MMA rankings: Daniel Cormier, Jon Jones on a collision course

Daniel Cormier, left, fights Alexander Gustasson.

By Todd Martin

Oct. 21, 2015 5 AM PT

The Los Angeles Times’ MMA rankings for October, as compiled by Todd Martin:

Heavyweight

Fabricio Werdum
Cain Velasquez
Junior Dos Santos
Stipe Miocic
Andrei Arlovski
Travis Browne
Josh Barnett
Ben Rothwell
Alistair Overeem
Stefan Struve

Josh Barnett returned triumphantly to Japan, where he competed for many years, defeating Roy Nelson via unanimous decision. Hopefully Barnett stays more active as the time is running out on his peak years as a fighter.

Light Heavyweight

Jon Jones
Daniel Cormier
Anthony Johnson
Ryan Bader
Alexander Gustafsson
Phil Davis
Rashad Evans
Glover Teixeira
Liam McGeary
Ovince St. Preux

In a classic bout, Daniel Cormier edged out a decision over Alexander Gustafsson to retain the UFC light heavyweight title. Now Cormier must ready himself for Jon Jones, who waits in the wings to reclaim the title and his mantle as the best pound for pound fighter in the sport. Ryan Bader set himself up for a future title shot as well with a decision victory over Rashad Evans.

Middleweight

Chris Weidman
Luke Rockhold
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza
Yoel Romero
Anderson Silva
Lyoto Machida
Vitor Belfort
Tim Kennedy
Michael Bisping
Gegard Mousasi

Gegard Mousasi falls in the rankings following a spectacular knockout loss to unranked Uriah Hall. Hall doesn’t have the resume yet to make the top 10 but has all the skill in the world and is likely to get the opportunity to make it into that category in the near future.

Welterweight

Robbie Lawler
Johny Hendricks
Rory MacDonald
Tyron Woodley
Ben Askren
Carlos Condit
Demian Maia
Hector Lombard
Dong Hyun Kim
Matt Brown

In a disappointing development, Johny Hendricks’ body turned on him as he tried to make weight for a fight with Tyron Woodley and the fight had to be cancelled. Woodley now is the most likely challenger for the winner of the Robbie Lawler-Carlos Condit UFC welterweight title fight while Hendricks may have to move up to middleweight.

Lightweight

Rafael Dos Anjos
Khabib Nurmagomedov
Anthony Pettis
Donald Cerrone
Ben Henderson
Eddie Alvarez
Gilbert Melendez
Tony Ferguson
Will Brooks
Beneil Dariush

Lightweights headline the UFC’s return to Ireland this weekend when Dustin Poirier takes on Irish native Joseph Duffy. Poirier has gotten credit in many circles for supposed improvement upon moving up to lightweight but he was an excellent fighter at featherweight who was doing plenty well there as well. Duffy was the last fighter to defeat the superstar Conor McGregor.

Featherweight

Jose Aldo
Conor McGregor
Frankie Edgar
Chad Mendes
Patricio “Pitbull” Freire
Max Holloway
Cub Swanson
Ricardo Lamas
Charles Oliveira
Daniel Straus

Featherweights headline the next major Bellator event, as Patricio Freire defends his Bellator featherweight title against Daniel Straus in a showdown between the fighters who have established themselves as the best in Bellator’s strongest division.

Bantamweight

T.J. Dillashaw
Dominick Cruz
Renan Barao
Urijah Faber
Raphael Assuncao
Bibiano Fernandes
Thomas Almeida
Aljamain Sterling
Marlon Moraes
Takeya Mizugaki

It was a drama filled month for T.J. Dillashaw, who left his longtime training camp at Team Alpha Male to train with the Elevation Fight Team in Colorado. This led to a big back and forth between Dillashaw and his former teammates. The sides still like each other but there is a lot of frustration and argument about things broke down. Michael McDonald falls out of the rankings due to inactivity.

Women’s Bantamweight

Ronda Rousey
Miesha Tate
Cat Zingano
Alexis Davis
Amanda Nunes
Sara McMann
Sarah Kaufman
Julianna Pena
Holly Holm
Jessica Eye

It wasn’t always pretty, but Julianna Pena picked up a unanimous decision win over Jessica Eye that allows her to enter the top 10. She is one of the more intriguing potential opponents for Ronda Rousey due to her history as a friend and protégé of longtime Rousey rival Miesha Tate.

Flyweight