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) – Beating Brock Lesnar was impressive but it doesn’t make him jump Velasquez just yet.
- Josh Barnett (Strikeforce) – Lesnar is out so everyone moves up. 2012 promises a lot of shakeups in this division.
- 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.
- Frank Mir (UFC) – Ok ok ok, I have to give credit where credit is due. He took a beating and managed to somehow defeat Big Nog again.
- 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.
- Roy Nelson (UFC) – He looked better against Cro Cop than he had before and it looks like he is taking things a big more seriously.
Light- Heavyweight
- Jon Jones (UFC) – Jones looked mortal against Machida. He is going to be tested more and more now that people are getting tape and cracking the code.
- Dan Henderson (UFC) – He did just enough to pull off what might be the best fight 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) – Looked good in the first round and got caught in the second. Machida doesn’t actually slip down the list at all though.
- 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?
- Phil Davis (UFC) – The big fight with Rashad could shoot him up the ranks. He has a lot of potential but its time to put on his best showing yet.
- Alexander Gustafsson (UFC) – I love this kid. He has such a birght future.
- King Mo Lawal (UFC) – Davis gets a good booking and Gustafsson gets a good win. Mo needs stiffer competition.
- Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (UFC) – I think his body shots actually made Tito Ortiz cry. This guy is getting better against wrestlers and I think he is really dangerous.
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) – 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.
- 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) – Injuries rear their ugly head yet again and GSP is out for a long time. He won’t move from this spot though.
- Carlos Condit (UFC) – What a rollercoaster year. Now he fights Nick Diaz for the interim belt. It will be nice to see some of the top guys go at it while GSP heals.
- Nick Diaz (UFC) – Interim title is on the line. Diaz vs Condit has fight of the year candidate written all over it.
- Josh Koscheck (UFC) – Koscheck is good… really good. GSP’s injury might be the best thing that could happen for him as an interim title shot isn’t out of the question
- Jake Ellenberger (UFC) – Ellenberger smash! Another fighter that might be looking at the Diaz/Condit winner if he can get past Sanchez
- Johnny Hendricks (UFC) – Huge win for Big Rig. I confidently give him the big jump because he has all the tools to fight with the cream of the crop
- Jon Fitch (UFC) – To be honest, he is better than number 7 but with the long lay off and the quick KO, he has to fall for now.
- 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) Jake Shields could easily be right here for me but I want to see more from Shields in the UFC. Sanchez has a chance to make a huge jump by beating Ellenberger.
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) – Melendez is great but I am really tired of the hype. He needs to get a taste of the UFC lightweight shark tank if he is going to move up.
- Shinya Aoki (Dream) – Another win for the Japanese submission wizard but I would love to see him do it in the UFC because I suspect he wouldn’t be able to.
- 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) – The win over Guillard is only the tip of the iceberg. He is a great fighter with a solid career to this point
- Nate Diaz (UFC) – I think both Diaz boys are hitting their stride right now and Nate looked pretty good against the dynamic Cerrone.
- Clay Guida (UFC) – Guida didn’t look bad against Henderson he just didn’t have much for him.
- 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: Chad Mendes is up next and he is really really good.
- Chad Mendes (UFC) – Next in line for a shot. This guy has the tools to give Aldo a real problem.
- Kenny Florian (UFC) – It is hard to tell what is next for Florian but I really do think he is probably currently the third best fighter in the division.
- 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.
- Diego Nunes (UFC) – Nunes gets a big win in the invisible prelims but he is back to his winning ways and looking for a title shot in 2012.
- Pat Curran (Bellator) – Talented fighter with the world in front of him. He just needs to find consistency.
- Dustin Poirier (UFC) – Loads of potential and very entertaining, he has a lot of work to do but the initial results are good.
- Chang Sung Jung (UFC) – I have been really impressed with his last two wins. He is at a great camp and has his best days in front of him.
- Jimmy Hettes (UFC) – This kid is what I call a third generation grappler and I think he has all the tools for a really bright future.
- 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.
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 is moving down to Flywieght which means the next ranking list will look markedly different at 135 pounds
- 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) – Moving to 125 pounds in 2012 so we will see him move from this list and probably into the top 2 of the flyweight division.
- 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) – He is going to get a second chance at life in the UFC. I think the luster has been lost on this one though.
- 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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