Written by HRHomer on May 6th, 2008

Welcome to the second monthly UFC Rankings on No Pants Provided.

Pretty simple format, NPP Forum members are invited to vote for their Top 5 Fighters in each UFC weight class. Fighters will then be awarded points relating to their votes (ie 1st place receives 5 points, 2nd 4 points etc). The only rules were that a fighter had to have fought in the UFC in the past 12 months.

A big thank you to everyone who voted and now on with the rankings. Last month’s rankings are in brackets.

UFC HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION

1 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (1)
2 Randy Couture (2)
3 Frank Mir (5=)
4 Fabrico Werdum (5=)
5 Andrei Arlovski (4)

Others receiving votes: Brandon Vera, Brock Lesnar, Tim Sylvia, Chieck Kongo, Gabriel Gonzaga

Interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture ran away with the heavyweight rankings, with neither being voted outside anyone’s top two for the second month running. Former Champion Frank Mir gained extra points this month, while another former Champion Tim Sylvia received very few votes, after leaving the company.

UFC LIGHTHEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION

1 Quinton Jackson (1)
2 Chuck Liddell (3)
3 Forrest Griffin (2)
4 Lyoto Machida (5)
5 Keith Jardine (4)

Others receiving votes: Rashad Evans, Shogun Rua, Matt Hammil, Thiago Silva

Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson dominates the rankings for a second successive month. Former Champion Chuck Liddell moves up to second place, but with Machida and Jardine fighting Tito Ortiz and Wanderlei Silva this month, this division’s very tight rankings could change in the next round of voting.

UFC MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION

1 Anderson Silva (1)
2 Rich Franklin (2=)
3 Dan Henderson (4)
4 Yushin Okami (2=)
5 Michael Bisping

Others receiving votes: Chris Leben, Nate Marquardt, Martin Kampmann, Nate Quarry, Demian Maia

Anderson Silva was once again voted the top Middleweight in the UFC, while Rich Franklin moves into second place on his own after a victory over Travis Lutter. Michael Bisping comes into the rankings after a dominating victory over Charles McCarthy.

UFC WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION

1 Georges St Pierre (1)
2 Matt Hughes (3)
3 Jon Fitch (4)
4 Matt Serra (2)
5 Josh Koscheck

Others receiving votes: Karo Parisyan, Diego Sanchez, Thiago Alves, Jonathan Goulet

After defeating Matt Serra to become the Undisputed Welterweight Champion, Georges St Pierre was the unanimous choice for the number one spot in the division. Serra’s defeat moves him down to fourth, while Matt Hughes and Jon Fitch both move up a place since last month’s rankings. Josh Koscheck come in fifth disposing Karo Parisyan after his loss to Thiago Alves.

UFC LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION

1 BJ Penn (1)
2 Sean Sherk (2)
3 Kenny Florian (5)
4 Roger Huerta (3)
5 Joe Lauzon (NR)

Others receiving votes: Tyson Griffin, Thiago Tavares, Nate Diaz, Joe Stevenson, Rich Clementi, Mac Danzig

Rounding out the month’s rankings and again there is no change at the top of the division. BJ Penn is the clear number one, and Sean Sherk is the clear number two. These two fighters will compete for the Lightweight title on May 24, so the voting change for next month depending on the result. Further down the rankings and Kenny Florian jumps up two places to third after stopping Joe Lauzon at UFN. Florian’s next fight will be against the number four ranked fighter, Roger Huerta, in August.