.5 |
| 5 | - | Vinicius (Draculino) Magalhaes | Gracie Barra Texas | 4.75 |
| 6 | - | Steve Peterson | 5.5 | |
| 7 | 7 | Rocky Long | Rocky Long MMA | 6.5 |
| 8 | 10 | Leo Torres | Silverback Mixed Martial Arts | 8 |
| 9 | - | |||
| 10 | - | |||
| Lightweight (146 – 155lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | - | Adam Schindler | Gracie Barra Champions Forest | 1.25 |
| 2 | 3 | Brian Melancon | Paradigm Training Center | 2 |
| 3 | 1 | Rey Trujillo | 3 | |
| 4 | Todd Moore | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 4.25 | |
| 5 | 2 | Ray Blodgett | Elite MMA-Houston | 4.75 |
| 6 | 4 | Jesus Rivera | 4 oz Fight Club | 5.75 |
| 7 | 6 | Lane Yarbrough | Death Row MMA | 7.5 |
| 8 | 5 | Arron Barringer | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 7.75 |
| 9 | 7 | Jace Pitre | Team Tooke | 9 |
| 10 | 8 | Jason Carter | 646 MMA | 10.25 |
| Welterweight (156 – 170lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Levi Forrest | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 1 |
| 2 | 2 | Mike Bronzoulis | Paradigm Training Center | 2 |
| 3 | 3 | Jonathon Harris | Submission Boxing Academy | 3 |
| 4 | - | Craig Gardner | West Side MMA | 5 |
| 5 | 4 | Ricardo Talavera | Elite MMA-Houston | 5.25 |
| 6 | 6 | RJ Knepp | 646 MMA | 7.25 |
| 7 | - | Jordan Rivas | Elite MMA – Baytown | 7.5 |
| 8 | 5 | Marcelo Azevedo | Gracie Barra Texas | 8.5 |
| 9 | 7 | Jeff Rexroad | Paradigm Training Center | 8.5 |
| 10 | - | Justin Murray | Bushi Ban | 9.25 |
| Middleweight (171 – 185 lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Jon Kirk | Aztlan Fight Club | 1 |
| 2 | - | Bubba Bush | BVMMA | 2 |
| 3 | 4 | Chris Spicer | 3 | |
| 4 | 5 | Charles Byrd | Saekson’s Muay Thai | 4 |
| 5 | - | Jonathan Mack | Rocky Long MMA | 5.25 |
| 6 | 8 | Larry Hopkins | Silverback Mixed Martial Arts | 5.75 |
| 7 | - | Matthew Moses | 6.75 | |
| 8 | - | |||
| 9 | - | |||
| 10 | - | |||
| Light Heavyweight (186 – 205 lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 6 | Artenas Young | Hoger MMA | 1 |
| 2 | 5 | Brian Lightfoot | Gracie Barra Texas | 2.5 |
| 3 | 3 | Chad Cook | Gracie Barra Texas | 3.5 |
| 4 | 2 | Ike Villanueva | Rocky Long MMA | 3.75 |
| 5 | - | Edgar Verdin | Submission Boxing Academy | 4.25 |
| 6 | - | John King | 5.75 | |
| 7 | 7 | Joshua Foster | 6 | |
| 8 | - | |||
| 9 | - | |||
| 10 | - | |||
| Heavyweights (206 lbs+) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Sam Hoger | Hoger MMA | 1 |
| 2 | 2 | Derek Lewis | Silverback Mixed Martial Arts | 2 |
| 3 | - | Taylor Hebert | Gracie Barra Texas | 3.75 |
| 4 | 4 | Patrick Miller | 4.75 | |
| 5 | 7 | James Hall | 5 | |
| 6 | 6 | Larry Crowe | Silverback Mixed Martial Arts | 5.75 |
| 7 | 5 | Nick Mitchell | Rocky Long MMA | 7.25 |
| 8 | - | Lex Pappas | 7.5 | |
| 9 | - | Juan Long | Rocky Long MMA | 8.5 |
| 10 | - | Miguel Guerra | 9.75 | |
Amateur Fighters
| Pound for Pound Top 10 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 5 | John Malbrough | Kingwood MMA | 2 |
| 2 | 6 | Akira Smith | 4 oz Fight Club | 3.25 |
| 3 | - | Alex Morano | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 4 |
| 4 | 3 | Alex Black | Bushi Ban | 5.5 |
| 5 | 8 | Jared Chaffee | Gracie Barra Champions Forest | 6.25 |
| 6 | 4 | Drew Ratichek | American Combative Systems | 6.75 |
| 7 | - | Michael Lytle | AXS | 8.5 |
| 8 | 2 | Raymond Bell | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 8.75 |
| 9 | - | Eric Elliot | Metro Fight Club | 8.75 |
| 10 | 7 | Patrick Bierschwale | West Side MMA | 9.5 |
| Flyweight (125lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | - | Joe Trevino | 4 oz Fight Club | 1.25 |
| 2 | 1 | Bobby Powers | 4 oz Fight Club | 2.25 |
| 3 | 2 | Joe Cruz | Texas Powerhouse MMA | 2.5 |
| 4 | 3 | Rafael Breton | 4.25 | |
| 5 | 5 | Martin Garcia | Gracie Barra Texas | 5.5 |
| Bantamweight (135lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 2 | Akira Smith | 4 oz Fight Club | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | Jared Chaffee | Gracie Barra Champions Forest | 2 |
| 3 | - | Colin Wright | Paradigm Training Center | 3.25 |
| 4 | 3 | Gerzan Chaw | Bushi Ban | 3.5 |
| 5 | 5 | Rodrigo Rodriguez | CTC | 5 |
| Featherweight (145lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Alex Black | Bushi Ban | 1 |
| 2 | 2 | Brandon Acosta | Bushi Ban | 2.5 |
| 3 | 4 | Adam Longoria | 3.25 | |
| 4 | 3 | Jimmy New | 3.75 | |
| 5 | - | Layton MItchell | 5.25 | |
| Lightweight (155lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | - | Michael Lytle | AXS | 1.25 |
| 2 | 1 | Raymond Bell | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 2.75 |
| 3 | 3 | Olya Sinboyla | Hoger MMA | 3.25 |
| 4 | 4 | Cody Phillips | Bam Bam Martial Arts | 3.75 |
| 5 | 2 | Nick Felder | Gracie Barra Texas | 5 |
| Welterweight (170lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 4 | Alex Morono | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 1.25 |
| 2 | 2 | Eric Elliot | Metro Fight Club | 1.75 |
| 3 | - | Gil Moreira | Team Tooke | 4.5 |
| 4 | - | Jeremy Morris | 646 MMA | 5.25 |
| 5 | 5 | Hossan Walker | 5.5 | |
| Middleweight (185lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 1 | John Malbrough | Kingwood MMA | 1 |
| 2 | 2 | Patrick Bierschwale | West Side MMA | 2.25 |
| 3 | 3 | John Thibeault | 4 oz Fight Club | 2.75 |
| 4 | 4 | Terrance Ferguson | West Side MMA | 4.5 |
| 5 | 5 | Noel Ligon | Mousel’s MMA Academy | 5 |
| Light Heavyweight (205lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 2 | Andre Kavanaugh | 2 | |
| 2 | 3 | Jermaine Anugwon | Windy Sport & Fitness | 2.5 |
| 3 | 5 | Quan-Thien Nguyen | 3.5 | |
| 4 | 4 | Jason Sullivan | American Combative Systems | 3.75 |
| 5 | - | Steve Hess | 4.25 | |
| Heavyweights (206lbs+) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Drew Ratichek | American Combative Systems | 1 |
| 2 | 5 | Jay Ross | 2.75 | |
| 3 | - | Ellis Boyd | BVMMA | 3 |
| 4 | - | Tim Buchanan | Hoger MMA | 4.5 |
| 5 | - | Nicholas Castano | 4.75 | |
Andrew Craig should be #1 on this list. I realize he hasnt fought pro in houston yet, but hes the best 85er in the city, without question. Just my opinion, didnt want you guys to forget about him:)
Definitely have not forgotten about Andrew. I’d love nothing more than to see him (and a few others) fight here in town so we can include him in the list of fighters to be considered by the panel.
coach Jace i totally agree with ya on that!! and yall wait till ihave mma fights, im taking that #1 spot on welterweight division! BET THAT
Man… Gracie Barra is on a roll in H-town.
Houston has some great teams, but Gracie Barra The Woodlands is the #1 team to train with HANDS DOWN.
Now they have Ratinho coaching there on a full time basis… he is the 4 stripe black belt that coached Fabricio Werdum to the sub over Fedor.
It is just so complete there, the technical instruction and the master strategist, Prof. Robo in these guys corners, the addition to Adam Schindler, the experience of coach Tood Moore. I could go on and on…
You have coaches that get in the trenches… nuff said!
Also, Morono, Chaffee, and Bell are doing pro debuts in December! Watchout!
list getting better every time
Great list of rankings! No doubt Andrew will be on that list…very soon! Also, both Adam Schindler and Jared Chaffee are out of Gracie Barra Champions Forest which is part of the Gracie Barra North Houston group (Champions Forest, Woodlands, and Magnolia)…just FYI.
I have updated the list to reflect the proper gym. Thanks for the info.
Sounds fair but why is it that Melancon beats Jordan when Jordan won the fight against him.
I can’t speak for the panel and why each of them voted the way they did, but I can say that amateur fights probably didn’t factor into the equation.
Amateur fights are usually tune up fights that help guys get better so that when they go pro, they are seasoned and ready. A good example of this is Jonathan Harris. He was 1-2 as an Ammy, but is 4-0 as a pro and fighting for a title.
Just my 2 cents on why.
If Andrew was on the list, he would be at the top for sure IMO
Bobby Powers is not under UKA, I currently fight for 4oz. fight club, and instruct and teach at Windysport and fitness… could you please change the gym,
Tell Bobby Powers that I will take care of it.
I need to make you guys fill out a form from now on or something.
jon kirk is with 4oz also. he is on a 2 fight win streak since making the jump.
WOW!!!! thanks for putting me on the top of not just the 85er but as well as pound 4 pound man thats awesome….Jace i agree brotha he should be on top of the 85er list that guy is something serious deff some1 who shouldnt be forrgotten.
I know you guys put out these lists for discussion and i dont usually get involved bc i dont want to offend anyone, BUT since im 500 miles away on an oil rig and have nothing better to do…here is my two cents. Cody Phillips should be ahead of everyone on your 155 list, i dont think any of those guys above him could win a fight vs Cody. I dont know Cody personally so im not biased. Second, Eric garcia will be on your top five P4P list in the ammys soon. Dude is a BEAST and is just healing up from a Knee injury that sidelined him for months. I think him and cody will compete for the #1 spot at 55. Third, What happened to cory Allmand? Fourth, I think Adam Longoria retired and is done fighting, but i havent spoken to him in a while but last i heard he was done. Fifth, Angel Huerta!! haha i remember sparring with this kid about 4 years ago at kru pongs and then again at revolution, and then again finally with lewis wood at steel fitness back in the day, and ill i can say is…i knew that was going to happen. I knew once he decided to make the jump over to MMA from karate( i think he competed in the world combat leauge) that he would turn heads. Angel hits as HARD as any 55er out there, i know from experience and he is lighting quick…good luck to him. Lastly, i really dont see how anyone can be above Sam Hoger in the P4P rankings, I mean i know this is a forum mostly about up and coming fighters but come on, if you’re going to include Sam the you have to put him at the top…what other fighters on this list have the skills to compete agianst the likes of Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Forrest Griffin, Bobby Southworth and many other title holders and contenders in the worlds most dominant orginization? His list of opponents alone should be enough. However, i do feel that this is, and should be, a list about up and coming guys not guys that have already made it.
Like i said these are just my opinions, and are not intended to hurt or offend anyone
jace-
Good stuff Jace. I’ll look in to the Longoria thing. Thanks!
Thanks for putting me on the PFP list guys…but theres no way that i belong above Lytle and and maybe some others. Also for the record I train at ACS and 4oz fightclub… I am a 4oz fighter for sure.
Thanks for everything guys. going pro next month so itll be interesting to be in there with Taylor and Sam and Lewis and crowe and the boys. Some serious HW talant in houston.
Joe Trevino ….well deserved.
OK, I admit, I relaxed a little on the rule that we have here at TCD were we only list 1 gym per fighter, but it is back in effect!
1 gym per fighter.
All the request for updates are a good thing. In an effort to keep the site updated with the latest info, I’m going to create a “fighter update” form for you guys to fill out and submit. That way, once a month I can update the fighter database and keep things current. The form will allow you to submit updated info including your record (yes, you should update your wins AND losses), gym affiliation and more.
Sorry for the confusion guys!
I understand Barry. not asking for anything…just wanted to give credit where its due is all. i figured thats how it was.
all good. great work with the site….
I figured as much Drew. It wasn’t aimed at you per say. Just a blanket statement as I’ve gotten a few other request via txt and email also.
I would think the lack of activity for Phillips hurts his rankings, its been over a year since his last mma fight. He is one of my favorite fighters and a fight with him and Lytle would be an amazing fight. Also lack of quality opponents hurts Sam.All those fights you mentioned happened back in 07 and his last win against a high caliber opponent was 2005 against Jeff Newton, His last three fights were all fights he is suppose to win and he did. Hard place for him as there seems to be a lack of opponents that can match his high skill set .
4oz only has about 50 students yet we are on top of the list with 13 spots on the list (dont forget to count jon kirk,drew,bobby powers with 4oz). we have three guys on the pound for pound list and 10 different fighters on the list to begin with. nobody else can touch these numbers. the next closest school is gracie woodlands and they have probably 5 times the amount of students we have. pretty much this says that 1 in 5 members of the 4oz army are listed in the top 10 for their weight class in the city. not trying to be boastful but this is quite an accomplishment and speaks volumes for our fighters and trainers at 4oz. i would like to thank all the fighters ,members and coaches for all of their hard work. we will continue to evolve and improve and continue to dominate the local scene.
IVoz
Yessir!! I threw my name in the hat since im part of the 4oz army. It does say something serious about what youre doing and Im proud to have been accepted onto the team. There are far bigger things comming with more and more fighters joining the family some signing from more than 200 miles away. That says something for sure!!!!
Keep it up guys.
MACHINE GUN NATION ….#1
@ cagedoor. . . .. just curious why is edgar verdin #5 and the john king who beat him #6??? just wanna know and i thought verdin was gonna fight 185??
I wish I had a good answer for you, but that is just the way the voting happened. Every so often it will happen like that. As for Verdin at 185, I think that’s the plan, but his 1 fight was at 205, so that’s were he was slotted for consideration in the rankings.
I hear lightfoot and ike are fighting in dec for ixfa. Should be a good on.
If that’s true, that is going to be AWESOME!
I just returned back into the country. I always enjoy the rankings. It’s great having a community doing this for us. I’m a little bit away from getting back in the gym from my surgery. Jace Pitre I truely appreciate your comments. I’m busting my tail in the up coming months to leave no room for doubt. I hope this weekends race for the cure was a massive success.
Who are the local experts in MMA responsible for the rankings?
Easy to see that this web site has it’s favorites. They will always be at the top of the rankings. Doesn’t matter skills, history, technical ability and name. However in 90% of the time, the number ones in each weight class are the best for now. But for the other ones….bad criteria. Friends buddies and sponsors have strong voice here.
This list is a load of crap. Is this fight averages or just “favorites” – Post up some real results.
This is like Fox News vs CNN we can all clearly see who the favorite gyms and fighters are…..
@Fabian and @Kurt. Thank you for the feedback guys. We do the best we can do to be as fair as we can be. We understand we’ll never make everyone happy. Rankings will always be subjective, but we feel we have put together a quality and unbiased 6 member panel from around the Houston MMA scene. Further, our formula does a good job in weeding out any biased that may exist by eliminating the highest and lowest ranking for each fighter, producing a more accurate ranking result.
Did you have any specifics that you took issue with, or are you just generalizing?
Fabian and Kurt why don’t you guys compose your own list and post it in the forums. Remember the criteria, the must have fought in Houston in the last 2 years. I’m sure you will see that the experts have a difficult time. It would be interesting to see if some of your picks match theirs.
MACHINE GUN NATION ….#1
with not too many cards left in the year, how much longer before the new rankings are up?
I’m guessing Q4 should be at years’ end, meaning at the end of December. Just a guess though.
garcia promotions has their event, and ixfa will have an impact on the ratings im sure, so still a couple left
yeah i knew of a couple left. its hard to sit back and wait with so many guys that made debuts recently. just curious to see what everybody else was thinking
I’ll be sending out the list to the panel on Dec 5. I’m hoping to have it all back by Dec 12 and posted sometime that following week.
That’s the goal anyway!
Great to see Michael Lytle listed as number 1.Michael is going pro now,and hopefully he can soon show up under your pro list.
I wonder why the cage door doesn’t have Antonio Flores ranked in the 170lb division he has the IXFA belt and is 5-2 one of those losses was due to a torn ACL. I think he deserves to a least be ranked with a title. Also on the amatuer rankings Austin Franks is 4-2 and had a controversial split decsion vs. Alex Black which I think he clearly won that bout. Jason Frank is undefeated and is not ranked at all either. I wonder if this is political because it doesn’t make sense?
Peanut – For these rankings, I believe a fighter has to have fought in town within the past two years to be considered and that was Antonio’s first fight in the H in that time frame. I’m sure he’ll be on the next one.
Re: JDF – quality of opponents has got to be considered as part of the criterion, I’m sure.
Peanut – Mike is correct. It has nothing to do with politics. Antonio didn’t qualify for the Q3 rankings because he hadn’t fought in Houston until after the rankings came out. He will be eligible for the Q4 rankings. As for JDF and Austin Franks, I can’t speak for our 6 member panel on how or why they each vote the way we do, but rest assured, we do as much as we can to make the rankings as fair as we can.
When you think about it, it does us no good to alienate or exclude anyone, plus there is no reason to do so. If you’re interested in more details about how we come up with the rankings, I would invite you to follow the link at the top of the page.
BTW a fighter must have fought in Houston in the last 12 months to be eligible.
Barry – Thanks for the response I was just curious on how the rankings were done. I agree with most of them except the few in question. But you answered my question thanks.
Barry, since I had to hold that guy back in the crowd does that count for a fight in two years? It was at a sanctioned event in Houston?
LMAO Chris! I’ll see what I can do!! I Really can’t wait to see what happens at 205 in the pros…it’s a MESS!
Q4 Rankings should be out by Dec. 31.
Good call barry. im excited to see what happens at 205 also. Justin Ledet is clearly making his way into the scene as a contender…and even though i don’t care for some of the antics that surrounded his last fight and his new school….i knew that Justin was a talented fighter who would do well. Im looking forward to getting back in the mix at 205 and im really pumped to show houston what i can do at this weight.
After my last fight with terrence people weere suggesting some easy fights for me but trust me i don’t need that!! first off losing to terrence isn’t something that embaresses me…its how i lost and the fact that i was stupid. Terrence is very solid fighter and the guys not chump. i said before the fight that i believed he was the best fighter iv faced. BUT….that doesn’t mean my performance is representative of what i can do. 205 is a fun weight class right now…
Where my Boy ANTONIO F at?
I bet he’ll be on the next one!
Its almost christmas when are the Q4 rankings. Its almost Q1 2011 dam
Well, Q4 probably has to actually finish first, so most likely soon after
this.
Peanut, read about 4 comments up…”Q4 Rankings should be out by Dec. 31.”
Ballots have already been given out to the panel, but not all precincts have reported yet.
I understand that Amy but there are not anymore local events scheduled.