Inside Fights’ MMA Rankings November 2010

News, Top Story

In a busy month for the very best in MMA October saw three of last month’s top ten fight at UFC 121. It was very much the case of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly with Cain Velasquez storming up the ranks with his impressive UFC Heavyweight Title victory, former champion Brock Lesnar crashing out of the top 10 after the same flaws highlighted in the Shane Carwin fight were again exposed whilst Jake Shields treaded water by defeating Martin Kampmann without really impressing anyone. With Brock Lesnar no longer in our top ten there is room for a new entrant, with WEC  Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz coming in at number ten.

1. Georges St. Pierre

“While both himself and challenger Josh Koscheck appear weekly on The Ultimate Fighter, George St. Pierre’s focus will have already turned to preparing for a hometown defense of his UFC welterweight title against the last man to win a round against him. With Koscheck boasting the best wrestling credentials of anybody in the division, he may have the skills to force St. Pierre out of his comfort zone. ” – Will Cooling

2. Anderson Silva

“With Chael Sonnen out of action due to testing positive for steroids, Anderson Silva now moves towards a February showdown with fellow Brazilian Vitor Belfort. With both fighters famed for their destructive powers standing this should prove to be one of the more exciting fights of Silva’s long reign at the top of the 185Ibs division”. – Will Cooling

3. Jose Aldo

“Few fighters have as busy a month as Jose Aldo did in October and he didn’t even fight! Early in the month the story broke that he had rejected a showcase match against Kenny Florian at 155Ibs and then with the announcement of the WEC/UFC merger he was finally recognized as the UFC Featherweight Champion. He’ll make his UFC debut and first defense of his newly renamed championship against Josh Grispi on January 1st at UFC 125″

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.” – Will Cooling

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” – Will Cooling

6. Cain Velasquez

In a historic performance Cain Velasquez became the first person of Mexican heritage to claim the World Heavyweight Title in a combat sport, doing so by first neutralizing the wrestling of Brock Lesnar before dismantling the much larger champion with powerful yet precise punches. The undefeated fighter will make his first defense of his title against imposing striker Junior Dos Santos.” – Will Cooling

7. Jon Fitch

“With Jake Shields confirmed as the new number one contender at 170Ibs, division mainstay Jon Fitch will be looking to add a sixth victory to his long winning streak when he faces Jake Ellenberger at UFC 126 in February.” – Will Cooling

8. Jake Shields

“Jake Shields victory against Martin Kampmann earned him a long awaited shot at the UFC Welterweight Title but the manner of his performance asked more questions than it answered, with Shields clearly struggling in the second half of the fight as the 20Ibs weight cut played havoc with his conditioning. He’ll have to improve if he’s to be competitive against whoever emerges from UFC 124 as UFC Welterweight Champion” – Will Cooling

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.” – Will Cooling

10. Dominick Cruz

“WEC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz is on the cusp of a whole new level of stardom but first he must defeat challenger Scott Jorgensen at the final ever WEC event in December to secure the status of being the first ever UFC champion at 135Ibs.” – Will Cooling

Also received votes: Fedor Emelianenko, Rashad Evans and Gilbert Melendez

A Comics Nexus original, Will Cooling has written about comics since 2004 despite the best efforts of the industry to kill his love of the medium. He now spends much of his time over at Inside Fights where he gets to see muscle-bound men beat each up without retcons and summer crossovers.