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By Matt Pelkey, MMATorch Columnist
With the end of the decade (assuming you count 2000-2009 as this decade, which, for the purpose of this feature, I do) rapidly approaching, I thought I'd put finger to keyboard and come up with a list of the top 100 fighters of the aughts, i.e. the fighters are only ranked based on what they accomplished this decade. Sorry Royce Gracie. Everyday between now and the end of the year, I'll be counting them down from 100 to 1. No scientific formulas here. Strictly subjective. Criteria include: record, big wins, periods of dominance, activity, and to a lesser extent, popularity. Popularity will mostly be used to break ties. If two guys have accomplished relatively the same in the last ten years, the bigger star will get the higher slot. Also, being good towards the end of the decade carried more weight for me than at the beginning. The pool of talent is so much deeper now than it was ten years ago, when MMA was still trying to break away from the wrestling dominated days of the late '90's. When listing a fighter's record, their career record is listed first, with their record between 2000-2009 in parentheses. Any questions or comments on the rankings can be directed towards matt6buckeye@hotmail.com.
Notable Wins: Dave Menne, Matt Lindland, Ikuhisa Minowa
Bad Losses: Makoto Takimoto
The Skinny: We conclude our little mini-run on early decade UFC champions with former middleweight title holder Murilo Bustamante. Bustamante bested (like what I did there?) Dave Menne at UFC 35 to claim the belt. He defended it successfully once at UFC 37 against Matt Lindland before being stripped of the title when he left the company to fight in Japan for Pride. He never reached title status in Pride as he had in the UFC as he opened his tenure there with a three fight losing streak to Quinton Jackson, Dan Henderson, and Kazuhiro Nakamura. Talk about being thrown to the wolves.
Bustamante last fought at the Yarrenoka New Year's Eve event in 2007, dropping a decision to Makoto Takimoto to seemingly end his career. In addition to fighting, Bustamante was also one of the founding fathers of Brazilian Top Team, one of the most feared and respected camps of the early part of the decade. Though not what it once was, Brazilian Top Team is still home to well respected grapplers such as Ricardo Arona and Rousimar Palhares. Hopefully Bustamante has hung up the gloves for good and can focus on being a trainer and mentor to the new generation of Brazilian fighters.
72. Carlos "The Ronin" Newton
Record: 15-13 (10-10)
Notable Wins: Pat Miletich, Jose Landi-Johns, Renzo Gracie, Shonie Carter
Bad Losses: Shungo Oyama
The Skinny: We continue my quest to include every UFC champ of the decade (except you, Dave Menne) with Carlos Newton. Why is he one spot ahead of Pat Miletich? Because that's the man he beat to capture the UFC Welterweight title back in 2001. He never defended the belt, and actually lost it in his next fight, which is probably also his most famous. At UFC 34, he took on a young fighter with a 2-1 record in the UFC at the time named Matt Hughes. In the second round of the fight, Newton seemed to have a triangle locked in, but Matt Hughes picked him up over his head, rested against the cage for a couple seconds, and then dropped down with all his strength (or what strength he had left seeing how he was caught in a triangle) and power-bombed Newton into unconsciousness. Hughes was awarded the victory and the title, but its still a fairly controversial decision because Hughes himself was basically out after the slam, and it took him several seconds to grasp what had happened.
Newton fought three more times in the UFC, going 1-2 with a win over Pete Spratt and losses to Renato Verissimo and Matt Hughes once again. He also fought several times overseas in Pride during their heyday of the mid 2000's. After dropping a decision to Ryo Chonan at Pride: Bushido 5 in October of 2004, Newton took two years off before returning to active competition in October of 2006. He's still fighting a couple times a year, even beating Mr. International Shonie Carter less than two weeks ago.
I was actually surprised to find out that Newton is still only 33. With only 28 pro fights spread out over the last thirteen years, I wouldn't completely rule out a return to prominence for The Ronin. More likely, however, is that Newton was never going to be an elite fighter in today's game. He had his moment in the sun early in the decade when talent pools were more shallow than Paris Hilton, but that's enough to earn a spot here for me.
73. Pat "The Croation Sensation" Miletich
Record: 29-7-2 (4-5)
Notable Wins: John Alessio, Shonie Carter, Thomas Denny
Bad Losses: None
The Skinny: Yet another entrant who hasn't exactly set the world on fire in the last several years. Pat Miletich is one of the founding fathers of the UFC's lighter weight classes and was actually a UFC champion when the decade started. He won the inaugural Welterweight title from Mikey Burnett way back at UFC Brazil in 1998. He successfully defended the title three times before dropping it to Carlos Newton in 2001. Miletich fought actively until 2002, when he retired for four years following a loss to Matt Lindland. He's fought twice since then and rumors are always swirling about a possible UFC return, but for all intents and purposes, Pat Miletich is done as a fighter.
His contributions to the sport go well beyond active competition though. He opened up the first MMA super gym; Miletich Fighting System. His gym has long since splintered and been surpassed by gyms such as Jackson Submission Fighting, American Kickboxing Academy, Xtreme Couture, and American Top Team, among others, but it was once home (and still is to some) to elite fighters such as Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia, and Robbie Lawler.
74. Frank Shamrock
Record: 23-10-2 (4-3)
Notable Wins: Elvis Sinosic, Cesar Gracie, Phil Baroni
Bad Losses: None
The Skinny: Clearly Frank Shamrock isn't on here because he's been a dominant fighter this decade. He was almost a UFC champion in the aughts, but he retired in November of 1999 as the reigning UFC light-heavyweight champ. Instead, Shamrock has earned his spot for his work in turning Strikeforce into a viable #2 MMA promotion in the U.S. He's used his unmatched skills of self promotion to turn help turn a regional outfit into a national one. Just as the UFC claims Las Vegas as their home base, Strikeforce can claim San Jose, Shamrock's city, as their's. Four of his last five fights have taken place in the HP Pavilion in front of big crowds with him as the main attraction.
His best days are clearly behind him, if this was a rankings of the top fighters of the 90's he'd be top 5, but he remains active and is still a tough challenge for the best out there. Shamrock is now in the third stage of his career. His first was as one of the better fighters of the early days of Pancrase, his second as the most dominant UFC champion of the late 90's, and his third as an ambassador for the sport (whether you like it or not) as his days as an active competitor eventually come to a close. Step four has already begun. In between training for fights, Shamrock has also become the lead color analyst on Strikeforce's broadcasts.
75. Josh "The Punk" Thomson
Record: 16-2 (16-2)
Notable Wins: Rob McCullough, Duane Ludwig, Gilbert Melendez
Bad Losses: None
The Skinny: Thomson has a near identical resume as the guy one spot below him, Gilbert Melendez. They have identical records, have fought and beaten similar competition, and are both currently a Strikeforce champion. The difference? Thomson beat Melendez, and he's also the real Strikeforce Lightweight Champ. Melendez is only a champ because...well, because they needed a champ who could fight. Thomson has been out of action since September of last year, and has had to reschedule his rematch with Melendez twice because of complications with a broken leg.
Still, Thomson will eventually heal up, and he and Melendez will eventually square off to perhaps decide who really is the better fighter. If Thomson can win for a second time, he may stake his claim as the best lightweight outside of the UFC. He's made Strikeforce his home promotion since his first fight with them, and also his last loss, over three and a half years ago to Clay Guida. He's in his prime now at 31, and probably has three or four more good years to try to secure a spot as one of the top ten lightweights of his time.
The Skinny: Melendez doesn't have an amazing record in one major promotion like a Mike Swick, but he does have two things that Swick doesn't have: a win over an elite opponent in Kawajiri, and a major promotion's title belt. Granted, its only the Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Title, but its a title nonetheless, and if he can ever get Josh Thomson back in the cage for their rematch, he might have the title all to himself.
Melendez started his career with thirteen consecutive wins, including the ones over Sato, Guida, and Kawajiri, to see himself vault into many people's top-5 lightweights in the world. Unfortunately, in his fourteenth fight he dropped a decision to Ishida, and then lost another decision to Josh Thomson for the Strikeforce lightweight title two fights later. He fell out of most everyone's top-10 after the Thomson loss, but he's seemed like an improved fighter in his last two fights, both of which he won.
In his most recent fight against Ishida again, he not only avenged his first career loss, but he also seemed to be a mini-Chuck Liddell; using his solid wrestling-in-reverse to keep the fight on the feet, and keeping his right hand cocked and ready to launch in a split second. It was a winning formula as he dominated Ishida for three rounds before stopping him with strikes late in the third. Melendez is only 27, and, despite an already impressive resume, seems to just now be entering his prime. He's also settled into a nice groove as one of the faces of Strikeforce going forward.
77. Mike "Quick" Swick
Record: 14-2 (13-2)
Notable Wins: Joe Riggs, David Loiseau, Josh Burkman, Marcus Davis, Ben Saunders
Bad Losses: None
The Skinny: For the record, I'm not a big Mike Swick fan. Something about his personality rubs me the wrong way, and I think he's slightly overrated as a fighter. Regardless, he's 9-1 in the UFC and other than Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida, you won't find anyone with a better record inside the Octagon. Does he have any wins over elite opponents? No, but he has plenty of wins over solid opponents, and in this day and age, 9-1 in the UFC is damn impressive no matter how you spin it.
A contestant at light-heavyweight on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter (even though he weighed in at a whopping 193lbs. for his fight. He couldn't have cut eight freakin' pounds and fought at middleweight on the show?!), Swick made his official UFC debut as a middleweight at the show's finale, where he knocked out fellow castmate Alex Schoenauer in just 20 seconds. He followed that up with three more victories in less than half a round over Gideon Ray, Steve Vigneault, and Joe Riggs to earn the moniker "Quick". He was eventually matched up with Yushin Okami at UFC 69, where he was soundly beaten and out-muscled for three rounds.
After the Okami fight, Swick dropped down to welterweight and has been on a tear ever since. He's won four fights in a row and now awaits a #1 contender fight with Dan Hardy at UFC 105. Swick is one of few fighters that seems to have timed his career perfectly. He's entering his prime at age 30, and with only 17 fights under his belt, he should have several more years before he even begins his decline. Despite flying under the radar for much of his time in the UFC, he's already 9-1 in the organization and could be one of the most successful fighters in UFC history by the time he hangs up the gloves.
78. Stephan "The American Psycho" Bonnar
Record: 11-6 (11-6)
Notable Wins: James Irvin, Keith Jardine, Eric Schafer
Bad Losses: None
The Skinny: Bonnar is another entrant who's mostly here due to his importance to the sport. Bonnar's razor close fight with Forrest Griffin (which I still think he won) at The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale really and truly is the fight that started it all. Ok, maybe not it all, but its responsible for the launch of the UFC's current success. Had Bonnar been awarded the decision, who knows, maybe he would've become one of MMA's biggest stars. Its not like he's lacking in the personality department, he's just different than Griffin.
He's yet to notch a victory over a truly elite opponent (no, Jardine doesn't count), but he's fought tough competition in the UFC, all of his losses have been to good fighters, and the one time he's been "stopped" was by a cut in his fight with Machida. The guy is tough as nails. He's also fallen on hard times. He's lost his last two fights and, barring a career turnaround, he probably will never get back to the status he reached when he and Forrest Griffin were the co-headliners in their second fight on a Chuck Liddell fight card back at UFC 62.
Regardless, his place in MMA history is secure, even if it's as a footnote. He's 32 now and if he loses his next fight, he might realize its time to make the full-time leap into MMA broadcasting. He's currently a semi-regular guest on MMA Live on ESPN.com, and I'd certainly like to see him give color commentating a try someday.
79. Rumina "Moon Wolf" Sato
Record: 24-14-2 (9-11-1)
Notable Wins: Yves Edwards
Bad Losses: None
The Skinny: I know, I know. I said this list was all about what you've accomplished this decade, but I had to make a special exemption for Sato. Sure he's sub-.500 since 2000, and his only win over anyone of note was a submission of a young Yves Edwards in his first fight of the decade, but Sato is one of the founding fathers of Japanese MMA. He's also the Japanese version of Royce Gracie. A little guy (waaay smaller than Gracie, by the way) and perpetual underdog constantly shocking much larger foes with submissions they didn't know existed.
Although they happened in the 90's (I know, still breaking my own rules) his resume has a "flying armbar" and a, get this, "flying reverse triangle" on it. He's a legend, and despite his best days coming a decade earlier, he's still active and holding his own with some of the best of the best. It says something that he's lost 11 fights this decade and none are even remotely close to bad losses. Ok, so the loss to Kadowaki isn't something you'd put in a recommendation letter, but all the others were to top flight lightweights and featherweights. Closing in on 36 and with 40 professional fights on his ledger, its probably time for Sato to hang em up. Still, that does nothing to tarnish his legacy or his spot on the Japanese MMA Mt. Rushmore.
The Skinny: Gono may not have the prettiest record, or ever come close to challenging for a major belt, but he's a gritty, tough Japanese underdog, who fought at a soft 183lbs. for most of his career against much larger opponents. Oh, and he did it all with a smile. And a dance. His entrances are legendary. Its one place Japanese MMA has always had a leg up on the USA. They sure know how to put on a show.
You can see that Gono has some big names on his victim list, but his list of losses this decade is about as impressive. The seven? Yuki Kondo (back when Kondo was a badass), Shogun, Hendo, Kang, Dan Hardy, Jon Fitch, and Dan Hornbuckle.
Gono had the bad luck of fighting in his prime at the wrong time, on the wrong continent. Had he peaked five years later, he could've been a successful welterweight in today's UFC. Instead, he fought in Japan during the height of Pride's obsession with freak-show match-ups. Luckily, Gono was never really part of those, but was he still stuck fighting the Hendo's, Shogun's, and Mousasi's of the world. I've got a soft spot for the underdogs, so Gono makes the list. He submitted Mousasi, for goodness sake!
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