Top 50 Fantasy Running Backs

1. Jamaal Charles, Chiefs
2. LeSean McCoy, Eagles
3. Adrian Peterson, Vikings
4. Matt Forte, Bears
5. Eddie Lacy, Packers
6. Marshawn Lynch, Seahawks
7. Le’Veon Bell, Steelers
8. Giovani Bernard, Bengals
9. Arian Foster, Texans
10. Doug Martin, Buccaneers
11. Andre Ellington, Cardinals
12. Zac Stacy, Rams
13. DeMarco Murray, Cowboys
14. Alfred Morris, Redskins
15. Shane Vereen, Patriots
16. Reggie Bush, Lions
17. Ben Tate, Browns
18. Bishop Sankey, Titans
19. Montee Ball, Broncos
20. Frank Gore, 49ers
21. Ryan Mathews, Chargers
22. C.J. Spiller, Bills
23. Chris Johnson, Jets
24. Steven Jackson, Falcons
25. Trent Richardson, Colts
26. Stevan Ridley, Patriots
27. Toby Gerhart, Jaguars
28. Danny Woodhead, Chargers
29. Rashad Jennings, Giants
30. Joique Bell, Lions
31. Pierre Thomas, Saints
32. Maurice Jones-Drew, Raiders
33. Fred Jackson, Bills
34. Darren Sproles, Eagles
35. Carlos Hyde, 49ers
36. Knowshon Moreno, Dolphins
37. Khiry Robinson, Saints
38. Chris Ivory, Jets
39. Ray Rice, Ravens
40. DeAngelo Williams, Panthers
41. Lamar Miller, Dolphins
42. Bernard Pierce, Ravens
43. Tre Mason, Rams
44. Andre Williams, Giants
45. Darren McFadden, Raiders
46. Terrence West, Browns
47. Christine Michael, Seahawks
48. Donald Brown, Chargers
49. Jeremy Hill, Bengals
50. LeGarrette Blount, Steelers

Fantasy Football Rankings, Sleepers, And Busts

QUARTERBACKS:

1. Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos
2. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
3. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
4. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
5. Tom Brady, New England Patriots
6. Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
7. Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
8. Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins
9. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys
10. Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts

Sleepers: Matt Schaub (Texans), Andy Dalton (Bengals)

Busts: Colin Kaepernick (49ers), Joe Flacco (Ravens)


RUNNING BACKS:

1. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
2. Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks
3. Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens
4. Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
5. Alfred Morris, Washington Redskins
6. LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia Eagles
7. Arian Foster, Houston Texans
8. Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs
9. C.J. Spiller, Buffalo Bills
10. Montee Ball, Denver Broncos

Sleepers: Giovani Bernard (Bengals), Shane Vereen (Patriots), Bernard Pierce (Ravens), Zac Stacy (Rams)

Busts: Steven Jackson (Falcons), Darren McFadden (Raiders)


WIDE RECEIVERS:

1. Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions
2. A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals
3. Brandon Marshall, Chicago Bears
4. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
5. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys
6. Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons
7. Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos
8. Victor Cruz, New York Giants
9. Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers
10. Andre Johnson, Houston Texans

Sleepers: DeAndre Hopkins (Texans), Keenan Allen (Chargers), Aaron Dobson (Patriots), Kenny Stills (Saints), Alshon Jeffrey (Bears), Ryan Broyles (Lions)

Busts: Wes Welker (Broncos), James Jones (Packers), Greg Jennings (Vikings), Mike Wallace (Dolphins)


TIGHT ENDS:

1. Jimmy Graham, New Orleans Saints
2. Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
3. Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta Falcons
4. Vernon Davis, San Francisco 49ers
5. Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys
6. Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings
7. Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers
8. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers
9. Owen Daniels, Houston Texans
10. Martellus Bennett, Chicago Bears

Sleepers: Tyler Eifert (Bengals), Zach Ertz (Eagles)

Busts: Jermichael Finley (Packers), Jared Cook (Rams)


Remember to tune into The Sports Hub Fantasy Football Show every Sunday morning from 8-10am on 98.5 The Sports Hub.

The Sports Brief's MMA Rankings (2-5-09)

Heavyweight:

1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Brock Lesnar
3. Andrei Arlovski
4. Frank Mir
5. Josh Barnett
6. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
7. Randy Couture
8. Tim Sylvia
9. Alistair Overeem
10. Chiek Kongo

Gabriel Gonzaga, Shane Carwin, Ben Rothwell, Fabricio Werdum, Heath Herring, Aleksander Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop, Junior Dos Santos

Fedor remains on top with his win over Arlovski. Upcoming fights: Cain Velasquez is in action this weekend, Junior Dos Santos fights in 2 weeks at UFC 95, but next month at UFC 96 Gonzaga vs. Carwin. You got to wait until May for Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir II for the unification of the UFC Heavyweight belt.

Light Heavyweight:

1. Rashad Evans
2. Quinton Jackson
3. Lyoto Machida
4. Forrest Griffin
5. Chuck Liddell
6. Maurcio ‘Shogun’ Rua
7. Babalu Sobral
8. Wanderlei Silva
9. Keith Jardine
10. Thiago Silva

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Luis Cane, Tito Ortiz, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Vladimir Matyushenko, Brandon Vera, Jon Jones

Lyoto just beat Thiago in a top 10 showdown, and Bababu took down Soko and Lil Nog over the Janitor at Affliction 2. Upcoming fights: Rampage vs. Jardine in March. What? I don't get it either. Shogun and Iceman in April, barring injury. Some other good matchups as well including Luis Cane and Brandon Vera fight, but not each other.

Middleweight:

1. Anderson Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Rich Franklin
4. Robbie Lawler
5. Vitor Belfort
6. Yushin Okami
7. Gegard Mousasi
8. Michael Bisping
9. Nathan Marquardt
10. Thales Leites

Cung Le (Le had been in our top 10, but due to inactivity, we bumped him. The rational there being, we aren’t ranking Royce Gracie and Dan Severn, so Le will have to sit it out until he fights again.) Jorge Santiago, Matt Lindland, Denis Kang, Chael Sonnen, Paulo Filho, Frank Trigg, Patrick Cote, Frank Shamrock, Kazuo Misaki, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Demian Maia, Chris Leben, Ricardo Almeida, Ronaldo Souza

Besse and I can't make head or tails of this division outside of Anderson Silva. Hendo beat Franklin at 205, but Henderson will be a TUF coach vs. Bisping and fight him at 185. Leites gets the title fight with Silva. Belfort is more than back on the map after whoopin up on Lindland. Upcoming fights: UFC 95: Marquart vs. Wilson Gouveia and Chael Sonnen vs. Demian Maia.

Welterweight:

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Jake Shields
4. Thiago Alves
5. Josh Koscheck
t-6. Matt Hughes
t-6. Matt Serra
8. Karo Parisyan
9. Carlos Condit
10. Jay Hieron

Nick Thompson, Mike Swick, Marcus Davis, Drew Fickett

GSP retained the belt with a 4 round demolition over Penn. Next up for St. Pierre will be Thiago Alves. Jon Fitch got a decision win on the GSP/Penn undercard. Diego Sanchez drops off the list as he is heading to Lightweight. Upcoming fights: UFC 95 Josh Koscheck vs. Paul Thiago. Carlos Condit makes his UFC debut (as the WEC has stopped welterweight fights) taking on Martin Kampann at a Fight Night to start April.

Lightweight:

1. BJ Penn
2. Shinya Aoki
3. Eddie Alverez
4. Joachim Hansen
5. JZ Cavalcante
6. Josh Thomson
7. Tatsuya Kawajiri
8. Sean Sherk
9. Kenny Florian
10. Gilbert Melendez

Satoru Kitaoka, Takanori Gomi, KJ Noons, Nick Diaz, Victor Ribero, Joe Stevenson, Roger Huerta, Frankie Edgar

Penn loses to GSP, but he is still the best Lightweight in the world, regardless of what WAMMA says, Aoki beat Sanchez for that destinction. Diego Sanchez could make a splash when he faces Joe Stevenson. Gomi loses again to Kitaoka this time and is out of the Top 10 for the 1st time since we've done this. Where will Huerta fight next after leaving the UFC?

Upcoming Events:

UFC Fight Night 17 (Feb. 7th)

UFC 95 (Feb. 21st)

WEC 39 (March 1st)

UFC 96 (March 7th)

Dream 7 (March 8th)

The Sports Brief's UFC Rankings (7/14/08)

This will probably mark the final “UFC” Rankings here on the Sports Brief. On July 19th (this Saturday) Affliction launches their debut show with one of the best cards in MMA history, that features the likes of Fedor, Sylvia, Barnett, Rizzo, Arlovski, Rothwell, (best group of heavyweights ever assembled), Lil Nog, Vitor Belfort, Matt Lindland, Babalu, and others. We will change formats to an all MMA Ranking following that event. But for now here are the best fighters that the UFC have to offer.

Heavyweight:

1. Randy Couture
2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
3. Fabricio Werdum
4. Brandon Vera
5. Frank Mir
6. Heath Herring
7. Cheick Kongo
8. Gabriel Gonzaga
9. Brock Lesnar
10. Shane Carwin

No changes since last month. Gonzaga earned a win in UFC 86 over Justin McCully, but not one that will move him up. Check back next month as the boys from Affliction will dominate this weight class.

Light Heavyweight:

1. Forrest Griffin
2. Quinton Jackson
3. Chuck Liddell
4. Lyoto Machida
5. Wanderlei Silva
6. Maurcio ‘Shogun’ Rua
7. Thiago Silva
8. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
9. Keith Jardine
10. Rashad Evans

Forrest shakes up the light heavyweight division with his victory – controversial or not – over Rampage. Let’s hope there’s a rematch soon, but a number of intriguing matchups lie ahead. Liddell v. Evans in September and the return of Shogun, both Silvas and Machida will be exciting. Anderson Silva makes his debut at 205 this weekend, as does Brandon Vera, so it will be interesting to see what kind of players both are in this stacked division.

Middleweight:

1. Anderson Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Rich Franklin
4. Yushin Okami
5. Patrick Cote
6. Nathan Marquardt
7. Ricardo Almeida
8. Thales Leites
9. Chris Leben
10. Michael Bisping

Knocking on the door: Jason MacDonald, Nathan Quarry, Damain Maia

The Cote v. Almeida fight was underwhelming, disappointing and we almost wish it didn’t happen. But nonetheless, Cote is now in line for a title shot, which is baffling considering Silva v. Okami has been rumored. With Silva fighting on Saturday, you assume his next fight would be in September or October, leaving Cote waiting in the wings until the end of the year. He needs to take another fight like Thiago Alves did.

Welterweight:

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Thiago Alves
4. Josh Koscheck
t-5. Matt Hughes
t-5. Matt Serra
7. Diego Sanchez
8. Karo Parisyan
9. Mike Swick
10. Marcus Davis

Koscheck earned one of the bloodiest decisions ever over Chris Lytle in UFC 86. He’s entrenched in the middle of this weight class. GSP vs. Fitch for the title is coming on in August. If GSP wins look for him to face BJ Penn.

Lightweight:

1. BJ Penn
2. Sean Sherk
3. Joe Stevenson
4. Kenny Florian
5. Roger Huerta
6. Tyson Griffin
7. Clay Guida
8. Frankie Edgar
9. Nate Diaz
10. Gray Maynard

Knocking at the door: Spencer Fisher, Matt Wiman, Rich Clementi

Stevenson and Griffin both took home wins over a week ago. Not entirely familiar with lightweights in other organizations, but from all accounts they are better than everyone not in this top tier. Should be interesting to see the UFC continue to develop their 155 pound class.

The Sports Brief's UFC Rankings (6-13-08)

We here at The Sports Brief have decided to combine our individual UFC Rankings into one mega-power ranking that will be updated monthly. As of right now this is our list of Top 10 fighters in each of the weight classes recognized by the UFC. There is a great chance however, that after the unbelievably stacked Affliction card in July, which features such fighters as Fedor, Sylvia, Barnett, Rizzo, Lil Nog, Vitor Belfort, Arlovski, Matt Lindland, Babalu, and others we may change formats to an all MMA Ranking. But for now here are the best fighters that the UFC have to offer.

Heavyweight:

1. Randy Couture
2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
3. Fabricio Werdum
4. Brandon Vera
5. Frank Mir
6. Heath Herring
7. Cheick Kongo
8. Gabriel Gonzaga
9. Brock Lesnar
10. Shane Carwin

Couture is still our champ, so he is number one. The departures of Andrei and Big Tim really hurt this weight class, where a fighter who is 0-1 in the octagon can be ranked 9. Vera doesn’t fall much due to what we thought was an early stoppage vs. Werdum.

Light Heavyweight:

1. Quinton Jackson
2. Chuck Liddell
3. Lyoto Machida
4. Forrest Griffin
5. Wanderlei Silva
6. Maurcio ‘Shogun’ Rua
7. Thiago Silva
8. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
9. Keith Jardine
10. Rashad Evans

This division is tough to figure out since everyone has beaten everyone. I (Keefe) really like Shogun still, but his inactivity and loss to Forrest drop him to 6. You can make a number of intriguing match ups here. Rampage vs. Forrest finally comes next month. And one of the biggest questions for this weight class still remains, what organization will former champ Tito Ortiz sign with?

Middleweight:

1. Anderson Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Rich Franklin
4. Yushin Okami
5. Patrick Cote
6. Ricardo Almeida
7. Nathan Marquardt
8. Thales Leites
9. Chris Leben
10. Michael Bisping

Knocking on the door: Jason MacDonald, Nathan Quarry, Damain Maia

Like Tom Hanks, Anderson Silva is in a league of his own. He owns dominant victories over everyone he has faced in the UFC including close to half of this top 10. Rumors of a Spider vs. Iceman fight linger, and we wouldn’t object to that. Henderson against Franklin would be intriguing, but what do you do with the winner? Hendo/ Silva II or Franklin/ Silva III? Don’t think so.

Welterweight:

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Thiago Alves
4. Josh Koscheck
t-5. Matt Hughes
t-5. Matt Serra
7. Diego Sanchez
8. Karo Parisyan
9. Mike Swick
10. Marcus Davis

Alves didn’t make weight, but still the performances against Karo and Hughes vault him up the leaderboard. GSP fights Fitch for the title in August. Mike Swick looked very comfortable at 170 against Davis, and let’s hope we still see Hughes vs. Serra.

Lightweight:

1. BJ Penn
2. Sean Sherk
3. Joe Stevenson
4. Kenny Florian
5. Roger Huerta
6. Tyson Griffin
7. Clay Guida
8. Frankie Edgar
9. Nate Diaz
10. Gray Maynard

Knocking at the door: Spencer Fisher, Matt Wiman, Rich Clementi

Similar to the middleweight division it’s a one man weight class. B.J. Penn cemented himself as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in MMA after blowing through Sherk. Huerta vs. Ken-Flo is upcoming, but does Penn fight the winner or GSP? It’s shaping up to be a pretty deep division, solid Top 10 with good honorable mentions. Yes, we showed “Some Love” to Rich Clementi.

UFC Rankings (5-29-08)

-Keefe

I am so excited and nervous about the Celtics being up 3-2 in the series with the Pistons that I don't even know what to say. I don't want to jinx anything. Instead I will just watch Game 6 tomorrow night and try to enjoy it. To help take my mind off of the magnitude of that game, I've decided to update my UFC Rankings. Here is how I rank the best fighters in each weight class. Also I have added a fight I would like to see, that has not been scheduled, in each division.

Heavyweight:

1. Randy Couture
2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
3. Fabricio Werdum
4. Brandon Vera
5. Frank Mir
6. Gabriel Gonzaga
7. Heath Herring
8. Cheick Kongo
9. Brock Lesnar
10. Shane Carwin

Yes, I still have Randy Couture in the top spot. He is still the Champ right? But what a terrible division. The 9th best guy hasn't won a fight in the UFC and it was hard to find a 10th heavyweight at all. The loss of Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski quickly made this weight class one of the best to probably the worst. Don't worry, 40 year old Mark Coleman is coming back, not in August as planned though, he got hurt.

Fight I'd like to see: Randy Couture vs. Nogueira (chances I know unlikely)

Light Heavyweight:

1. Quinton Jackson
2. Dan Henderson
3. Maurcio ‘Shogun’ Rua
4. Chuck Liddell
5. Forrest Griffin
6. Lyoto Machida
7. Wanderlei Silva
8. Keith Jardine
9. Thiago Silva
10. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

This division is stacked. 10 quaility guys here with Rashad Evans and others knocking at the door. Tito Ortiz would still be on my list, but he confirmed that 100% he would move on. I'm going to miss Tito and feel that he has some great fights left in him. When was the last time Rampage fought? Damn reality shows kill some of these match ups. You can make lots of intriguing fights though from the light heavyweights.

Fight I'd like to see: Wanderlei Silva vs. Lyoto Machida

Middleweight:

1. Anderson Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Rich Franklin
4. Nathan Marquardt
5. Yushin Okami
6. Chris Leben
7. Patrick Cote
8. Jason MacDonald
9. Nathan Quarry
10. Michael Bisping

Not a lot has changed in the past month or so in the middleweight division. It's really Anderon Silva at the top then a serious drop off. Not sure what weight class Dan Henderson is going to stick to, if he'll stick to one at all. Leben vs. Bisping would have been awesome, you know, if Leben didn't have to go to jail. I'd still like to see it, but not as much as...

Fight I'd like to see: Dan Henderson vs. Rich Franklin

Welterweight:

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Matt Serra
4. Matt Hughes
5. Josh Koscheck
6. Diego Sanchez
7. Marcus Davis
8. Karo Parisyan
9. Thiago Alves
10. Mike Swick

Perhaps the deepest division in the UFC there are a ton of great welterweights. GSP has proven he is the cream of the crop, and maybe there is a potential GSP vs. Penn II in the works. Well first St. Pierre will face Jon Fitch. The rest of the guys in the top 10 all want shots at the title, but it may take some time. Less than two weeks away from Hughes vs. Alves and Davis vs. Swick. It'll be a great day for welterweights on June 7th.

Fight I'd like to see: Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra

Lightweight:

1. BJ Penn
2. Sean Sherk
3. Joe Stevenson
4. Kenny Florian
5. Roger Huerta
6. Tyson Griffin
7. Clay Guida
8. Spencer Fisher
9. Nate Diaz
10. Frankie Edgar

No question about it now, B.J. Penn is the best lightweight in the UFC. An impressive win over Sean Sherk proved that last weekend. The idea now is for Penn to face the winner of Florian and Huerta when those two fight in August. Will he fight GSP or the winner or both? Time will tell. I'm also not convinced anyone else can beat Sherk in this division. Looks top heavy to me.

Fight I'd like to see: Joe Stevenson vs. Nate Diaz

UFC Rankings (4/4/08)

-KeefeHere are my new updated rankings for the start of April. I waited for the Fight Night that certainly altered both the Welterweight and Lightweight divisions. Coming up on April 19th, the rankings will be changed once again with great match ups including St. Pierre vs. Serra and Rich Franklin vs. Travis Lutter. These are the top 10 fighters in each weight class in the UFC as I see them right now.

Heavyweight:

1. Randy Couture
2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
3. Tim Sylvia
4. Andrei Arlovski
5. Fabricio Werdum
6. Brandon Vera
7. Frank Mir
8. Gabriel Gonzaga
9. Heath Herring
10. Cheick Kongo


Light Heavyweight:

1. Quinton Jackson
2. Dan Henderson
3. Maurcio ‘Shogun’ Rua
4. Chuck Liddell
5. Keith Jardine
6. Forrest Griffin
7. Lyoto Machida
8. Wanderlei Silva
9. Tito Ortiz
10. Thiago Silva


Middleweight:

1. Anderson Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Rich Franklin
4. Nathan Marquardt
5. Yushin Okami
6. Travis Lutter
7. Chris Leben
8. Patrick Cote
9. Jason MacDonald
10. Nathan Quarry


Welterweight:

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Matt Serra
3. Jon Fitch
4. Matt Hughes
5. Josh Koscheck
6. Diego Sanchez
7. Marcus Davis
8. Karo Parisyan
9. Thiago Alves
10. Mike Swick


Lightweight:

1. BJ Penn
2. Sean Sherk
3. Joe Stevenson
4. Kenny Florian
5. Roger Huerta
6. Tyson Griffin
7. Clay Guida
8. Spencer Fisher
9. Nate Diaz
10. Frankie Edgar

UFC Rankings as of 3.6.08

-Bess


Heavyweight

1. Randy Couture
2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
3. Tim Sylvia
4. Brandon Vera
5. Fabricio Verdum
6. Andrei Arlovski
7. Frank Mir
8. Heath Herring
9. Chieck Kongo
10. Brock Lesnar


Notes: This division got better overnight for me, largely due to UFC 81. Brock Lesnar showed that while he’s got a serious hole in his game (jiu-jitsu, or lack thereof) he is a force on his feet and with his ground and pound game. But Mir’s conditioning and expertise on the mat reigned surpreme, and I’m looking for a Mir-Sylvia rematch. Couture stays up there for now; I’d love to see him fight Nog. If he wins there, he can go fight Fedor in a phone booth for all I care. He’ll have earned it.



Light Heavyweight

1. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
2. Dan Henderson
3. Lyoto Machida
4. Keith Jardine
5. Chuck Liddell
6. Forrest Griffin
7. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
8. Thiago Silva
9. Rashad Evans
10. Tito Ortiz


Notes: The Light Heavyweight landscape doesn’t change much as there were no significant fights in this weight class over the next month. That all changes at UFC 84 and 85. Rua is out in his match with Liddell, and “Sugah” Rashad has offered to sacrifice himself to the gods. The only question now is, who fights Thiago Silva? This guy has looked dangerous so far and I thought his fight with Evans would be a good test for both fighters. The Wanderlei-Jardine matchup is interesting because a win for the Dean justifies a title shot, yet a win for Silva will maintain relevancy in the sport.



Middleweight

1. Anderson Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Rich Franklin
4. Yushin Okami
5. Nate Marquardt
6. Patrick Cote
7. Travis Lutter
8. Dean Lister
9. Thales Leites
10. Chris Leben


Notes: Not a whole lot changes here for me, either. Silva is downright scary. I’m scared of him right now while I type this, and you should be shivering in fear as you read this. Poor Henderson is the second best fighter in two different weight classes after losing to both champions. How frustrating is that? Cote and Marquadt each looked impressive in wins over McFredries and Horn, respectively. But the men in front of them are too good to move out of the way. While Okami is still ranked 4th after his win over a still punch drunk Evan Tanner (no pun intended), I think he deserves a title shot here. Okami, aside from Cote, is the only guy in the top 7 that Silva hasn’t fought (or demolished). Leben, meanwhile, is the gatekeeper to the middleweight division. I love this guy. I wish he could fight every day, whether it’s in the Octagon, the middle of the street or by the back booth of a bar somewhere.



Welterweight

1. Georges “Rush” St. Pierre
2. Matt Serra
3. Jon Fitch
4. Karo Parysian
5. Matt Hughes
6. Josh Koscheck
7. Marcus Davis
8. Diego Sanchez
9. Josh Burkman
10. Mike Swick


Notes: GSP is the “interim” champ, and unless he gets caught again, he’ll dominate Serra in their rematch. Meanwhile, the UFC can exhale after Fitch, Koscheck and Sanchez all passed their tests at UFC 82. I thought Hazelett deserved more of a chance after dominating the first round over “Kos,” but oh well. Sanchez had his fire back, and I would love a rematch with Koscheck to settle that one. Parysian fights Thiago Alves at UFN 13 and needs a win to maintain any hopes of a title shot. Meanwhile, Fitch looks like he’s next in line. Why not a title eliminator?


Lightweight

1. B.J. Penn
2. Sean Sherk
3. Joe Stevenson
4. Roger Huerta
5. Kenny Florian
6. Clay Guida
7. Frankie Edgar
8. Tyson Griffin
9. Din Thomas
10. Joe Lauzon


Notes: Penn challenges Silva and St. Pierre for moniker of Best P4P in the World. This guy is so flexible he could suck a fart out of his butt. Can I say that here? Anyway, UFC 84 is a big night for this division, because if Penn wins, I seriously question whether he’ll stick around to clean out this division, which he should have no problem doing. Florian and Lauzon will be a good test for both men. While this division is stacked with depth and talent, I think there’s a significant gap between the top 2 spots and the rest of the division. It’ll be interesting to see if anyone else in the top 10 steps up as a legitimate threat for the title in 2008.