Author: Jeff Fox

By: Jeff Fox | June 20, 2018 May 25, 2018; London, UK; Phil Davis (red) fights Linton Vassell (blue) at SSE Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Flynn-USA TODAY Sports There is constant debate about fighter rankings, which are normally based on voting from a panel of journalists.  Such is the case with something as subjective as voting – it’s totally based on voter’s opinion, and biases are bound to seep through, whether intentional or no.  So to try to put a fresh, objective, data-driven spin on rankings, The MMA Manifesto has come up with a performance based ranking system, solely...

By: Jeff Fox | June 20, 2018 Matt Sayles, Anthony Hernandez, Ryan Spann and Dwight Grant were the big winners last night on the second installment of the second season of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series – the four were the top earning fighters and also snagged UFC contracts. Here are the fighter payouts, released by the Nevada Athletic Commission. Matt Sayles: $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 win bonus) Anthony Hernandez: $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 win bonus) Austin Springer: $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 win bonus) Ryan Spann: $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 win bonus) Dwight Grant: $10,000 ($5,000 to show,...

By: Jeff Fox | June 19, 2018 The estimated pay-per-view buyrate for UFC 225 have come in, and they are better than the original, erroneous report of 150,000.  But they’re still not that good.  Dave Meltzer reports that the event is estimated to have sold around 250,000 PPVs (including online streaming sales). This is actually a 100,000 increase over the first time Robert Whittaker fought Yoel Romero, which was at UFC 213 last July.  This may be in part due to the inclusion of a certain former wrestler named CM Punk on the card earlier this month. A quarter...

By: Jeff Fox | June 18, 2018 There is constant debate about the “official” UFC fighter rankings, which are based on voting from a panel of journalists.  Such is the case with something as subjective as voting – it’s totally based on voter’s opinion, and biases are bound to seep through, whether intentional or no.  So to try to put a fresh, objective, data-driven spin on rankings, The MMA Manifesto has come up with a performance based ranking system, solely based on how a fighter has performed in the cage.  Next up: The Women’s Featherweights & Bantamweights *stipulations: 1)...

By: Jeff Fox | June 18, 2018 Got this in my inbox today from the UFC: UFC PERFORMANCE INSTITUTE PUBLISHES GROUNDBREAKING ANALYSIS OF THE SPORT OF MMA Comprehensive New Study Examines More than 30,000 Performance Metrics and Data Points to Reveal Best Way to Train and Prepare for Mixed Martial Arts Competition Las Vegas, Nev. – To mark its first year of operation, the UFC Performance Institute Ò today unveiled the first-ever comprehensive study of the sport of MMA as published in a new 80-page journal entitled A Cross-Sectional Performance Analysis and Projection of the UFC Athlete. Part analytics...

By: Jeff Fox | June 18, 2018 So you think you know your MMA? You think you can predict who is going to win a fight and how?  Time to prove it. We present to you The MMA Manifesto Pick ‘Em contest.  We are now sponsored by McBryde Mats! We are McBryde Mats, a sports mat manufacturer that’s based out of Lubbock, Texas. Our CEO, Clayton McBryde, founded the company in 2014 after plenty of research and consideration into the mat market – Today we pride ourselves on making the best quality mats at affordable prices to keep athletes in all...

By: Jeff Fox | June 17, 2018 SINGAPORE – OCTOBER 18: Shinya Aoki of Japan (top) attacks Cody Stevens of United States of America during the One Fighting Championship Featherweight bout at Singapore Indoor Stadium on October 18, 2013 in Singapore. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images) As Ferris Bueller said: “Life in the MMA world moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”  Or something like that.   But fight announcements do come fast and furious these days, so it’s easy to miss them.  But don’t worry, The MMA Manifesto has got...

By: Jeff Fox | June 17, 2018 MMA Manifesto, Updates View the original article on MMA Manifesto: CES MMA 50 Event...

By: Jeff Fox | June 15, 2018 February 10, 2018; Perth, Australia; Mark Hunt defends against Curtis Blaydes during UFC 221 at Perth Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stewart Allen-USA TODAY Sports Who is the top earner in MMA in 2018?  We’ve crunched the numbers and have the answer. It is worth noting that these are only the reported salaries plus Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night bonuses that have been made public, plus the official UFC fight week incentive pay.  Many top performing fighters get additional bonuses paid out to them that aren’t reported, plus the top...

By: Jeff Fox | June 15, 2018 Jun 9, 2018; Chicago, IL, USA; Sergio Pettis (blue gloves) fights Joseph Benavidez (red gloves) during UFC 225 at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports There is constant debate about the “official” UFC fighter rankings, which are based on voting from a panel of journalists.  Such is the case with something as subjective as voting – it’s totally based on voter’s opinion, and biases are bound to seep through, whether intentional or no.  So to try to put a fresh, objective, data-driven spin on rankings, The MMA Manifesto has come...

By: Jeff Fox | June 14, 2018 Apr 21, 2018; Atlantic City, NJ, USA; Frankie Edgar (red gloves) fights Cub Swanson (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports As Ferris Bueller said: “Life in the MMA world moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”  Or something like that.   But fight announcements do come fast and furious these days, so it’s easy to miss them.  But don’t worry, The MMA Manifesto has got you covered.  Our  MMA  Fight Announcement Roundup will let you...

By: Jeff Fox | June 14, 2018 Oct 21, 2017; Gdansk, Poland; Conor McGregor reacts as Artem Lobov (red gloves, not pictured) fights Andre Fili (blue gloves, not pictured) during UFC Fight Night at Ergo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports Conor McGregor had his day in court today to address the “dolly” fiasco that went down this past April at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.  His legal team announced in court that they are working on a plea deal.  His next court date has been scheduled for July 26th. MMA Fighting was on the scene and captured...

By: Jeff Fox | June 13, 2018 UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs EdwardsJune 23, 2018 Singapore Indoor StadiumKallang, Singapore UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs Edwards Fight Card Fight Card Ranking (strength of card on paper based on our exclusive Pound for Pound fighter rankings) UFC Fight Night cards range between 7,800-4,200 points, with an average UFC on FOX card ranking 5,900 (click on fighter’s name for detailed scouting report) (fighter ranking based on our exclusive Performance Based Ranking system – click fighter’s rank to check out the list) Main Card (UFC Fight Pass/Fight Network – 8:00 am Eastern) Welterweights (five...

By: Jeff Fox | June 13, 2018 Apr 28, 2018; Rosemont, IL, USA; Fedor Emelianeko (red gloves) fights Frank Mir (blue gloves) during Bellator 198 at Allstate Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dave Mandel-USA TODAY Sports There is constant debate about fighter rankings, which are normally based on voting from a panel of journalists.  Such is the case with something as subjective as voting – it’s totally based on voter’s opinion, and biases are bound to seep through, whether intentional or no.  So to try to put a fresh, objective, data-driven spin on rankings, The MMA Manifesto has come up with...

By: Jeff Fox | June 13, 2018 Alonzo Menifield and Greg Hardy were the big winners last night on the first installment of the second season of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series – both were among the top paid and also earned UFC contracts. Here are the fighter payouts, released by the Nevada Athletic Commission. Alonzo Menifield: $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 win bonus) Chris Curtis: $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 win bonus) Greg Hardy: $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 win bonus) Montel Jackson: $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 win bonus) Kevin Holland: $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 win bonus) Dashawn Boatwright:...

By: Jeff Fox | June 11, 2018 Jun 1, 2018; Utica, NY, USA; Marlon Moraes (blue gloves) celebrates after defeating Jimmie Rivera (red gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Adirondack Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports There is constant debate about the “official” UFC fighter rankings, which are based on voting from a panel of journalists.  Such is the case with something as subjective as voting – it’s totally based on voter’s opinion, and biases are bound to seep through, whether intentional or not.  So to try to put a fresh, objective, data-driven spin on rankings,...

By: Jeff Fox | June 11, 2018 Mixed martial arts is as lonely, individualistic a sport as exists.  You enter a steel cage, the door gets locked behind you, and all that remains before you is your opponent and the referee.  No teammates, no coaches, no trainers.  You’re alone. However, outside of the cage (and in between rounds), a fighter is very much not alone.  While the actual competition is individualistic, the preparation for it is very much a team-oriented activity.  Behind every fighter is an endless line of coaches, trainers, training partners, nutritionists, therapists, and teammates.  Fight teams/camps...

By: Jeff Fox | June 10, 2018 Congratulations to Robert Oakes  for winning our UFC 225  Pick ‘Em Contest !  Next Pick ‘Em action of will be  UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs Edwards  on June 23rd.  Thanks for playing! Consensus Picks Robert Whittaker – 78%Rafael dos Anjos – 74%Holly Holm – 70%Tai Tuivasa – 85%Mike Jackson – 85% Consensus Overall Record in 2018: 51-33 (61%) UFC 225 Pick ‘Em Results 1 Robert Oakes 11 2 Edward Balli 10 3 SternFan74 9 3 Chris Rhodes 9 3 James Weise 9 6 Ryan A. MacDonald 8 6 Travis Parsons 8 6 Mark LeFevere 8 6 Dave...

By: Jeff Fox | June 10, 2018 Jun 9, 2018; Chicago, IL, USA; Mike Santiago (red gloves) fights Dan Ige (blue gloves) during UFC 225 at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports Mixed martial arts may not have reached its statistical revolution stage like other sports (and perhaps it never will given its primordial nature), but there is still plenty of good data out there.  So, following each UFC event, The MMA Manifesto will parse the numbers provided by FightMetric and target which pugilist enjoyed the best statistical night. Dan Ige (vs Mike Santiago) Key Stats:  outstruck opponent...

By: Jeff Fox | June 10, 2018 The UFC sent out this press release yesterday night: “ROWDY” RONDA ROUSEY MAKES HISTORY AS FIRST WOMAN SELECTED FOR INDUCTION INTO UFC® HALL OF FAME Las Vegas – UFC® today announced that former UFC and Strikeforce® women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s ‘Modern Wing’ as a member of the class of 2018. The 2018 UFC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Thursday, July 5, at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The event will be streamed live...