{"id":5235,"date":"2011-02-22T01:16:14","date_gmt":"2011-02-22T05:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=5235"},"modified":"2021-03-21T16:41:19","modified_gmt":"2021-03-21T20:41:19","slug":"5235","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=5235","title":{"rendered":"The Best MMA Fighters in the World"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Recently Sherdog.com<\/strong> posted their rankings for the Top Ten MMA Fighters in Each Division<\/strong>.\u00a0 Here are my Top Five for Each Division<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Heavyweight<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Cain Velasquez<\/span> (9-0)<\/strong>: Undefeated and the Champ.<\/li>\n
  2. Shane Carwin<\/span> (12-1)<\/strong>: One loss and that’s to the former champ Brock Lesnar<\/strong>.\u00a0 Carwin<\/strong> was destroying Lesnar <\/strong>until Carwin<\/strong> gassed.\u00a0 I don’t believe that would happen again and that’s why I rate Carwin<\/strong> ahead of Brock<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  3. Brock Lesnar<\/span><\/strong> (5-2): Former champ who surprised me by agreeing to coach on TUF<\/strong>.\u00a0 Although I think Junior Del Santos<\/strong> would be a favorite against Brock<\/strong>, since they haven’t yet met I’ll give Brock<\/strong> the benefit of the doubt.<\/li>\n
  4. Junior dos Santos<\/span> (12-1)<\/strong>: Will coach against Lesnar<\/strong> in the TUF<\/strong> and then fight him at UFC 131<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  5. Frank Mir<\/span> (14-5)<\/strong>: My favorite MMA fighter faces Big Country Roy Nelson<\/strong> at UFC 130<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Light Heavyweight<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Mauricio \u201cShogun\u201d Rua<\/span> (19-4)<\/strong>: The Champ.<\/li>\n
    2. Jon Jones<\/span> (12-1)<\/strong>: “Bones” Jones<\/strong> has one loss and that was a DQ<\/strong> for illegal elbows against Matt Hamill<\/strong>.\u00a0 Jones <\/strong>was destroying Hamill <\/strong>when the fight was called.\u00a0 No one has come close to beating Jones<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    3. Rashad Evans<\/span> (15-1-1)<\/strong>: Evans<\/strong> has come a long way from his days on TUF <\/strong>when he was a showboating wrestler.\u00a0 Now he’s a legitimate contender for the belt he once held.<\/li>\n
    4. Quinton \u201cRampage\u201d Jackson<\/span><\/strong> (31-8): Talks trash as good as he fights… maybe even better than he fights.<\/li>\n
    5. Lyoto Machida<\/span><\/strong> (16-2): At one time Machida<\/strong> was unbeatable.\u00a0 Now it seems fighters have his number.\u00a0 If Couture <\/strong>beats him at UFC 129<\/strong>, Machida’s glory days<\/strong> may over.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Middleweight<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Anderson Silva<\/span> (28-4)<\/strong>: The Champ<\/strong> with the longest undefeated streak<\/strong> in the UFC<\/strong>.\u00a0 Silva<\/strong> dominates or finds a way to win.<\/li>\n
      2. Chael Sonnen<\/span> (25-11-1)<\/strong>: Dominated Anderson Silva <\/strong>for 4 and 1\/2 rounds until Silva<\/strong> caught him in a triangle and forced him to tap.\u00a0 Sonnen <\/strong>has had trouble out of the ring and I’m not just talking about the crazy junk that he spouts.\u00a0 I’d love to see a rematch with Silva<\/strong>, but until and if Sonnen<\/strong> gets his life straightened out that ain’t gonna happen.<\/li>\n
      3. Yushin Okami<\/span> (26-5)<\/strong>: Surprised me by beating Nate Marquardt<\/strong> [who didn’t fight at his best].<\/li>\n
      4. Nate Marquardt<\/span> (30-10-2)<\/strong>: Should be fighting for the title but his loss to Okami<\/strong> was a major setback.<\/li>\n
      5. Demian Maia<\/span> (14-2)<\/strong>: Slapped the stuffing out of Kendall Grove<\/strong> and then played the bongos on his back in route to a win that moved him into my top five.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Welterweight<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Georges St. Pierre<\/span> (21-2)<\/strong>: The Champ <\/strong>and my choice for best pound-for-pound fighter.<\/strong> I may be in the minority, but I’d pick GSP<\/strong> to win if he chooses to fight Anderson Silva<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
        2. Jon Fitch<\/span> (23-3, 1 NC)<\/strong>: A great grappler who wins fights.<\/li>\n
        3. Jake Shields<\/span> (26-4-1)<\/strong>: Made the jump to the UFC<\/strong> after upsetting Dan Henderson<\/strong>.\u00a0 Shields<\/strong> is going to be a force to be reckoned with.<\/li>\n
        4. Martin Kampmann<\/strong><\/span> (17-4): <\/strong>His recent split-decision loss to Jake Shields moved him up in my ratings.<\/li>\n
        5. Thiago Alves<\/span> (18-7)<\/strong>: A tough fighter looking to get into the title hunt.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Lightweight<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Frankie Edgar<\/span> (13-1-1)<\/strong>: Whooped the Prodigy<\/strong> twice in a row and is the Champ<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
          2. Gray Maynard<\/span> (10-0-1, 1 NC)<\/strong>:If you can fight the Champ<\/strong> to a draw, you have to be ranked #2<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
          3. Gilbert Melendez<\/span> (18-2)<\/strong>: A tough fighter who is looking to move up in weight.<\/li>\n
          4. B.J. Penn<\/span> (16-7-1)<\/strong>: I’ve never been a big Penn fan.\u00a0 He’s talented, but never lived up to the hype.<\/li>\n
          5. Eddie Alvarez<\/span> (21-2)<\/strong>: One of the toughest fighters in the division.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Featherweight<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Jose Aldo<\/span> (18-1):The Champ<\/strong><\/li>\n
            2. Chad Mendes<\/span> (10-0): <\/strong>Has yet to face a fighter who can beat him.<\/li>\n
            3. Hatsu Hioki<\/span> (23-4-2): <\/strong>a seasoned fighter with an impressive record<\/li>\n
            4. Joe Warren<\/span> (6-1): <\/strong>Claims to be the “baddest man on the planet” — did win the Bellator featherweight title<\/li>\n
            5. Dustin Poirier<\/span> (9-1)<\/strong>: Impressive punching power — but will it be enough to get to the title?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              Bantamweight<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

                \n
              1. Dominick Cruz<\/span> (17-1):<\/strong> Currently the best in a tough division.<\/li>\n
              2. Brian Bowles<\/span> (8-1)<\/strong>: The man Cruz<\/strong> beat to win the title.<\/li>\n
              3. Urijah Faber<\/span> (24-4)<\/strong>: Faber <\/strong>is the only man to ever beat Champion Cruz<\/strong>.\\<\/li>\n
              4. Joseph Benavidez<\/span> (13-2)
                \n<\/strong><\/li>\n
              5. Miguel Torres<\/span> (39-3): <\/strong>Former Champ<\/strong> and one of the best pound-for-pound MMA<\/strong> fighters in the world.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                I’m not familiar enough with the Flyweights<\/strong> to rank them.<\/p>\n

                \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                Recently Sherdog.com posted their rankings for the Top Ten MMA Fighters in Each Division.\u00a0 Here are my Top Five for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":912,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mma","comments-off"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/912"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5235"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26596,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5235\/revisions\/26596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}