Welcome to another installment of my UFC Total Rankings.
These rankings are not the typical mixed martial arts rankings you’ll see around the web. With the Total Rankings, I try to look at each division like Joe Silva or Dana White would, which means I’m not just using fighting skill and recent record to determine where each individual stands. I’m definitely using those two factors, but in addition to that, I also try to look at how popular each fighter is. Someone could be one of the most dynamic fighters in a certain division, but if the public doesn’t care about him, he’s not going to get great fights on big cards.
With that out of the way, let’s jump into the June Total Rankings.
HEAVYWEIGHT
1. Frank Mir (Interim Heavyweight Champion)
2. Brock Lesnar (Heavyweight Champion)
3. Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera
4. Cheick Kongo
5. Randy Couture
6. Shane Carwin
7. Cain Velasquez
8. Junior Dos Santos
9. Gabriel Gonzaga
10. Heath Herring
NOTES: Not much movement in this division for May, as nearly everybody in the top ten rested this month.
There will be significant movement in the division over the next two months, as Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar will rematch at UFC 100 and we’ll see Kongo/Velasquez and Couture/Noguiera as well — not to mention the UFC 99 return of Mirko Cro Cop. Cro Cop will face Mustapha Al-Turk in a preliminary bout, but a spectacular win will all but guarantee that he’s in marquee fights from that point forward, and he could be in title contention within six months.
A victory by Cheick Kongo over Cain Velasquez at UFC 99 will almost certainly ensure that Kongo faces the winner of Lesnar and Mir. I’m not sure if a Velasquez win would earn him a title shot at this point in time, but it will put him close to the top, in the same mix with Shane Carwin.
All told, the summer of 2009 will be a very significant one for the UFC’s heavyweight division, one of the most significant stretches of times in history, and the landscape of the division should look drastically different in September than it does right now.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
1. Lyoto Machida (Light Heavyweight Champion)
2. Quinton Jackson
3. Rashad Evans
4. Forrest Griffin
5. Shogun Rua
6. Luiz Cane
7. Rich Franklin
8. Keith Jardine
9. Jon Jones
10. Wanderlei Silva
NOTES: There’s a new light heavyweight overlord, and his name is Lyoto Machida. Looking at the current top ten, I don’t believe there’s anyone who can beat Machida, at least not at this point in time. The biggest challenge to Machida’s throne will likely come from Shogun Rua, and he’s probably one or two big wins away from a title shot. I have a strong suspicion that Machida will still be atop these rankings come May 2010…Rampage Jackson moves into the #2 slot by virtue of Rashad Evans losing at UFC 98. If the rumors are correct, Jackson and Machida will face off against each other as coaches on the fall season of The Ultimate Fighter, and Machida will likely defend the title against Jackson at The Ultimate 2009.
MIDDLEWEIGHT
1. Anderson Silva (Middleweight Champion)
2. Demian Maia
3. Dan Henderson
4. Yushin Okami
5. Michael Bisping
6. Nate Marquardt
7. Thales Leites
8. Patrick Cote
9. Alan Belcher
10. Chael Sonnen
NOTES: The only major movement comes from Chael Sonnen. He moves into the 10th spot with a dominant victory over Dan Miller at UFC 98, but he’s no closer to a title shot than he was last month.
The middleweight title is basically spoken for the rest of the year; Anderson Silva isn’t fighting until August, and that’s a light heavyweight bout. The next middleweight title shot will go to the winner of Henderson vs. Bisping, and that probably won’t happen until October or November at the earliest. After that, Demian Maia and Yushin Okami are likely in line for a title shot.
See what I mean about the middleweight title being spoken for?
WELTERWEIGHT
1. Georges St. Pierre (Welterweight Champion)
2. Thiago Alves
3. Jon Fitch
4. Matt Hughes
5. Martin Kampmann
6. Josh Koscheck
7. Mike Swick
8. Matt Serra
9. Carlos Condit
10. Karo Parisyan
NOTES: Nothing major in this division. Matt Hughes could have surpassed Jon Fitch with a dominating victory over Matt Serra at UFC 98; instead we got a typical Matt Hughes smother-fest that went to a close decision.
One interesting development: the impending return of Frank Trigg. I’m not sure he has what it takes at this point in his career to compete with the majority of the top welterweights in the UFC, but his addition will certainly bring about some interesting matchups.
LIGHTWEIGHT
1. BJ Penn (Lightweight Champion)
2. Kenny Florian
3. Diego Sanchez
4. Gray Maynard
5. Frank Edgar
6. Sean Sherk
7. Tyson Griffin
8. Clay Guida
9. Nate Diaz
10. Hermes Franca
NOTES: Frank Edgar’s victory over Sean Sherk at UFC 98 vaults him over the former lightweight champion and into the #5 spot. With Penn, Florian, and Sanchez all tied up for the foreseeable future, we could very well see Edgar slotted into a rematch with Gray Maynard…if Diego Sanchez is able to get past Clay Guida, it is almost a certainty that he’ll be facing the winner of Penn/Florian for a title shot.
POUND FOR POUND
1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Anderson Silva
3. Lyoto Machida
4. B.J. Penn
5. Thiago Alves
6. Kenny Florian
7. Quinton Jackson
8. Demian Maia
9. Frank Mir
10. Rashad Evans
NOTES: Machida’s dominant performance over the man ranked #4 in last month’s rankings catapaults him over BJ Penn and into the #3 spot. In truth, Machida may very well be the best pound for pound fighter in the sport today, but he needs tenure before I can place him there and feel good about it. A dominating victory over Quinton Jackson in the fall will probably do the trick…Evans falls to #10 after being dominated in brutal fashion by Machida.
