Arm Triangle Blog's Official MMA Rankings

Heavyweight

1. Junior Dos Santos (UFC) – It doesn’t get much more impressive than that. It took less than two minutes for JDS to set himself apart as the best of the big men.

2. Cain Velasquez (UFC) – Finally slipped up against one of the best strikers the game has seen. He doesn’t slip far though.

3. Alistair Overeem (Strikeforce) – The trash talk between the two scariest men in MMA has already begun. I’m for it!

4. Brock Lesnar (UFC) – Lesnar didn’t sound good on the mic on FOX but he will hopefully look better in the cage.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. Fabricio Werdum (Strikeforce) – Coming off a tough loss but he has been very impressive as of late. He only falls because of inactivity.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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

1. Jon Jones (UFC) – Another win and he proves a little more. Still lots of questions but many have already crowned him the greatest.

2. Dan Henderson (UFC) – He did just enough to pull off what might be the best firght in the sports history. That is enough to jump right to the front of the line

3. Shogun Rua (UFC) – Shogun was heroic against Henderson and did enough to get a draw in my book. I’d watch those two fight 100 times over

4. 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.

5. Rashad Evans (UFC) – There are too many people doing good things in the division for him to stay at 2 forever.

6. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (UFC) – He is getting called out left and right these days. Will he prove it’s a bad decision to call out RAMPAGE?

7. Muhammed Lawal (Strikeforce) – Looked good enough against Roger Gracie and will soon be testing himself in the UFC.

8. Forrest Griffen (UFC) – Tough lose to Shogun but it happens to the best of ‘em. Expect a long layoff now with his new child.

9. 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.

10. 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

1. Anderson Silva (UFC) – On the shelf a bit but that is ok. The spider will return and hopefully return in full form.

2. Chael Sonnen (UFC) – It looks like he will have to wait a little for Silva but this is certainly a fight a lot of people want to see.

3. Mark Munoz (UFC) – This guy has looked unstoppable lately. He respectfully requests a title shot and he might end up getting Sonnen instead. I’m for it!

4. Yushin Okami (UFC) – He gets to fight in Japan against Tim Boetsch and the pressure will certainly be on. It is time to get back on track.

5. 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.

6. Hector Lombard (Bellator) – With high levels of competition elsewhere fighters will move up and down around him until he loses or gets bigger fights.

7. 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?

8. 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.

9. 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

10. Luke Rockhold (Strikeforce) – As some fighters fall some must rise and the Strikeforce champion has done as much as anyone to rise.

Welterweights

1. Georges St. Pierre (UFC) – Got injured, got called out, changed his challenger. This is all very strange but Nick Diaz is next, be careful what you both ask for.

2. 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.

3. Carlos Condit (UFC) – Tough break getting his title shot taken from him. If he beats Koscheck there might not be a more deserving challenger in the world

4. Nick Diaz (Strikeforce) – After defeating BJ Penn with relative ease he trashtalked his way into a title shot. I feel bad for Condit but I’m for it!

5. Josh Koscheck (UFC) – Koscheck vs Condit is huge. Kos wont be able to just swing power shots till something lands this time around.

6. Jake Ellenberger (UFC) – Ellenberger smash! Diego Sanchez might be next on the smash list.

7. Martin Kampmann (UFC) – Kampmann finally gets the nod on a close one. Beating Story is big and now it looks like he has Alvez on deck.

8. Thiago Alvez (UFC) – If this kid can keep his weight down and keep improving the sky is the limit. Those are such big “ifs” though.

9. 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

10. 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

1. 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.

2. Benson Henderson (UFC) – I never thought I would put him here in front of Maynard and Melendez but no one wants to fight this guy right now. I’d bet on him against MMA Jesus right now.

3. 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.

4. Gilbert Melendez (Strikeforce) – Dana wants him in the UFC and I think Melendez vs Edgar might be match of a century – book it.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. Joe Lauzon (UFC) – Big win over Melvin Guillard puts neck and neck with Guida. He definitely steals a lot of momentum from Guillard

8. Clay Guida (UFC) – Guida didn’t look bad against Henderson he just didn’t have much for him.

9. Donald Cerrone (UFC) – I am finally on board with this guy. He is the real deal and I can’t wait to see him fight Nate Diaz.

10. Michael Chandler (Bellator) – Out of nowhere this guy comes out to beat Eddie Alverez and move to 9-0.

Featherweight

1. 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.

2. Chad Mendes (UFC) – Next in line for a shot. This guy has the tools to give Aldo a real problem.

3. Mark Hominick (UFC) – Every time I do this list I don’t get why he is so far down others’ rankings. Ohh well, I got all kinds of time for him.

4. Kenny Florian (UFC) – Another tough lose for Florian and he falls down the ranks a bit. Who knows what is next for ken Flow

5. Hatsu Hioki (UFC) – I was not terribly impressed with his first UFC performance. He is going to have to do more than that to move up my list.

6. Pat Curran (Bellator) – Talented fighter with the world in front of him. He just needs to find consistency.

7. Diego Nunes (UFC) Will really need to bounce back in his next fight to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive division.

8. Dustin Poirier (UFC) – Loads of potential and very entertaining, he has a lot of work to do but the initial results are good.

9. Bart Palaszewski (UFC) – Wrecked Tyson Griffin in one of the bigger upsets of the year. I like this guy and can’t wait to see him again.

10. Marion Sandro (Bellator) – 3-2 and his last 5 fights is not enough to stop high in a division like this.

Bantamweight

1. Dominick Cruz (UFC) – Another big one for Cruz. Can anyone stop this guy. He has topped 2-6 on this list already.

2. 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.

3. Urijah Faber (UFC) – I really thought Bowles would have more for him. Faber looked good though and he will get another title shot.

4. Scott Jorgensen (UFC) – Back on the winning track, Jorgensen will look to keep his spot among the elite at 135 lbs.

5. Brian Bowles (UFC) – Really came up short against Faber but he is still one of the best in the division. I have lots of time for him.

6. 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.

7. Renan Barao (UFC) – Out of left field this kid comes with a huge win and all the sudden I’m wondering if he should be the number one contender

8. 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.

9. Miguel Torres (UFC) – I really want to see something out of him because there are plenty of good fighters not making this list right now.

10. Takeya Mizugaki (UFC) – I have all the time in the world for Mizugaki and am pulling for him to string together some wins.

UFC on FOX in Retrospect

The program was 60 minutes and the fight was 60 seconds. It is probably the only thing that could have gone “wrong” for the UFC in their debut on FOX. Dana White isn’t shook though and neither are MMA fans. This is par for the course, the sport has quick finishes and the sport has snoozers right along with the epic battles and mind-blowing knockouts. Unlike most other sports, time is not structurally built into the contest. Even boxing’s use of larger gloves systemically inclines fights to be longer. But MMA has never been built on the premises of long epic bottles alone. Sure they pop up here and there and are strategically important to the sport but in the importance of the sport’s growth long fights fall somewhere behind bloodlust, international diversity, and fighter personalities on why exactly the sport is where it is today. Critics were chomping at the bit for a moment like this and they have it, but it doesn’t make any difference. UFC and FOX still have a seven-year contract. The company will continue to make money and the sport will continue to grow. Besides, for anyone who was truly interested in seeing longer fights and not just interested in having flashy lights in their face for an hour or only interested in names, there were nine fights on facebook previous to the FOX card, one of which was for a title shot and many of which were highly entertaining. In five years Junior Dos Santos vs Cain Velasquez will be remembered more for showing just how good Dos Santos is than it will for disappointing fans.

Which brings us to the cage. In the most highly anticipated fight in recent memory the competition came up short but the ramifications did not. Junior Dos Santos, despite his 7-0 run in the UFC previous to Saturday, was a relatively unknown. UFC on FOX was his big chance to shine and man did he shine. He looked like a killer, a special kind of puncher that scares people. He was fighting a previously unbeaten champion that had run through strikers, wrestlers, grapplers, and every hybrid in between and he decimated him in a minute. Oh, and as it turns out he did the whole thing with a torn meniscus, spending a lot of time on crutches the week before the fight. I feared that no matter what the injury these two would fight given the gravity of the event, but JDS didn’t seem to feel the effects much in his short time in the cage. The pressure is on Junior Dos Santos now to keep his belt and build its prestige. Personally, the unpredictability of MMA may be well documented, but I don’t see too many threats in the immediate future for the young man. The stage is set, JDS has emerged from the deadlock, and now the heavyweight division has a new target.

The heavyweight division might have a new hunt but the lightweight division has a new lead hunter. Benson Henderson defeated Clay Guida on his way to a February title shot against Frankie Edgar. Henderson won what some were calling a close decision but it appeared that Clay Guida had nothing to offer Henderson except a few stiff shots in punching frenzies, none of which put the number one contender in real trouble. Bendo however looked unstoppable and will provide a real threat to the champion in Japan. Hindsight is of course 20/20 and it would have been ideal to have this fight on FOX but the choices that were made were made strategically. I highly recommending finding this fight and watching it all the same. You won’t be disappointed and you will exactly what to expect come February.

UFC on FOX: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos

Let me start a little off topic by saying that I respect Manny Pacquiao and recognize that he is one of the greatest boxers of our generation, and perhaps all time. His skills truly are a marvel to behold. I am confident that he is going to put on a show en rout to defeating Marquez for the third time. And that is precisely why I have no intention of watching him so. On the other side of the combat sport coin there is another championship fight, one that is a little more dubious. Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez have run through the entire UFC heavyweight division on their way to what might just be the biggest MMA fight in history and dare I saw the biggest combat sport fight of the year. If this were Pacquiao vs Mayweather I’d be singing a different tune but it isn’t. This isn’t a showcase fight. This is a fight between two of the worlds best and it will be anything but predictable.

I almost feel as if I don’t have to write about don’t, and I honestly don’t, since anyone who knows me at all knows how I feel about this fight. I have told anyone who will listen that this is the biggest fight in MMA history, or at least could be. I can almost hear the eye rolling boredom right now saying spare us the same old build. There are two fights you need to know about and you need to watch tonight, two fights that threaten to emerge as fight of the year candidates and have serious implications of the future of their respective divisions.

Ben Hendeson (LW #5) vs Clay Guida (LW #10)

If this fight doesn’t somehow end early we are looking a frontrunner for fight of the century. Clay Guida gets a lot of flack for his wet blanket approach to some fights but if he does anything he pushes the pace. The great thing about Guida in this fight is that he usually has his most exciting fights against guys he can’t take and hold down: Enter Ben Henderson (pictured). Bendo (as he is affectionately called) is a great wrestler and probably the most athletic guy in the lightweight division. I don’t think it is possible to simply bully him around. The chance of a lot wild scrambles, scraps, sweeps and submission attempts is high so don’t blink. This should be a really good showcase for technical grappling and striking at a frenetic pace so watch and learn (and listen to Joe Rogan while they are grappling). Ohhh yeah, and if exciting fights aren’t enough for you – this one is for a title shot against Frankie Edgar. Guida and Bendo will close out the facebook portion of the card so log and full screen it.

UFC Heavyweight Championship – Junior Dos Santso (HW #2) vs Cain Velasquez (Champ – HW #1)

I have said it before and I will say it one more time: never before have two fighters cleared out their division to the extent that these two have. Between the two of them they have 14 wins in the UFC (7 each). They have finished 11 of those 14 fights (Cain – 6, JDS – 5). One could make the argument that between them only Velasquez has lost a single round in that time (and that round is questionable). Of the other 8 top 10 heavyweights in the world they have defeated 4 (by sherdogs list, 3 by ATB). Almost everyone on that list that hasn’t been beaten by the pair come from Strikeforce, who are only in the top 10 because many UFC fighters were thwarted by JDS and Velasquez. If these two men don’t deserve to be in the main event on the first ever UFC on FOX show, I don’t know who would.

In the cage this is going to be a classic striker vs grappler fight for the next generation of MMA, with all the intricacies the sport has to offer. Junior Dos Santos has an advantage on paper in the striking game but Cain Velasquez is no joke with his hands, especially as he uses his takedowns to set up strikes and vice versa. JDS is going to have to change his footing and his stance slightly with the threat of Velasquez’s takedowns and that change will become more detrimental if Cain finds success. On the other hand, JDS has proven he isn’t particularly easy to get down and he is very good at getting back up. Can he keep the distance and pick the champ apart once there though? The longer the fight goes, the more I think it favors the champion. In early rounds I think Dos Santos has his golden opportunity to put hands to face finish the fight but Cain is tough and has a really good chin. The later rounds favor a TKO stoppage or decision victory for the champ. Alas, the best part of this fight is that you could flip a coin and have a better chance of picking the winner than sitting here and breaking down every scenario. Maybe JDS has better cardio than I give him credit for. Maybe Cain has a great striking game plan that JDS will never expect. Maybe… Maybe… Maybe…. This is the biggest fight in MMA from a sport standpoint, a business standpoint, and quite possibly from an entertainment standpoint. The people love heavyweights and now they get to see the two best in the world finally clash.

The First Arm Triangle Blog Pound-for-Pound Ranking

These are going to change by the end of the year, probably more than once, but here goes my first pound-for-pound list.

1. Anderson Silva – The undisputed pound for pound king. Some still argue for GSP but the performances speak for themselves in my book

2. Georges St. Pierre – I want the old GSP back. The one that went out to win fights and earn a title shot. That guy had a killer instinct.

3. Dominick Cruz – I see him much further down most lists but consider this, no one else on this list has beaten the top 5 contenders in their division – Cruz has.

4. Jose Aldo – The hype train has slowed greatly as weight is becoming an issue but Aldo’s record speaks for itself.

5. Cain Velasquez – The unbeaten heavyweight champion of the world. What else do you want?

6. Jon Jones – If he keeps doing what he is doing he might be the greatest of all time.

7. Frankie Edgar – Other lists seem to be really high on this guy but the last time I checked he has only defended his belt twice and one of those wins was over a guy he already beat.

8. Junior Dos Santos – Dos Santos has run through everyone and now he has a chance to take a top 5 spot on this list by becoming heavyweight champ.

9. Jon Fitch – Love him or hate him Jon Fitch wins. In fact, all he does is win unless your name is GSP.

10. Gilbert Melendez – Tight race for number 10 but Melendez is for real. He might get a chance to prove how real in the UFC soon enough.

One Wild UFC 137

I wasn’t going to address this event at all but the fallout was just too relevant. UFC 137 was huge, ushering two legends into retirement and two champions got called out. And don’t sleep on a lightweight contender quietly emerging under a lot of radars.

Donald Cerrone (pictured) is on a six-fight win streak and his last two wins were first round finishes over highly touted lightweights. Before those fights, I was a little bit down on Donald Cerrone but readily retract my skepticism. Cerrone is fast, accurate and well rounded. He might be one win away from a title shot and in one of the most stacked divisions in the sport and he will meet Nate Diaz in December. The scariest part about Doland Cerrone’s rise in the UFC is his improvement. He gets better every single fight and the best is yet to come.

Calling out champions was the cool thing to do at UFC 137 and in at least one case it worked. Less effective challenges included Roy Nelson vaguely calling out whoever is the champion after the inaugural UFC on FOX event. Cheick Kongo then went on to say he wanted a rematch with “lucky” Cain Velasquez. So as to provide a little background, Kongo lost a three round decision to Velasquez where he rocked the future champion twice before being drug to the ground and beat on mercilessly. Nelson on the other hand played punching bag to current number one contender Junior Dos Santos for 15 minutes. Neither guy deserves a title shot at this point in their career but fighting each other makes a lot of sense; BOOK IT! While those two challenges fell well short of the mark, Nick Diaz (pictured) ruffled just enough feathers to change the landscape of the welterweight division. Apparently, GSP didn’t take kindly to being accused of faking an injury and requested a change in his next fight. The always-cool UFC Welterweight Champion has declared that he will beat Diaz worse than anyone has been beaten in the sport. Diaz looked pretty good against BJ Penn, taking shots early and beating down the mixed martial arts legend for the better part of the last two rounds. It would be easy to dismiss the win to Penn being past his prime but Diaz demonstrated just how effective his unorthodox boxing is, how far his cardio can carry him and how even one of the best grapplers in the game wanted no part of Diaz on the ground. Nick Diaz looked good enough and talked loud enough get his title shot and now he awaits the healing welterweight king. What is best, GSP has no excuse not return to that old killer instinct that he lacked over the last four fights.

Nick Diaz might be the talk of the town but long time MMA fans lament the retirement of two true legends of the sport. Newer fans may see Mirko Cro Cop as a washed up has been at best and perhaps this isn’t far from the truth. The common discourse regarding BJ Penn after the fight (note the stress on the word after) is that he is past his prime. Again, this is probably not far from the truth. Despite their recent lack of success both of these two fighters always brought it. They were not generators of boring fights and for those of us who were around for their respective primes, few caused as much buzz and delivered as much excitement as BJ Penn and Mirko Cro Cop. My hat is off to both these men and while I think there is a chance that BJ Penn returns down the road, both their careers should be remembered fondly.