10. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua Points: 12 Affiliation: UFC Weight class: Light heavyweight Hometown: Curitiba, Brazil. Record: 16-3 Last month's ranking: 10 Most recent result: lost to Forrest Griffin, submission, Sept. 22 Analysis: Yahoo! got several reader emails last month asking why Shogun is ranked and Forrest Griffin isn’t, even though Griffin submitted Rua. I didn’t vote for either, but from the feedback I’ve gotten, my educated guess is that voters who went with Shogun feel the body of work over his career, which includes a KO win over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, outweighs that of Griffin, whose win over Rua was his first over a world-class fighter. 9. Urijah Faber Points: 45 Affiliation: WEC Weight class: Featherweight (WEC featherweight champion) Hometown: Sacramento, Calif. Record: 20-1 Last month's ranking: 8 2007 results: def. Jeff Curran, submission R2, Dec. 12 Analysis: Is the California Kid ready for pay-per-view? Faber’s next title defense, against Jens Pulver, will take place in either April or May, with his hometown of Sacramento and Reno mentioned as potential sites. There are also rumblings the card might be held on pay-per-view instead of basic cable. 8. Randy Couture Points: 57 Affiliation:Under contract to UFC Weight class: Heavyweight Hometown: Gresham, Ore. Record: 16-8 Last month's ranking: 5 Most recent results: def. Gabriel Gonzaga, Round 3 TKO, Aug. 25 Analysis: Both Couture and Dan Henderson dropped last month after Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and B.J. Penn won titles and vaulted over them. 7. Dan Henderson Points: 58 Affiliation: UFC Weight class: Light heavyweight/middleweight (final PRIDE 183 lb. champion) Hometown: Victorville, Calif. Record: 22-6 Last month's ranking: 6 Most recent result: lost to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, decision, Sept. 8 Analysis: Henderson seems to be making a slow slide down the rankings, but he has a golden opportunity to prove the skeptics wrong when he takes on No. 1 Anderson Silva on March 1. 6. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Points: 68 Affiliation: UFC Weight class: Heavyweight (UFC interim heavyweight champion) Hometown: Vitoria da Conquista, Brazil Record: 31-4-1 Last month's ranking: 9 Recent results: def. Tim Sylvia, Round 3 submission, Feb. 2 Analysis: Nogueira added to his legend with a crafty and courageous win over Tim Sylvia on Feb. 2. The victory made him the first fighter to hold versions of both the UFC and PRIDE heavyweight belts. Big Nog’s Black House crew, which includes Anderson Silva and Loyoto Machida, might be the hottest camp in the world right now. 5. B.J. Penn Points: 81 (1 first-place vote) Affiliation: UFC Weight class: Lightweight (UFC lightweight champion) Hometown: Hilo, Hawaii Record: 12-4-1 Last month's ranking: 8 Most recent result: def. Joe Stevenson, Round 2 submission, Jan. 19 Analysis: Penn jumped three spots in the rankings after his dominant win over Stevenson in England. To contend for the top spot, Penn is going to need to prove he can sustain excellence over a period of time and not revert to his less-motivated ways. 4. Fedor Emelianenko Points: 114 (1 first-place vote) Affiliation: M-1 Weight class: Heavyweight Hometown: Stary Oskol, Russia Record: 27-1 (1 no-contest) Last month's ranking: 4 Most recent result: Defeated Hong Man-Choi, Round 1 submission, Dec. 31. Analysis: Former K-1 star Bob Sapp recently said he’d like a crack at Fedor. Such a match would no doubt excite those who like to spend their weekend nights in their basement blogging about Japanese network television ratings. But for the 99.99 percent or so of MMA fans who watch the sport because they want to see the best fight the best, it would make for yet another underwhelming Fedor show. 3. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson Points: 114 (1 first-place vote) Affiliation: UFC Weight class: Light heavyweight (UFC lt. heavyweight champion) Hometown: Memphis, Tenn. Record: 28-6 Last month's ranking: 3 Most recent result: def. Dan Henderson, decision, Sept. 8 Analysis: One of the downsides of The Ultimate Fighter is that when a major name films the Spike TV show, they’re taken out of the fight mix for months. Jackson is expected to defend his title against Forrest Griffin in July, which would be a 10-month break between fights. 2. Georges St. Pierre Points: 132 (3 first-place votes) Affiliation: UFC Weight class: Welterweight (interim welterweight champion) Hometown: Ste. Isidore, Quebec Record: 15-2 Last month's ranking: 2 Most recent result: Def. Matt Hughes, Round 2 submission, Dec. 29. Analysis: St. Pierre edged closer to Silva’s top spot, narrowing the gap from 13 points last month to four. If St. Pierre puts on another show when he faces Matt Serra under the pressure of fighting in his hometown on April 19, voters will have a tough choice for the top spot. 1. Anderson "Spider" Silva Points: 136 (9 first-place votes) Affiliation: UFC Weight class: Middleweight (UFC middleweight champion) Hometown: Curitiba, Brazil Record: 20-4 Last month's ranking: 1 Most recent result: def. Rich Franklin, Round 2 TKO, Oct. 20 Analysis: Pollsters become more enamored with St. Pierre with each passing month, but Silva has a golden opportunity to prove he deserves the top spot when he takes on No. 7 Dan Henderson on March 1 and goes for his seventh consecutive victory. More [*]Votes for others: Kid Yamamoto 10; Chuck Liddell 3, Paulo Filho 3; Jon Fitch; Matt Serra, Forrest Griffin, J.Z. Calvancante, Takanori Gomi 2. [*]Upcoming matches for Top 10 fighters: No. 1 Anderson Silva vs. No. 7 Dan Henderson, March 1, Columbus; No. 2 Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Serra, April 19, Montreal. [*]Last month's rankings [*]Looking for division-by-division Top 10s? Then check out MMAWeekly.com's rankings.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Big Frame @ Feb 8 2008, 02:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Is it me, or is this ranking kinda stupid becouse it lumps everyone together?</div> P4P rankings don't work as well in MMA as they do in boxing.
