Inside Fights MMA Pound for Pound Rankings
1. Georges St. Pierre
“George St. Pierre returns to the spotlight on September 15th when the twelfth season of The Ultimate Fighter premieres on Spike TV. With the announcement that his title defense against rival coach Josh Koscheck will take place in Montreal the stage is set for a blockbuster end of the year for the French Canadian.”
2. Anderson Silva
“While Anderson Silva’s come from behind submission victory at UFC 117 demonstrated his tenacity and improving ju-jitsu the doubts still remain about his defensive wrestling ability. He’ll get a chance to prove his critics wrong when he faces Chael Sonnen early next year in an instant rematch of their already legendary August 7th fight.”
3. Jose Aldo
“Having leg-kicked Urijah Faber out of the division at WEC 48, Aldo will defend his title at the end of the month against Manny Gamburyan. Should he get past Gamburyan then the demand will grow for Aldo to test the waters at l55Ibs.”
4. Frankie Edgar
“If there were any doubts about who was the best lightweight in the world, then there can be none now with Frankie Edgar having dominated BJ Penn like no lightweight has ever done before at UFC 118. He now moves forward to defend his UFC lightweight title against the only man to ever defeat him in Gray Maynard.”
5. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
“Shogun’s recent career resurgence has stalled as soon as it started, with his knee problems once again requiring him to take a significant amount of time off. When he returns in 2011 he is expected to face Rashad Evans, with the number one contender determined to wait until the champion is healed”
6. Jon Fitch
“It was more of the same for Jon Fitch at UFC 117, with his decision victory over Thiago Alves being greet by widespread apathy. Despite that fight being billed as a ‘Final Eliminator’ for the welterweight title, Fitch now has to wait to see whether the winner of Shields-Kampmann emerges as a more credible champion in the eyes of Dana White.”
7. Jake Shields
“Having never lost his Strikeforce middleweight championship in the cage, the next phase in Jake Shields’ career begins in October when he makes his UFC debut against Martin Kampmann. With recent victories over Paul Daley, Yushin Okami and Dan Henderson, an impressive victory at UFC 121 should be enough to earn him a welterweight title shot”
8. Brock Lesnar
“Brock Lesnar won over most of his remaining critics at UFC 117 by submitting the previously undefeated Shane Carwin after withstanding an early onslaught. Once again the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, he now faces Cain Velasquez in a title defense that should prove a stern test for both his wrestling and cardio.”
9. Lyoto Machida
“His unbeatable aura may have been dented by Shogun at UFC 104 but it was thoroughly smashed at UFC 113 with Lyoto Machida unable to make it out of the first round. Machida will begin his comeback after a difficult twelve months against Quinton Jackson at UFC 123.”
10. Cain Velasquez
“With a perfect record of eight wins in eight fights, Cain Velasquez moved to a new level in his demolition of the legendary Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria at UFC 110, demonstrating the finishing power that along with his wrestling and overall conditioning should make him the sternest test yet for UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar on October 23rd.”
Also received votes: Dominick Cruz, Fedor Emelianenko, Rashad Evans, Gilbert Melendez
