MMA Rankings After: UFC Fight Night 29 Maia vs. Shields

#1 VELASQUEZ

HEAVYWEIGHTS:
#1 CAIN VELASQUEZ - UFC CHAMPION
#2 JUNIOR DOS SANTOS
#3 DANIEL CORMIER
#4 'BIGFOOT' SILVA
#5 TRAVIS BROWNE
#6 ALISTAIR OVEREEM
#7 FABRICIO WERDUM
#8 JOSH BARNETT
#9 FRANK MIR
#10 'MINOTAURO' NOGUEIRA

OTHER CONTENDERS: ANDREI ARLOVSKI, MARK HUNT, STIPE MIOCIC, ROY NELSON, GABRIEL GONZAGA

KHARITONOV is ineligible for inactivity. 

CONTENDER: SILVA

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS:
#1 JON JONES - UFC CHAMPION
#2 ALEXANDER GUSTAFSSON 
#3 LYOTO MACHIDA 
#4 RASHAD EVANS 
#5 DAN HENDERSON 
#6 CHAEL SONNEN
#7 'SHOGUN' RUA
#8 'MINOTORO' NOGUEIRA
#9 PHIL DAVIS
#10 GLOVER TEIXEIRA

OTHER CONTENDERS: RYAN BADER, 'RAMPAGE' JACKSON, THIAGO SILVA, WANDERLEI SILVA, RAFAEL 'FEIJAO'

#1 WEIDMAN

MIDDLEWEIGHTS:
#1 CHRIS WEIDMAN - UFC CHAMPION
#2 ANDERSON SILVA
#3 VITOR BELFORT
#4 LUKE ROCKHOLD
#5 'JACARE' SOUZA
#6 MICHAEL BISPING
#7 YUSHIN OKAMI
#8 MARK MUNOZ
#9 HECTOR LOMBARD 
#10 TIM KENNEDY 

OTHER CONTENDERS: CUNG LE, RICH FRANKLIN, LORENZ LARKIN, TOM LAWLOR, FRANCIS CARMONT

CONTENDER: PALHARES

WELTERWEIGHTS:
#1 GEORGES ST-PIERRE - UFC CHAMPION
#2 JOHNY HENDRICKS
#3 CARLOS CONDIT
#4 NICK DIAZ
#5 RORY MACDONALD
#6 MARTIN KAMPMANN
#7 JAKE ELLENBERGER
#8 JAKE SHIELDS
#9 DEMIAN MAIA
#10 ROBBIE LAWLER

OTHER CONTENDERS: ROUSIMAR PALHARES, JOSH KOSCHECK, JOSH BURKMAN, JON FITCH, BJ PENN

PALHARES enters the contenders list with his grimy submission win over PIERCE

#1 PETTIS

LIGHTWEIGHTS:        
#1 ANTHONY PETTIS - UFC CHAMPION
#2 BEN HENDERSON
#3 GILBERT MELENDEZ
#4 TJ GRANT
#5 GRAY MAYNARD
#6 MICHAEL CHANDLER - BELLATOR CHAMPION
#7 EDDIE ALVAREZ
#8 SHINYA AOKI - ONE FC CHAMPION
#9 JOSH THOMSON
#10 NATE DIAZ


OTHER CONTENDERS: KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV, PAT HEALY, JIM MILLER, MYLES JURY, REZA MADADI

#1 ALDO

FEATHERWEIGHTS:
#1 JOSE ALDO - UFC CHAMPION
#2 FRANKIE EDGAR
#3 RICARDO LAMAS
#4 CHAD MENDES
#5 PAT CURRAN - BELLATOR CHAMPION
#6 CUB SWANSON
#7 'THE KOREAN ZOMBIE'
#8 PATRICIO 'PITBULL'
#9 DARREN ELKINS
#10 HATSU HIOKI

OTHER CONTENDERS: CLAY GUIDA, DUSTIN POIRIER, NIK LENTZ, ERIK KOCH, DANIEL STRAUS

CONTENDER: DILLASHAW

BANTAMWEIGHTS:
#1 RENAN BARAO - UFC INTERIM CHAMPION
#2 URIJAH FABER
#3 MICHAEL MCDONALD
#4 EDDIE WINELAND
#5 SCOTT JORGENSEN
#6 BRAD PICKETT
#7 GEORGE ROOP
#8 BIBIANO FERNANDES - ONE FC CHAMPION 
#9 MARLON MORAES 
#10 MIGUEL TORRES

OTHER CONTENDERS: TYSON NAM, EDUARDO DANTAS, MARCOS GALVAO, TJ DILLASHAW, TRAVIS MARX

CRUZ is ineligible for inactivity

BOWLES is ineligible serving a suspension

DILLASHAW enters the contenders list with his stolen win over ASSUNCAO

#1 JOHNSON

FLYWEIGHTS:

#1 'MIGHTY MOUSE' JOHNSON - UFC CHAMPION
#2 JOSEPH BENAVIDEZ
#3 IAN MCCALL
#4 JOHN DODSON
#5 JUSSIER 'FORMIGA'
#6 DARRELL MONTAGUE
#7 TIM ELLIOTT
#8 LOUIS GAUDINOT
#9 JOHN LINEKER
#10 MIKIHITO YAMAGAMI 

OTHER CONTENDERS:  MAMORU YAMAGUCHI, YOSUKE SARUTA, RYUICHI MIKI, KENTARO WATANABE, SHINICHI KOJIMA

P4P KING #1 ALDO

POUND 4 POUND:
#1 JOSE ALDO - P4P KING
#2 JON JONES  
#3 GEORGES ST-PIERRE 
#4 RENAN BARAO
#5 CHRIS WEIDMAN
#6 ANDERSON SILVA
#7 'MIGHTY MOUSE' JOHNSON
#8 ANTHONY PETTIS
#9 CAIN VELASQUEZ
#10 ALEXANDER GUSTAFSSON 

OTHER CONTENDERS: FRANKIE EDGAR, BEN HENDERSON, GILBERT MELENDEZ, JOSEPH BENAVIDEZ, JUNIOR DOS SANTOS

CRUZ is ineligible for inactivity

UFC Fight Night 29: Maia vs. Shields Main Card Predictions

#9 Demian Maia -275 vs. #8 Jake Shields +225

Maia hasn't given me any reason not pick against him at welterweight so I'll go with Maia. Shields does present dangers but nothing that will skew me into picking him over Maia. The wrestling game of Shields shouldn't be a problem as Maia out grappled Fitch who's a better wrestler than Shields. Shields' cardio is a little suspect too and in a 5 round fight I would favor Maia the longer the fight goes.

Take Maia

#15 Erick Silva -265 vs. Dong Hyun Kim +215

Kim is a very strong welterweight and by far the best judoka in the welterweight division but I'd go with Silva. Silva has very good muay thai and very good submissions. He can fight at a pace that can pester the Stun Gun but he has to be on his heels because the Judo game of Kim can be hard to shutdown. 

Take Silva

#13 Thiago Silva -365 vs. Matt Hamill +290

Striker vs. Wrestler match; this time around go with the striker. Even though I'm picking Silva it's important to note that he was taken down repeatedly by the one and only wrestler he's ever fought, Rashad Evans. Hamill however is more content to trade and then go for takedowns which is why Silva is the smart bet. While they're exchanging Silva will connect more often than Hamill. 

Take Silva

Fabio Maldonado -155 vs. Joey Beltran +125

This fight is a toss up. If it's a polished stand up fight then I'd take Maldonado if its a brawl I'd go with Beltran. Maldonado tends to get caught up in these brawls that he ends up losing and Beltran's got himself a chin so I'd lean towards Beltran despite the odds. 

Take Beltran especially at underdog money

Mike Pierce -285 vs. Rousimar Palhares +230

Judging by how they've both been performing as of late I'd go with Pierce. This is Palhares' first fight at welterweight so its still a wild card on how he's going to perform there. Pierce however is going to be hard to takedown and he does have the power to end Palhares' night. To top things off Palhares does have a suspect chin being stopped in his last two fights.

Take Pierce

TJ Dillashaw -240 vs. #15 Raphael Assuncao +195

I am picking Dillashaw but there is value in picking Assuncao as well. Obviously team alpha male have all improved their stand up game and already generally have a good wrestling game but this is a step up in competition. Assuncao is a very good counter striker, has the superior ground game and is unbeaten at bantamweight. So there's something to think about

Take Dillashaw but tread cautiously