Mortis
The Saurus
Loyaler
I made Top 10 rankings for each division in the UFC. MMA and UFC fans, let me know what you think:
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Lightweight; 155 lbs.:
1) Frankie Edgar (12-1; 7-1 in UFC)
2) BJ Penn (15-6-1; 11-5-1 in UFC)
3) Gray Maynard (9-0, 1 NC; 7-0, 1 NC in UFC)
4) Kenny Florian (13-4; 11-3 in UFC)
5) Takanori Gomi (32-6; 1-1 in UFC)
6) George Sotiropoulos (13-2; 6-0 in UFC)
7) Clay Guida (27-11; 7-5 in UFC)
8) Joe Stevenson (31-11; 7-6 in UFC)
9) Sean Sherk (32-4-1; 4-3 in UFC)
10) Tyson Griffin (14-4; 7-4 in UFC)
Notes:
UFC 118 is a big event for the lightweights. Edgar and Penn have their rematch and Maynard and Florian will duke it out to see who gets the next crack at the title. Although, Gomi has only had 2 fights in the UFC, he has a wealth of experience, and was the top lightweight in the world at one point. He fell to the hands of Kenny Florian in his UFC debut, but came back to KO Tyson Griffin. Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson are both what I would call, "Gatekeepers".. those who are great fighters, but not quite good enough to get that title shot. Sean Sherk and Tyson Griffin are on their way out of my Top 10. Sherk hasn't fought in over a year, and Griffin is on an 0-2 run.
Fighters to Watch:
Ross Pearson (11-3; 3-0 in UFC), the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 9 has been showing that he's not just a reality tv champion. He's making waves and putting on impressive showings in his 3-0 run in the UFC. I think he's ready to take a step up in competition.. maybe against Gleason Tibeau or Spencer Fisher, to show us that he really belongs in the UFC.
Keep an eye on Evan Dunham (11-0; 4-0 in UFC)! He's always learning, and even has a win over Tyson Griffin (Griffin's on his way out of my Top 10, but I have in there still because of his experience over Dunham). Another win will throw Dunham into my top 10. He has a possibility to make a name for himself in the UFC.
Welterweight; 170 lbs.:
1) Georges St. Pierre (20-2; 14-2 in UFC)
2) Jon Fitch (23-3; 13-1 in UFC)
3) Dan Hardy (23-7; 4-1 in UFC)
4) Thiago Alves (16-7; 9-4 in UFC)
5) Matt Hughes (45-7; 18-5 in UFC)
6) Martin Kampmann (17-3; 8-2 in UFC)
7) Paulo Thiago (13-2; 3-2 in UFC)
8) Josh Koscheck (15-4; 13-4 in UFC)
9) Carlos Condit (25-5; 2-1 in UFC)
10) Dong Hyun Kim (13-0-1, 1 NC; 4-0, 1 NC in UFC)
Notes:
Josh Koscheck lost against Georges St. Pierre in 2007 for the title, but he has been trying to crawl back to get another chance. Losses from Thiago Alves and Paulo Thiago just about knocked him down a few pegs, but he will get his chance at redemption later in the year when he fights GSP for the title again. Jon Fitch has an outstanding record in the UFC.. but he doesn't look extremely impressive or entertaining in his wins. He hasn't finished anyone in 3 years. He is suppose to be in line soon for another shot at the title.
Fighters to Watch:
Johny Hendricks (9-0; 4-0 in UFC) is making an impressive run, it's time to step him up to tougher competition. A fight against Anthony Johnson would be the perfect test.
After losing his UFC debut to Carlos Condit, Jake Ellenberger (25-5; 2-1 in UFC) is now on a 2-0 win streak, showing that he has the stamina, nice heavy hands, and is improving as well.
John Hathaway (14-0; 3-0 in UFC) had an impressive decision victory over Diego Sanchez at UFC 114 in May. Hathaway is always improving. A fight against Carlos Condit would be a great test for both of them.
Middleweight; 185 lbs.:
1) Anderson Silva (27-4; 12-0 in UFC)
2) Chael Sonnen (25-11-1; 4-4 in UFC)
3) Nate Marquardt (29-9-2; 8-3 in UFC)
4) Demian Maia (12-2; 6-2 in UFC)
5) Yushin Okami (25-5; 9-2 in UFC)
6) Michael Bisping (19-3; 9-3 in UFC)
7) Chris Leben (24-6; 11-5 in UFC)
8) Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-2; 1-1 in UFC)
9) Alan Belcher (16-6; 7-4 in UFC)
10) Patrick Cote (13-6; 5-6 in UFC)
Notes:
This is a crazy division. It's like playing rock, paper, scissors, trying to rank this division. This guy beat that guy, but that guy beat the guy who beat the guy that he lost to... confusing, isn't it? The top 5 weren't too difficult, but 6-10 proved to be a bit more difficult. Leben is on a 3-0 run, but has loss to Jake Rosholt and Michael Bisping. Bisping lost to the aging Wanderlei Silva earlier this year, who is 2-5 in his last 7 fights. Bisping is 2-2 in his last 4 fights. Akiyama has yet to show what he can really do in the UFC, but a decision win over Belcher in his UFC debut put him in my top 10. Belcher takes a top 10 spot after his win over former title contender, Patrick Cote, who will suspect will be heading out of the top 10 spot very soon.
Fighters to Watch:
Even though Vitor Belfort (19-8; 8-4 in UFC) was schedule to have a title shot against Anderson Silva after his return to the UFC and defeating Rich Franklin, I am hesistant to put him in the rankings, since he has actually yet to compete in the middleweight division (Belfort and Franklin fought at a catchweight of 195 lbs.). He suffered an injury, but is now rumored to be in title contention again.
Gerald Harris (17-2; 3-0 in UFC) has been very impressive in his 3 victories in the UFC, showing his heavy hands and his strength by TKO'ing and slamming his opponent to victory, literally. Time to step up in competition.. give him Kendall Grove, Patrick Cote, or even Ryan Jensen for his next fight.
To be honest, I thought Mark Munoz (8-2; 3-2 in UFC) was one and done in the UFC after the highlight reel loss to Matt Hamill's head kick. But, I was wrong. He showed how much he improved after his impressive wins over Ryan Jensen and Kendall Grove. The only thing that kept me from putting him up in the top 10 this time around was he split decision loss over Yushin Okami at UFC Live 2 earlier this month. If he keeps improving, he has the potential to make a name for himself in the UFC.
Light Heavyweight; 205 lbs.:
1) Mauricio Rua (19-4; 3-2 in UFC)
2) Lyoto Machida (16-1; (8-1 in UFC)
3) Rashad Evans (15-1-1; 9-1-1 in UFC)
4) Anderson Silva (27-4; 12-0 in UFC)
5) Forest Griffin (17-6; 8-4 in UFC)
6) Quinton Jackson (30-8; 5-2 in UFC)
7) Thiago Silva (14-2; 5-2 in UFC)
8) Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-3; 2-0)
9) Rich Franklin (28-5; 12-4 in UFC)
10) Jon Jones (11-1; 5-1 in UFC)
Notes:
Rashad Evans is suppose to be next in line for a title shot, but I think the fans would rather see an Anderson Silva/Mauricio Rua fight. I know I would. I ranked Forest Griffin up higher than Quinton Jackson, because of Forest's deicision win over Jackson for the title in 2008. I find Thiago Silva to be on his way out on the top 10, soon, as Antonio Nogueria and Jon Jones move up, and if Rich Franklin doesn't get some quality wins instead of "super fights" soon, then he'll be heading out of my top 10 as well. I think a Jon Jones/Rich Franklin fight would be suitable.
Fighters to Watch:
Jason Brilz's (18-3-1; 3-2 in UFC) only losses were split decision losses, one against top light heavyweight contender, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, which I thought Brilz should have won. Next fight I would like to see Brilz take on, would be against Brian Stann.
Phil Davis (7-0; 3-0 in the UFC) has had a great start in his career so far, showing off what he can do and looking impressive doing it, though he's still a bit green and has a lot of room for improvement. That's one of the reasons that makes him dangerous. If the UFC really wants to test him, they should put him up against Thiago Silva. A Jon Jones vs. Phil Davis match up would be nice, too, but I think they are at different points in their career right now, so that would not be beneficial to the UFC.
Heavyweight; 206 lbs.-265 lbs.:
1) Brock Lesnar (5-1; 4-1 in UFC)
2) Shane Carwin (12-1; 3-1 in UFC)
3) Cain Velasquez (8-0; 6-0 in UFC)
4) Junior dos Santos (12-1; 6-0 in UFC)
5) Frank Mir (13-5; 11-5 in UFC)
6) Cheick Kongo (15-6-1; 8-4 in UFC)
7) Gabriel Gonzaga (11-5; 7-4 in UFC)
8) Mirko "Cro Cop" (27-7-2; 4-3 in UFC)
9) Roy Nelson (15-5; 2-1 in UFC)
10) Stefan Struve (20-4; 4-2 in UFC)
Notes:
Brock Lesnar showed that he can really take a beating after Shane Carwin's onslaught after Lesnar pulled out the 2nd round submission win. Carwin needs to work on his conditioning and work his way back up to title contention. Another win or two for Carwin should put him back into title contention after Velasquez takes his shot, and then Junior dos Santos behind him. Though, I want to see a Cheick Kongo vs. Gabriel Gonzaga fight. I had a hard time deciding who to put in the number 10 spot between Stefan Struve and Ben Rothwell. Rothwell has only had 2 fights in the UFc, though, going 1-1, even though he was the last IFL champion. Struve has proved that he belongs in the UFC, and he is a young kid with a lot of room to grow and he's improving in every fight. I could see Stefan Struve holding the title one day.
Fighters to Watch:
Joey Beltran (12-3; 2-0 in UFC) made his UFC debut earlier this year against Rolles Gracie as an late replacement. Not many people really gave Beltran a chance, simply because he was up against a Gracie, but he proved that this Gracie didn't belong in the UFC with a very decisive victory TKO in the 2nd round. Beltran went on to defeat Tim Hague by a decision. A fight against Ben Rothwell or Gilbert Yvel would prove that he belonged in the UFC if he were to defeat one of those two.
I didn't give Mike Russow (13-1, 1 NC; 2-0 in UFC) a chance against Todd Duffee at UFC 114 in May. There was a lot of hype around Duffee after taking the UFC KO record of 7 seconds over Tim Hague in his debut. The physique of Russow and Duffee couldn't be more different, either. Though, both similar in height and weight, Duffee looks like an NFL linebacker, Russow looks like a second rate professional wrestler. Russow took Duffee's beatings until Duffee began to tire and Russow saw his opening and delivered a hail mary KO for the win. He opened a lot of eyes that night.
I don't think that Todd Duffee (6-1; 1-1 in UFC) has really shown what he can do it, yet. He needs to work on his conditioning and not be so afraid at taking harder shots. He has a lot of strength behind those hands, and once he figures out how to utilize them in the long fight, then he can be a force in the heavyweight division. There's a lot of potential there that needs to be awakened.
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Lightweight; 155 lbs.:
1) Frankie Edgar (12-1; 7-1 in UFC)
2) BJ Penn (15-6-1; 11-5-1 in UFC)
3) Gray Maynard (9-0, 1 NC; 7-0, 1 NC in UFC)
4) Kenny Florian (13-4; 11-3 in UFC)
5) Takanori Gomi (32-6; 1-1 in UFC)
6) George Sotiropoulos (13-2; 6-0 in UFC)
7) Clay Guida (27-11; 7-5 in UFC)
8) Joe Stevenson (31-11; 7-6 in UFC)
9) Sean Sherk (32-4-1; 4-3 in UFC)
10) Tyson Griffin (14-4; 7-4 in UFC)
Notes:
UFC 118 is a big event for the lightweights. Edgar and Penn have their rematch and Maynard and Florian will duke it out to see who gets the next crack at the title. Although, Gomi has only had 2 fights in the UFC, he has a wealth of experience, and was the top lightweight in the world at one point. He fell to the hands of Kenny Florian in his UFC debut, but came back to KO Tyson Griffin. Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson are both what I would call, "Gatekeepers".. those who are great fighters, but not quite good enough to get that title shot. Sean Sherk and Tyson Griffin are on their way out of my Top 10. Sherk hasn't fought in over a year, and Griffin is on an 0-2 run.
Fighters to Watch:
Ross Pearson (11-3; 3-0 in UFC), the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 9 has been showing that he's not just a reality tv champion. He's making waves and putting on impressive showings in his 3-0 run in the UFC. I think he's ready to take a step up in competition.. maybe against Gleason Tibeau or Spencer Fisher, to show us that he really belongs in the UFC.
Keep an eye on Evan Dunham (11-0; 4-0 in UFC)! He's always learning, and even has a win over Tyson Griffin (Griffin's on his way out of my Top 10, but I have in there still because of his experience over Dunham). Another win will throw Dunham into my top 10. He has a possibility to make a name for himself in the UFC.
Welterweight; 170 lbs.:
1) Georges St. Pierre (20-2; 14-2 in UFC)
2) Jon Fitch (23-3; 13-1 in UFC)
3) Dan Hardy (23-7; 4-1 in UFC)
4) Thiago Alves (16-7; 9-4 in UFC)
5) Matt Hughes (45-7; 18-5 in UFC)
6) Martin Kampmann (17-3; 8-2 in UFC)
7) Paulo Thiago (13-2; 3-2 in UFC)
8) Josh Koscheck (15-4; 13-4 in UFC)
9) Carlos Condit (25-5; 2-1 in UFC)
10) Dong Hyun Kim (13-0-1, 1 NC; 4-0, 1 NC in UFC)
Notes:
Josh Koscheck lost against Georges St. Pierre in 2007 for the title, but he has been trying to crawl back to get another chance. Losses from Thiago Alves and Paulo Thiago just about knocked him down a few pegs, but he will get his chance at redemption later in the year when he fights GSP for the title again. Jon Fitch has an outstanding record in the UFC.. but he doesn't look extremely impressive or entertaining in his wins. He hasn't finished anyone in 3 years. He is suppose to be in line soon for another shot at the title.
Fighters to Watch:
Johny Hendricks (9-0; 4-0 in UFC) is making an impressive run, it's time to step him up to tougher competition. A fight against Anthony Johnson would be the perfect test.
After losing his UFC debut to Carlos Condit, Jake Ellenberger (25-5; 2-1 in UFC) is now on a 2-0 win streak, showing that he has the stamina, nice heavy hands, and is improving as well.
John Hathaway (14-0; 3-0 in UFC) had an impressive decision victory over Diego Sanchez at UFC 114 in May. Hathaway is always improving. A fight against Carlos Condit would be a great test for both of them.
Middleweight; 185 lbs.:
1) Anderson Silva (27-4; 12-0 in UFC)
2) Chael Sonnen (25-11-1; 4-4 in UFC)
3) Nate Marquardt (29-9-2; 8-3 in UFC)
4) Demian Maia (12-2; 6-2 in UFC)
5) Yushin Okami (25-5; 9-2 in UFC)
6) Michael Bisping (19-3; 9-3 in UFC)
7) Chris Leben (24-6; 11-5 in UFC)
8) Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-2; 1-1 in UFC)
9) Alan Belcher (16-6; 7-4 in UFC)
10) Patrick Cote (13-6; 5-6 in UFC)
Notes:
This is a crazy division. It's like playing rock, paper, scissors, trying to rank this division. This guy beat that guy, but that guy beat the guy who beat the guy that he lost to... confusing, isn't it? The top 5 weren't too difficult, but 6-10 proved to be a bit more difficult. Leben is on a 3-0 run, but has loss to Jake Rosholt and Michael Bisping. Bisping lost to the aging Wanderlei Silva earlier this year, who is 2-5 in his last 7 fights. Bisping is 2-2 in his last 4 fights. Akiyama has yet to show what he can really do in the UFC, but a decision win over Belcher in his UFC debut put him in my top 10. Belcher takes a top 10 spot after his win over former title contender, Patrick Cote, who will suspect will be heading out of the top 10 spot very soon.
Fighters to Watch:
Even though Vitor Belfort (19-8; 8-4 in UFC) was schedule to have a title shot against Anderson Silva after his return to the UFC and defeating Rich Franklin, I am hesistant to put him in the rankings, since he has actually yet to compete in the middleweight division (Belfort and Franklin fought at a catchweight of 195 lbs.). He suffered an injury, but is now rumored to be in title contention again.
Gerald Harris (17-2; 3-0 in UFC) has been very impressive in his 3 victories in the UFC, showing his heavy hands and his strength by TKO'ing and slamming his opponent to victory, literally. Time to step up in competition.. give him Kendall Grove, Patrick Cote, or even Ryan Jensen for his next fight.
To be honest, I thought Mark Munoz (8-2; 3-2 in UFC) was one and done in the UFC after the highlight reel loss to Matt Hamill's head kick. But, I was wrong. He showed how much he improved after his impressive wins over Ryan Jensen and Kendall Grove. The only thing that kept me from putting him up in the top 10 this time around was he split decision loss over Yushin Okami at UFC Live 2 earlier this month. If he keeps improving, he has the potential to make a name for himself in the UFC.
Light Heavyweight; 205 lbs.:
1) Mauricio Rua (19-4; 3-2 in UFC)
2) Lyoto Machida (16-1; (8-1 in UFC)
3) Rashad Evans (15-1-1; 9-1-1 in UFC)
4) Anderson Silva (27-4; 12-0 in UFC)
5) Forest Griffin (17-6; 8-4 in UFC)
6) Quinton Jackson (30-8; 5-2 in UFC)
7) Thiago Silva (14-2; 5-2 in UFC)
8) Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-3; 2-0)
9) Rich Franklin (28-5; 12-4 in UFC)
10) Jon Jones (11-1; 5-1 in UFC)
Notes:
Rashad Evans is suppose to be next in line for a title shot, but I think the fans would rather see an Anderson Silva/Mauricio Rua fight. I know I would. I ranked Forest Griffin up higher than Quinton Jackson, because of Forest's deicision win over Jackson for the title in 2008. I find Thiago Silva to be on his way out on the top 10, soon, as Antonio Nogueria and Jon Jones move up, and if Rich Franklin doesn't get some quality wins instead of "super fights" soon, then he'll be heading out of my top 10 as well. I think a Jon Jones/Rich Franklin fight would be suitable.
Fighters to Watch:
Jason Brilz's (18-3-1; 3-2 in UFC) only losses were split decision losses, one against top light heavyweight contender, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, which I thought Brilz should have won. Next fight I would like to see Brilz take on, would be against Brian Stann.
Phil Davis (7-0; 3-0 in the UFC) has had a great start in his career so far, showing off what he can do and looking impressive doing it, though he's still a bit green and has a lot of room for improvement. That's one of the reasons that makes him dangerous. If the UFC really wants to test him, they should put him up against Thiago Silva. A Jon Jones vs. Phil Davis match up would be nice, too, but I think they are at different points in their career right now, so that would not be beneficial to the UFC.
Heavyweight; 206 lbs.-265 lbs.:
1) Brock Lesnar (5-1; 4-1 in UFC)
2) Shane Carwin (12-1; 3-1 in UFC)
3) Cain Velasquez (8-0; 6-0 in UFC)
4) Junior dos Santos (12-1; 6-0 in UFC)
5) Frank Mir (13-5; 11-5 in UFC)
6) Cheick Kongo (15-6-1; 8-4 in UFC)
7) Gabriel Gonzaga (11-5; 7-4 in UFC)
8) Mirko "Cro Cop" (27-7-2; 4-3 in UFC)
9) Roy Nelson (15-5; 2-1 in UFC)
10) Stefan Struve (20-4; 4-2 in UFC)
Notes:
Brock Lesnar showed that he can really take a beating after Shane Carwin's onslaught after Lesnar pulled out the 2nd round submission win. Carwin needs to work on his conditioning and work his way back up to title contention. Another win or two for Carwin should put him back into title contention after Velasquez takes his shot, and then Junior dos Santos behind him. Though, I want to see a Cheick Kongo vs. Gabriel Gonzaga fight. I had a hard time deciding who to put in the number 10 spot between Stefan Struve and Ben Rothwell. Rothwell has only had 2 fights in the UFc, though, going 1-1, even though he was the last IFL champion. Struve has proved that he belongs in the UFC, and he is a young kid with a lot of room to grow and he's improving in every fight. I could see Stefan Struve holding the title one day.
Fighters to Watch:
Joey Beltran (12-3; 2-0 in UFC) made his UFC debut earlier this year against Rolles Gracie as an late replacement. Not many people really gave Beltran a chance, simply because he was up against a Gracie, but he proved that this Gracie didn't belong in the UFC with a very decisive victory TKO in the 2nd round. Beltran went on to defeat Tim Hague by a decision. A fight against Ben Rothwell or Gilbert Yvel would prove that he belonged in the UFC if he were to defeat one of those two.
I didn't give Mike Russow (13-1, 1 NC; 2-0 in UFC) a chance against Todd Duffee at UFC 114 in May. There was a lot of hype around Duffee after taking the UFC KO record of 7 seconds over Tim Hague in his debut. The physique of Russow and Duffee couldn't be more different, either. Though, both similar in height and weight, Duffee looks like an NFL linebacker, Russow looks like a second rate professional wrestler. Russow took Duffee's beatings until Duffee began to tire and Russow saw his opening and delivered a hail mary KO for the win. He opened a lot of eyes that night.
I don't think that Todd Duffee (6-1; 1-1 in UFC) has really shown what he can do it, yet. He needs to work on his conditioning and not be so afraid at taking harder shots. He has a lot of strength behind those hands, and once he figures out how to utilize them in the long fight, then he can be a force in the heavyweight division. There's a lot of potential there that needs to be awakened.
