Shocking how quickly Japanese fighters have fallen(by the numbers)!

Wow

The following is from RobbyPark's rankings from Nov of 2006. It is a breakdown of where we (mmafighting.net) ranked the top 10 for each weight class by country.

Quote:

Nov of 2006

USA- 20

Japan- 18

Brazil- 11

Canada- 3

Russia- 2

Croatia- 1

New Zealand- 1

Belarus- 1

Korea- 1

Armenia- 1

Norway- 1

this does not have bantamweight

Quote:

July of 2010

USA: 37

Brazil: 17

Japan: 7

Only 4 above BW!

UK: 3

Armenia: 1 (2 if you count Gegard, who was born in Iran)

Canada: 1

Russia: 1

Netherlands: 1

Iran: 1

Denmark: 1

This is with bantamweight. Japan had 3 fighters ranked this year in the bantamweight class.

So if you take that class out(since we did not rank it in 06)...Japan would only have 4 fighters ranked! They went from 18 ranked fighters from Featherweight to Heavyweight in 2006 to only 4 now!

It looks like the USA has benefited the most from Japan's demise! Brazil has seen an uptick as well!

Interesting but it mirrors the decline in Japanese promotions who have died leaving their domestic mma a shell of its former glory. Likewise, the U.S. exploded with the UFC and the handful in Cokerforce.

Is Georgesssss now Canadia's only ranked fighter?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcapps953

Wow

The following is from RobbyPark's rankings from Nov of 2006. It is a breakdown of where we (mmafighting.net) ranked the top 10 for each weight class by country.

this does not have bantamweight

This is with bantamweight. Japan had 3 fighters ranked this year in the bantamweight class.

So if you take that class out(since we did not rank it in 06)...Japan would only have 4 fighters ranked! They went from 18 ranked fighters from Featherweight to Heavyweight in 2006 to only 4 now!

It looks like the USA has benefited the most from Japan's demise! Brazil has seen an uptick as well!

Yeah but that was when the board composition was probably half and half Pro UFC and Pro Pride/Japanese MMA.

Now the board is overwhelmingly Pro UFC. It's been that way for years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BruceLee

Yeah but that was when the board composition was probably half and half Pro UFC and Pro Pride/Japanese MMA.

Now the board is overwhelmingly Pro UFC. It's been that way for years.

Ok, but even if this board were more "pro pride/japan", how much would it change those rankings? Honestly how many Japanese fighters were left off the rankings by this board that legitimately deserve to be there according to you?

This topic really has nothing to do with being pro-ufc, but somehow you made it that with your comment. If you look at it objectively, it is quite obvious that MMA has fallen off in Japan and many of the Japanese superstars have either been exposed or dramatically dropped in the rankings due to no one but themselves. This is not because of people being suddenly more pro-ufc, it's because many japanese fighters have just failed to perform lately, plain and simple. Maybe you can argue 1 or 2 fighters that deserve a bit more credit in the rankings, but when you look at all the promotions is hard to realistically put some of these underachieving japanese fighters ahead of other fighters around the world who are exploding onto the scene.

It seems to me that nearly every heavily-hyped Japanese fighter to come to the UFC over the past few years has quickly lost to an American or Brazilian opponent. There really aren't that many Japanese competitors who rank top tier in North America.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BruceLee

Yeah but that was when the board composition was probably half and half Pro UFC and Pro Pride/Japanese MMA.

Now the board is overwhelmingly Pro UFC. It's been that way for years.

Our rankings were less "UFC heavy" then almost any of the other MMA rankings on the web!

I think it is a combination of our previous perception of Japanese mma, and a downcline of upcoming talent in Japan because of a downturn in MMA interest in Japan.