...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By Rich Hansen, MMA Torch Columnist
So, cycle one of my rankings is complete, but with a week to go until another major event, what better time to dabble with the futility of pound for pound rankings? Pound for pound is clearly the most useless concept in this sport, but what the hell, it fills a word count, right? (Boy, do I know how to sell or what? I couldn't sell water in the desert. Or is it dessert?)
Anyhow, this is my purely subjective top 50. There's no scientific methodology to this whatsoever. Not every pick is explained, because all of these fighters have been covered already in their own weight class. After each fighter's name I've indicated where each fighter fits within their own division. Some interesting findings:
4. Frankie Edgar - #1 LW - Dude, he beat BJ Penn TWICE. At lightweight. That's not impressive, it's historic.
5. Cain Velazquez - #1 HW
6. Dominick Cruz - #1 BW
7. Jake Shields - #2 WW - Nobody likes him (I do), but he's won his last 15 fights that aren't against GSP, and he won a round off of GSP, and had a different doctor looked at GSP's eye, he'd be UFC champion right now. UFC champion facing an immediate rematch, but still.
8. Jose Aldo - #1 FW - The last UFC divisional champion on the list.
9. Gray Maynard - #2 LW - A win over Edgar gives him some ownership of Edgar's Penn victories.
10. Gilbert Melendez - #3 LW - He might very well be the best LW, but until he fights Edgar or Maynard, he's behind them.
11. Junior dos Santos - #2 HW
12. Mauricio Rua - #2 LHW
13. Jon Fitch - #3 WW - How insane is the welterweight division?
14. BJ Penn - #4 WW - I said, how insane is the welterweight division?
15. Nick Diaz - #5 WW - Maybe you didn't hear me. I said, how insane is the welterweight division?
16. Carlos Condit - #6 WW - ANSWER ME!!!
17. Lyoto Machida - #3 LHW
18. Chael Sonnen - #2 MW - He's unlikeable, and his skills are as diverse as his fanbase (oh no I didn't), but he has the most dominant
wrestling game in MMA.
19. Yushin Okami - #3 MW
20. Rashad Evans - #4 LHW - If he loses to Tito, he plummets. That's due to the layoff more than losing to Tito, mind you.
21. Alistair Overeem - #3 HW
22. Chad Mendes - #2 FW
23. Urijah Faber - #2 BW - I might be overvaluing Faber, who is 4-4 in his last 8 fights. But those losses are to Mike Brown when Brown was on top of his game, Aldo, and Cruz. Certainly no bad losses there.
24. Joseph Benavidez - #3 BW - Team Alpha Male is certainly hot right now.
25. Rampage Jackson - #5 LHW - Jackson and Henderson fought a classic Unification Title fight in 2007. If Jackson beats Jones...
26. Dan Henderson - #6 LHW - ...and if Henderson beats Fedor and signs with the UFC as Strikeforce champion, maybe history repeats itself?
27. Shinya Aoki - #4 LW - No big wins lately, he could fade fast if he doesn't come to the States and win big fights.
28. Jim Miller - #5 LW - If he beats Ben Henderson, he's moving up.
29. Forrest Griffin - #7 LHW
30. Nate Marquardt - #4 MW - Irony defined: "I'm very excited to be working with BAMMA," Marquardt said. "They hold sports regulation in high regard and mandate it for their athletes. They are also known for signing top-level fighters and I want to fight the best." Irony, or chutzpah?
31. Jake Ellenberger - #7 WW
32. Clay Guida - #6 LW
33. Melvin Guillard - #7 LW - All the talent in the world.
34. Eddie Alvarez - #8 LW - Become a Bellator champion, slide into irrelevancy.
35. Kenny Florian - #3 FW
36. Mark Hominick -#4 FW
37. Jacare Souza - #5 MW
38. Brian Bowles - #4 BW - I lost confidence in him seeing how he reacted to his broken achy hand at UFC 132.
39. Josh Koscheck - #8 WW - If his face ever heals, he might fight again someday. But GSP is a lay and prayer with no power.
40. Hatsu Hioki - #5 FW
41. Demetrious Johnson - #5 BW
42. Brock Lesnar - #4 HW
43. Diego Sanchez - #9 WW
44. Scott Jorgensen - #6 BW
45. Fabricio Werdum - #5 HW
46. Anotonio Silva - #6 HW
47. Josh Barnett - #7 HW
48. Brian Stann - #6 MW
49. Michael Bisping - #7 MW
50. Fedor Emelianenko - #8 HW
If you don't want to bother me here, you can bother me on twitter. @MMATorchRich
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Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
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