Please note that due to an upcoming middleweight fight, Gegard Mousasi won’t be listed as he’s vacated the weight class. Also note that the last rankings (9/30/13) used an UFC style rankings system and while it won’t be used anymore, those final rankings will be in parenthesis:
~ 1 ~
Jon Jones (Champion)
Jon Jones had a great 2013 with a victory over Chael Sonnen following their coaching stints on The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 and a fight of the year performance against Alexander Gustafsson. Now he is set to fight Glover Teixeira at UFC 172 on April 26 in Baltimore, Maryland.
~ 2 (2) ~
Glover Teixeira
It was a long time coming but Glover Teixeira finally earned his title shot with Jon Jones at UFC 172 by winning all three of his outings in 2013 impressively against the likes of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, James Te Huna and most recently TUF Winner Ryan Bader.
~ 3 (1) ~
Alexander Gustafsson
Alexander Gustafsson only had one outing this year which was a fight of the year performance against UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones. He is now set to rebound in a fight Jimi Manuwa at UFC Fight Night 37 in London, England on March 8, 2014 over UFC Fight Pass.
~ 4 (3) ~
Rashad Evans
Ending the year on a good note was what happened for Rashad Evans when he beat Chael Sonnen. He is now set to face Daniel Cormier in his light heavyweight debut at UFC 170 before supposedly dropping down to middleweight.
~ 5 (4) ~
Phil Davis
Phil Davis had a “successful” year going 2-0 but his second win against Lyoto Machida was controversial due to the flaws of MMA judging.
~ 6 (5) ~
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
“Little Nog” had only one outing this year with a win over Rashad Evans. The rest of the year he was injured and is close to ineligibility now.
~ 7 (8) ~
Mauricio Rua
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua had a split year with a loss to Chael Sonnen but then a win against James Te-Huna at UFC Fight Night 33.
~ 8 (10) ~
Ryan Bader
TUF Season 8 Winner Ryan Bader had a good end to the year with a win over Anthony Perosh at UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Bigfoot.
~ 9 (7) ~
Chael Sonnen
Chael Sonnen was handed a loss to close out 2013 and is currently coaching TUF: Brazil, expected to face Wanderlei Silva afterwards.
~ 10 (6) ~
Dan Henderson
Sadly Dan Henderson probably had the worst year of his career with three losses. At 43 his MMA career is probably coming to a close.
Please stay tuned for the final rankings updates and the continuing End of Year Awards. Feel free to leave a comment!