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Best MMA Fighters Pound-for-Pound
by T.O. Whenham - 8/27/2009
With the summer drawing to a close, it's a good time to revisit our MMA pound for pound rankings of the best UFC fighters and best MMA fighters again. We are taking some risk by doing this just a couple of days before a UFC event, I guess, but there isn't anything on the dull UFC 102 card that is likely to change these rankings. Here's my latest ranking with previous ranking from June in brackets. Don't forget to check out my UFC betting predictions before every event.
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1. Georges St. Pierre (2) - Since our last rankings, St. Pierre fought Thiago Alves at UFC 100 in July. He won a unanimous decision despite fighting much of the fight with a groin injury. It was an impressive, dominant, powerful fight as well. St. Pierre is the most well-rounded fighter in the UFC, and probably the most exciting as well. The most impressive thing about him, though, is that he just seems to keep getting better the more he fights. There is a very good chance that St. Pierre can keep his title for as long as he is interested in keeping it.
2. Anderson Silva (3) - I had questions about Silva over his last few fights before his most recent one. He was still winning, but he had looked lethargic and uninterested, and he had been talking about thinking about retirement to the media back home in Brazil. Any concerns I had were totally eased earlier this month, though, when Silva absolutely decimated Forrest Griffin. Griffin is a good fighter, but he looked ridiculous as Silva knocked him out brutally in the first round. Like St. Pierre, it really appears that Silva can hold his title for as long he wants to. He's almost 35, so that might not be for much longer.
3. Lyoto Machida (4) - Machida hasn't fought since the last rankings, and won't hit the cage again until October when he defends his light heavyweight title for the first time against Rashad Evans. He's undefeated in his career, he hasn't shown many cracks, and he only keeps getting better and better. I'd love to see Silva gain some weight to fight Machida, and there are hints that that super fight could be possible.
4. Fedor Emelianenko (1) - Emelianenko hasn't fought since the last rankings, but he falls this far for one reason - he won't join the UFC. Affliction crumbled around him and left him homeless. The UFC threw all sorts of money at him, but Fedor hid behind some ridiculous demands and instead signed with Strikeforce. That's a minor league organization, and there isn't a real contender there for him to fight. If he truly wants everyone to believe that he is the fighter he looks and claims to be then he should want to fight the best fighters in the top organization. He won't, so I won't rank him as high as he otherwise deserves to be.
5. B.J. Penn (5) - Penn is another guy who gained some respect from me in his last fight. He faced the tricky Kenny Florian at UFC 101, and he absolutely dominated and outclassed him en route to a fourth round submission that was the best of the night. Penn is clearly and unquestionably the best lightweight around, and will be able to say that for as long as he can content himself with staying in the lower weight class instead of bulking up again to try for another shot in welterweght -- that’s where his heart seems to be.
6. Quinton Jackson (7) - Jackson hasn't fought since the last rankings, so he keeps his position here. We won't see him in the ring again until UFC 107 in December. I've been very impressed by how Jackson has bounced back from his legal problems last year. I do have to question where his focus is, though, and whether he will continue to be in top form when he fights. The problem is that he seems determined to become the next Hollywood star. He's had a number of small roles in films and on TV already, but he's taken that to the next level - he has been cast as B.A. Baracus in the upcoming remake of “The A-Team”.
7. Mike Brown (8) - Brown also holds his position because he hasn't fought since the last rankings. He was incredibly impressive in beating Urijah Faber twice, and is the top featherweight in the world. His likely next fight promises to be a great one - he'll probably face young sensation Jose Aldo in November. Aldo is 11 years younger than Brown, and is just as relentless as he is, so it could be another epic battle for Brown.
8. Brian Bowles (unranked) - Bowles comes onto this list for the way that he dispatched a guy that I thought was going to on this list forever - Miguel Torres. That bantamweight had amassed a stunning 17-fight winning streak, but that fell aside when Bowles shocked him in August with a first-round knockout. Bowles is undefeated in eight fights, and that win was the kind of victory that makes a career. Here's hoping that his next fight is a Torres rematch.
9. Jon Fitch (unranked) - I'm dropping Rashad Evans and Thiago Alves from the rankings, so that opens up room for Fitch, a guy who certainly deserves to be here. His only loss in his last 18 fights has come against St. Pierre, and that fight went the distance. Fitch is clearly the second best welterweight out there right now.
10. Brock Lesnar (unranked) - It may be a bit too early to rank Lesnar - he isn't ranked in most pound-for-pound rankings. Considering the trajectory the guy has been on, the way he thoroughly massacred Frank Mir last time out, and his strength compared to the rest of the weight class in the UFC, though, I don't see any reason not to rank him. The UFC should keep him away from the microphone but get him back into the cage again as soon as they can. It also needs to be factored in that despite the short length of his career he's already among the top draws the UFC has.
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