Inside Fights MMA Rankings: September 2009

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Our monthly fighter rankings are determined by a panel of Inside Fights staff writers and outside journalists. A first place vote is worth 10 points, second place is worth 9 points, and so on. The votes are then totaled and placed in the order in which they scored.

They are published in the first week of every month and take into account all shows leading up to the beginning of the voting process.

The most recent set of rankings: August 2009

HEAVYWEIGHT

1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Brock Lesnar
3. Frank Mir
4. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
5. Josh Barnett
6. Shane Carwin
7. Randy Couture
8. Brett Rogers
9. Alistair Overeem
10. Cain Velasquez

NOTES: The strength of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s victory over Randy Couture at UFC 102 moves him up one spot to #4. Nogueira may have earned himself a title shot with the performance, but it appears that a rematch with #3 Frank Mir may be in the cards. Mir is scheduled to face Cheick Kongo in December at UFC 107, but there are rumors bubbling that the fight may be scrapped in favor of doing Nogueira vs. Mir 2 on the Ultimate 2009 show on January 2nd…Josh Barnett drops from #3 to #5, likely based on inactivity. He’ll continue to drop down the list until he fights again…Shane Carwin moves to #6, leapfrogging the free-falling Alistair Overeem. Carwin will face Brock Lesnar for the heavyweight championship in November…Brett Rogers moves from #10 to #8. Rogers will face #1 heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko on an undisclosed card in October or November.

On The Bubble: Andrei Arlovski, Junior Dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum, Mirko Cro Cop

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

1. Lyoto Machida
2. Rashad Evans
3. Quinton Jackson
4. Anderson Silva
5. Gegard Mousasi
6. Mauricio Rua
7. Forrest Griffin
8. Thiago Silva
9. Rich Franklin
10. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

On The Bubble: Luiz Cane, Renato Sobral, Keith Jardine

NOTES: The most significant debut in these rankings comes courtesy of Anderson Silva. Silva’s destruction of Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 vaults him into the #4 spot. Silva will continue to fight light heavyweights while also defending his middleweight title, and a potential heavyweight excursion has been discussed. If that comes to fruition, Silva could very well become the first man to ever be ranked in three weight classes at one time…Nipping at Silva’s heels is Gegard Mousasi, who made an emphatic statement that he’s a true contender in the division with his one-sided beating of Renato Sobral at the Strikeforce card in August. Mousasi debuts at #5 in the rankings…Griffin falls from #4 to #7 this month after his embarrassing loss to Silva…#10 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira recently inked a contract with the UFC and will make his Octagon debut at UFC 105 in November…Thiago Silva debuts in the rankings after destroying Keith Jardine at UFC 102.

MIDDLEWEIGHT

1. Anderson Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Nate Marquardt
4. Yushin Okami
5. Demian Maia
6. Vitor Belfort
7. Jorge Santiago
8. Robbie Lawler
9. Yoshihiro Akiyama
10. Chael Sonnen

On The Bubble: Nick Diaz, Michael Bisping

NOTES: The only change in the top five in this division comes courtesy of Demian Maia, who switches places with Yushin Okami. Maia lost by vicious knockout to #3 Nate Marquardt at UFC 102…Chael Sonnen debuts in the rankings at #10. Sonnen will face #4 Yushin Okami at UFC 104 in October. A win will likely vault him into title contender status.

WELTERWEIGHT

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Thiago Alves
4. Jake Shields
5. Martin Kampmann
6. Mike Swick
7. Carlos Condit
8. Josh Koscheck
9. Matt Hughes
10. Paulo Thiago

On The Bubble: Frank Trigg, Dan Hardy

NOTES: Matt Hughes re-enters the rankings this month. Hughes recently signed a new contract with the UFC and will return in early 2010 against an unnamed opponent…#3 Thiago Alves will face #10 Paulo Thiago at UFC 107 in December. An emphatic win by Alves will put him in line for another fight with Georges St. Pierre, but he’ll likely have to win at least one more fight. #2 Jon Fitch is closer to a title shot than anyone else in the UFC’s division, and a win over Ricardo Almeida at UFC 106 will likely cement another title shot for Fitch…#5 Martin Kampmann and #6 Mike Swick were scheduled to face each other to determine the next contender for St. Pierre’s belt at UFC 103 later this month, but Swick was forced to pull out because of a concussion suffered during training. Kampmann will instead face the debuting Paul Daley, but it’s no longer certain that a Kampmann win will earn him a title shot. The company may instead look to put Josh Koscheck in that role if Koscheck can pull off an impressive victory over the returning Frank Trigg at UFC 103.

LIGHTWEIGHT

1. BJ Penn
2. Shinya Aoki
3. Eddie Alvarez
4. Tatsuya Kawajiri
5. Kenny Florian
6. Diego Sanchez
7. Gray Maynard
8. Frank Edgar
9. Joachim Hansen
10. Josh Thomson

On The Bubble: Gesias Calvancante, Clay Guida

NOTES: #5 Kenny Florian drops one spot after losing to BJ Penn in August. Florian’s next task will be Clay Guida at UFC 106…#6 Diego Sanchez will challenge BJ Penn for the lightweight championship at UFC 107 in December. That fight replaces the resceduled Quinton Jackson/Rashad Evans grudge match, which was canceled when Jackson landed the role of B.A. Baracus in the new A-Team remake…#2 Shinya Aoki will face #9 Joachim Hansen on the October 6 DREAM.11 card. If victorious, Aoki is expected to take on #4 Tatsuya Kawajiri on the DREAM New Year’s Eve show.