FACEBOOK TWITTER RSS APP PODCAST Opinion & Analysis : Staff Columnists BENT: Top Ten Heavyweights including Couture, Mir, Arlovski, Fedor, Lesnar, Gonzaga, Nogueira

Nov 19, 2008 - 5:07:52 PM
By Jason Bent, MMATorch Columnist
1. Fedor Emelianenko, Affliction, WAMMA Champion (Fedor is not human. Nothing more needs to be said about this deadly, deadly man)

2. Brock Lesnar, UFC, UFC Heavyweight Champion (He beat the man who beat just about every man except Fedor and while many will argue this position I stand by it firmly. I can see it now and we should all see him near the top of this list for quite some time.)

3. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, UFC, UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion (He has an asterisk next to his belt just like Barry Bonds has next to his home run record, and he will be placed beneath Brock until he faces him and comes out victorious as the undisputed champion. Frank Mir may have something to say about this of course)

Andrei Arlovski [artist Cory Gould (c) MMATorch]

4. Andrei Arlovski, Affliction, Top Contender to Fedor ("The Pit Bull" will face Fedor on January 24, 2009 and a win could elevate him to the top; but a loss should not really move him down as no one else on the planet can beat Fedor at the moment, either.)

5. Frank Mir, UFC, Challenger to Nogueira in December for Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship and chance to rematch Brock Lesnar for the undisputed championship (Frank Mir is underrated and yet overrated at the same time, and while many will argue his placement on this list I merely contend that he has the chance to carve out his own destiny in the upcoming months and is talented enough to possibly pull it off. He did defeat Brock, and as much as I expect Nogueira to end up the man to face Lesnar, it would make for one compelling rematch to see Mir vs. Lesnar once more. Mir has a chance and deserves this slot.)

6. Josh Barnett, Affliction, Next in line behind Arlovski (Barnett is something special and is one of the very best in the world who is not competing under the UFC banner. Josh Barnett is tremendous, and it is not a slight to him that I have him sixth, but rather that all things change due to Brock's victory and Fedor's dominance. I believe we shall soon have a really scary 1-2 punch at the top of this list, and it is possible that the only men who can beat either of them may be one another)

7. Gabriel Gonzaga, UFC, Top contender in the heavyweight division (His win over Hendricks proved absolutely nothing, but he is a tremendously skilled heavyweight with heavy hands and a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu who should see action against a top UFC heavyweight fighter in 2009. Gonzaga could give anyone trouble and is a fighter with a chance to win in every fight. He isn't the best but he is one of them and a dark horse in the race for heavyweight supremacy.)

8. Randy Couture, UFC, Former UFC Heavyweight Champion ( His ranking is low due to his inactivity, as I did not have him ranked due to his retirement even though he technically remained the UFC champion. His return was impressive, as he did give Brock something to head back to the gym with, but he simply could not match his foe in terms of size, strength or sheer will. I believe Randy will compete at light heavyweight next and see him taking on the winner of Griffin vs. Evans, and if victorious could prove to give Anderson Silva a super fight in the light heavyweight division; or he could battle Chuck Liddell in a big money fight for times sake. He may be back in the heavyweight division but that would be to rematch Brock; and aside from making money it would prove to be a futile effort in my estimation. I see Couture competing and finishing his career at light heavyweight, but his comeback coupled with a gutsy performance at UFC 91 earns him admittance to this list.)

9. Tim Sylvia, Affliction, Last seen in clothing ad getting choked out (Actually that was his performance against Fedor, but every man faces failure when faced with the dominant Russian, and I really cannot slam Tim for looking so miserable. Lots of folks struck out against Nolan Ryan and they have nothing to be ashamed of, as simply digging their cleats in against the 100 mph speedball took guts that most would not have. That said, Sylvia is not a spectacular heavyweight, and by this I mean he got by on size and a modicum of talent, but he really could have been a better fighter. For his size he was never as dominant as he should have been, but in some aspects of his game he was underrated. Tim Sylvia is less of a crowd pleaser than a case of explosive diarrhea, and even less welcome at the top of the card to fans who are doling out 50 bucks. Sylvia will fight again and will surely have success again, but the new guard of heavyweights is going to prove to be too much; and he would be dismantled if he were to ever return to the UFC and face the likes of Lesnar. I knock Tim all of the time and simply do not enjoy the man, but I do admit that amongst the heavyweights currently competing that he is not all that bad. He isn't all that good either and as such I have him sitting at number 8.)

10. Fabricio Werdum, Unemployed, Formerly of the UFC (Was throttled by the underdog Junior Dos Santos at UFC 90 and was given his walking papers after such a dismal showing when this was to be a showcase bout for the promising fighter. He deserves another chance, but it makes good sense to have served notice to everyone that you need to always give your best efforts in the UFC or risk getting bounced. Put Werdum in there against any of the top heavyweights and he has a fighting chance, but it was his lack of proper motivation that bounced him out of the UFC and down to the bottom of this list. He is the best unemployed heavyweight fighter and it is my feeling that we shall see him sooner rather than later, and possibly back in the UFC. He definitely will take each and every fight seriously from now on, and his opponents would be advised to do the same thing.)

The heavyweight division is extremely top heavy and fighters such as Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez, and Roy Nelson are just one fight away from breaking into the top ten and shaking things up. Heavyweights are at a premium right now, and the very best are in a class all of their own but the future does look to be not too shabby as some young fighters are on the verge of bolstering the ranks in the coming year.

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