The Top BJJ Practitoners in The World of MMA

There are some great BJJ practioners out there.  Many of them have chosen a career in mixed martial arts and many of them have faired very well.  However, the transfer is not easy and MMA is a different baby than jiu jitsu.  If you don’t believe me try taking punshed to the face while working for your submissions.  Some guys have been very successful.  Any time I give a list I am sure to make notable omissions.  Any omissions are out of my ignorance and not simply a bad ranking.  Ranking jiu jitsu practioners in MMA is difficult because of weight class divisions.  However, I will rank them by overall success in MMA, potential to be a champ and jiu jitsu credentials in the MMA world.

 

1.       Demian Maia – The UFC middleweight contender may not be the best in the world at jiu-jit-su, but he has done very well in MMA and is always a submission threat.

2.        Ronaldo “Jacare” de Souza – He has done well in MMA and is a legend on the ground

3.       Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira – His MMA career merits him a top spot.

4.        Royce Gracie

5.        Ricardo Almeida

6.        Rousimar Palhares

7.        Jake Shields

8.       Shinya Aoki

9.       Vinny Magalhes – The TUF 8 cast member is a stud on the ground and as of now he is NOT better than Nogueira

10.   Robert Drysdale – I was hesitant to put him on this list because he just started in MMA, but he very well may be the best BJJ practitioner in the world right now

11.    Roger Gracie

12.   Waggney Fabiano

13.   Alexandre “Xande” Ribeiro

14.    Fabricio Werdum

15.   Dean Lister

16.    Dustin Hazelett

17.    Nate Marquardt

18.    Thales Leites

19.   B.J. Penn

20.   Nate Diaz

21.   Frank Mir

22.   Gabriel Gonzaga

23.   Ricardo Arona

24.   Rani Yahya

25.   Renato “Babalu” Sobral

26.   Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

27.   Andre Galvao

28.   Vitor Belfort

29.   Marcio Cruz

30.   Jeff Monson

31.   Mark Kerr

Breaking Down the UFC Welterweight Division

The Champion: Georges St. Pierre

The Top Contender:  B.J. Penn & Thiago Alves

The Next Tier:

·         Jon Fitch

·         Josh Koscheck

·         Diego Sanchez

·         Karo Parisyan

·         Martin Kampmann

·         Mike Swick

·         Matt Hughes

·         Matt Serra

 

On the Rise: 

·         Yoshiyuki Yoshida

·         Dong Hyun Kim

·         Dan Hardy

·         Dustin Hazelett

 

Other Notables:

·         Marcus Davis

·         Chris Lytle

·         Yoshiyuki Yoshida

·         Chris Wilson

·         Dustin Hazelett

·         Ryo Chonan

·         Dong Hyun Kim

·         Akihiro Gono

·         Luigi Fiorvanti

·         Dan Hardy

·         Jonathan Goulet

·         Tamdan McCrory

·         Kevin Burns

·         Anthony Johnson

·         Rory Markham

·         Paul Taylor

·         Roan Carneiro

·         Brad Blackburn

·         Pete Sell

 

Scheduled Fights:

·         Josh Koscheck vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC Fight Night 16 on December 10

·         Mike Swick vs. Jonathan Goulet at UFC Fight Night 16 on December 10

·         Luigi Fiorvanti vs. Brodie Farber at UFC Fight Night 16 on December 10

·         Ben Saunders vs. Brandon Wolff at UFC Fight Night 16 on December 10

·         Steven Bruno vs. Johnny Rees at UFC Fight Night 16 on December 10

·         Anthony Johnson vs. Kevin Burns at TUF 8 Finale on December 13

·         Brad Blackburn vs. Ryo Chonan at UFC 92 on December 27

·         Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle at UFC 93 on January 17

·         B.J. Penn vs. Georges St. Pierre at UFC 94 on January 31 (For Title)

·         Jon Fitch vs. Akihiro Gono at UFC 94 on January 31

·         Karo Parisyan vs. Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 94 on January 31

·         Matt Arroyo vs. Dan Cramer at UFC 94 on January 31

·         Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra April 2009

 

Match Ups I’d Like to See:

·         Dustin Hazelett vs. Chris Wilson

·         Martin Kampmann vs. Pete Sell

·         Thiago Alves vs. Georges St. Pierre/B.J. Penn

 

Other Thoughts:

·         When people talk about staked divisions they think of the UFC welterweight division.  The best welterweights are here.  There may be a handful of decent welterweights outside the UFC including Jake Shields, WEC’s Carlos Condit, Hayato Sakurai, Jay Hieron and Nick Thompson.

·         Jake Shields will likely land in the UFC.  That is what he wants and where he wants to be.  There are a lot of potential match ups here for him.

·         Thiago Alves will get a title shot in 2009 against the winner of Penn vs. St. Pierre.

·         Martin Kampmann signed a new contract and should fight at 170

·         B.J. Penn very well could become a fixture at 170 as he could vacate his lightweight title win or lose against St. Pierre.

Many Questions Arise in Wake of UFC 90?

I believe several questions arose in wake of UFC 90.  I will post the questions in poll form so my readers can voice their opinions.

1. 

Personally, I think it is a mix of a few things and none of them involve anything Cote did.  I think Anderson Silva was trying to confuse Cote.  Part of me feels he was playing around and trying to get in a groove.  I really feel that a KO was coming.  He showed flashes of it.  I was highly disappointed with the fight, but stuff happens.  Silva had a game plan and we don’t like it because Cote’s knee blew.  Silva didn’t know that would happen.  Perhaps he planned on becoming more aggressive.  Anyways, as Dana White said, I would hate to be Silva’s next opponent.  I have a feeling he will be fighting sooner than later. 

2. 

Here is my take on it.  I think Thiago Alves is for real.  I was not on his bandwagon, but I think he is a very good strike, however I see two problems.  He is very predictable.  He loved the flying knee and superman punch.  A good striker could give him problems too.  Also, I don’t know how he would do off his back.  I do not know if he could beat either GSP or B.J. Penn.  I am leaning towards Penn winning the super fight on January 31, and I think if B.J. can get Alves down to the ground he can submit him and pound him.  I think style wise both Penn and GSP are tough matchups for anyone.  So, I say he is for real, but he cannot beat GSP or Penn right now.  GSP was impressed with Alves and thinks he may see Thiago after Penn, but Georges better not overlook B.J.

3.

I am not quite on the bandwagon, but I think he could be a solid fighter.  He needs to prove himself more.  I do not know if he is that good or if Werdum just underestimated him.  He has great training and could be a star, but I’d like to see one more fight before I jump on the bandwagon.  I seem to remember a few guys like Houston Alexander and Sokoudjou coming out of nowhere with a couple of big names KO’s and then disappointing.  I don’t think Dos Santos fits into that mold because I think he will be a more well rounded fighter and trains with some of the best.

4.

I think several impressed.  I guess I would have to say that I was impressed with Thiago Alves the most.  He looked very sharp.  I also was impressed with Josh Koscheck in his loss.  He is tough as nails.  I thought Sherk was impressive and showed good stand up.  Of course Dos Santos was impressive as well.  I enjoyed the Miller vs. Horwich fight and think that both are solid fighters.

5.

My answer depends on how literal you take this question.  Most disappointing to me was Anderson Silva.  I expected a KO.  However, it wasn’t all his fault.  The Cote injury was disappointing, but that wasn’t his fault either.  I really expected more out of Aurelio as well.

MMABlog’s Lightweight MMA Rankings

Rank	Name	Organization	Next Fight
1	B.J. Penn	UFC	St. Pierre (#1 WW) 1/31
2	Takanori Gomi	World Victory Road	Golyaev (NR), 11/1
3	Shinya Aoki	DREAM
4	Eddie Alvarez	EliteXC?
5	Sean Sherk	UFC	T. Griffin (#15), 9/25
6	Mitsuhiro Ishida	DREAM/Strikeforce
7	Tatsuya Kawajiri	DREAM
8	Kenny Florian	UFC	Stevenson (#10), 11/15
9	Josh Thomson	Strikeforce	Edwards (NR), 11/21
10	Joe Stevenson	UFC	Florian (#8), 11/15
11	Gesias Calvancante	DREAM
12	Joachim Hansen	DREAM
13	Gilbert Melendez	Strikeforce
14	Jamie Varner	WEC
15	Tyson Griffin	UFC	Sherk (#5), 9/25
16	Roger Huerta	UFC
17	Gray Maynard	UFC	Clementi (NR), 9/25
18	Frank Edgar	UFC	Wiman (NR), 12/10
19	Vitor Ribeiro
20	Nate Diaz	UFC
21	K.J. Noons	EliteXC?
22	Joe Lauzon	UFC
23	Nick Diaz	EliteXC
24	Spencer Fisher	UFC	Gugerty (NR), 9/25
25	Caol Uno	DREAM

 

Others Considered: Clay Guida, Hermes Franca, Marcus Aurelio, Jim Miller, Jorge Masvidal , Rich Clementi, Matt Wiman, and Mac Danzig.

Future UFC Hall of Famers

So, which UFC fighters are future hall of famers?  Currently, there are 5 hall of famers which include: Randy Couture, Dan Severn, Mark Coleman, Royce Gracie, and Ken Shamrock.  So as you pan through current UFC fighters which guys are hall of fame calibur.  Let me tell you…

1. Chuck Liddell – Despite his recent struggles in the octagon, Liddell is the face of the UFC.  Not only that he has faired well in his career.  He was a very feared fighter and a dominant champion.  He boasts some big wins over the likes of Tito Ortiz, Babalu, Wanderlei Silva, and Randy Couture.  This is a no-brainer.  This is what baseball fans would call a first ballot hall of famer.

2. Matt Hughes-  Hughes is called the most dominant welterweight champion of all time.  He was dominant, and he may not be totally done yet.  He has coaches TUF two times.  He has been a force in the divison for years and held the belt it seems like forever.  Another first ballot guy. 

3. Tito Ortiz –  Let me begin by saying I despise Tito Ortiz.  I do not like him Sam I am.  However, no one can deny his dominance for a time.  I think he is done now, but he defended his belt a record number of times.  I don’t know if he will ever make it to the UFC Hall of Fame, but he should based on his in the octagon performance and popularity.  He lifted the sport when it was struggling.  He should be in, but like Pete Rose there are all sorts of other factors.

4. Rich Franklin –  The second best middleweight in the world.  People forget how good he is because of his losses to Anderson Silva.  He has been dominant otherwise.  He has a phenomenal record, he has been champ, he is incredibly popular, and he keeps getting better.  I love Rich Franklin and think he is surely hall of fame worthy no doubt.

5. B.J. Penn –  B.J. is really a prodigy.  He has been welterweight and lightweight champion.  He may be both at the same time come January.  He has cleaned out the lightweights and has fought the best welterweights.  He is one of the most popular fighters in the world and he is growing in talent and popularity.  He may not be a hall of famer today, but one more big win and he is a lock. 

6.  Anderson Silva – He may be the most dominant fighter ever.  He is the pound for pound best in the world.  He has changed the sport.  He is all around talented.  He can beat anyone and the scray thing is I don’t know if he will ever lose.  He is in.

7.  Georges St. Pierre–  He is not in yet, but he will be.  He has some work to do.  He has to keep the belt for a while to be hall of fame in my book.  He has hall of fame talent though.  He has the popualrity.   I have no doubts that by the time all is said and done St. Pierre will be a UFC Hall of famer.

8. Forrest Griffin – Overrated? I think so.  Popular? Undeniable.  Hard working? No one works harder.  The reason I would give Forrest the nod is what he did in the Ultimate Fighter.  He is one of the most popular UFC fighters, but mainly because he is considered the savior of the UFC.  Dana White has said that the Griffin-Bonnar fight saved the UFC.  Now he is a champ and is getting quite the resume with wins over Shogun and Rampage.  He is still growing too as a fighter.  He will be a hall of famer.

9. Evan Tanner– With his recent death I began to think about his hall of fame potential.  His popularity was huge.  However, Tanner had a lot of baggage outside the octagon which may have caused him to not reach his full potential in the octagon.  I think he could be a hall of famer.  In his prime he was beating a lot of guys.  He is a former champ, which is a must.  He very well could be a hall of famer if people can look past his struggles.

10. Tim Sylvia – I know, I know another guy I don’t like.  Tim is very polarizing.  He doesn’t have the popularity for some reason, but he was good in the UFC.  He beat tons of guys.  He held the title a couple times.  He could be, but may not be because he is not in the best standing in the UFC now that he left for Affliction. 

Other Candidates: Andrei Arlovski, Quinton Jackson, Frank Mir

Note: Many of the current UFC guys who were stars in PRIDE were left out such as Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson, Shogun Rua, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Who did I leave out?  Weigh in below in the comments section.

UFC News: Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson at UFC 91

MMAbay is reporting that a match between Joe Stevenson and Kenny Florian is in the works for a November 15th event, probably UFC 91, which is rumored to be held in Florian’s hometown of Boston, Mass.  I do not know how reliable this source is, but it would make sense.  Florian wants to fight again rather than wait around for B.J. Penn.  Joe Stevenson is clearly a top 5 lightweight and would be a good test for Kenny.  A win for Florian would make it impossible to deny him a title shot.  A loss would further confuse the divison, but possibly give way to a guy like Tyson Griffin to take a shot at the belt.  Florian is coming off of a solid win over contender Roger Huerta and Stevenson is coming off of a come from behind victory over Gleison Tibau.

    This event should shape up soon, and some have speculated that a light heavyweight match between Quinton Jackson and Wanderlei Silva is possible here for the main event.  We will wait and see.

My UFC 87 Thoughts and Results

Georges St. Pierre defeats Jon Fitch via Unanimous Decision

Brock Lesnar defeats Heath Herring via Unanimous Decision

Kenny Florian defeats Roger Huerta via Unanimous Decision

Demian Maia defeats Jason MacDonald via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in Round Three

Rob Emerson defeats Manny Gamburyan via Knockout in Round One

Tamdan McCrory defeats Luke Cummo via Unanimous Decision

Cheick Kongo defeats Dan Evensen via TKO (Strikes) in Round One

Jon Jones defeats Andre Gusmao via Unanimous Decision

Chris Wilson defeats Steve Bruno via Unanimous Decision

Ben Saunders defeats Ryan Thomas via Submission (Armbar) in Round One

* I had a good night as far as predictions go, I predicted 8 of 10 correctly. 

Submission of the Night: Demian Maia
Knockout of the Night: Rob Emerson
Fight of the Night: GSP & Jon Fitch ($60k each)

My Disappointment of the Night: Manny Gamburyan or Andre Gusmao

My Thoughts:

• The Maia McDonald fight was a great battle in round one especially.  Maia is awesome.  I am seriously a believer.  I think he is a top flight middleweight and can contend for the belt.  His submissions are sick, he showed some great ground and pound skills.  He stood toe to toe.  Maia is a real deal fighter and he will get some respect now.
• The Huerta vs. Florian fight was a good fight, but it wasn’t the fight of the year that it was billed to be.  I scored the fight 30-27 Florian as did the judges.  I believe the score doesn;t show how close the fight was, but Florian was clearly more technical and better all around.  Florian is now officially the number one contender in the UFC lightweight divison
• Who would have predicted Emerson to KO Manny in 12 seconds?  I was disappointed with that.
• Cheick Kongo is huge and I am glad his fight made it onto the card.  He looked good againt Evensen.  He is a top ten maybe top 5 heavyweight.  However, why call for the belt after you beat Dan Evensen?  Sorry Cheick get in line behind Werdum and beat someone of note.  You need some type of win streak to get a title shot. 
• Brock Lesnar silenced any doubters.  He showed he has the skills to fight, and not just fight, but to win.  And not just to win, but to win against top tier fighters.  He has a lot of areas to improve upon.  He need to improve his submission skills.  He had a dominant position countless times and did nothing with it.  That comes from his wrestling background.  He needs to learn something about keeping the mount and dropping elbows.  He is strong as an ox.  He hits hard.  Man was that first punch hard!  I thought it was funny in the countdown Herring said, “I have fought bigger, stronger, better and more accomplished wrestlers.”  He was wrong.  He has not fought a wrestler of Brock’s calibur and strength and Brock dominated him.
• I was disappointed with Lesnar’s WWE antics and unsportsman like conduct.   He shoved Herring away after round 1.  He acted like Herring at the end of the fight.  He pointed at him and laughed afterwards.  He acted like he was lasoing him.  I don’t have a problem with some of that.  I know adrenaline gets pumping and I know other fighters do things like act like the are burying a guy or the Barnett throat cut, but Lesnar needs to learn respect for his opponent. 
• Speaking of respect for opponents how about the St. Pierre vs. Fitch fight.  A possible fight of the year candidate.  Fitch was out of his league.  He looked good a few minutes during the fight, but St. Pierre dominated.  The story following this is not as much St. Pierre winning and keeping his belt as it is Fitch’s toughness.  Fitch is one tough dude.  I gained respect for him.  How about the show of class between these two after the fight?  That is why I like St. Pierre. 
• It looks like Penn vs. St. Pierre will indeed happen, hopefully in December.  Wow!  What a fight that will be. 

UFC News: Sherk vs. Griffin at UFC 90

MMAweekly had been reporting that Sean Sherk will take on Tyson Griffin at UFC 90 on October 25.  This lightweight fight would have huge implications in the divison.  Tyson Griffin, the Xtreme Couture trained fighter is coming of an impressive win over Marcus Aurelio.  Sean Sherk of course is coming off of a loss at UFC 84 to B.J. Penn and is looking to climb back into title contention.  Here is what Sherk had to say…

I’ve been real careful with who I’m going to fight. I don’t want to fight up-and-coming guys. You start fighting up-and-coming guys and you have to fight more guys to make your way up to the top. I want to fight the best of the best, and that’s what I’m doing with this upcoming fight.

I honestly this this is a bad match up for Tyson Griffin.  Tyson has been impressive lately, but Sherk is a tough opponent.  UFC 90 looks to have a decent card, but is still lacking one more big name fight.  It will be headlined witha  middleweight title fight between the best pound for pound fighter in the world, Anderson Silva vs. Patrick Cote.  Also, the card will feature a welterweight clash between Diego Sanchez and Thiago Alves, most likely to determine the number one contender for the welterweight belt.  Recently, two other lightweight matches had been announced: Spencer Fisher vs. Melvin Guillard and Hermes Franca vs. Gleison Tibau.  Also, Fabricio Werdum will try to lock up a title shot with one more win at UFC 90.

What’s Next For Carlos Condit?

Carlos Condit is coming off of a great win over a tough challenger in Hirumitsu Miura at WEC 35.  Most people cosndier Condit a top ten welterweight in the world and some rank him as a top 5.  He has the distinction, along with Jake Shields of being the best welterweights outside the UFC.  The UFC clearly has a monopoly of fighters in the welterweight divison and the light heavyweight divison.  If someone wants to fight the best guys and prove themselves in that way, the UFC is the place for 170 and 205 lb fighters.  Kevin Iole at Yahoo! Sports poses the interesting thought in his blog about what is next for Condit.  Here is what Condit had to say:

There are a lot of tough guys – a lot of them, believe me – but you just have to fight whoever they tell you to fight, I’m proud to be the WEC champion and whoever I fight, whenever I fight, wherever I fight, I’ll do it as the WEC champion.

In the WEC Condit holds wins over Miura, Carlo Prater, John Alessio, Brock Larson and Kyle Jensen.  Who else is there to fight in the WEC?  Larson probably regained number 1 contender status with his defeat of Carlo Prater, but why give him the re-match?  Condit admitetd he would like to avenge loses to Jake Shields, Pat Healy, and Satoru Kitaoka.  Perhaps the WEC could work one of those fights out.  The Jake Shields fight is unlikely because he is locked up the EliteXC, although I have to believe Shields would like to be the UFC fighting tougher talent.  They could sign one of the other guys for Condit to avenge, but what else is there?  Nothing.  No one thinks Healy or Kitaoka is an overall better fighter than Condit.  I do not know what Condit wants, but if he wants to prove himself as a top welterweight Zuffa is going to have to move him over to the UFC.  It looks like a fight between some of the WEC guys and UFC guys could take place some time.  It also had been said by Dana White that he’d like to make the WEC devoted to lighter weights and would move the WEC 185 and 205 divisons over the the UFC.  All that would give the UFC would be Brian Stann, Steven Cantwell, Mark Munoz, Paulo Filho, Chael Sonnen and Brian Bowles and maybe Steve Steinbeiss, Jake Rosholt and Shane Roller. The bottom line is that Condit should be in the big leagues and not the minors.  He should be fighting against the St. Pierres and Fitchs of the world and not the Larsons.  He can keep amassing wins in the WEC a la Urijah Faber, but until he fights St. Pierre, Fitch or Penn we will never know how good he really is.  Here is what I suspect.  I suspect Condit needs 2 or 3 more wins before he has to be moved.  I suspect a re-match with Brock Larson and I also suspect that with one more win Shane Roller could challenge him.  I guess time will tell, but I’d like to see him in the UFC.  He deserves it.  He would get more money there.  He would get better and bigegr name fights there.  He would get more focus there.  I am sure if he pushed it he could get it.  He is a star and Zuffa will give him what he wants if he asks in the right way.

UFC News: Wanderlei Silva to Return in December

According to MMA Junkie, Wanderlei Silva has been told by UFC officials to prepare for a December return.  It appears he will be on the December 27 card which will feature a heavyweight title match between Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira as well as a possible match between B.J. Penn and Georges St. Pierre.  This is what Wandy had to say:

“I’m talking with (UFC co-owner) Lorenzo (Fertitta), they’re talking about December because it is the best event of the year. (Antonio Rodrigo) Nogueira is going to fight (Frank) Mir for the belt for the heavyweights. This is the best event. It’s much more promotion. They told me to be ready to fight in December. They gave me 10 (possible) names. My division is the best division in the world. They have so many names. I think they’re going to give a good opponent to me. I wanted to fight [Jackson] again and I think it’s a very good match. For me, I have time to fight for the belt in the future, no problem, I’m going to wait for my opportunity. I’m going to give my best on every fight. After I win my fights, I’m going to have an opportunity to fight for the belt. For me, no problem, I’ll fight with everybody.”

So, the question is who will he fight in December.  Process of elimination may help.  We would figure he would get a top 10-15 opponent seeing as how he just beat a top guy in Jardine.

• Lyoto Machida is booked for a fight with Thiago Silva
• Rameau Theirry Sokoudjou is booked for a fight with Luis Cane
• Brandon Vera is booked for a fight with Keith Jardine
• Chuck Liddell is booked for a fight with Rashad Evans
• Shogun should return in December, but Wanderlei won’t fight him
• Dan Henderson is booked for a fight at UFC 88
• Rich Franklin is booked to fight Matt Hamill at UFC 88

That leaves Forrest Griffin, Quinton Jackson, Stephan Bonnar and Goran Reljic

• I wouldn’t object to Wanderlei getting the title shot, but it isn’t likely yet.  They train together also, but I am sure they would fight if the price is right, but I doubt they can push aside Machida for Silva.
• Stephan Bonnar may be a good option as he should return by that date, but I don’t know if he is the calibur that Silva wants to fight.  He wants someone to get him into contention
• Goran Reljic os good and also possible, but not likely because he isn’t ranked high enough
• Quinton Jackson has to be the most likely but seeing as how he has all sorts of legal problems, I don’t know if it will happen.
• The other option is a quick turn around for someone fighting in Semptember like Chuck Liddell, Rashad Evans, Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin or Matt Hamill, or even Andre Gusmao.  Any of those would be interesting and UFC 88 may dictate Silva’s opponent. 
• The final option is some new to the UFC guy.  A new signing could be possible, but it is unlikely it would be someone that could jump right in and be cosndiered Silva level.  Someone like Vladimir Matyushenko is possible, but not likely.

 

Best Pound for Pound Fighter

Following July 19th the debate began as to who is the best pound for pound fighter in the world in Mixed Martial Arts.  Before July 19th two people were really thought of as perhaps the top guy: Fedor Emelianenko and Anderson Silva.  Following July 19th the debate gets tougher with both guys winning.  Let me begin by defining the term best pound for pound.  The best pound for pound fighter does not necessarily mean that he could beat any fighter in the world.  For example at 145 lbs, Urijah Faber would stand little chance against most heavier opponents.  The pound for pound title is for the best fighter in the world, size and weight has nothing to do with it and a fight between #1 and #2 wouldn’t necessarily settle the debate.  That is why the title best pound for pound fighter is difficult to determine and is very subjective.  Here is my list of the best pound for pound fighters. 

1. Anderson Silva –  Anderson is number one to me for a few reasons.  First, he has cleaned out the middleweight divison of the UFC.  There is not a middleweight that I think can beat him.  Second, he has beaten top fighters constantly.  He beat a top notch fighter in Dan Henderson and another in Rich Franklin, and he destryoed Franklin.  He beat a solid guy in Nate Marquardt.  Third, he challenges himself.  He moved up to 205 to fight James Irvin.  Irvin is not a stud a 205, but he has serious KO power.  He could have KO’d Silva, but Silva destroyed him quickly.  Fourth, Anderson is so well rounded.  His striking is legendary.  His Muay Thai is deadly.  His jiu jitsu is incredible although we don’t see much of it.  I don’t see him getting beat any time soon at 185 or 205. 

2. Fedor Emelianenko –  I am tempted to rank Fedor 1b.  Someone could make a solid argument to him being number 1.  Fedor always impresses.  He really impressed against Sylvia.  Not just that he won, but that he won in 36 seconds.  He is no doubt the best heavyweight, but I put him second to Anderson because I do not feel he has cleaned out the divison like Anderson has.  Fedor still has several guys to beat that are top level.  I’d like to see him fight Couture, Arlovski and Barnett.  Don’t get me wrong Fedor has a great resume and has beaten great guys like Nogueira and Cro Cop.  Fedor is incredible.  As for now he is numebr 2 pound for pound and I think he has to win another and Silva has to lose to change that.

3. B.J. Penn –  Pure talent B.J. may be up there with Anderson and Fedor.  I believe B.J. may be the guy to challenge the two above guys.  He has looked dominant since his return against Pulver, Stevenson, and Sherk.  He wants to fight St. Pierre in what would be a dream match.  B.J. is one of those guys that can fight at several divisons and he has made clear he wants the welterweight belt.  If he beats St. Pierre he has to be in the talk for number 1.  He has beaten solid welterweights before and can fight well at 170.  He has even talked about going up to 185 to challenge Anderson.  B.J.’s knock has always been his drive.  That has changed lately it seems and when on his game he can beat anyone at any weight.  B.J. made very good fighters in Sean Sherk and Joe Stevenson look bad.  I am on the Penn bandwagon right now and think that right now he can beat anyone at 155 and maybe anyone at 170. 

4. Urijah Faber – Some people may want St. Pierre in this spot, but I have Faber.  Faber is an awesome featherweight.  He may be the best featherweight ever.  I and many still want the Yamamoto fight, but the Pulver fight was great.  Faber impressed there and moved up my rankings because of that.  I don’t see any 145 lb guy beating Faber.  His boxing is great and he is so innovative on the ground.  The category is best pound for pound fighter and I think Urijah is one of the best. 

5. Georges St. Pierre – St. Pierre is not ranked higher because he does have a recent loss to Matt Serra.  I know he avenged that loss since then, but Serra I consider far less talented than him.  St. Pierre is the total package.  When he is on he is unstoppable, and the key is when he is on.  I don’t suspect he will lose to Jon Fitch and a matcvh with B.J. Penn is on the horizon.  St. Pierre looked great against Serra, Hughes and Koscheck lately.  He is beating top level talent at the welterweight divison.  he is a few fights away from cleaning out the divison.  If he beats Fitch, Penn, Alves and Sanchez, he may move up to 185.  St. Pierre is an awesome fighter and he has room to climb up.  I think what is so impressive about him is his desire to learn more and grow as a fighter. 

6. Miguel Torres – A 135 pound fighter is hard to rank, however there is no doubt that Torres is the world’s best bantamweight.  His popularity is growing by leaps and bounds.  His last fight may be fight of the year.  He has sick jiu jitsu and showed he can stand and bang.  He has an incredible overall record and he sports a mullet unashamedly.  Torres is great at 135.  Many are calling for a Torres vs. Faber fight and that would be awesome as I believe Torres would be a challenge to Urijah.  I do not know if we know how good Miguel is and I do not know if we ever will.  He has to be one of the most underrated fighters in the world. 

7. Lyoto Machida – I do not know how many people consider Machida in their pound for pound rankings, but I think it must be considered.  He is undefeated.  He dominated Tito Ortiz.  I know many people are critical of him, but right now he may be the world’s best light heavyweight.  He certainly fits the bill of being underrated.  Many people do not like him because of his style, but he keeps winning.  Some accuse him of running in fights, but he strikes and moves.  He is very effective.  If he keeps winning he needs to move up lists.  His fight with Thiago Silva at UFC 89 will tell us a lot.  Don’t sleep on Lyoto as a pound for pound top fighter. 

8. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira – Big Nog is the UFC Heavyweight champion.  He has beaten great guys.  He takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’.  He has tons of talent and is very well rounded.  Most consider him the #2 or #3 heavyweight and in the midst of Couture’s desire to fight the best in Fedor he has overlooked fighting Nogueira.  In my opinion Randy should have challenged Nogueira for the belt before pulling this cry baby crap with the UFC and pouting because he wanted Fedor.  He could have foguht out his contract against Nogueira and one other guy and then left with no conflict to get the Fedor fight.  He could have fulfilled his contract with no controversy with the UFC.  His legacy is tarnished.  I think Nog would beat Randy.  He has proven himself over and over.  Nogueira is a solid fighter and I look forward to his fight with Mir and his TUF 8 coachind stint. 

Others: Kid Yamamoto, Takanori Gomi, Paulo Filho, Forrest Griffin, Dan Henderson, Randy Couture, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

Interview with Georges St. Pierre

A MMArated intwerview with UFC welterweight champ Georges “Rush” St. Pierre. He talks his upcoming bout with Jon Fitch, the ESPY nomination and B.J. Penn. Checki it out…

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Mid Year MMA Awards

Best Knockout

Honorable Mention: Luis Arthur Cane KO Jason Lambert, Shane Carwin KO Christian Wellish, Murilio Rua TKO Tony Bonello, Matt Wiman KO Thiago Tavares

5. Anthony Johnson KO Tommy Speer

4. Wilson Gouveia KO Jason Lambert

3. Brian Stann KO Doug Marshall

2. James Irvin KO Houston Alexander

1. Wanderlei Silva KO Keith Jardine

Best Submission

Honorable Mention: Antonio Nogueira submits Tim Sylvia by Guillotine, Yoshiyuki Yoshida submits Jon Koppenhaver by Anaconda choke, Nate Diaz submits Kurt Pellegrino, Cole Miller Submits Jorge Gurgel by Triangle Choke

5. Demian Mia Submits Ed Herman by Triangle Choke

4. Frank Mir Submits Brock Lesnar by Kneebar

3. Rousimar Palhares Submits Ivan Salaverry by Armbar

2. Dustin Hazelett Submits Josh Burkman by Armbar

1. Shinya Aoki Submits Katsuhiko Nagata by Aokiplata

Best Fight

Honorable Mention: Shinya Aoki vs. Gesias Calvancante, Cung Le vs. Frank Shamrock

5. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Tim Sylvia

4. Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver

3. Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith

2. Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin

1. Miguel Torres vs. Yoshiro Maeda

Best Fight Card

5. WEC 34: Faber vs. Pulver

4. UFC 80: Rapid Fire

3. UFC 81: Breaking Point

2. DREAM 4

1. UFC 84: Ill Will

Upset of The Year:

Honorable Mention: Jason Day over Alan Belcher,

5. Thiago Alves over Karo Parisyan

4. Kevin Burns over Roan Carneiro

3. Fabricio Werdum over Gabriel Gonzaga

2. Josh Thomson over Gilbert Melendez

1. Forrest Griffin over Quinton Jackson

Fighter Of The Year:

Honorable Mention: Anderson Silva, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Michael Bisping, Georges St. Pierre, Diego Sanchez

5. Miguel Torres

4. Forrest Griffin

3. Thiago Alves

2. Shinya Aoki

1. B.J. Penn (2 Impressive wins over Sean Sherk and Joe Stevenson)

Best UFC Newcomer:

Honorable Mention: Shane Carwin, Brock Lesnar

5. Rousimar Palhares

4. Dong Hyun Kim

3. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

2. Goran Reljic

1. Cain Velasquez

Worst Calls By A Ref. or Judges

5. Forrest Griffin over Quinton Jackson –  Not just that Forrest got the win, but that it was unanimous.  Many, including me scored the fight either a draw or to Jackson

4. Brandon Vera vs. Fabricio Werdum- Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight in round 1 when Werdum was mounted on Vera throwing down punches.  There was just 10 seconds remaining and Vera seemed to be defending himself well. 

3. Nate Marquardt vs. Thales Leites — Leites got the win, but lost the fight.  He lost the fight due to two points taken away from Marquardt.  One point was justified, but the other was due to elbow to the back of the ehad that wasn’t to the back of the head.  I will confess, that another point could have fairly been deducted for an illegal slam, but I hated to see Marquardt get a loss on his record that I feel he won

2. Phantom split decisions — How was Evan Tanner vs. Kendall Grove a split deicsion?  How was Heath Herring vs Cheick Kongo a split decision?  The right person got the decision, but how was it split?

1. Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson – Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight in the 3rd round while Thompson was still standing and failed to stop it when Thompson was mounted on Kimbo raining down elbows

Josh Koscheck Wants B.J. Penn At 155

In an interview with Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole, Josh Koscheck speaks of a fight he’d like to have.  Interestingly, Josh wants B.J. Penn…

I just want to be a world champion, whether it be at 155, 170, 185, wherever. I believe I have a lot of fights left in me. With my work ethic and the training partners I have and the coaches I have, I believe some day that dream is going to come true…. You never know [about possibly making the drop to 155]. If people would want to see me fight B.J. Penn at 155 for the title, because there is really nobody there for him to fight, I’d do it…. I know B.J. very well, but business is business. We’re friends, but at the end of the day, it’s about making money together. If the fans would want to see it, I’d suck it up and I’d live that life to where I’d do whatever I have to do to make 155…. What are you in this business for, to make money and to win a title. Usually, they go hand in hand. A fight with B.J. would be like a dream for me

He might not need to move to 155 to fight B.J. Penn for the title.  We could see B.J. fight the Fitch/St. Pierre winner by year’s end.  If that is the case Koscheck could keep contending and winning and could get a shot at a welterweight champ in B.J. Penn.  The problem for Koscheck is that he in not next in line.  At welterweight you have Thiago Alves and Diego Sanchez probably fighting for a title shot.  Koscheck could be next in line though with a win tonight over Lytle.  If B.J. Penn gets the next welterweight title shot, then we could see the Alves/Sanchez winner fight Koscheck for the number one contender spot.  At lightweight Koscheck would have to get in line behind the Huerta/Florian winner for a crack at Penn.  Needless to say I do not think Koscheck can beat B.J., sorry Kos.

UFC News: Diego Sanchez vs. Thiago Alves At UFC 89

UFC 89 is starting to fall together.  The show will for sure air on SPIKE and not on Pay Per view.  The fight will be headlined by a bout between middleweights Chris Leben and Michael Bisping.  In addition to that the card will also feature a welterweight match between Diego Sanchez and Thiago Alves.  It would seem from this match that a number one contender will be determined.

Thiago Alves dismanted UFC star Matt Hughes at UFC 85 in England in June.  Diego Sanchez look exceptional at the Ultimate Fight 7 Finale against Luigi Fiorvanti.  Dana did not say, but I would guess this would have huge implications for the title down the road.  B.J. Penn could throw a wrench in this as he said he gets the winner of St. Pierre vs. Fitch in December or January.  Also, you have to throw Josh Koscheck into the mix as well.  This should be a good match up though.