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 and karate master, Lyoto Machida 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 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.

3: 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.

4: 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.

5: 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.

6: Frankie ‘The Answer’ Edgar: What a difference a year makes. Frankie Edgar’s tight decision win over MMA superstar BJ Penn at UFC 112 saw him go from fringe contender to divisional king, although in the eyes of many he still had something to prove. His dominating performance at UFC 118 saw all doubts erased, and following his devastating KO of nemesis Grey Maynard at UFC 136, Edgar takes his rightful spot in the P4P top five.

7: Junior Dos Santos: If the heavyweight champion of the world can’t make the ‘pound for pound’ list, then who can? Since his UFC debut as a massive underdog against Fabricio Werdum, Dos Santos has taken the sport by storm. His 90-second beasting of former ‘P4P’ ranked Cain Velasquez in November sees him take the former champion’s spot…if he can topple the winner of December’s Overeem vs Lesnar superfight, he could well break the top five.

8: 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. 

9: Nick Diaz: He may have been competing outside of the UFC’s ranks for some time (a factor that many believe precludes you from ‘Pound for Pound’ status, but Stockton’s finest marked his return with a bang in October, beating all time great BJ Penn. Diaz is on a tear, and holds wins from lightweight to middleweight. Should he beat George St Pierre early next year, MMA’s bad boy could well find himself vying for the P4P top spot with Anderson Silva.

10: Alistair ‘The Reem’ Overeem: While Overeem’s lofty position in the rankings is due in no small part to the recent losses and inactivity of Fedor, Lesnar and Carwin, its clear for all to see that the boy has skills. He’ll faced one of his biggest tests to date against Brock Lesnar just last month; a bout he sailed through with flying colours. After winning the Strikeforce, DREAM and K-1 titles “The Reem” will have his eye on the UFC title currently residing around the waist of one Junior dos Santos.

(Updated February 1^st, 2012)

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