Who is the best pound-for-pound mixed martial artist on the planet?
That simple question provokes more debate in the sport than any other.
So we here at Yahoo! Sports have decided to take a stab at an answer. We've assembled a team of qualified mixed martial arts writers from around North America for the first monthly MMA pound-for-pound Top 10 poll.
In addition to myself and Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, the participants are Carlos Arias of the Orange County Register, Sam Caplan, a freelance reporter who writes an MMA column for Sportsline.com, Neil Davidson of the Canadian Press, Loretta Hunt of The Fight Network, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, and Steve Sievert of the Houston Chronicle. For more on the panel, check out the Yahoo! Sports MMA/Boxing blog .
Since the notion of what constitutes the best fighter varies from person to person, we placed no voting limits on the balloters. All fighters from super heavyweight to flyweight are eligible.
Fighters received 10 points for a first-place vote, nine for a second-place vote, and so on, down to one point for a 10th-place vote.
The results:
Points: 18
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Heavyweight (UFC heavyweight champion)
Hometown: Gresham, Ore.
2007 results def. Tim Sylvia, unanimous decision, March 3
Analysis: Sure, some secretly fear Gabriel Gonzaga is going to knock his head off come Aug. 25. But when you're 43 years old and sitting in an announcing booth thinking "I bet I could win the heavyweight title," and then you go out and do it in convincing fashion, then, guess what? You earn a spot in the Top 10.
Points: 23
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Lightweight/welterweight
Hometown: Hilo, Hawaii
Analysis: Some balloters had Penn high on their list. Some left him off entirely. Such is the enigma that is Penn. One of the world's most skilled fighters, he put on a clinic at 155 pounds against Jens Pulver in June. Last year, at 170, Matt Hughes and Georges St Pierre both used heart to overcome Penn's fast starts. Which Penn shows up the next few times he fights will determine whether his poll ranking matches his skill level.
Points: 23
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Heavyweight
Hometown: Vitoria da Conquista, Brazil
Analysis: Perhaps voters couldn't shake the image of Big Nog getting nearly taken out by Herring, then getting a second chance from a referee slow to stop the July 7 fight. Regardless, Nogueira needs to come up big next time out to stay afloat in a fast-changing world.
Points: 25
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Light heavyweight
Hometown: San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Analysis: Is "The Iceman" past his prime, or does Rampage simply have his number? Word on the streets is that Liddell took his title loss as a wake-up call and has cut out the partying. We'll get an indication of whether he's back in the game when he goes toe-to-toe with Keith Jardine on Sept. 22.
Points: 26
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Welterweight
Hometown: Ste. Isidore, Quebec
2007 results lost to Matt Serra, Round 1 TKO, April 7
Analysis: From a pure skills perspective, many believe GSP has the most well-rounded tool kit in the game. But his stunning upset at the hands of Serra has knocked him down in the polls. The likeable Quebecer has his chance to get back on the right path with a tough match against Josh Koscheck on Aug. 25.
Points: 36
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Middleweight (UFC middleweight champion)
Hometown: Curitiba, Brazil
Analysis: Silva has largely answered the questions about perceived weaknesses against takedowns. The Spider dismantled Rich Franklin to win the title last October, beat Lutter despite a knee injury, and looked lethal in his win over Marquardt. UFC hasn’t had much luck building to main events this year, but they came up aces with the Silva-Franklin rematch in October.
Points: 46
Affiliation: PRIDE
Weight class: Light heavyweight (PRIDE lt. heavyweight and middleweight champion)
Hometown: Victorville, Calif.
Analysis: Henderson became the first man in MMA history to hold major titles in two weight classes when he KO’d Silva in Las Vegas. Henderson, who is going to focus on the 205-lb. division, is going to have a chance to add more gold to his collection when he faces Quinton Jackson on Sept. 8 in London in the most-anticipated match on the horizon.
Points: 50
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Light heavyweight (UFC lt. heavyweight champion)
Hometown: Memphis, Tenn.
Analysis: One big right hand and four hammer fists were all it took to vault Rampage up toward the top of the list. Jackson’s dismantling of Chuck Liddell for the UFC light heavyweight title under the biggest media glare in North American MMA has a way of securing your place in the poll.
Points: 62
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Light heavyweight
Hometown: Curitiba, Brazil
Analysis: Shogun makes his UFC debut on Sept. 22 in Anaheim against Forrest Griffin, so the vast majority of American fight fans are about to find out what the fuss is all about. Rua has won 12 of his past 13 fights, including a KO of Qunton Jackson, and his only loss was due to a stoppage because of a broken arm.
Points: 80 (8 first-place votes)
Affiliation: PRIDE, BodogFight
Weight class: Heavyweight (PRIDE heavyweight champion)
Hometown: Stary Oskol, Russia
Analysis: It doesn’t get more clear-cut than this. The only real question is, when will UFC president Dana White bring the world’s best fighter into the UFC? Fedor beat game middleweight Matt Lindland in April, but has not fought an A-list heavyweight since beating Mirko Cro Cop nearly two years ago.
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