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By Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor Top 10 Heavyweights
1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
3. Brock Lesnar
4. Andrei Arlovksi
5. Josh Barnett
6. Randy Couture
7. Mirko Filipovic
8. Gabriel Gonzaga
9. Frank Mir
10. Cheick Kongo
My line of thinking when I came up with this list was to place guys based not just on current or past fights; but also on what I think they will do in the future. I haven't gone crazy, though, so potential only counts for so much. I think that Cheick Kongo has loads of potential but he isn't quite there yet so I put him at number 10. Gabriel Gonzaga has shown more than Kongo so that's why I put him at number 8. I don't consider Gonzaga elite just yet, but he sure seems like a safe bet to be champion someday.
Some of the other fighters got their spots on what they did in the past and my belief that they can achieve that greatness again. Andrei Arlovksi has shown some flashes of his past dominance and I think he might have turned the corner. That's why I put him all the way up at number 4. Cro-Cop at number 7 is also a case of past fights influencing me. I just believe that there's a good chance that if Mirko gets his confidence back that he has a good chance of beating anyone on this list. His head kicks are legendary. I can't really put Cro-Cop higher than where he's at without him beating one of the other fighters on this list, though.
Josh Barnett is a solid choice at number 5. He's fought some great fighters and there's always a chance he can beat them. I can't put him higher than where he's at, but I think he'd be able to beat the fighters below him on my list. Randy Couture is where he's at because he's Randy Couture. He had to be in my top 10 somewhere, I couldn't leave him out. Randy is always a danger to beat someone but the higher up the list you go the less chance he has.
Frank Mir is at number 9 because he's got a good ground game. I'm not a believer in his other areas but on the ground he's very good. Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira are number 1 and 2, respectively, because of the obvious. I think a good amount of people feel as though they're the top 2 fighters in the heavyweight division right now. Brock Lesnar is at number 3 because he convincingly beat Randy Couture. He's still very raw but the potential is clear. By the end of 2009 there's a great chance of Brock topping this list.
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