MMAPayout.com's 2007 Power Rankings

MMAPayout.com's 2007 Power Rankings are based on the following formula: gross pay-per-view revenue ($40 per buy) + gross live gate revenue. Fighters are credited only for pay-per-view events headlined in 2007. A minimum of two main events is required in order to appear on the list, resulting in the exclusion of Tito Ortiz, Quinton Jackson, Tim Sylvia, Georges St. Pierre, Michael Bisbing, Travis Lutter, Matt Serra, Yushin Okami, Gabriel Gonzaga, and Keith Jardine, as well as Dan Henderson.

MMAPayout.com's 2007 Power Rankings:

1. Chuck Liddell - $81.1 million (3 Events)*
2. Randy Couture - $48.7 million (2)
   
3. Anderson Silva - $38.3 million (2)
   
4. Rashad Evans - >$33.7 million (2)**
   
5. Wanderlei Silva - $32.5 million (2)***
   
6. Rich Franklin - $24.7 million (2)
   

*NOTE - Includes UFC 79 at an estimated 600,000 buys.
**NOTE - A complete pay-per-view estimate for UFC 78 is not yet available, however, it is believed to have done in excess of 325,000 buys. Therefore, Evans grossed is credited with at least $33.7 million in gross revenue.
***NOTE - Includes UFC 79 estimate as well as Pride 2/24 show which did 40,000 buys and a $2 million gate.

For comparison, here are the 2006 Power Rankings using the same criteria. Excluded from the list are Couture, David Loiseau, Forrest Griffin, Renato Sobral, BJ Penn, Anderson Silva, and Georges St. Pierre.

MMAPayout.com's 2006 Power Rankings:

1. Tito Ortiz - $102 million (3)
   
2. Chuck Liddell - $89.9 million (3)
3. Matt Hughes - $67.4 million (3)
4. Royce Graice/Ken Shamrock - $62.1 million (2)*
5. Rich Franklin - $27.6 million (2)

*NOTE - Gracie and Shamrock would not qualify for the list, but were so significant to business and so similar in drawing capacity that it seems to make sense to include them as a pair.

Cumulative rankings for the current boom period look like this:

MMAPayout.com's 2006-2007 Combined Power Rankings:

1. Chuck Liddell - $142.1 million (5)
2. Tito Ortiz - $120.6 million (4)
3. Randy Couture - $68.1 million (3)
   
4. Matt Hughes - $67.4 million (3)
5. Royce Graice/Ken Shamrock - $62.1 million (2)
6. Rich Franklin - $52.3 million (4)
7. Anderson Silva - $52.1 million (3)
8. Georges St. Pierre - $40.9 million (2)
   
9. Rashad Evans - >$33.7 million (2)
10. Wanderlei Silva - $32.5 million (2)*

*NOTE - Not including Pride PPV events from 2006.