MMA BAY MMA rankings

Heavyweight

1: Fedor ‘The Last Emperor’ Emelianenko: He may be criticised for not fighting the best the UFC has to offer, but to suggest that there is currently a better heavyweight in the game than Fedor is a bold statement. A devastating KO in his last outing over then-number two ranked Andrei Arlovski keeps ‘The Last Russian Emperor’ at the top of the pile. Despite his fight against current number two Josh Barnett being unceremoniously canned it is hoped that the man many believe to be the best fighter in the world full-stop will have a new opponent soon to help cement his legacy.

2: Josh ‘The Baby-faced Assassin’ Barnett: On the cusp of the biggest fight of his career, Barnett has for the third time failed a drugs test. The first one went largely unnoticed, the second lost him his UFC championship, this time he may pay the price with his career. Facing a potential minefield in order to get sanctioned again in the US, fights with Fedor or Antonio Silva in Japan could be the only option should Barnett continue fighting. One thing is for sure, without a big win against a relevant opponent, Barnett won’t be holding the number two spot for very long…

3: Brock Lesnar: Who would have thought just two years ago that Brock Lesnar would be a legitimate top-ten heavyweight, let alone a UFC champion with wins over Randy Couture and Frank Mir. Lesnar wont be short of chances to prove he has earned his spot: the winners of Carwin/Velasquez, Cro Cop/Dos Santos and Couture/Nogueira all await the 285lb behemoth.

4: Frank Mir: Following his wins over a green Brock Lesnar and a clearly out-of-sorts Nogueira, many people seem to forget that just four fights ago fans and fighters alike were calling for the former heavyweight champion to re-assess his career. While things may not have reached that point again just yet, Mir’s next fight, possibly a clash with striker extraordinaire Cheick Kongo, will be pivotal in terms of both his position in the heavyweight rankings and his mixed martial arts future.

5: Antonio Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira: Falling in the rankings after to his loss to Frank Mir, Nogueira gets a chance to redeem himself in a dream bout against Randy Couture in a month’s time. While the bout may betaking place five years too late - both fighters are now past their prime - it will none the less have huge repercussions for the winner, with a heavyweight title shot as the potential prize for Nogueira.

6: Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture: The UFC hall of famer is never far from the top of the rankings and seemingly is never more then one fight away from a title shot. Despite winning the first round against Brock Lesnar, ‘The Natural’ was stopped in the second stanza last time out. Never one to be deterred, should he overcome Nogueira it’s likely that Couture would be thrown into an immediate big money rematch with Lesnar as Dana White and co. look to capitalise on his few remaining years (possibly months) in the sport. Perhaps more interestingly, the former 6-time(!) UFC champion has hinted that he would move down in weight to face 205lb champion Lyoto Machida if the UFC so desire.

7: Alistair ‘The Demolition Man’ Overeem: Perhaps the best heavyweight outside the UFC not called Emelianenko (assuming Barnett is out of action for the foreseeable future), Overeem saw mixed success at 205lbs (mostly due to gassing out after cutting mass) until settling at heavyweight. As if proof were needed, he recently validated his striking prowess by knocking out K-1 Heavyweight Champion Badr Hari and giving three time World GP champion Remy Bonjasky all he could handle in a bout most observers though he won. A hand injury sustained whilst putting numerous bouncers in hospital last month has seen him pull out of a proposed Strikeforce title defence against Fabricio Werdum, however a win before the year is out could see ‘The Demolition Man’ move even further up the rankings.

8: Shane ‘The Engineer’ Carwin: Touted as the potential antidote to Brock Lesnar – A wrestler who is just as big, just as mean and a better striker with more experience – many are expecting big things from Shane Carwin. A shaky start against Gabriel Gonzaga last time out once again ended in a first-round KO victory and earned ‘The Engineer’ a bout with fellow prospect Cain Velasquez. The winner is expected to be next inline for a title shot.

9: Brett ‘The Grim’ Rogers: Despite a 9-0 record with not a single opponent able to take him out of the second round, few were convinced that Brett Rogers was the real deal. That all changed in 22 short seconds when he removed former UFC champion and top-ten ranked heavyweight Andrei Arlovski from his senses at the last Strikeforce event. Reportedly just hours away from signing on the dotted line to face Fedor Emelianenko before the collapse of Affliction: Trilogy, ‘The Grim’ is certainly not shy about facing top-shelf competition. Potential fights against Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem will give the Minnesota native the chance to prove he belongs in there with the cream of the heavyweight crop.

10: Andrei ‘The Pitbull’ Arlovski: It’s not uncommon for a fighter to take a hit in the rankings after consecutive losses, but few have experienced the epic fall from grace of former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski. Considered two fights ago to be the second best heavyweight in the world, ‘The Pitbull’ was controlling his fight against Fedor with slick boxing until an errant jumping knee gone awry saw him face down on the mat. Often accused of a glass jaw, many excused the loss at the hands of one of MMA’s hardest hitters because, well, everyone looses to Fedor! Few could have predicted that unheralded Brett Rogers, who’s career highlight to date had been a KO of porcelain-jawed heavyweight James Thompson, would take less than a 6th of the time that Fedor did to pit the Belarusian away.

Light Heavyweight

1: Lyoto 'The Dragon' Machida: A masterful performance punctuated by a highlight-reel knock out against Rashad Evans sees the second coming of the Karate Kid shoot to the top of the rankings. An October clash with former 205lb king 'Shogun' Rua will show us if Machida truly belongs at the top of the pile, or if he will become another 'one and done' champion in the UFC's most hotly contested weight class.

2: Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson: A devastating KO of long-term rival Wanderlei Silva and a tight yet exciting decision over light heavyweight gatekeeper Keith Jardine sees the former champion right back at the top of the pile. Currently involved in filming the 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter, it will be December until we see ‘Rampage’ back in action. Depending on the outcome of the Shogun/Machida fight, a win against rival coach Rashad Evans could see him claim the top spot at 205.

3: ‘Sugar’ Rashad Evans: Despite his two round drubbing at the hands of Lyoto Machida, the former champion still has only a single loss on his ledger and a laundry list of wins that include Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin and Mike Bisping. If he can topple Rampage later this year, Rashad will put himself back in line for a shot at the 205lb champion.

4: Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua: Former Pride king ‘Shogun’ appears to have finally rediscovered the form that took him to the top of the 205 rankings with one of the most impressive tournament runs ever in 2005. A shaky but decisive victory over Mark Coleman and a more assured stoppage of Chuck Liddell have left Rua staring into the headlights of Lyoto Machida. Should he defy the odds and beat Machida, a potentially mouth-watering rematch with Quinton Jackson awaits.

5: Forrest Griffin: Brave. Opportunist. Suicidal. All are words that could describe former 205lb champion Forrest Griffin’s decision to be the other half of middleweight king and pound-for-pound contender Anderson Silva’s latest foray into a higher weight class. Forrest has not seen action since dropping his belt to Rashad Evans last year, so a loss here could do his ranking some serious damage. On the flipside, a win over one of the sports best could see Forrest leapfrog the pack into a title shot situation.

6: Antonio Rogerio ‘Minotouro’ Nogueira: The smaller (some, including his brother, might say more technical) Nogueira brother has not seen a huge amount of high-level competition in MMA recently. Opting to stay away from the UFC due to his desire to compete in boxing tournaments, ‘Minotouro’ has non the less put together a string of impressive victories that see him riding a five-fight win streak into his rematch with Alex Stiebling. Unfortunately, unless he commits to a big organisation and gets some relevant wins under his belt, ‘Little Nog’ will be stuck in the bottom half of the 205lb rankings

7: Rich ‘Ace’ Franklin: After a controversial catch weight victory over Wanderlei Silva, Franklin looked set to face off with Dan Henderson for a second time for an opportunity to avenge one of the few losses on his ledger. While the potential return of Tito Ortiz may have thrown a spanner in the works, a victory over the ‘Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ could arguably do even more for Franklin’s career prospects.

8: Thiago Silva: Despite a loss at the hands of current champion Lyoto Machida, Silva remains one of the most dangerous and fearsome strikers in a stacked division. Set to face off with Keith Jardine after a fight with Forrest Griffin fell though, a slew of potential opponents would become available should he pull off a win. Should he topple the ‘Dean of Mean’, Thiago’s fan-pleasing style means he should only be a couple of wins away from fighting for a title shot.

9: Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral: Best known for a pair of losses to Chuck Liddell and his unfortunate firing from the UFC after some extra curricular activities against David Heath, ‘Babalu’ has none the less put together one of the more impressive MMA records out there. With victories over a who’s-who of non-UFC light heavyweights, the Brazilian is one of only two men with a legitimate victory over ‘Shogun’ Rua. Set to face off with former middleweight ace Gegard Mousasi on the 15th of August, a win would be a shot in the arm for ‘Babalu’s’ career.

10: Luis ‘Banha’ Cane: One of the hottest prospects at 205, ‘Banha’ has been on something of a tear of late, recently knocking off former WEC champion Steve Cantwell. Riding a three-fight streak after an unfortunate DQ loss to James Irvin, Cane is yet to be beaten by another man’s hand in MMA. Although he lacks a victory over a true top 10 fighter, the fall from grace of former LHW mainstays Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva see the Brazilian wrecking machine creep into the rankings.

Middleweight

1: Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva: Heavily criticised for his last two performances in the cage at 185lbs, pound-for-pound great Anderson Silva is soon to challenge former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin at 205lbs. A win or loss here does little to change his position at the top of the 185lb heap; however a clash with the always-exciting Griffin could be exactly what Anderson needs to reignite his spark. The fall of Affliction means possible super fights with Vitor Belfort and Gegard Mousasi could be on the horizon, as well as a rematch with Dan Henderson. Should Silva keep on winning, it’s possible that he may move up to 205lbs on a more permanent basis to take on the feat of becoming number one in two weight classes simultaneously.

2: Gegard Mousasi: Possibly the best all-round fighter outside of the UFC not called Fedor, Mousasi is riding an incredible 12 fight streak including a clean sweep of the DREAM Middleweight GP and a recent submission of super heavyweight Mark Hunt. Unfortunately it appears that this will be Mousasi’s last appearance in the middleweight rankings – the huge 185lb’er has opted for a permanent move to light heavyweight and will start his campaign with an immediate title shot against Renato Sobral.

3: Dan ‘Hendo’ Henderson: Henderson is one of the most consistently difficult fighters to rank due to his constant bunny-hopping between the middle and light heavyweight divisions. Since his return to the UFC he is yet to fight more that twice consecutively in the same division. ‘Hendo’s’ immediate future is cloudy; another jump to 205 against Rich Franklin is in doubt, while potential rematches with Vitor Belfort and Anderson Silva are also in the mix. Being as he is the only man to take a round from Silva in the UFC, Hendo will look to go one better in his inevitable rematch. His recent KO of middleweight contender Mike Bisping proved that he is more than ready.

4: Yushin ‘Thunder’ Okami: Possibly the most unfortunate fighter at 185lbs, Okami has seen injuries rob him of title shots and high profile fights on multiple occasions. Despite all this, his only defeat in the past three years was a close decision loss to Rich Franklin and he is the last man to defeat Anderson Silva, legitimate win or not. Okami’s high ranking comes in part due to him being the only true challenge left for ‘The Spider at 185lbs…only with increased activity and (hopefully) the long awaited Silva rematch will we see if the Kanagawa native deserves his spot.

5: Nate ‘The Great’ Marquardt: Veteran and former King of Pancrase Nate Marquardt has looked more than impressive in his last two outings. His only blemish since facing Anderson Silva was a controversial decision loss to Thales Leites where he was docked points. Bouncing back with two show-stopping performances against Martin Kampman and Wilson Gouveia, a victory in his upcoming clash with Damian Maia will see ‘The Great’ get a second crack at the middleweight belt.

6: Damian Maia: BJJ standout Maia is perhaps the hottest prospect in the UFC’s middleweight division. Possibly the best pure submission artist in the UFC, Maia has notched up 10 wins (8 submissions) without a single loss. Yet to face someone who has been able to keep him on his feet long enough to do some damage, Maia’s upcoming bout with Nate Marquardt is being viewed as a potential number one contender fight and one that will give him his first real test against a top flight opponent.

7: Yoshihiro Akiyama: The man known as ‘Sexyama’ to his fans made his long awaited debut at UFC 100 with a victory that was much more decisive than the UFC commentary would have you believe. Undefeated since his sole career loss to Jerome Lebanner in his second MMA fight (he was outweighed by about 70lbs) Akiyama has looked nothing short of dominating in the majority of his fights. Some serious opposition awaits in the UFC, but it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to see Akiyama’s name in the hat for a title shot by the end of 2010.

8: Jorge Santiago: Unfortunately remembered by many for his less than impressive UFC run that included KO losses to Chris Leben and Alan Belcher, Santiago has regrouped and flourished in recent years, becoming the top star in Sengoku’s middleweight division. 9-0 (all stoppages) since leaving the UFC, Santiago cemented himself as a top middleweight with a 5th round submission of Kazuo Misaki. Pencilled in to face Vitor Belfort at Affliction: Trilogy until it’s cancellation, Santiago’s future is up in the air, although a middleweight title fight for a big promotion shouldn’t be too far off.

9: Vitor ‘The Phenom’ Belfort: The former heavyweight star of the early UFC’s has seen mixed success on either side of the 205lb mark. Since dropping to middleweight though, ‘The Phenom’ has looked better than ever, knocking out Terry Martin and removing Matt Lindland from both the rankings and his senses. A return to the UFC is on the cards, as are rematches with Dan Henderson and Wanderlei Silva.

10: ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler: Lawler sees himself slip down the middleweight rankings due to his surprise loss to the smaller Jake Shields at the last Strikeforce. Lawler appears to be at a lose end after the fight, a loss to someone outside of his weight class has put paid to the chance of a middleweight title shot anytime soon. Lawler will need an emphatic win in his next bout to stay relevant and in contention for Cung Le’s belt.

Welterweight

1: Georges ‘Rush’ St. Pierre: Little can be said about ‘Rush’ that hasn’t been said before. Perhaps the only fighter to completely clean out their division, his flawless performance at UFC 100 not only cements his place at the top of the welterweight rankings, but all but seals the argument over the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. The only question is, what will he do next? With no fresh contenders at 170 currently in the UFC, it appears a mega fight with Anderson Silva is all that’s left for GSP.

2: Jon Fitch: One of the most underrated fighters in the sport, Fitch reaffirmed his position as the number two welterweight in the world with his low-key swing bout against highly-regarded yet grossly overmatched prospect Paulo Thiago at UFC 100. Unfortunately for Fitch his 5-round destruction at the hands of St. Pierre last year left few fans clamouring for a rematch. Fitch had put together a 15 fight win streak before his last title shot…lets hope he doesn’t have to wait that long again.

3: Thiago ‘Pitbull’ Alves: Muay Thai wrecking ball Alves was the man many had tabbed to beat GSP, or at least pose the biggest threat to date to the Canadian superstar. Unfortunately things didn’t go to plan, but this was more down to the one-of-a-kind greatness of St. Pierre than any fault of Alves’. Should GSP take a year out to bulk up for a fight with Anderson Silva, a rematch with Jon Fitch for an interim belt could be on the horizon.

4: Jake Shields: A victim of his own success, Shields has taken out all comers outside of the UFC, going undefeated since 2004. Recently testing the waters with a 182lb catch weight fight against Robbie Lawler, Shields was bossed around early before securing a lightning-fast guillotine. Whether he chooses to move back down to 170 or to campaign at 185, a title opportunity can’t be too far away.

5: Mike ‘Quick’ Swick: One of the original Ultimate Fighters, Swick has got better and better since appearing on the show. Moving up to 205 for a chance to win the UFC contract, Swick is now back at his natural weight of 170lbs where he is undefeated. Dana White has confirmed that the winner of Swick’s UFC 103 bout with Martin Kampman will receive a title shot.

6: Nick Diaz: One of the few fighters to walk away from the UFC on a win streak, Diaz has won nine out of eleven bouts since, his only loss being a cut stoppage. Having had surgery to grind down the sharp bones in his brow, Diaz has amassed a five-fight win streak. A lack of competition saw the Stockton native fight at catch weights of 179 and 180lbs in his last two fights, scoring comfortable stoppages of both Frank Shamrock and Scott Smith. A win in his next bout against an as-yet unconfirmed opponent after Joe Riggs dropped out could see him crack the top five, in which case a UFC return could be pending.

7: Martin ‘Hitman’ Kampman: One of Denmark’s hottest exports (second only to their bacon) ‘The Hitman’ has only tasted defeat twice in his seventeen fight career and is undefeated in his current welterweight campaign. A nail-biting, razor-thin decision over former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit has earned Kampman a number one contender’s bout with Mike Quick Swick…a win will push him firmly into the top five.

8: Marius ‘The Whitemare’ Zaromskis: A relative unknown outside of the hardcore fan base, Zaromskis jumps into the welterweight rankings after an incredible run through the DREAM 168lb GP. The underdog in the competition, Zaromskis took a unanimous decision over Seichi Ikemoto in the opening round, before knocking out former pound-for-pound great Hayato ‘Mach’ Sakurai and surprise finalist Jason High with two devastating head kicks to earn the name ‘Little Cro Cop’ in the Japanese press. Still relatively untested, Zaromskis will need a solid victory next time out if he is to retain his ranking.

9: Matt Hughes: After some tough losses, Hughes got himself back on track earlier this year with a win over long-time rival Matt Serra. Hughes’ legendary status means he will never be too far away from a title shot, however it remains to be seen if he can still compete with the new generation of welterweights like Koscheck, Kampman, Swick and Fitch, or if he will in fact compete again.

10: Carlos ‘The Natural Born Killer’ Condit: He may have come up on the wrong end of a split decision, but former WEC champ Condit looked good in defeat. With a very solid 23-5 record and only 25 years old, the future looks bright for the ‘Natural Born Killer’. A win against the always tough Chris Lytle in September will decide whether or not he stays in the top ten or is replaced by fringe challengers like Dan Hardy, Josh Koscheck or Paulo Thiago.

Lightweight

1: BJ ‘The Prodigy’ Penn: Penn has not competed at 155lbs for over a year, leading many to question whether or not he should be ranked at all. Luckily we are but days away from finding out how much the one-sided beatdown at the hands of GSP took out of ‘The Prodigy’. A dominating performance against Ken-Flo will cement BJ’s position at the top of the rankings, however a loss at this stage could see him struggling to hang on to a place in the top five.

2: Shinya ‘Tobikan Judan’ Aoki: Like Penn, Aoki recently moved up a weight class only to suffer an emphatic defeat. Despite his brutal KO loss to ‘Mach’ Sakurai, Aoki remains the premier non-UFC fighter at 155. Recently returning to his natural weight for a clash with grappling great Vitor ‘Shaolin’ Ribero, Aoki looked less than impressive. The rainbow-tights wearing ace of Japan’s DREAM promotion will get a chance for redemption in his rubber match with Joachim Hansen in October, potentially leading to an all-Japanese main event against Tatsuya Kawajiri on NYE.

3: Eddie Alverez : Alverez is becoming known as something of a tournament superstar. Undefeated in the 2008 DREAM GP, Alverez had to withdraw from the finals due to an eye injury. Alverez then entered and won the first Bellator FC lightweight champion with three submission wins. A quick submission loss to Shinya Aoki last new year’s eve put paid to Joachim Hansen’s promise that Alverez would get the first shot at his DREAM lightweight title, however with wins over the current champ and top contender Kawajiri, ‘The Silent Assassin’ shouldn’t be too far off a title bout.

4: Kenny ‘Ken-Flo’ Florian: Florian has fought long and hard since his bloody, five round loss to Sean Sherk back in 2006. Six fights, six wins, only one of which went the distance sees ‘Ken-flo’ get a second crack at the gold on the 8th of August. It’s a pivotal bout for Westwood, Massachusetts favourite son. A second title-bout loss would make it difficult to come back for a third, however an upset over the consensus number one lightweight could see Florian top the lightweight rankings.

5: Satoru Kitaoka: Who? The Sengoku lightweight GP and lightweight world champion, that’s who. The former Pancrase star made the drop to lightweight to compete in World Victory Road’s lightweight GP at Sengoku 2 and is 6-0 since. Capping the GP triumph with a huge upset of Takanori Gomi to win the title, the sky seems to be the limit for the current world BJJ and No Gi grappling champion.

6: Joachim Hansen: One of the most ferocious fighters in MMA, Hansen is never more than a couple of fights away from the top of the lightweight title. After a period of bad luck a few years back in which he was on the wrong end of a couple of bogus decisions, got disqualified for an accidental groin kick and had his contract tied up in the Pride purchase, ‘Hellboy’ is back on track after a great performance in last year’s DREAM GP. Despite losing to Eddie Alverez, Hansen won the GP as an alternate, and looks to move up the rankings with an October defence of his title against nemesis Shinya Aoki.

7: Frankie ‘The Talent’ Edgar: Edgar saw himself out of top ten contention after his loss to Gray Maynard, however two upset victories over Hermes Franca and former champion Sean Sherk see him leapfrog ‘The Bully’ back into the top ten. A multiple time ‘Fight of the Night’ winner, another win could see Edgar in line to face the winner of the Penn/Florian fight.

8: Tatsuya ‘Krusher’ Kawajiri: A loss to Eddie Alverez in their fight of the year saw ‘Krusher’ fall in the rankings at 155. Despite a pair of solid performances against Ross Ebanez and Gesias ‘JZ’ Calvancante and a K-1 victory against veteran Kozo Takeda, Kawajiri was recently stopped in two rounds by kickboxing legend Masato. Having recently committed his future to MMA, Kawajiri has stated that he hopes to fight on the October DREAM show, before fighting for the lightweight title on new year’s eve.

9: Josh ‘The Punk’ Thomson: Dangerously close to falling out of the rankings due to inactivity, it will be almost a year since he last competed when ‘The Punk’ makes his next defence of the Strikeforce lightweight title against interim champ Gilbert Melendez on August 15th. Through no fault of his own, Thomson will be fighting for his place in the top 10, as well as the undisputed Strikeforce championship on the under card of the Carano/Cyborg super fight.

10: Jamie ‘C-4’ Varner: Some might say that Gray Maynard should take the number ten spot, but a lack of exposure shouldn’t prevent a talent like the WEC’s Varner from making the cut. Since losing to perennial contender Hermes Franca back on 2006, ‘C-4’ has been on a tear, putting together a six fight win streak including victories over ‘Razor’ Rob McCullough, Marcus Hicks and Donald Cerrone. Varner was unable to get medically cleared for a rematch of his controversial win over Cerrone that was to take place in September, so he may find himself falling out of the rankings should Maynard defeat Roger Heurta later this year.

(Updated August 1st, 2009)

I like that they put reasoning but there are a few things i disagree with.

1. Cain is a top ten HW
2. I just don't feel Aoki is the number 2 LW

Best rankings of any site thus far though!!

They are decent.