It’s been a while since we updated these, so a lot has changed in the last several months. With several UFC cards in the books, as well as Strikeforce, Dream, Sengoku and Bellator putting on fights, there’s been a lot to process. But UFC 100 looms in the next month, so what better time than now to release our latest rankings.
One disclaimer is the ongoing issue in ranking fighters that are competing in multiple weight classes. The most notable are the likes of Nick Diaz, Wanderlei Silva, Gegard Mousasi, Rich Franklin, and Dan Henderson. While Silva, Franklin and Henderson seem to be settled, or settling, into new homes, Diaz and Mousasi, among others, are impossible to nail down at this time.
That being said, they’ve been included in multiple weight classes. For example, Mousasi has only had one fight outside of 185, so he’s still ranked 3rd there but also received an honorable mention in the 205lb weight class. The guy steamrolled his opponent in the super heavyweight tourney put on by Dream, and he’s taking on Sokoudjou in his next fight. Diaz, however, has fought at a catchweight in his last two contests. Who knows what class he falls into at this point, so you’ll see him as an honorable mention in both welterweight and middleweight. He could most likely be ranked in the top-10 of both, but he hasn’t exactly fought in either weight class recently either. We’ll have to wait and see where he settles, if he settles at all. I’m willing to bet he could give two middle fingers to our rankings, or anyone’s rankings for that matter. The guy just wants to fight you (yeah, you).
Heavyweight
1. Fedor Emelianeko
2. Brock Lesnar
3. Frank Mir
4. Josh Barnett
5. Antonia Rodrigo Nogueira
6. Randy Couture
7. Alistair Overeem
8. Shane Carwin
9. Cain Velasquez
10. Brett Rogers
Honorable Mention: Andrei Arlovski, Gabriel Gonzaga, Cheick Kongo, Ben Rothwell, Fabricio Werdum, Heath Herring, Aleksander Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop, Junior Dos Santos, Roy Nelson
This division will get another considerable shake up in the coming months, as our top-6 heavyweights will all be in action. It’ll almost resemble a tournament of sorts, with #1 v. #4, #2 v. #3, and #5 v. #6 in a consolation match of legendary former champions. Big movers are Carin, Velasquez and Rogers, all whom entered the top-10 with respective wins over top-10 opponents. Rogers may have been the most surprising with his blitz of former top-3 heavyweight Arlovski, who has dropped out after back-to-back KO losses.
By the way, am I the only person wondering and dying to know if Kimbo has already fought during the taping of TUF 10? Can’t help but be jacked up for that upcoming season.
Light Heavyweight
1. Lyoto Machida
2. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
3. Rashad Evans
4. Forrest Griffin
5. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
6. Renato “Babalu” Sobral
7. Luis Arthur Cane
8. Rich Franklin
9. Keith Jardine
10. Thiago Silva
Honorable Mentions: Gegard Mousasi, Chuck Liddell, Brandon Vera, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Tito Ortiz, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Vladimir Matyushenko, Jon Jones
Please note that while Wanderlei Silva is arguably still a top-10 205 fighter in the world, he’s gone from these rankings as he makes the transition to the middleweight division. More on that in a bit. Franklin, meanwhile, enters the fray after an incredible battle with “The Axe Murderer”. Nice to see “Ace” pull that one out. With a big frame, incredible strength and technical, well rounded, skills, Franklin will make for a lot of interesting fights at light heavyweight. And he could make a little run at the title while he’s at it. Anyone interested in a rematch between he and Machida, who handed him his first career loss, down the road?
Speaking of Machida, there’s no question he’s the top guy; it’s been a long time coming, and he has the potential to run this division for a long time. Interesting that Jackson chose to bypass a title shot to settle the score with Evans, who is fresh off an embarrassing KO loss in his first title defense. That will make for great TV. “Shogun” is the beneficiary, but you have to wonder how much of a challenge he’ll pose to Machida. Liddell drops out as he ponders retirement. He could probably still beat Tito, though.
Middleweight
1. Anderson Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Gegard Mousasi
4. Yushin Okami
5. Vitor Belfort
6. Robbie Lawler
7. Michael Bisping
8. Nate Marquardt
9. Demian Maia
10. Jorge Santiago
Honorable Mention: Cung Le, Nick Diaz, Wanderlei Silva, Matt Lindland, Denis Kang, Chael Sonnen, Paulo Filho, Frank Trigg, Patrick Cote, Frank Shamrock, Kazuo Misaki, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Chris Leben, Ricardo Almeida, Ronaldo Souza
Cung Le is still inactive. Anderson Silva fought (and tooled with) a bum. Robbie Lawler just lost to a welterweight (albeit a good one) by 1st round submission. For a division that is slowly growing in talent, there are still many questions to be answered. To start, Silva’s next fight is at 205 against Forrest Griffin. He’ll most likely retreat back to defend his title after Hendo and Bisping go at it. Okami, meanwhile, is the great question mark in that division, particularly from a UFC perspective. He’s the last man to beat Silva (on a DQ), and has more or less earned his stripes, winning every fight aside from a decision loss to former champ Franklin. Marquardt and Maia are knocking on the door, and a fight between those two would make for a great battle.
Meanwhile, Affliction will pit Belfort against Santiago on its next card. Santiago was a second choice after Mousasi declined to return to 185. Instead, he’s fighting in the super heavyweight tourney over in Japan, and he’s winning. What a psycho. Plus on the same Affliction card he takes on Top 10 LHW Babalu. We can keep him here for now, but if it may not be long before he’s entering another top 10. And Wanderlei still looms as he prepares to enter the middleweight division. His fight against Franklin could have gone his way, but it was a classic, and he showed that while he still takes abuse, he’s as a game a fighter as there is today. He’ll pose a threat to anyone in that division, including his newfound rival in “The Spider” (not to be confused with “Da Spyder”).
Welterweight
1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jake Shields
3. Thiago Alves
4. Jon Fitch
5. Paulo Thiago
6. Martin Kampmann
7. Josh Koscheck
8. Mike Swick
9. Matt Hughes
10. Carlos Condit
Honorable Mention: Nick Diaz, Dan Hardy, Marcus Davis, Matt Serra, Nick Thompson, Jay Hieron, Karo Parysian, Frank Trigg
St. Pierre is clearly the best welterweight in the world, but after watching Shield steamroll Lawler with his ground game, you have to wonder if he could pose similar problems to such a diverse, phenomenal athlete in GSP. We’ll probably never find out though. Alves, meanwhile, takes a stab at the gold at UFC 100.
As long as GSP doesn’t get “Serra’d” again, he should come out on top; it won’t be easy though. Thiago is still undefeated after knocking Koscheck’s block off, and if he takes out Fitch, we’ll have ourselves a legitimate contender. And Swick enters fresh off his relatively easy win over pseudo contender Ben Saunders; that was a mismatch from the start, and as Jake Rossen of Sherdog.com wrote over the weekend, you have to feel bad for Saunders, he was rushed by Dana White & Co. A couple guys to watch out for are Hardy and Trigg. “The Outlaw” is on the cusp after his ballsy win over “The Irish Hand Grenade”. He’s got pop in his hands and is tough as balls. Trigg, meanwhile, returns against Koscheck at UFC 101. Kampmann is in the mix, but he ducked a fight against TJ Grant on this weekend’s TUF Finale card. What a pussy, take the fight.
Lightweight
1. BJ Penn
2. Shinya Aoki
3. Eddie Alvarez
4. Kenny Florian
5. Joachim Hansen
6. Satoru Kitaoka
7. Tatsuya Kawijiri
8. Gray Maynard
9. Frankie Edgar
10. Diego Sanchez
Honorable Mention: JZ Cavalcante, Gilbert Melendez, Sean Sherk, Josh Thomson, Clay Guida, Nick Diaz, Joe Stevenson, Roger Huerta (where are you, Roger?), KJ Noons (probably with Roger)
It’s hard to honestly compare lightweights when a large portion of the echelon compete overseas. That’s what makes HDnet so valuable for hardcore MMA fans. The big fight coming up is the Penn-Florian showdown. Based on name alone, a lot of people are writing off “Ken-Flo”, but you have to like this matchup stylistically for him. It’s certainly more favorable than being smothered by Sherk for five rounds, plus he’s training with GSP; we’ll see if that reaps any rewards.
Kitaoka is a new addition (thanks to reading about him on Sherdog.com) and he’ll compete for Sengoku’s lightweight title in the coming months. Meanwhile, Kawijiri’s stock rises after his decision win over Cavalcante. Maynard’s next move will be intriguing, as well. After Edgar outboxed Sherk for three rounds, media members were calling for a potential title shot down the road. Lest we forget that Maynard outwrestled the wrestler Edgar for three rounds during their bout last April. “The Bully” has wins over Edgar, Jim Miller, Rich Clementi and Denis Siver. This guy is rolling through dudes. Perhaps we’ll see a rematch and the opportunity to challenge the Penn-Florian winner? Or will that go to Diego Sanchez or Clay Guida, following their headline bout this weekend? Many interesting matchups in the UFC.
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