Heavyweight
- Cain Velasquez (UFC) – Set to fight on Fox in the biggest HW fight in the sport’s history (yeah I said it), Cain sits reigns supreme till proven otherwise.
- Junior Dos Santos (UFC) – Has the opportunity of a lifetime to prove that he is the best HW in the world on the biggest stage of all.
- Alistair Overeem (Strikeforce) – Pulled out of the tournament only to be lined up against Brock Lesnar. I’ll take it.
- Brock Lesnar (UFC) – Illness thwarts another fight for Lesnar. All eyes are on Brock to see if he can return.
- Josh Barnett (Strikeforce) – He has yet to be challenged in the Strikeforce tournament, walking through the semis. Another win and he may ruin Dana Whites plans all together.
- Daniel Cormier (Strikeforce) – I am higher than most on this guy. I think he has world beater potential but his size might be an issue in the UFC.
- Fabricio Werdum (Strikeforce) – Coming off a tough loss but he has been very impressive as of late. He only falls because of inactivity.
- Antonio Silva (Strikeforce) – This tournament is even good to its losers, placing them in high profile fights. Silva is good and we will find out how good very soon.
- Shane Carwin (UFC) – Carwin needs to stay active and needs a good match-up soon. Carwin and Mir are lucky I am totally disinterested in Fedor being top 10 now.
- Frank Mir (UFC) – Mir gets to prove it was no fluke against Big Nog and the fans are waiting for me to actually do something.
Light- Heavyweight
- Jon Jones (UFC) – There is no doubt that he is the number one LHW in the world but now the true test of a champion begins.
- Rashad Evans (UFC) – Looked good enough against Tito but no one is jumping on the war wagon for it. He waits his turn now.
- Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (UFC) – Still not sure why people are counting him out. Rampage has the tools to KO Jones so don’t sleep on this fight.
- Shogun Rua (UFC) – Shogun looked like a world-beater against Forrest but there are plenty of challenges ahead.
- Lyoto Machida (UFC) – Machida knocked Randy Couture into retirement with ease. He has a long road a head of him and it is getting crowded at the top.
- Dan Henderson (Strikeforce) – Beats Fedor in a flashy way but it doesn’t do much to help him in a top-heavy division. He needs to get back into the UFC.
- Muhammed Lawal (Strikeforce) – Looked good enough against Roger Gracie and will soon be testing himself in the UFC.
- Forrest Griffen (UFC) – Tough lose to Shogun but it happens to the best of em. Expect a long layoff now with his new child.
- Phil Davis (UFC) – Who knows what is next for this kid. One minute he is fighting and the next he is taking a long break. Tons of potential though.
- Alexander Gustafsson (UFC) – I am a little blown away by how under the radar this kid is. I’ll gladly put him in my current top 10.
Middleweight
- Anderson Silva (UFC) – Anderson Silva is the best fighter in the world and he will look to prove it at home when he meets Okami in Brazil.
- Chael Sonnen (UFC) – I guess since noone else has been stepping up in this division, Sonnen returns to number 2.
- Yushin Okami (UFC) – Okami looked bad. He looked really bad. I think he was scared or nervouse because that is the only way I can figure out what he did in the cage.
- Vitor Belfort (UFC) – A big KO win against Akyama earns him a spot in the top 5. He welcomes Cung Le to the UFC next and hopes to work towards a title shot.
- Hector Lombard (Bellator) – Has he fought anyone worth while? No but he wins and he has a belt around his waste.
- Mark Munoz (UFC) – Coming off his biggest win, Munoz will headline against Leban in a very winnable fight. This win could be huge.
- Brian Stann (UFC) – Stann is the man for now. Lets see if he can keep up the momentum against Sonnen
- Nate Maquardt (Some British Organization) – I don’t know what else to do with this guy. Hindsight is 20/20 so he has to be top 10 but what is next?
- Chris Leban (UFC) – Leban has a huge opportunity to shoot up the ranks with a win over Munoz. He needs to show up and show up big.
- Demian Maia (UFC) – Even off a lose this guy is good. Personally, I can’t wait to see him fight again.
Welterweights
- Georges St. Pierre (UFC) – Another fight and another win. Some still call for the Silva fight but that seems to be on hold for the moment.
- Jon Fitch (UFC) – I guess he gets to fight Johnny Hendricks next. That isn’t going to break him into the title picture but you can’t move a guy down who doesn’t lose fights.
- Carlos Condit (UFC) – Condit gets his title shot and the MMA world got real excited about it. He might be the biggest threat to GSP yet.
- Nick Diaz (Strikeforce) – Decided to no-show a presser and loses his title shot. Now he gets to fight BJ Penn, congrats Diaz!
- Josh Koscheck (UFC) – Koscheck might be the luckiest man in MMA right now. He picks up a very winnable, very high-profile fight against Hughes.
- B.J. Penn (UFC) – I gotta put him in the top 10. He is one of the most skilled fighters in the world but I would still rather see him at 155 pounds.
- Jake Ellenberger (UFC) – Ellenberger vaults up the ranks with a huge win over Shields. This is a legit threat to anyone at the top of the division.
- Martin Kampmann (UFC) – After a few conversations and some thought, I am going to give Kampmann more credit for the unjust lose to Sanchez.
- Diego Sanchez (UFC) – Injured and out of the fight with Hughes, Sanchez needs to get back into the cage and get a decisive win or he will fall out of grace quickly
- Rory McDonald(UFC) – On skill alone I would put him at number 5 right now, but he has to prove himself. He is getting a proper slow build though so it will take time.
Lightweight
- Gray Maynard (UFC) – The only non-UFC Champ at the top. Maynard has a win and a draw over the champ and is unbeaten as a pro.
- Frankie Edgar (UFC) – Will get another shot to beat Maynard and silence the critics that are still not sold he is the best LW in the world.
- Gilbert Melendez (Strikeforce) – Probably as good as anyone in the world at 155. We would all be better MMA fans if we got to see him fight the best.
- Eddie Alvarez (Bellator) – He might be overrated but he has a belt and is on a win streak. He won’t find the competition in Bellator to keep him here long though.
- Benson Henderson (UFC) – Bendo flies up the ranks with his win over Jim Miller. No one wants to fight this dude right now but Guida is gunna have to
- Melvin Guillard (UFC) – He is the real deal and now that he is fighting a lot smarter he has looked unstoppable. Whats next?
- Shinya Aoki (Dream) – I tend to think he is a bit overrated, especially after taking a beating from Melendez but his record speaks for itself.
- Jim Miller (UFC) – A tough lose to Bendo but he is still better than most. I don’t think it will be long before he is back to his winning ways.
- Dennis Siver (UFC) – Siver has been impressive but this division is just way too tight. He needs more fights and more wins
- Clay Guida (UFC) – His win over Pettis was a snoozer but it’s a win. He stays in the top 10 and gets a crack at Bendo on FOX.
Featherweight
- Jose Aldo (UFC) – Good News: He is 2010 fighter of the year and pound for pound rated. Bad News: Top UFC lightweights are moving down to Featherweight.
- Kenny Florian (UFC) – Gears up for his title shot and might be the stiffest test for Aldo to date.
- Chad Mendes (UFC) – This guy is no joke. 11-0 and hunting a title shot, look out for Mendes in 2012.
- Mark Hominick (UFC) – Not totally sure why this guy gets no respect I for one haven’t forgotten his heroic effort against Aldo and think he would be too much for most at this weight.
- Hatsu Hioki (UFC) – I fear that Roop is going to be a tougher test than most people think but Hioki needs to win big if he wants to remain relevant.
- Pat Curran (Bellator) – Good fighter with a good record. Bellator is strong at this weight class and he might be one of the strongest.
- Tyson Griffin (UFC) – Found success in his debut but will need to string together wins
- Diego Nunes (UFC) Will really need to bounce back in his next fight to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive division.
- Joe Warren (Bellator) – Is apparently dropping weight for his next right. I am a fan of people finding their weight and sticking to it.
- Dustin Poirier (UFC) – Loads of potential and very entertaining, he has a lot of work to do but the initial results are good.
Bantamweight
- Dominick Cruz (UFC) – Simply put, he has been more impressive than anyone at this weight over the last year. He is now pound for pound rated.
- Joseph Benavidez (UFC) – Benavidez doesn’t lose to people not named Dominick Cruz. Unfortunately that is the one guy he needs to beat to move up.
- Brian Bowles (UFC) – This is the one guy I would really like see get another shot. I have a lot of confidence in Bowles.
- Urijah Faber (UFC) – Will meet Bowles next and the winner will likely get a title shot.
- Scott Jorgensen (UFC) – Back on the winning track, Jorgensen will look to keep his spot among the elite at 135 lbs.
- Demetrious Johnson (UFC) – By process of elimination he is going to get the next title shot and its going to be on SpikeTV. This WILL be entertaining.
- Masakatso Ueda (Shooto) – He may only be on a two fight win streak but he is 12-1-2. Ueda seems to be improving with each fight.
- Miguel Torres (UFC) – Another set back has a lot of people wondering if Torres was ever as good as his billing.
- Brad Pickett (UFC) – Just one lose in his last 11 fights, Pickett will need to continue his exciting ways if he wants to move up from here.
- Takeya Mizugaki (UFC) – After some thought I have to give credit where credit is due. This guy never gets easy fights and he always brings it.
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