Pound for Pound
1: Anderson Silva: For the past year three men have been almost interchangeable in MMA’s pound for pound rankings. However, with his second foray up to light heavyweight, former welterweight contender and current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has climbed the P4P mountain and firmly stuck a Brazilian flag in its peak. A masterful performance against former champ Forrest Griffin, that saw him weaving and ducking punches as if he were auditioning for the Brazilian version of The Matrix, firmly entrenches The Spider at the top of the pile. Should he topple power-puncher Vitor Belfort and follow up with successful rematches against Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt, his middleweight legacy will be cemented a promising career at 205lbs awaits. At this moment in time though one this is clear, no-one can touch Anderson Silva.
2: Fedor Emelianenko: What is left to be said about Fedor? Everywhere he’s gone he has taken on and defeated all comers, usually making it look like a walk in the park in the process. The last man to even slightly trouble him was Mirko Cro Cop four years ago…contrasting the pair’s recent fortunes paints a clear picture of exactly how good Fedor continues to be. With a recent decisive KO of Brett Rogers, the Russian nightmare continues to show that he has the ‘right stuff’ to come back from adversity put a stamp on his victories. There is little separating Fedor, Silva and GSP from the #1 spot – but should the Russian win again early next year he will no doubt continue the merry-go-round by becoming king of the mountain once again.
3: Georges St. Pierre: GSP is one of the best strikers, wrestlers and all-round athletes in the sport. One thing he’s not is the luckiest. He submitted to Matt Hughes with only a second left in the round and got caught by the sport’s biggest ever underdog (according to Vegas sports books) in Matt Serra. Still, few would complain about GSP playing second fiddle to Anderson Silva and Fedor in the P4P rankings. He may have fights with Dan Hardy and Josh Koscheck in the pipeline, but GSP appears to be more willing than ever to put the subjective pound for pound rankings to a physical test against Anderson Silva. Should that fight come off, it would undoubtedly be the most significant MMA fight of our generation.
4: BJ Penn: BJ’s ability has never been in doubt; however his commitment to staying in shape and properly preparing his mind and body for fights has been the cause of many questions. At UFC 101, Penn answered those questions. Gone was the BJ that gassed out in his first bout with GSP and his second with Hughes. Gone was the helpless fighter that was beaten-up over four rounds in his highly anticipated rematch with Canada’s hottest export. The BJ Penn we saw that night was the one that choked out Hughes the first time out, the one that blitzed Caol Uno in seconds and the one that picked apart and destroyed Sean Sherk over three rounds. A fighter who has truly put the term ‘pound for pound’ to the test, Penn has competed in no less than four weight classes in his career, holding wins from lightweight up to middleweight with a loss at 205 to Lyoto Machida. His most recent victory over Diego Sanchez sees him snatch the number 4 spot.
5: Lyoto Machida: The undefeated champion of perhaps the most talent-rich division in MMA, Lyoto Machida is knocking on the door of the exclusive lounge occupied by the sport’s top three pound for pound fighters. If Machida is going to prove that he’s the world’s best fighter then he’s certainly in the right place to do it…not since Quinton Jackson in 2007 has a lightweight champion successfully defended their belt, a testament to the division ‘The Dragon’ reigns over. While his first title defence against ‘Shogun’ was not the one-sided affair that many had predicted, Machida did just enough to earn the win. However, the Japanese-Brazilian export will have to go one better in a rematch next May before he is considered top-three material.
6: ‘Rampage’ Jackson: As outspoken as he is talented, Rampage has enjoyed a career resurgence since hopping back across the pond from Japan to the UFC in 2007. Winning five fights and becoming the first man to unify a division, when as defending UFC champion he defeated Pride title-holder Dan Henderson, Rampage holds victories over some of the best the UFC has to offer, with his sole UFC loss coming by way of a tightly contested decision against Forrest Griffin. With a return to the UFC to fight Rashad Evans firmly at the front of the former champ’s mind, ‘Rampage’ could be back in the title picture sooner rather than later.
7: Miguel Torres: A crushing defeat at the hands of Brian Bowls in August sees bantamweight king Torres plummet to 8th place on the pound for pound rankings. While many feel that Torres’ record is somewhat padded, he can only fight the people put in front of him and a lack of depth at 135lbs isn’t his fault. The fact still remains that even with the loss to Bowls, he has the best record in MMA outside of Fedor Emelianenko. Torres will be looking to resume his tear through the WEC’s most stacked weight class as soon as possible. If can recreate the form that saw him run through Tapia, Maeda, Mizugaki, and Beebe, he’ll stop newly crowned bantamweight champion Bowles supplanting him in the P4P list.
8: Dan Henderson: After a less than stellar start to his second UFC tenure, Hendo seems to have got his career back on track. Two high profile losses should not take away from what has been an otherwise outstanding career which has seen the California native fight up to two weight divisions above his natural home of 185lbs. Hendo was the first man to simultaneously hold titles in two weight classes and has a laundry list of defeated opponents that includes ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira, Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort and Rich Franklin. One of the most brutal KO’s in recent memory over middleweight contender Mike Bisping sees Hendo move back into pound for pound contention.
9: Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua: Mauricio Rua did not look good in his UFC debut. He didn’t look great in his win over Mark Coleman. His KO of Chuck Liddell didn’t really last long enough for anyone to form an opinion. Then came his polarizing bout against Lyoto Machida at UFC 104; one of his greatest, surpassed only by his ‘Fight of the Year’ against Nogueira back in 2005. Still relatively young and having seemingly overcome the problems caused by a lengthy lay-off and double knee reconstruction, the world could yet be Rua’s oyster. A victory against Machida in their rematch, set for next May, would see Shogun rocket up the P4P rankings.
10: Jose Aldo: The newly crowned WEC Featherweight champion makes an appearance on the P4P rankings as the world’s current top 145lb fighter. After making his mark on the WEC by finishing Alexandre Nogueira (the man who holds the record for the longest title reign in MMA with six years, eight months and two days), Aldo has steamrolled the division. After stopping Jonathan Brookins, Ronaldo Perez and Chris Mickle with strikes, Also earned his title shot with a spectacular 8-second KO of Cub Swanson in June. Many thought he would struggle with the heavy hands and wrestling strength of Mike Brown, but Aldo made the former champ look like an amateur, proving without a doubt that he deserves a spot in the P4P list.
