Sportstwo.com Presents MMA Pound-for-Pound Top Ten, Year End Edition 16 December 2010 10. Junior dos Santos (12-1) 09. Mauricio Rua (19-4) 08. Fedor Emelianenko (32-2-1) 07. Jake Shields (26-4-1) 06. Jon Fitch (23-3-1) 05. Frank Edgar (13-1) 04. Cain Velasquez (9-0) 03. Jose Aldo (18-1) 02. Georges St. Pierre (21-2) 01. Anderson Silva (27-4) The biggest change in 2010 has been the decline of former top fighter Fedor Emelianenko. The Russian heavyweight suffered his first loss in nearly ten years when he was submitted by Brazilian journeyman Fabricio Werdum in the first round of their June tilt. It will be the only fight for Emelianenko in 2010 as the fighter has been in near-constant contract negotiations with Strikeforce. With only four fights in three years it is difficult for Emelianenko to maintain a position on the pound for pound list when the other fighters are routinely fighting top flight competition. Emelianenko slips two positions from six to eight due to inactivity. Despite Emelianenko starting to fade away the heavyweight class in mixed martial arts is enjoying a renaissance. UFC champion Brock Lesnar was dethroned by undefeated MexAmerican Heavyweight Cain Velasquez. AKA's best product so far has vaulted onto the pound for pound list with consecutive wins over Lesnar and veteran heavyweight Minotauro Nogueira. Also making his first appearance on the list is the UFC's top heavyweight contender Junior dos Santos. The Gypsy had a difficult time with Roy Nelson in August but otherwise had a brilliant year with knockout wins over Gabriel Gonzaga and Gilbert Yvel. The Brazilian has looked impervious in the UFC thus far and his upcoming bout with Velasquez promises fireworks. Mauricio Rua's never-ending knee problems resurfaced following his knockout win over Lyoto Machida in May. The UFC Light Heavyweight Champion has been sidelined again following surgery resulting in a ten-month layoff leading into his first title defence versus Rashad Evans in March. His knockout of the year performance against Machida notwithstanding, Rua slips five spots on the list due to inactivity. UFC Lightweight Champion Frank Edgar juked and jabbed his way to a second straight win over former P4P great B.J. Penn in August. Although many are reluctant to call Edgar the best lightweight in the world he is the only fighter in 2010 to twice defeat a #1-ranked opponent. Edgar's lone loss came in 2008 when Gray Maynard wrestled him to the mat for a unanimous decision--a result Edgar can avenge on New Year's Day when the two rematch in Las Vegas at UFC 125. Although Maynard is undefeated professionally seven straight decision wins, including two split decisions, does not a P4P ranking earn. Following his second win over top-five ranked welterweight Thiago Alves, Jon Fitch moves up on the list to the sixth spot. Fitch is one of the best fighters in the world but is a perpetual bridesmaid so long as Georges St. Pierre is still in his weight class. Even worse than Maynard, Fitch has gone to decision in eight straight contests. An upcoming bout against B.J. Penn should go a long way to determining the #2 contender at welterweight. The #1 contender is Jake Shields, moving from ninth to seventh on the list thanks to a decision win over Martin Kampmann in his nervy UFC debut. Shields is on a spectacular 15-fight winning streak and is expected to face St. Pierre in April. Shields' striking has been criticized by nearly every MMA writer and the Californian has responded by visiting Thailand to work on his kickboxing. Whether a few weeks of Muay-Thai will be enough to even part GSP's hair in Toronto is yet to be determined. Expect Shields to enter the fight has a heavy underdog, perhaps even more so than Josh Koscheck was last week. The top of the list remains intact since September. Top-ranked fighter Anderson Silva's win over Chael Sonnen may well go down as the defining victory of his career. His upcoming bout with Vitor Belfort is being called the fight of the century by the Brazilian media--lofty expectations for Silva to live up to considering his recent performances at middleweight. St. Pierre remains a hair's breadth behind Silva. Though his competition may be better and his wins more convincing, St. Pierre still has room for improvement, especially when it comes to trying to finish a fight before it reaches the 25-minute mark. Finally, Jose Aldo rounds-out the top three. Aldo has run through the featherweight division like a hot knife through butter but some wonder if the competition he has faced is as impressive as some of the more established weight divisions. Manny Gamburyan, Aldo's latest victim, was regarded by most as a fringe top-ten featherweight.
Honourable mentions: Jon Jones (needs better competition) Dominick Cruz (split decisions aren't good enough) Gray Maynard (ditto) Shinya Aoki (how is the colony treating you?) Bibano Fernandez & Maximo Blanco (time to come stateside) Fabricio Werdum (don't be the next Marcus Aurelio) Nick Diaz (competition sucks)
I dont know whats up with the P4P crap when most of these guys fight in the same damn weight class all the time. Check boxing legend Pacquiao, he's the definition of P4P.
I penalized other fighters for not fighting enough. Dude is way too inactive and his level of competition is suspect. His mystique can't keep him up there with guys that are fighting top contenders 2-4 times a year, right?
If your a heavyweight, your the best heavyweight. Thats it. Pound for pound, should be exactly that. A man who can compete and win at different weight classes. If your heavy, i guess you drop to 205. Randy won both LH, and Heavy right? BJ both Welter and LW. Hendo in Pride.... Anderson should be able to compete at 205. GSP at 185.
I think you are a little mixed up with regards to what P4P means. The idea is not 'who can win in multiple weight classes'. Not being able to move up and/or down a class doesn't preclude someone from being on a P4P list. The greatest boxer of all time is widely considered to be Sugar Ray Robinson who fought almost his entire pro career at middleweight. Willie Pep fought at featherweight. Ali & Tyson stayed at heavyweight, etc.. The idea is to take weight out of the equation entirely. Hence, pound-for-pound, or 'everything being equal'.
They should rename it then... I looked it up. Now it makes more sense. It is very subjective hence all the arguments and disagreements on who the best fighter really is. I stand corrected based on the information I found. For years, I've always thought of P4P as a person who had the best chances to win at any given weight. I still think Pacquiao is the best p4p fighter in the world.
