MMABay’s “Pound for Pound” Ranking’s for August
MMABay continues with the “Pound for Pound” rankings in MMA this month. Check out how we rank the top ten fighters in the world against each other and tell us if you agree or not. (Please note: The “pound for pound” rankings are worked out on skill sets and our own personal opinion of who would beat who, all things being equal, NOT current form).
1: Jon ‘Bones’ Jones: When we added Jon Jones to the P4P list in late-2010, we predicted that within a year he’d be challenging for a top five spot. Here we are less 12 months later and ‘Bones’ has defeated fellow ‘super prospect’ Ryan Bader and battered one of the all time greats into submission to win the 205lb title. Since then he’s not only defeated former champion, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, karate master, Lyoto Machida but his close friend and training partner, Rashad Evans as well. Has any combat sports athlete ever ran through a division in a twelve month period like “Bones” has? We don’t think so… The big question however is would a 205 pound Anderson Silva withstand the ground and pound attack of Jones??? The answer to that one is also a no…
2: Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva: Current and former champions, along with a string of legitimate number one contenders, have all fallen in ‘The Spider’s’ wake. You have to go back to December 2004, nearly five and half years and 14 fights ago, to find the last time that another man actually beat him in the ring. Dismayed by a perceived lack of challenges at 185lbs, Silva has moved up to 205 on two occasions, wreaking havoc like only he can. A late, late win over Chael Sonnen, a spectacular first round knockout of Vitor Belfort and a battering of Yushin Okami have only reaffirmed the Brazilian as the number one fighter in the world. He further upped his bragging points when he defeated Chael Sonnen once again, this time via second round TKO, to leave the fans in no doubt who the better man really is.
3: Junior Dos Santos: The champ is here! Junior Dos Santos’ meteoric rise is complete; the heavy handed Brazilian went from a shocking upset over Fabricio Werdum to capturing the most coveted title in MMA in the space of just a few short years. After brushing aside former champ Cain Velasquez without a second thought in November, Dos Santos went on to defeat another former champion in the form of Frank Mir in May leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind who the baddest man on the planet really was.
4: Jose ‘Scarface’ Aldo: Mark Hominick may have made Jose Aldo look human in their UFC 129 classic, but ultimately Aldo showed one of the most important qualities of an all time great: The heart of a champion. The young Brazilian is the most devastating striker at 145; a fact made even scarier when you consider that his primary background is Jiu Jitsu. With Hominick, Florian and now Mendes behind him, it’s tough to see anyone troubling Aldo at 145, or anywhere else.
5: Georges ‘Rush’ St. Pierre: Matt Serra’s anvil-like fists are the only thing keeping GSP off the top spot. Had the diminutive New Yorker not pulled off the biggest shock since the Virgin Mary told Joseph “You better start putting those carpentry skills to use on a cot”, it’s likely that St. Pierre would be sitting pretty at the top of the P4P rankings. He may have recently lost his claim of not having lost a round in four years, but until someone finds a way to take at least three of them from the Canadian superstar in one night, he’ll remain a P4P great.
6: Dan ‘Hendo’ Henderson: Not only is Dan Henderson one of MMA’s true legends, he’s also still competing with the best the sport has to offer and shows no signs of slowing down. After solid runs at both middleweight and light heavyweight in recent years, Hendo recently moved back to heavyweight for the first time since 2002, knocking out heavyweight G.O.A.T. Fedor Emelianenko. All that’s missing from the trophy case is a UFC title; a win against ‘Shogun’ Rua later this year could bring him within touching distance.
7: Dominick ‘Dominator’ Cruz: Dominic Cruz may have earned the nickname ‘The Irritator’ from Urijah Faber for his inability to finish recent foes, but his ability to confound and confuse foes while dishing out a steady stream of punishment has seen Cruz develop into one of the most unbeatable fighters in MMA. After avenging his only loss to the aforementioned Faber at UFC 132 and outworking Demetrious Johnson in September, Cruz has solidified his spot in the pound for pound rankings.
8: Ben ‘Smooth’ Henderson: Despite losing his WEC title in his final fight for the promotion, Ben Henderson has excelled since jumping into the deep waters of the UFC lightweight division. Increasingly impressive performances against Mark Bocek, Jim Miller and Clay Guida earned ‘Smooth’ a title shot, and Henderson took full advantage. Still, the result was contentious, and we may be heading for our third consecutive lightweight title rematch. Until then, Henderson can soak up the limelight as the world’s number one lightweight.
9: Cain Velasquez: It may have lasted over a year, but in real terms, Cain Velasquez reign over the UFC heavyweight division was a short one. Rendered unconscious by Junior Dos Santos in just 64 seconds, Velasquez now finds himself in the unfamiliar position of going back to the drawing board. He picked up an impressive rebound win over Antonio “Big Foot” Silva on the UFC 146 card in May and looks to be a man on a mission.
10: Frankie ‘The Answer’ Edgar: After a crazy couple of years that saw him beat an all time great twice and complete an epic trilogy with Grey Maynard, Frankie Edgar finally came unstuck against Ben Henderson. Despite looking an entire weight division smaller than his opponent, Edgar took Henderson to the wire in a fight many thought should have seen the champion retain. Whether ‘The Answer’ drops down for a run at 145, or has a third direct rematch, seems to be in the hands of the UFC.
Why not tell us what you think about this story and get your thoughts featured in this week’s edition of MMABay Radio? Email Mailbag@mmabay.co.uk, start the subject with the word ‘RADIO MAILBAG’ and we’ll talk about our favourites on the next show.
