Rankings
MMA Fighter Rankings by FiveOuncesOfPain.com founder and publisher Sam Caplan. Updated January 4, 2009.
Pound-for-Pound
- Anderson Silva - If you believed Silva was the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world before his fight vs. Patrick Cote at UFC 90, why would you think any less of him? Silva not only won the fight but absorbed virtually no damage. Allegations of showboating are not black and white and Silva has denied them. I am included to believe him because when has Silva ever shown blatant disrespect towards an opponent?
- Fedor Emelianenko - Based on pure fighting ability, a case could be made that Fedor belongs at number one. Is there a human being a live that can take him? The complaint against Fedor was that he wasn’t fighting top contenders. He answered the critics at Affliction: Banned in July when he destroyed Tim Sylvia in just 36 seconds. Emelianenko is set to defend his WAMMA heavyweight title on Jan. 24 during Affliction’s next show against another top-ten heavyweight in Andrei Arlovski. A dominant win over Arlovski could move him ahead of Silva.
- Georges St. Pierre - The dominant win over Jon Fitch was impressive but not enough to move him back up. Had he finished Fitch, things might have been different. But when you are talking top-ten pound-for-pound, finishes vs. decisions can make a huge difference. St. Pierre will get another chance to move up when he faces B.J. Penn at UFC 94 on Jan. 31.
- B.J. Penn - He is an amazing pure fighter and he’s fighting frequently again and dominating the way he’s supposed to. Wins over Jens Pulver, Joe Stevenson, and Sean Sherk are all considered quality victories. He has the ability and he once again has the credentials. There are those that believe Penn is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and a win over GSP at UFC 94 combined with a Fedor loss at Affliction II could move him into the number one slot.
- Miguel Torres - Torres is the most underrated fighter in MMA and made a huge jump in my top 10 following his amazing win over Yoshiro Maeda. Torres’ grappling ability is world class but his striking also is world class as well. How do you gameplan for a fighter that is world class in every possible area a fight can go? I don’t think there is anyone at 135 pounds that can touch this guy right now. Manny Tapia will try and give Torres just his second career loss during the WEC’s December event.
- Rashad Evans - Evans is 13-0-1 and holds the most prestigious title in all of MMA. He now holds notable wins over Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Chuck Liddell, Michael Bisping and a draw with Tito Ortiz. You can’t deny Evans his due.
- Forrest Griffin - The loss to Evans obviously hurt him, but not enough to move him out of the top ten completely thanks to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s loss to Frank Mir at UFC 92. Nogueira not only lost, but he did so in unimpressive fashion. And since his peak in PRIDE, Nogueira has not looked dominant since moving over to the UFC. As for Griffin, even though he lost, he performed well in the first two rounds of the fight vs. Evans making the call to keep him in the top ten over Nogueira an easy one. The decision to only drop him to seven wasn’t as easy, but I felt with Jackson having earned the right to move up that Griffin’s head-to-head victory over him this past July should count for something.
- Quinton Jackson - Jackson had returned to the list because of the fact that those previously ranked before him, such as Urijah Faber, have lost. However, after dismantling Wanderlei Silva with a big left hook at UFC 92, he’s back in the top ten because of his own actions.
- Lyoto Machida - Moving him into the top-ten became a no-brainer after his decisive win over Tito Ortiz at UFC 84. His resume is impressive, as he is undefeated and has wins over top ten fighters in my 185 lbs. and 205 lbs. rankings. From a pure fighting standpoint, Machida’s standup skills are strong and his ground skills are underrated. You may not like his fighting style, but you can’t deny the fact that he is without question one of the top fighters in the world.
- VACANT
| Heavyweight | Light Heavyweight | Middleweight |
|---|---|---|
| Fedor Emelianenko | Rashad Evans | Anderson Silva |
| Andrei Arlovski | Forrest Griffin | Rich Franklin |
| Josh Barnett | Quinton Jackson | Dan Henderson |
| Frank Mir | Lyoto Machida | Robbie Lawler |
| Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira | Chuck Liddell | Gegard Mousasi |
| Gabriel Gonzaga | Thiago Silva | Yushin Okami |
| Tim Sylvia | Wanderlei Silva | Nathan Marquardt |
| Brock Lesnar | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | Jorge Santiago |
| Randy Couture | Keith Jardine | Matt Lindland |
| Alistair Overeem | Renato Sobral | Kazuo Misaki |
| Welterweight | Lightweight | Featherweight |
|---|---|---|
| Georges St. Pierre | B.J. Penn | Mike Brown |
| Jake Shields | Shinya Aoki | Leonard Garcia |
| Thiago Alves | Eddie Alvarez | Urijah Faber |
| Jon Fitch | Gesias Calvancante | Norifumi Yamamoto |
| Josh Koscheck | Joachim Hansen | Dokonjonsuke Mishima |
| Matt Hughes | Tatsuya Kawajiri | Wagnney Fabiano |
| Carlos Condit | Kenny Florian | Hatsu Hioki |
| Diego Sanchez | Sean Sherk | Masakazu Imanari |
| Mike Swick | Josh Thomson | Akitoshi Tamura |
| Jay Hieron | Satoru Kitaoka | Takeshi Inoue |
