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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: Renato Verissimo, Frank Trigg, John Alessio, Brock Larson, Carlo Prater, Hiromitsu Miura, Jake Ellenberger
Bad Losses: None
The Skinny: I know Condit's resume is a bit thin compared to some others on this list, but he has a few things going for him. For one, he's a finisher. Of his 24 victories, 13 have been by submission and 10 have been by TKO. That's a helluva finishing percentage. Secondly, I very much value periods of dominance, especially ones towards the end of the decade. In a span of less than two years, Condit went 5-0 in the WEC, finishing all five opponents including John Alessio, Brock Larson, Carlo Prater, and Hiromitsu Miura. Not necessarily a murderer's row, but certainly not cans either. The win over Larson was for the welterweight title and the stoppages of Prater and Miura were successful defenses. Winning and defending a major title is also pretty big in my book.
After the WEC dissolved their welterweight division (with Condit still the champ, he never lost the belt) Condit moved on to the UFC where he lost a razor close decision in a great fight to Martin Kampmann. Condit rebounded in his next fight, overcoming and early onslaught from Jake Ellenberger to this time come out on the right end of a close decision. Condit is only 25 and already has a wealth of fights and experience under his belt. That could either be a recipe for a fighter entering his prime or flaming out young, and I have no idea which one it will be. Right now, though, Condit has all the tools in the world and the killer instinct (hence the nickname) needed to be one of the best welterweights in the world, even in the shark tank that is the UFC welterweight division.
42. Renato "Babalu" Sobral
Record: 35-9 (26-9)
Notable Wins: Travis Fulton, Maurice Smith, Elvis Sinosic, Trevor Prangley, Mauricio Rua, Jeremy Horn, Jose Landi-Jons, Travis Wiuff, Chael Sonnen, Mike Van Arsdale, Mike Whitehead, Bobby Southworth, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Bad Losses: None
The Skinny: You may be asking yourself, "how is a guy who's best remember for his two maulings at the hands and feet of Chuck Liddell so high on this list?" Well aside from that detraction, he pretty much hits on every other qualification. He's been good for a loooong period of time. He has an elite win (Shogun). He has a laundry list of wins over quality opponents. He really only loses to very good fighters (six of his nine losses came to fighters on this list). Plus, he's popular. His cult following happens to include my wife. So he's never been UFC champion. Who cares? To this day he's still one of the top 10 light-heavyweight submission artists of all time. He has a lot of wear and tear on his body, and his last outing against Gegard Mousasi might start to be a more common outcome to his fights going forward. Even still, he's been a fixture in the MMA world for basically the entire decade, and a long successful career has secured his spot in history.
43. Ricardo "The Brazilian Tiger" Arona
Record: 14-5 (14-5)
Notable Wins: Jeremy Horn (2), Gustavo Machado, Guy Mezger, Dan Henderson, Murilo Rua, Dean Lister, Kazushi Sakuraba, Wanderlei Silva, Alistair Overeem, Marvin Eastman
Bad Losses: None
The Skinny: Consider Arona the light-heavyweight version of Paulo Filho. Both undersized for their weight class. Both stocky Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu aces. Both found the bulk of their success in the middle of the decade in Pride. But Filho's record was much better, so why does Arona find himself one spot higher? One word: competition. While Filho got fat on overmatched opponents, Arona was constantly an underdog going toe-to-toe with the best in the world. And more often than not, his hand was raised in victory. Consider; he's 6-4 against fighters on this top-100 list. He was a key cog for Brazilian Top Team during their war with Chute Boxe in Pride.
He has victories over all-time greats Dan Henderson, Sakuraba, and Wanderlei Silva, to go along with beyond-respectable losses to Fedor, Rampage, Shogun, and Wanderlei. The only true blemish on his record was being the second victim of Sokoudjou's unknown punching power. He mysteriously disappeared from competition for almost two and a half years after the Soko loss, but he returned this past September to best grizzled veteran Marvin Eastman at Bitetti Combat 4. Being 31 and having gone through the wars that being a Pride light-heavyweight guaranteed, you'd think that Arona's time as an elite fighter is over. I'm not so sure. Perhaps that 2+ year sabbatical allowed his body to heal and rejuvenate. Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I'm not quite ready to close the book on this middle-of-the-decade great.
Bad Losses: Chael Sonnen. Keep in mind there shouldn't be any shame in losing to Sonnen, but the manner in which Filho lost was both shameful and downright baffling. Perhaps he and Forrest Griffin use the same ludes dealer.
The Skinny: While compiling this list, I noticed that most fighters fall into one of three categories; the fighters who were great in the early part of the decade (Coleman, Miletich, Shamrock), fighters who have just started making a splash in the last few years (Mousasi, Bowles, the TUF fighters), and the fighters who made their name from about 2003-2006. Interestingly, most of those last fighters did most of the their damage in Pride. That's because during that time period, it was widely recognized that Pride had the much deeper talent pool, and the UFC was the little brother during that time.
Filho falls into that group. Before Anderson Silva descended on the UFC and turned the middleweight division upside down, Filho was the consensus #1 middleweight in the world. He went undefeated for the first eight years of his career. Despite being a stocky 5'8, Filho physically dominated his competition. He either submitted you or smothered you until time ran out and his hand was raised with a decision victory in tow. Does he have a bunch of wins over elite fighters? No, but that record sure is pretty.
After the demise of Pride, Filho ended up in the WEC (back when they still had a middleweight division) to avoid having to fight his friend Anderson Silva. The title was basically given to him on a silver platter, or so it was thought. He was matched up with Chael Sonnen, basically the only other respectable middleweight on the roster. Despite being largely controlled by the striking and wrestling of Sonnen, Filho did manage to pull out an armbar near the end of the second round to capture the title. Because Sonnen looked good in the fight, Filho's first defense came against him. This time, Filho looked dazed and disinterested throughout, losing a three round decision (Filho also missed weight, thus making it a non-title fight) in one of the worst and strangest fights I've ever seen. He seems to be back on track now, but that night will haunt Filho the rest of his career. Already 31 and seemingly unwilling to evolve his game to be more well-rounded, I'm guessing we've seen the best of Filho and its never coming back. At least he'll always have his Pride glory days to fall back on.
45. Thiago "Pitbull" Alves
Record: 16-6 (16-6)
Notable Wins: Marcus Davis, John Alessio, Tony DeSouza, Chris Lytle, Karo Parisyan, Matt Hughes, Josh Koscheck
Bad Losses: None
The Skinny: Its all about the wins, and Alves had a handful of solid ones before he went on one of the best three fight streaks any fighter has ever had. Prior to his blowout loss to GSP in his quest for the UFC welterweight title (don't worry Thiago, you're not alone there), Alves beat Karo Parisyan, Matt Hughes, and Josh Koscheck in a row to earn his title shot. In fact, he was the first person to ever stop Karo Parisyan (unless you count throwing in the towel against Sean Sherk when he was only 19).
Alves certainly lives up to his nickname, and he's possibly one of the most physically gifted fighters to ever grace the Octagon. Looking more like an action figure than a fighter, Alves combines fantastic Muay Thai skills with new-found elite takedown defense to be one of the world's best welterweights. His 9-3 record in the UFC is impressive enough, but the fact that he's accomplished so much at just 26 is staggering. He'll only get better, and he leads a group of young veterans into the next decade.
46. Kenny "KenFlo" Florian
Record: 11-4
Notable Wins: Sam Stout, Dokonjonosuke Mishima, Din Thomas, Joe Lauzon, Roger Huerta, Joe Stevenson
Bad Losses: None
The Skinny: I know all the Diego fans out there are going to see KenFlo one spot higher and think, "WTF?" Well riddle me this; how many times has Diego Sanchez fought for a UFC title. That's the difference to me. You can't count Diego's win over Florian because it was over four years ago and Kenny was basically an MMA novice at that point. After losing the TUF 1 finals to Sanchez, Kenny Florian dedicated himself to the sport. He went from Jiu-Jitsu competitor to mixed martial artist. He ran through his next three opponents, Alex Karalexis, Kit Cope, and Sam Stout (granted, not a murderer's row, but decent opponents) to earn a fight with Sean Sherk to crown a lightweight champ after the title had been vacant for several years. Florian lost a lopsided decision, but earned a lot of respect by hanging five rounds with an established bruiser like Sherk.
After the loss to Sherk, Florian began transforming into the fighter we know today. His muay thai is now equal to his jiu-jitsu and you won't find many fighters as well-conditioned. Starting with the Mishima fight, Florian ripped off six wins in a row, five by stoppage, over quality opponents to earn another crack at the UFC lightweight title, this time held by BJ Penn. Another loss, this time by submission in the fourth round, may have proven that Florian will never be able to beat the best of the best, but there's no shame in that. Perhaps more than any other fighter, Florian does the most with what he has. He's not naturally gifted athletically, but he's smart and focused. There's no doubt in my mind Florian is about to start another run to a third crack at the title. Who knows, maybe next time he might even win it.
47. Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez
Record: 21-2 (21-2)
Notable Wins: Jorge Santiago, Kenny Florian, Nick Diaz, John Alessio, Karo Parisyan, Joe Riggs, Joe Stevenson, Clay Guida
Bad Losses: None
The Skinny: People give me a hard time because I still don't have Diego Sanchez in my lightweight top-10 (hey its a hard top-10 to crack), but there's no denying the resume he's put together in such a short amount of time and at such a young age. He's 10-2 in the UFC, and most of his wins have been over good to very good opposition. Many a winner of The Ultimate Fighter has enjoyed a bloated record due to getting the "slow build" treatment from the UFC match-makers. Not Sanchez. From UFC debut to the second of back-to-back losses (the only losses on his ledger), the opponents for Diego Sanchez: Kenny Florian, Brian Gassaway, Nick Diaz, John Alessio, Karo Parisyan, Joe Riggs, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch. Going 6-2 in that stretch is damn impressive.
The losses to Koscheck and Fitch may have been the best thing that every happened to Sanchez. After getting bullied around by two bigger, superior grapplers (Koscheck beat him on the feet, but Sanchez had no chance of winning a ground fight), he realized he could be the bully if he cut down to lightweight. The results have been promising. Back to back wins over solid lightweights Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida have earned Sanchez a fast-tracked title shot against BJ Penn at UFC 107. Win that and it might be time to start talking about Sanchez as one of the top-10 fighters in the world, regardless of weight.
48. Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira
Record: 17-3 (17-3)
Notable Wins: Guy Mezger, Kazuhiro Nakamura (2), Kazushi Sakuraba, Alistair Overeem (2), Dan Henderson, Vladimir Matyushenko
Bad Losses: None
The Skinny: Lil Nog has been living in the shadow of his "big" brother Rodrigo (big because he's bigger physically, they're twins) for his entire career. Its a shame. Rogerio has been an elite fighter practically since he burst onto the MMA scene in late 2001. He won his first seven fights in Pride, defeating the likes of a still relevant Guy Mezger, the double tough Nakamura twice, a prime Sakuraba, the Bruce Banner version of Alistair Overeem, and the...well, Hendo has always been the exact same fighter. Still, that's quite a run. Up until February of 2007, he carried the same "unfinishable" mystique of his brother. Unfortunately, he took the punch from hell that launched Sokoudjou into MMA stardom.
Despite all the impressive wins and a severe lack of losses, Lil Nog never really won anything of significance. Wanderlei Silva was the light-heavyweight (or middleweight, as they called it) Pride Champion for basically Rogerio's entire Pride career, yet their paths never crossed. After Pride was purchased by the UFC, Rogerio bounced around several promotions, fighting for Hardcore Championship Fighting, Affliction (twice), Sengoku, and Jungle Fight before finally inking a deal with the UFC. Among those five fight, he avenged his first career defeat, stopping Vladimir Matyushenko in the second round of their fight at Affliction: Day of Reckoning. While Big Nog's career seems to be beginning to wind down, Rogerio doesn't have the miles on his body that his brother does, and now may be the time to finally come out of the shadow. He gets his chance to make a splash, taking on fellow top-10 light-heavyweight Luiz Cane at UFC 106. Win your debut in a featured fight, find yourself in the thick of the title picture. Its as simple as that.
49. Brian Bowles
Record: 8-0 (8-0)
Notable Wins: Charlie Valencia, Marcos Galvao, Demacio Page, Will Ribeiro, Miguel Torres
Bad Losses: None
The Skinny: The current WEC bantamweight champion, Bowles has accomplished a helluva lot in just eight professional fights. He's 5-0 in the WEC, basically cleaning out their bantamweight division in less than two and a half years. Despite being tagged with the label of being a "wrestler", which generally is a derogatory term for a boring fighter, Bowles has bucked that trend, finishing every one of his fights so far. He was thrown to the wolves in his WEC debut, drawing veteran Charlie Valencia in his first outing. You would've thought Valencia was the newcomer.
The sky is the limit for Bowles. He has great wrestling, great submissions, and natural power in his hands. He's 29, so he got a bit of a late start, but with only eight fights on his belt, he has ten prime years left. Something tells me if I do this list in another ten years, Bowles would be much higher than #49. He's Matt Hughes v2.0, and he's poised to go on a similar path of destruction in the bantamweight division.
50. Jeremy "Gumby" Horn
Record: 83-19-5 (46-14-1)
Notable Wins: Eugene Jackson, Gilbert Yvel, Travis Fulton, Vernon White, Forrest Griffin, Dean Lister, David Loiseau, Chael Sonnen (3), Josh Burkman, Trevor Prangley, Falaniko Vitale
Bad Losses: Surprisingly none
The Skinny: Well we started our countdown with one of the legendary "fight anyone, anywhere, anytime" fighters in Travis Fulton, so it seemed only fitting to start the second half of the countdown with the high-level version of Fulton in Jeremy Horn. Clearly they're not the same fighter. Horn takes training very seriously, while Fulton considers the actual fights to be his training. He's also a blackbelt in jiu-jitsu with 52(!) submissions to his credit. Despite his gym being named Elite Performance, elite isn't a word I'd use to describe Horn. Well-rounded? Yes. Durable? You bet. But he was never talented enough to be a major champion. He owns victories over some big names, including a submission of Chuck Liddell in 1999, but he's never been able to get over the hump.
That's not to say his career has, in any way, been a disappointment. Far from it. With 14 losses this decade, you'd figure one of them would've been to some sub-.500 nobody in a fight where he was uninspired and just there to collect a paycheck. Nope. In fact, nine of those fourteen losses came to fighters who have or will appear on this list. The guy really only loses to the best. He remains plenty active still, having fit four fights in this year, but he's starting to make the transition over to coaching more so than fighting. Its a good thing. With well over 100 fights to his credit, his brain is bound to start slowing down along with his body if he keeps it up for much longer.
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