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) – Another win and he proves a little more. Still lots of questions but many have already crowned him the greatest.
- Rashad Evans (UFC) – Finally gets his title shot… wait… what is that? Nope injury and timing get in the way yet again.
- Shogun Rua (UFC) – Looked fantastic against Forrest and is now lined up against Dan Henderson. That fight is 100% guaranteed fun.
- Lyoto Machida (UFC) – Slips into a title shot by process of elimination. Machida might just be a terrible match-up for the champ, only one way to find out.
- Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (UFC) – He really did look good against Jones but the reach was too much. 2-5 are so close on this list he has no choice but to fall.
- Dan Henderson (UFC) – Jumps back to the UFC light-heavyweight division to fight shogun. Oddly enough it might earn him a middleweight title shot.
- 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) – Wow, after beating Stann and making it look easy he goes out and calls Silva out in a loser leaves town match. Chael is back baby.
- Yushin Okami (UFC) – Okami will probably continue to fall as others string together wins. He is still a seriously competitive MW.
- Vitor Belfort (UFC) – Injury forces Belfort out of the Chung Le fight but he will be back soon enough. Trash talk with Sonnen could lead to a fight.
- Hector Lombard (Bellator) – I really don’t like having him at number 5 but wins are wins. I think a few guys below might be primed to jump him.
- Mark Munoz (UFC) – A win over Leban might put him in line for a title shot but lots of challengers think they are close.
- 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) – A win over Santiago is nice but it wasn’t impressive. Maia is a little stuck right now and needs to get a big one.
- Michael Bisping (UFC) – I think Bisping is just a touch higher than Stann right now. He needs to beat Miller though to stay relevant in a really stacked division
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) – Just powers his way through Hughes but that doesn’t do anything for his ranking.
- 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
- Jake Shields (UFC) – I was too hard on him last time. He is on a skid but Shields has some huge wins and deserves this spot.
Lightweight
- Frankie Edgar (UFC) – Finally shakes the 180 pound monkey off his back by TKOing Gray Maynard and solidifying himself as the man at 155 pounds.
- Gray Maynard (UFC) – Finally falls in my rankings but not far. This guy is still a beast at 155 and I don’t think we have heard the last of him.
- Gilbert Melendez (Strikeforce) – Dana wants him in the UFC and I think Melendez vs Edgar might be match of a century – book it.
- 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
- 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
- Joe Lauzon (UFC) – Big win over Melvin Guillard puts neck and neck with Guida. He definitely steals a lot of momentum from Guillard
- 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.
- Chad Mendes (UFC) – Mendes should likely be in line for a title shot but there is lots of talk of Aldo vs Edgar already, which might delay the unbeaten contender from getting his shot.
- 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.
- Kenny Florian (UFC) – Another tough lose for Florian and he falls down the ranks a bit. Who knows what is next for ken Flow
- 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.
- Marion Sandro (Bellator) – I was too quick to forget about him and he made himself a bit more unforgettable by wrecking Pat Curran
- Tyson Griffin (UFC) – He is primed to make a run in this division but there is a lot of talent making a name for itself.
- 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) – Another big one for Cruz. Can anyone stop this guy. He has topped 2-6 on this list already.
- 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) – Losing to one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world doesn’t drop you from number 6 in my book.
- 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) – Pickett might be one win away from making a serious case for a title shot in a division mostly wiped out by the champ.
- 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment