MMABay’s World Mixed Martial Arts Ranking’s for March

Heavyweight

1: Fedor ‘The Last Emperor’ Emelianenko: Each time out Fedor proves his detractors wrong, and each time out they find another way to discredit him. The fact is, Emelianenko has done nothing but win for years, something that cannot be said for any other heavyweight in the sport. Who knows when his run will end, but for now, following his brutal second-round pole-axing of Brett Rogers, Fedor sits firmly at the top of the pile. With a proposed April bout on the rocks, only time will tell how long Fedor will hang on to his top spot.

2: Brock Lesnar: After months of waiting we finally have an answer: Brock Lesnar will return to the UFC to defend his heavyweight championship. Tentatively pencilled in to face the winner of the Frank Mir/Shane Carwin Interim title bout sometime in the summer, the recently victorious Cain Velasquez will be on high alert should his services be required. One thing is for sure, Lesnar will have no shortage of opportunities to prove that he deserves his spot in the rankings when he finally returns to action.  

3: Frank Mir: Frank Mir has been making a habit of reinventing himself and proving his detractors wrong. First he came back from a career threatening accident, then he transformed from overweight slob to svelte striking machine for his clash with Antonio Nogueira. Now he has packed on the muscle and came out looking like a He-Man action figure against Cheick Kongo at UFC 107. Pound for pound the best trash talker in the sport, Mir seems hell bent on a rubber match with Brock Lesnar, but will have to get by 270lbs of Shane Carwin to earn the opportunity.  

4: Cain Velasquez: The speculation is over folks, Cain Velasquez is the real deal. While Nogueira is clearly slowing down, nobody, not even Fedor, treated him the way Velasquez did at UFC 110. He may be behind Frank Mir and Shane Carwin in the pecking order, but it certainly would not be beyond the realms of possibility to see Velasquez with a UFC title belt strapped around his waist.

5: Junior ‘Cigano’ Dos Santos: At UFC 108, JDS added the scalp of experienced and explosive kick boxer Gilbert Yvel to a hit-list that already features the names of Mirko Cro Cop, Fabricio Werdum and Stefan Struve. Should ‘Cigano’ continue the streak against hard-hitting Gabriel Gonzaga at ‘UFC on Versus’ in March, he’ll give UFC matchmaker Joe Silva some serious headaches as to who gets the next shot at the UFC heavyweight title.   

6: Antonio Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira: While we’re not writing the legendary Nogueira off just yet, the facts are plain for all to see. He’s fought two young guns in his past three bouts and both have left him staring at the lights. Minotauro undoubtedly still has a couple of fights left in him, but his days as a title challenger may be over.

7: Shane ‘The Engineer’ Carwin: After a spate of rearranged and cancelled fights that saw title shots and interim title opportunities fall by the wayside, ‘The Engineer’ will finally get a chance at the gold when he takes on former champion Frank Mir at UFC 111 in New Jersey. Should he pull out a ‘W’ here and stay healthy in doing so, Carwin will finally get his wish of a showdown with Brock Lesnar.  

8: Brett ‘The Grim’ Rogers: Things might not have gone exactly to plan against heavyweight kingpin Fedor Emelianenko, but Brett Rogers certainly proved that he means business. Already keen to get back in the ring, ‘The Grim’ has expressed an interest in tussles with Antonio Silva and Alistair Overeem – both of which would help in his efforts to become recognised as the second best heavyweight outside of the UFC.

9: Andrei ‘The Pitbull’ Arlovski: It’s not uncommon for a fighter to take a hit in the rankings after consecutive losses, but few have experienced the epic fall from grace of former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski. After suffering two devastating KO losses on the trot, Arlovski will next be seen facing off against Jean-Claude Van Damme in the 5th Universal Soldier movie; coming soon to a bargain rack near you.    

10: Alistair ‘The Demolition Man’ Overeem: Overeem recently returned to action after almost a year away from MMA to defeat two opponents in the space of 8 days. Neither was a world-beater, so the ‘Demolition Man’ will need a big win in the near future in order to stay relevant. After reaching the semi-finals of the K-1 World GP in early December, Overeem was quick to jump back into the MMA ring on New Year’s Eve, disposing of Kazuyuki Fujita in brutal fashion.

NOTE: Josh Barnett has been temporarily removed from the rankings due to his inability to get licensed in the United States after failing a drugs test. Barnett will be re-ranked when he is able to secure a licence, or fights again in Japan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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