SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
April - 2015
19
No. 3: Thales Leites
No. 2: Vitor Belfort
No. 1: Chris Weidman
The most unlikely name to be ranked so high on
this list, Thales Leties is official a top-10 ranked
UFC fighter once more. Long known as a sub-
mission wizard, he seems to have developed le-
gitimate striking and knockout power since first
being let go. Leites’s depature was controversial
in and of itself, as it came after a split-decision
loss to Alessio Sakara. While that was his sec-
ond in a row, the first in that string was to then
champion Anderson Silva, and his overall UFC
record the first go around was a respectable
5-2. Not to be undersold, Leties amassed a 6-1
record outside the UFC before being welcomed
back. Since then he has gone 5-0, finishing his
last three, giving him an overall UFC record of
10-2.
It should come as no surprise that the No. 2
spot goes to the man who will be fighting for
the very title Silva lost, Vitor Belfort. Officially
ranked No. 3 at the time of publication, Belfort’s
only losses in what is now his third-run in the
UFC have come in two failed title bids, the first
to Silva and the second a short-notice fight with
Jones. His UFC career spans all the way back to
UFC 12, he’s a former UFC light heavyweight
champion, has knocked out his last three oppo-
nents, and is one of the few people who stand
as proof of Silva’s abilities. Because if you can
beat this guy, then you’re not overrated.
The saying you have to beat the man to be the
man stand no less true than it does for current
UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman.
Gimmicks, injuries and controversies aside, Wei-
dman solidified his position at the top of the
division by not only besting Silva twice, but
following it up with a dominant performance
against the always game Lyoto Machida. If we
measure a champion by the quality of his con-
tenders, then everyone else on this list of not
only a testament to how good Silva was, but
Weidman’s list is starting off much stronger with
the inclusion of Silva and Machida. The upcom-
ing bout with Belfort serves as a quality test for
both men: Can Weidman defeat Belfort as con-
vincingly as Silva did or were his fights with Silva
flukes and we’ll see his true faults?
