JimmyHatt,
Fair points. Here's the explaination...
60+ votes have come in during the last 2 months.
Ludwig is voted by the majority as #1.
Thomson is voted #5 with far fewer votes.
Calcualtion of each guy's record, based on the success of their opponents, their opponents, their opponents, so on down the line sees Luwig at #4 and Thomson at #23.
You are correct that Pulver's slide has had a decreasing benefit to Ludwig's profile but let's delve into a comparison...
Ludwig and Thomson have both won their last 6.
Ludwig's opponents and their records in their last 6 fights;
Cesar Moreno 1-5
Crazy Horse Bennett 5-1
Ressen Messer 1-1
Wildman Denny 5-1
Jens Pulver 4-2
Genki Sudo 5-1
Thomson's opponents and their records in their last 6 fights;
Victor Estrada 1-4-1
Doug Evans 0-6
Kajan Johnson 2-4
Rob McCullough 2-3
Gerald Strebent 4-2
Hermes Franca 5-1
When you add them up, you get:
Ludwig's opponents at 21-11
Thomson's opponents are 14-20-1
Ludwig has an advantage from the voters, and his stats are better as well. That's why he's 4 spots higher.
Yes Vazquez is likely retired. Being that the ranks are comprised of voters perspective on performance and acknowledgement of recent wins and losses, I guess Javier has enough ammo to get on the list.
The most likely scenario is Javy fading off the list soon though.
ttt
Deeznts,
You're welcome and encouraged to vote.
The majority doesn't see it like you do at the moment, but put your two cents in at www.mmaranks.com anyway.