Heavyweight
- 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.
- Cain Velasquez (UFC) – Finally slipped up against one of the best strikers the game has seen. He doesn’t slip far though.
- Alistair Overeem (Strikeforce) – The trash talk between the two scariest men in MMA has already begun. I’m for it!
- Brock Lesnar (UFC) – Lesnar didn’t sound good on the mic on FOX but he will hopefully look better in the cage.
- 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.
- 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
- 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
- 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.
- Rashad Evans (UFC) – There are too many people doing good things in the division for him to stay at 2 forever.
- 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?
- 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) – On the shelf a bit but that is ok. The spider will return and hopefully return in full form.
- 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.
- 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!
- 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.
- 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) – With high levels of competition elsewhere fighters will move up and down around him until he loses or gets bigger fights.
- 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?
- 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
- Luke Rockhold (Strikeforce) – As some fighters fall some must rise and the Strikeforce champion has done as much as anyone to rise.
Welterweights
- 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.
- 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) – Tough break getting his title shot taken from him. If he beats Koscheck there might not be a more deserving challenger in the world
- 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!
- Josh Koscheck (UFC) – Koscheck vs Condit is huge. Kos wont be able to just swing power shots till something lands this time around.
- Jake Ellenberger (UFC) – Ellenberger smash! Diego Sanchez might be next on the smash list.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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) – Guida didn’t look bad against Henderson he just didn’t have much for him.
- 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.
- Michael Chandler (Bellator) – Out of nowhere this guy comes out to beat Eddie Alverez and move to 9-0.
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) – Next in line for a shot. This guy has the tools to give Aldo a real problem.
- 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.
- 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 was not terribly impressed with his first UFC performance. He is going to have to do more than that to move up my list.
- Pat Curran (Bellator) – Talented fighter with the world in front of him. He just needs to find consistency.
- Diego Nunes (UFC) Will really need to bounce back in his next fight to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive division.
- Dustin Poirier (UFC) – Loads of potential and very entertaining, he has a lot of work to do but the initial results are good.
- 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.
- Marion Sandro (Bellator) – 3-2 and his last 5 fights is not enough to stop high in a division like this.
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.
- Urijah Faber (UFC) – I really thought Bowles would have more for him. Faber looked good though and he will get another title shot.
- Scott Jorgensen (UFC) – Back on the winning track, Jorgensen will look to keep his spot among the elite at 135 lbs.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- 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) – I really want to see something out of him because there are plenty of good fighters not making this list right now.
- Takeya Mizugaki (UFC) – I have all the time in the world for Mizugaki and am pulling for him to string together some wins.
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