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2008-03-08 09:45:24
Yahoo! Sports Releases Their List of the Top 10 Pound-for-Pound MMA Fighters in the World
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Today Yahoo! released their list of the top 10 Mixed Martial Arts fighters in the world. Here is the list, and our thoughts:
10. Miguel Torres - destroyed Chase Beebe on February 13th, which certainly helped propel him into the top 10. Torres is one of the best bantamweights in the world and possesses some of the best jiu-jitsu skills of anyone that I have seen. Don't believe me? Watch some of his fights. I could easily put Rua or Gesias Calvancante in at number ten, but I'll reserve judgment until the Aoki - Calvancante fight on March 15th.
9. Dan Henderson - sure he lost to Anderson Silva in the second round, but losing to the best fighter in the world won't get you too much of a black eye in my books. Considering that his last two losses came against "Rampage" and the "Spider", I could make a strong argument for Henderson being ranked higher, and I probably would rank him higher, likely in the #7 position.
8. Randy Couture - I love Couture, but when is he ever going to fight again? I have this funny feeling that Couture will never fight again, as his legal wranglings with the UFC are going to drag on and on without resolution, in my opinion. It's really too bad, as the world is clamoring for a Fedor - Couture fight, but I don't think that it will happen. I'd probably remove Couture from the top 10 - he isn't fighting and has no plans of fighting anytime in the near future. He is basically retired in my opinion.
7. Urijah Faber - if he beats Jens Pulver on June 1st then I'll say that he belongs in this position. Until then though..
6. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira - no argument here. How can you argue against a man who has fought Fedor three times and taken him to the distance twice (and once was a no contest due to an accidental cut). Fedor counts Nogueira as one of his toughest opponents ever, and that says a lot. Nogueira certainly deserves to be right around this spot.
5. BJ Penn - if he defeats Sean Sherk then he'll go a long ways towards cementing his legacy. Penn has an incredible skillset, but often seems to let down his fans in his biggest matches. The Sherk fight is a huge one for Penn, for many different reasons.
4. Fedor Emelianenko - some people would rank Fedor at number one, but who has he fought lately? Fedor needs to step up the quality of his opponents - Hong Man Choi won't cut it. Arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the world, but I can't rank him over "Spider" if he doesn't fight tough opponents.
3. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - no problem with this pick as well. He is slated to fight Forrest Griffin at the conclusion of the Ultimate Fighter 7. Anyone who knocks out Chuck Liddell in the first round deserves a spot in the top 10.
2. Georges St. Pierre - gets better with every fight. You can't give St. Pierre the number one spot until he avenges his loss to Matt Serra. You can have a number one ranked fighter with an unavenged loss to Serra on his record - that just won't cut it. if St. Pierre thrashes Serra at UFC 83, as most people expect, then I would consider ranking him number one.
1. Anderson "Spider" Silva - the undisputed number one fighter in the world. You may like St. Pierre more, because he's flashier, but you can't take away from Silva as a fighter. He backs down from no one. He is an absolute machine, recently dispatching in Dan Henderson in under two rounds. Silva is without a doubt, the top fighter in the world, and I have no problem with this ranking.
There are a few more names that a person might want to consider putting on this list. Mauricio Rua. Sean Sherk. Both have something to prove. If Sherk hadn't been busted for taking steroids, he would certainly be in the top 10. He has a chance to re-establish his legacy when he battles BJ Penn later in the year.
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