1: Jon ‘Bones’ Jones: The undisputed king of the light heavyweight division and for us he’s a neck ahead of Anderson Silva as the king of the “pound for pound” rankings. Let’s face it, the 205 pound division is the most talent stacked division of all and Jones has defeated them all; from Lyoto Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. After seeing Silva taken down by Chael Sonnen in both of their fights it begs a major question over his ability to withstand the ground and pound attack of the man dubbed “Bones”, especially after Jones handled Sonnen so well when they met in April.
2: Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva: The Brazilian could very easily be number one in the list with the ease and distain he’s shown for his opponent’s the three times he’s stepped up to 205 pounds. The crazy stand-up skills he’s shown against the likes of Rich Franklin and Forrest Griffin as well as the ability to pull off a last minute submission over Chael Sonnen means “The Spider” is always dangerous when you’re locked inside the octagon with him.
3: Georges ‘Rush’ St. Pierre: St. Pierre has returned to the welterweight division following injury with a bang, knocking off former WEC champion, Carlos Condit and former Strikeforce champion, Nick Diaz. That’s why we’re putting him at number three in the “pound for pound” rankings, at least for now… The big question is, whether the French-Canadian will be matched with Anderson Silva for a super fight to end all super fights, something that could push him into the number one position.
4: Jose ‘Scarface’ Aldo: The young Brazilian is knocking on the door for a top three position, waiting for one of the above to slip up and lose their spot. Not only has he walked through a bunch of long-term 145 pounders, Aldo has also defeated former lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar last time out. The biggest question remains over his cardio in the future and whether a move to 155 pounds would solve that issue.
5: Benson Henderson: A former WEC champion who has taken the UFC ranks by storm. Three wins inside the octagon were enough to convince those at Zuffa headquarters to grant him a title shot and he grasp the opportunity with both hands, not only defeating then-champion, Frankie Edgar but surviving “The Answer’s” attempt to recapture the title in the rematch. A win over Gilbert Melendez on the UFC on FOX 7 card makes it a perfect seven from seven for “Smooth”.
6: Renan Barao: Perhaps a surprise to make the number six position but you have to remember the ultra-talented Brazilian has amassed a thirty-one fight unbeaten streak over his professional mixed martial arts career including capturing the UFC interim bantamweight title. Whether he can beat Dominick Cruz is still to be seen but with “The Dominator” taking so much time off, you’d have to say the odds are most definitely in Barao’s favour.
7: Cain Velasquez: The UFC heavyweight champion took a big step backwards when he was knocked out by Junior dos Santos over a year ago but the way he managed to turn it around, leave Antonio “Big Foot” Silva a bloody mess and defeat “Cigano” in their rematch speaks volumes for the Mexican native. A solid spot at number seven but it’s going to be a tough call for him to move up any further in the coming months unless something dramatic happens.
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: Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson: The newest UFC champion on the Las Vegas based promotions books, “Mighty Mouse” has proved he’s is undoubtedly the king of the 125 pound division after knocking off the number two, three and four fighters at the weight. That alone means Johnson is worth his place in the top ten, although a finish or two wouldn’t hurt to raise his stock.
10: Frankie Edgar: How can he have lost his last three fights yet still be worth a top ten spot. Well I’ll tell you… In my humble opinion “The Answer” should have got the nod from the judges in at least two, if not all three of those bouts and therefore should have gold around his waist. There’s no doubt he was punching above his weight at 155 pounds but he certainly made Benson Henderson sweat before giving Jose Aldo the fright of his life in his featherweight debut. He might be hanging on by his finger tips but he’s hanging on all the same.
(Updated May 1st, 2013)
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