For the first time in a while, the MMA pound-for-pound rankings have been updated. Read below for the top 8, write us to say what you think, and check back with us at the end of the week to see which fighters grab the last two spots!
Heavyweights don't typically find themselves on pound-for-pound lists, but Emelianenko Fedor is far from typical. Since suffering his only professional loss in December 2000, Fedor embarked on a reign of terror over the MMA world. At 13-0 in Pride, there is only one name left for Fedor to fight – Josh Barnett. He's beaten everyone else. And the scariest part about it is that Fedor is not that much larger than some of the 205-lb guys like Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell or Wanderlei Silva. That's why he owns the title of pound-for-pound king.
Last: First round Kimura shoulder lock submission win over Mark Hunt.
2006 was a huge year for UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell. In February he knocked out former champion, and all-time great, Randy Couture for a second time. In August it took only a couple of minutes for Liddell to KO number one contender Renato "Babalu" Sobral in their rematch, and on December 30 Liddell punctuated his biggest year ever with a second TKO victory over Tito Ortiz. In his late thirties, Liddell only seems to be peaking at this point. Of his career three losses, only one of them remains un-avenged, his 2003 TKO loss to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in Pride. Now “Rampage” is in the UFC, and if he can do his part and win his first couple of bouts in the organization, Liddell’s biggest challenge may yet be ahead of him. Until then, Liddell has secured his spot in the pound for pound rankings by beating the top contenders, avenging his losses, and finishing fights convincingly. Since November of 2002, Liddell has won 9 fights, all of them by KO or TKO, including four consecutive title defenses.
Last: Third round TKO win over Tito Ortiz at UFC 66
Georges St Pierre has broken through from the category of an “on the cusp” fighter to that of undoubtedly one of the best fighters in the world, pound for pound. St. Pierre proved his ability to overcome adversity in a fight by coming from behind and eking out a decision over BJ Penn in February of 2006 and he utterly dominated Matt Hughes in November to win the UFC welterweight title. St. Pierre, like BJ Penn, is an embodiment of the evolution of the sport of MMA. “Rush” is young, dynamic, smart, and is good at every aspect of the game. St. Pierre is now 13-1 over all, and has plenty of challengers waiting for him in one of the most stacked divisions in the sport.
With a Heavyweight already occupying the top pound-for-pound spot, it’s hard to justify using many more spots for other Heavyweights, but there is no denying what “CroCrop” has accomplished. Over the last three years, the Croatian has probably been the most active top-heavyweight in the world, 21 fights in all, and in 2006 he climbed his way back up to a position with an authoritative claim on the number 2 Heavyweight spot in the world. Filipovic was undefeated in four bouts in 2006, and was the Pride Open Weight Grand Prix winner. In one night, “CroCop” finished both Wanderlei Silva and Josh Barnett in the first rounds and won the tournament. Just as he secured himself a position to challenge Fedor for his Pride Heavyweight belt again (“Cro Cop” lost a decision in 2005 to Fedor), “CroCop” signed with the UFC. Although he still has to prove it in the Octagon, “CroCop” instantly became the best in the UFC heavyweight division the moment he signed his new contract.
Last: Submission win due to strikes over Josh Barnett in the final round of the Pride Open Weight Grand Prix
Next: His UFC debut on February 3rd against Eddie Sanchez.
Takanori Gomi has not had smooth sailing recently, but in the end he’s still Pride’s 160-lb champion, and that counts for a lot. Since losing twice in a row in 2003, “The Fireball Kid” has beaten the like of Tatsuya Kawajiri, Jens Pulver, Hayato Sakurai, Mitsuhiro Ishida, and he also avenged his loss to Marcus Aurelio with a split decision win in November. Perhaps his rougher-than expected road in 2006 will serve to keep Gomi motivated and interested, two big keys for his success. Gomi is best when he’s the bully-hurting opponents with excellent boxing, and some of the best body punches in MMA, and using his wrestling to take them down and pound on them. With a TKO win in just over a minute over Ishida on New Year’s Eve, Gomi was back in full bully from.
Sherk was one of the best 170-lb fighters in the world for many years, and in 2006 he made the transition to 155-lbs (lightweight). The result? Sherk immediately became one of the best lightweights in the world by capturing the vacant UFC lightweight title in October with a hard fought decision win over Kenny Florian. Sherk brings his strength and power down with him to the lightweight division, and is showing well-developed jiu-jitsu skills. There is much left to prove for Sherk when he returns to a laundry list of contenders after undergoing shoulder surgery, but you get the feeling that with his skill-set, he matches up favourably with just about any other top lightweight in the world.
Though his record over the last couple of years may be found a bit lacking, Wanderlei Silva’s quality of opponents combined with the fact that he is the longest reigning champion in any top MMA organization (Pride Middleweight-205-lb-belt), has been more than impressive. And that’s why he’s still in the pound for pound list. In 2006, Silva attempted to set up for himself one of the most ambitious schedules ever in the sport of MMA. Silva entered the Pride Open Weight Grand Prix to move up in weight class and compete against some of the best Heavyweights in the world. Silva advanced to the second round of the tournament by scoring a TKO over the iron-chinned Kazuyuki Fujita in July. Then, with the final round of the tournament (where he would have to face and defeat two fighters-a combination of Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Josh Barnett and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira- in one night in order to win) looming in September, Silva got in the UFC Octagon and challenged Chuck Liddell to a fight in November. Oh, and at the time the rumored prize for the Pride tournament winner was a title fight with heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko in December. Silva lost against Filipovic and the Liddell fight has yet to materialize. But Wanderlei Silva put himself in the unfamiliar position of underdog in 2006 by setting up goals in two different weight divisions and organizations, and it's enough to still consider him one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world.
BJ Penn is the embodiment of pound-for-pound greatness in mixed martial arts. Name one other top fighter that has competed at 155, 170, 185 pounds and Heavyweight? Exactly. In fact, he stood at the cusp of overtaking Fedor Emelianenko at the top spot with a spectacular win over Georges St Pierre at UFC 58. Unfortunately for the Hilo, Hawaii native, it wasn't to be. Penn lost a very controversial split decision in a fight where he undoubtedly caused more damage, but found himself on the receiving end of too many takedowns. Penn seemed poised to return to the lightweight division but got the call on short notice to replace an injured St. Pierre against then champion Matt Hughes at UFC 63 in September of ’06. Round one saw Penn score easily with his hands on Hughes while rebuffing his takedown attempts. Round two saw Hughes jump from the pot to the fire when he finally got Penn to the ground. Hughes barely survived the round as he was saved by the round-ending bell from Penn’s myriad of ground attacks including triangle chokes, arm bars and rear chokes. Unfortunately for Penn, he also suffered serious rib injuries in those moments (though the details of his injuries would not be revealed until after post-fight doctor examinations revealed a rib separation) and came out flat in the third round. Hughes was quick to capitalize with crisp punches, a takedown and eventually a brutal elbow strike sequence to Penn’s head, which caused the referee stop the bout. Penn is out of action until later this year, but apparently is set to rematch Jens Pulver at 155-lbs after the two of them coach opposite of each other on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.
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