The UFC has spent the last year really hammering home the idea that Anderson Silva is the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world. So it was a little surprising that at the end of the UFC 94 broadcast, the UFC's in-house announcers were referring to Georges St. Pierre as the world's best MMA fighter.
It was also a little surprising that UFC commentator Joe Rogan even mentioned the name of Fedor Emelianenko when he addressed the subject of the top pound-for-pound fighters. So who's really on top? My own list is below.
Top 10 Pound-For-Pound fighters in MMA
1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Anderson Silva
3. Georges St. Pierre
4. Miguel Torres
5. Lyoto Machida
6. Quinton Jackson
7. B.J. Penn
8. Rashad Evans
9. Shinya Aoki
10. Mike Brown
The last time I assembled a pound-for-pound list, I had St. Pierre fourth, but he now leapfrogs Miguel Torres after his dominant fourth-round TKO win over B.J. Penn. I'm not quite ready to put him ahead of Silva and Fedor, but at this point, I think MMA has four fighters who have separated from the pack in Fedor, Silva, GSP and Torres. You could put them at the top of the list in any order.
So where does B.J. Penn fall? I've moved him down to seventh. I don't think he should fall too far, considering that he lost to a bigger man who was already ahead of him on my pound-for-pound list. But I think he has to fall a little bit after being thoroughly dominated.
Moving into fifth place is Machida, who had his most impressive showing to date in knocking out the previously undefeated Thiago Silva at UFC 94. I don't know if he's going to get a light heavyweight title shot, but I think he's the best light heavyweight in the world.
February is a slow month for MMA, with none of my Top 10 in action. For a month, this list is set.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-01-2009 @ 9:08AM
jeff said...
even bas was saying how he liked silva in this match but i knew machida heavily outclassed his rival. the only light heavyweight that could stand in this mans way is mello manhoef but since he isnt in the ufc watch out raschad evans. lyoto is a master at setting up his opponents. i mean cmon this guy is world class and silva didn't have the whos who on his win record. raschad is a great natural talent but doesnt have the martial arts arsenal or ring experience to match up with machida.
As for pound for pound my man is overeem. When will ufc or affliction bring him and melvin over here?
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2-01-2009 @ 1:12PM
Matthew said...
I definatly do not believe Fedor is pound for pound the best fighter in the world, hes not dominating all the heavy high caliber fighters in his weight class because he's not fighting in the UFC, Brock would pummel him with very little expierience. Fedor in his last fight looked horrible and arloski looked like he took a payout punch and hit the mat for cheap, not worthy of saying hes the best in the world. Anderson Silva is the best in the world as we speak, not one person is currently on his mma level, I do believe if he goes up and fights machida or sugar rashad it will be his biggest challenge and possibly first loss. I definatly believ sugar will loose to loyoto machida due to the fact that he will be put in the position to chase something big and get caught like alves just did. GSP is a close second in my book as best pound for pound right now, he still has some flaws to ice out, and I have not seen him go up in weight and just destroy a fighter like the spider vs sandman fight. Bj penn has to eat his words bigtime and is no longer on my list because he will loose to florian and wash out. I say this due to both of their performances against joe daddy stevenson Florian owned him and BJ seemed to struggle a little bit. so my top three pound for pound fighters as we speak are #1 Anderson Silva #2 Georges St. Pierre #3 Loyoto Machida #4 Rashad Evans #5 Forrest Griffin #6 Tiago Alves #7 Rampage Jackson # 8 Florian #9 Brock Lesnar (only because I believe no one will contend with him I see him becoming 10-1) #10 Fedor
2-01-2009 @ 2:55PM
VN said...
Anyone that lists Fedor at #10 should have their posting comments rights removed. I'm sick of all these cross-over WWE fans who think MMA fighting only started 2 years ago when Brock Lesnar came over.
Just to educate you Matthew, Affliction's top 3-4 HW fighters are just as good as UFC's top 3-4 HW fighters. Arlovski, Sylvia, and Barnett all held the UFC HW title.
Pride's HW division was light years ahead of UFC' HW division - so Fedor was fighting the best of the best from 2000-2006.
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2-01-2009 @ 3:23PM
frank said...
Fedor is definitely best pound-for pound fighter in the world.His domination has been continuing for a decade,he has no fights lost,he looks incredible.It is ridiculous to even compare Brock Lesnar to Fedor because Brock has just a few fights in MMA and have already lost one.
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2-01-2009 @ 4:58PM
Niv said...
Hey Matthew with all due respect, your idea that Lesnar is capable of beating Fedor tells me you know zero about MMA.
The UFC is the biggest MMA organization in the world today, but it doesn't have a monopoly on great fighters. Fedor Emelianenko has been considered the most feared martial artist on earth for almost a decade now. The guy is considered the greatest World Combat Sambo Champion ever, and is considered by most the best heavyweight MMA artist ever for many reasons.
Brock Lesnar doesn't even deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Fedor. Let's examine some facts here. Fedor has beaten many top martial arts champions from other organizations including 4 or 5 ex UFC heavyweight champs. 7 foot tall Semmy Schilt a multiple K1 king beaten twice by Fedor. Cro Cop a former kickboxing champion beaten by Fedor. UFC champs Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, Tim Sylvia and now Andre Arlovski all beaten by Fedor. Antonio Noguiera when in Pride was undefeated and in the prime of his career, he was considered unbeatable, Fedor utterly destroyed him twice. Heath Herring in his prime considered a top contender for the HW title, beaten like a rented mule into submission by Fedor.
Let's contrast Lesnar's brief career, he gets submitted by a genuine MMA artist in the first round of his first UFC fight with Mir. Second fight is against Heath Herring way past his prime, and Lesnar looked impressive only in the way he dominated strength wise, but he showed he doesn't have the tools to put away Herring though. Now Lesnar beats a 45 year old Randy Couture who hasn't fought in nearly a year and a half, and with all of that you think Lesnar is the true HW Champ of the world? Talking about seeing the world through rose colored glasses.
Here's the deal Matt, Anderson Silva was a great fighter long before he came to the UFC, so was Rampage Jackson and many other fighters, you just didn't get it until they came to the UFC. Be a fan of the fighters not just their organizations, there are great fighters fighting outside of the UFC, you just have to be willing to open yours eyes first.
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2-01-2009 @ 5:24PM
Baby J Penn (PSN johnnynumber5) said...
Funny that this topic was posted because i mentioned this in the thread after the fight.
After that fight GSP has to be #3.
!. Fedor
2. Anderson Silva
3. GSP
4. Gregard Mousasi
5. Shinya Aoki
6. Rampage
7. BJ Penn
8. Urijah Faber
9. Miguel Torres
10. Rashad Evans
How in the world could anyone have Machida in their top 10 is beyond me. He hasn't proven anything yet and last night was the first fight he had to get excited about. I still think he is boring as hell and not fun to watch. I also wouldn't put Mike Brown in there ahead of Urijah because of one loss.
GSP is going to have serious trouble if he moves up to fight Anderson Silva. He won't be able to lay all over him like he does all the smaller opponents he currently faces including BJ Penn.
Anyone doubting that Fedor is the number one fighter on the planet is a total idiot who knows nothing about MMA beyond the UFC.
Machida and Evans would be a great fight on paper but I worry it would be a classic situation of styles making fights. There are just going to stare at each other for 5 rounds because they are both counter punchers.
The one thing that surprised me about Machida was his striking power. He seemed to have allot of power.
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2-01-2009 @ 7:34PM
Plato said...
Interesting comments about Fedor. It's strikes me as odd that he has become a bit of a polarizing figure and lightening rod for heated debate. Any rational discussion pays Fedor his just due as the best heavyweight of his era. Commentary to the contrary is well intentioned but ignorant. However when we entertain "top ten" or "pound-for-pound" lists then there may be legitimate issues. I'm not a fan of these lists but they make for great discussion and interaction amongst fans. I rather like Michael David Smith's list above, it is well thought out and defended. I do have a problem with the emotion behind those that support Lesnar's inclusion in these sorts of lists. To suggest that he is in the same discussion with Fedor is irrational and poor form. When his name is advanced as amongst the "pound-for-pound" greats today we do injury to those who have earned the label as well as to MMA generally. Lesnar has great potential and I am excited to watch him develop but he needs a few years to establish himself. Shoutout to MDS for an awesome resource! Rock on.
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2-02-2009 @ 2:12PM
pastorpassmore said...
well said!
2-02-2009 @ 4:36PM
vonpeeler said...
where's Faber on that list????
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2-02-2009 @ 11:47PM
bballprodigy005 said...
Cant agree with matthew not sure how machida is ahead on rashad and forrest? and how Fedor is rounding out the top ten. Fedor has beat almost everyone hes faced. He has one loss and that was a cut that stopped the fight. And Lesnar wouldnt destroy Fedor i dont think. Only way he would win would be if he took him down and threw his usual hammerfists. If it stayed standing i think fedor would knock out brock. Has alot of experience with bigger fighters. And Faber has to be somewhere on the list
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2-03-2009 @ 5:18PM
nofearb19 said...
first off anyone who thinks brock lesnar should be ranked probably wears tapout, affliction, or silver star shirts and has a tribal tattoo on their arm. why don't you get his sword on your chest too you hacks. he has size and that's it. also ufc bought a lot of it's legit fighters from other organizations. and if you think overeem is the #1 lb for lb you should be stabbed in your liver. he is a no talent hack who roids up before his fights and kicks people in the nuts. notice how he got his ass handed to him in his fights and then all of a sudden he is jacked and 30lbs heavier in a couple months. stop listening to the paperview commercials you guys see for ufc. fedor is the best. he has never lost. one loss due to an illegal elbow strike is not a loss no matter who you are. it should have been a no contest but it was a tournament so don't even mention anyone's name next to fedor's.
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2-03-2009 @ 8:12PM
talllguyintx said...
The list is missing a number of great fighters. Brock Gracie, Tank Shamrock, Kip Dynamite,etc. The fighters on the list never trained in Rex Qwon Do! Forgetaboutem!!!
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