The MMA Top 10 12.25.09: Week 1 - Top 10 UFC Fighters Of 2009
Posted by Dustin James on 12.25.2009
Who was the best UFC fighter of 2009? Was it Georges St. Pierre? Anderson Silva? Lyoto Machida? Is it possible that either Jon Fitch or Dan Hardy managed to snag the top spot? Find out who 411's Dustin James ranks as the best UFC fighter of 2009 in the debut edition of "Your Favorite MMA Top 10".......
Welcome to the new version of 411's MMA top 10 column currently titled "The MMA Top 10". As you can tell, I'm not Todd Bergman and this is not "TBerg's Top 10" like you are accustomed to. Unfortunately Bergman had to step down from the column and you guys are now stuck with ME! My name is Dustin James and some of you may remember me from former 411 MMA columns such as "The Ultimate Writer" and as the former writer of the 411 MMA Rankings! In case you couldn't tell, I have returned to 411's MMA zone after spending some time in other places. However, I won't get into the boring details as to why I'm back, you should all just consider this a Christmas present from Santa Csonka!
In my debut with the top 10, I have decided to rank something that will surely be controversial. I have decided to rank the top 10 best UFC fighters of 2009. Now, there's a certain criteria that I used to rank these guys here. I gave a lot of points for victories alone. If you went 3-0 in 2009, then there's a great chance you will be ranked ahead of someone who went 2-1 (DUH~!). I also gave bonus points for finishing fights as well as strength of competition. I put some serious thought into this and tried to be honest as possible without playing favorites (although I had to on Anderson Silva.....), unlike the UFC's list of best fighters.
I'm sure some of you will gripe about the fact that some people aren't ranked on here (looking at you Jon Jones!) but like I said, I tried not to play favorites here. Either way......
LET'S GET IT ON!!!!!
Honorable Mentions:
Dan Henderson
2009 UFC Record: 2-0
2009 Fights:
- win over Michael Bisping at UFC 100 via KO
- win over Rich Franklin at UFC 93 via split decision
Stefan Struve
2009 UFC Record: 3-1
2009 Fights:
- win over Paul Buentello at UFC 107 via majority decison
- win over Chase Gormley at UFC 104 via triangle choke submission
- win over Denis Stojnic at UFC 99 via rear-naked choke submission
- loss to Junior dos Santos at UFC 95 via TKO
Gleison Tibau
2009 UFC Record: 3-1
2009 Fights:
- win over Josh Neer at UFC 104 via unanimous decision
- loss to Melvin Guillard at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale via split decision
- win over Jeremy Stephens at UFC Fight Night 18 via unanimous decision
- win over Rich Clementi at UFC Fight Night 17 via guillotine choke submission
AND NOW........THE TOP 10!!!!!!!
10) John Howard
2009 UFC Record: 3-0
2009 Fights:
- win over Dennis Hallman at Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale via KO
- win over Tamdan McCrory at UFC 101 via split decision
- win over Chris Wilson at UFC 94 via split decision
Opponents Combined Record: 66-22-2
What's not to love about John Howard's debut year with the UFC? While he was only able to manage split decision victories over Tamdan McCrory and Chris Wilson, the fact that it was against McCrory and Wilson (who are two tough bastards) gets him bonus points alone. Howard managed to finish the year off great with an impressive win over the veteran Dennis Hallman. I can't wait to see what "Doomsday" brings to us in 2010!
John Howard highlights....gotta love 'em.......
9) John Hathaway
2009 UFC Record: 3-0
2009 Fights:
- win over Paul Taylor at UFC 105 via unanimous decision
- win over Rick Story at UFC 99 via unanimous decision
- win over Tom Egan at UFC 93 via TKO
Opponents Combined Record: 22-10-1
John Hathaway exploded onto the UFC scene as one of the UFC's brightest young stars from the United Kingdom. He made his UFC debut at UFC 93 in January with an impressive first-round TKO over Tom Egan and he hasn't looked back since. I'd like to see Hathaway pick up the competition in 2010 and perhaps fight on a card that's held in the United States. That way I have a better chance of seeing him fight live. I'm greedy like that......
Here's the fight that got Hathaway hired by the UFC......
8) Dennis Siver
2009 UFC Record: 3-0
2009 Fights:
- win over Paul Kelly at UFC 105 via TKO
- win over Dale Hartt at UFC 99 via submission
- win over Nate Mohr at UFC 93 via TKO
Opponents Combined Record: 24-11
No one in the UFC had as much success with such little fan fare as Dennis Siver did in 2009. After being cut by the UFC following two straight losses in 2008, Siver returned with a vengeance! I personally don't think Siver will have nearly as good a year in 2010, but perhaps that will be JUST the motivation he needs to improve upon his perfect year.
Here's a classic Dennis Siver fight........
7) Terry Etim
2009 UFC Record: 3-0
2009 Fights:
- win over Shannon Gugerty at UFC 105 via submission
- win over Justin Buchholz at UFC 99 via submission
- win over Brian Cobb at UFC 95 via TKO
Opponents Combined Record: 35-14
Talk about a guy who needed to have a good year. Terry Etim's impressive 2009 not only saved his job with the UFC, but it also reminded people that Etim could potentially be a very dangerous lightweight fighter. After starting his UFC career 2-2, Etim exploded in 2009 by not only going undefeated, but he also managed to stop each of his opponents before the third round. How can you not give this guy the praise he deserves?
In case you forgot how scary Etim can be......
6) Tomasz Drwal
2009 UFC Record: 3-0
2009 Fights:
- win over Drew McFedries at UFC 103 via submission
- win over Mike Ciesnolevicz at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale
- win over Ivan Serati at UFC 93 via KO
Opponents Combined Record: 36-13
Before 2009, the last time we saw Tomasz Drwal was when he was on the losing end of a valiant effort against Thiago Silva at UFC 75 in 2007. Then, after some time off....Drwal returned to the UFC with a BANG! When he made his long awaited return at UFC 93 against Ivan Serati, many people predicted the UFC newcomer Serati would be able to squeak out a victory due to Drwal's ring rust. However, Tomasz quickly proved all his critics wrong by knocking Serati out in just about two minutes. Hopefully, the UFC gives Drwal some real competition this year because I would love to see how much he's really improved.
Yes....Tomasz Drwal is scary......
5) Cain Velasquez
2009 UFC Record: 3-0
2009 Fights:
- win over Ben Rothwell at UFC 104 via TKO
- win over Cheick Kongo at UFC 99 via unanimous decision
- win over Denis Stojnic at UFC Fight Night 17 via TKO
Opponents Combined Record: 49-16-1
Cain Velasquez is one of the UFC's top heavyweight prospects and he sure didn't disappoint in 2009. After going 2-0 with the UFC in 2008, Velasquez improved upon his undefeated record with impressive victories over Ben Rothwell and Cheick Kongo. If there's one fighter in the UFC heavyweight division that you should keep an eye on in 2010, it should be this man. If he defeats Big Nog in February, it would be a real shame if Cain wasn't strongly considered for a shot at the UFC heavyweight title. It could be a good year for "Mr. Brown Pride"......
OMG! It's LESNAR VS. VELASQUEZ!!!!!........
TIE - 4) Dan Hardy
2009 UFC Record: 3-0
2009 Fights:
- win over Mike Swick at UFC 105 via unanimous decision
- win over Marcus Davis at UFC 99 via split decision
- win over Rory Markham at UFC 95 via KO
Opponents Combined Record: 46-14
Dan Hardy exploded onto the UFC welterweight scene with an impressive victory over Akihiro Gono at UFC 89 in 2008. However, no one was expecting Hardy to have the kind of year that he had in the UFC in 2009. After defeating Rory Markham at UFC 95, Hardy went on to have a "war of words" with Marcus Davis which culminated in the two squaring off at UFC 99 where Hardy barely edged out a split decision victory. Hardy didn't stop there though. He then went on to beat Mike Swick at UFC 105, a victory that saw Hardy become the new #1 contender to Georges St. Pierre's title. It could end up being a great year for Hardy in 2010. He is expected to face GSP for the UFC welterweight title at UFC 111 in March. If he manages to squeak out a victory over GSP, then all the other welterweight fighters in the UFC will have officially been put on notice!
Here's a classic Dan Hardy fight for all you Hardy nerds......
TIE - 4) Jon Fitch
2009 UFC Record: 3-0
2009 Fights:
- win over Mike Pierce at UFC 107 via unanimous decision
- win over Paulo Thiago at UFC 100 via unanimous decision
- win over Akihiro Gono at UFC 94 via unanimous decision
Opponents Combined Record: 52-19-7
As you can tell, I had a difficult time deciding on who had the better year.....Dan Hardy or Jon Fitch. In the end though, I decided to just call it even and give them both the #4 spot. For those of you who are unaware, Fitch is currently 11-1 in the UFC! His only loss came at the hands of GSP at UFC 87 last year, and it honestly doesn't look as though any other welterweight in the UFC can beat this man. If Fitch can manage just one more victory, then it would be a real crime to not give this man another crack at the UFC welterweight title. I really would like to see Fitch square off against Hardy in 2010, however....I highly doubt that will happen. For shame~!
Here's Jon Fitch taking care of business against SHONIE F'N CARTER.......
3) Georges St. Pierre
2009 UFC Record: 2-0
2009 Fights:
- win over Thiago Alves at UFC 100 via unanimous decision
- win over B.J. Penn at UFC 94 via TKO
Opponents Combined Record: 31-11-1
GSP had an amazing year in the UFC, don't get me wrong. However, in order to top this list.....he REALLY needed to fight at least one more time. I know the man was injured and needed surgery, but still....he should be happy with his third place ranking! Now, don't get me wrong. Like I said, GSP had an amazing year. Anytime you can defeat one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world (Penn) and one of the top welterweights in the world (Alves) then it's a damn good year. Look for GSP to have an outstanding 2010.....unless he happens to run into a middleweight fighter known as "The Spider".
Here's a CLASSIC GSP fight for all you GSP nerds.....
2) Anderson Silva
2009 UFC Record: 2-0
2009 Fights:
- win over Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 via KO
- win over Thales Leites at UFC 97 via unanimous decision
Opponents Combined Record: 32-9
While Anderson Silva could have had a better 2009, the fact is the man is still undefeated in the UFC (10-0!) and it honestly doesn't look like anyone is going to beat him anytime soon. Silva only defended his middleweight title once in 2009, but a big reason for that is the lack of challengers in his division. While he could have easily finished Leites, he decided to take it easy and try and force Leites to defeat him. Many of you bashed this strategy, but I loved it. It's called "playing it safe". Silva then reminded everyone how dangerous he really is when he came out and destroyed Forrest Griffin with a first-round KO at UFC 101. The fact is, you don't mess with this man and that's why he's my #2 UFC fighter of the year.
Anderson Silva was even kicking ass way back in 2000.......
1) Lyoto Machida
2009 UFC Record: 3-0
2009 Fights:
- win over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 104 via unanimous decision
- win over Rashad Evans at UFC 98 via KO
- win over Thiago Silva at UFC 94 via KO
Opponents Combined Record: 45-6-1
First of all, the UFC recently released their list of the top 10 best UFC fighters of 2009 and Machida wasn't #1, GSP was. That is crap. No one in the UFC had a better year than Lyoto Machida. The man not only knocked out both Thiago Silva and Rashad Evans (and gave both fighters their first professional loss in the meantime....) but he defeated "Shogun" Rua in a tough (but controversial) fight at UFC 104. I just can't see how you can not call Machida the best UFC fighter of 2009. I can't wait to see what happens with Machida in 2010. If Quinton "Rampage" Jackson comes back and defeats Rashad Evans, then I can see a Machida/"Rampage" bout happening if Machida is still champion. Of course, he will have to try and defeat "Shogun" once again, which should be a great fight in itself......
And that's it for me this week. Next week I'll be ranking the best overall fighters of 2009. Who will be #1? Machida? Mike Brown? Fedor Emelianenko? Jose Aldo? Check back next week and find out.....
In the meantime, make sure you follow me on Twitter!
All of 411's zones are also on Twitter, so make sure you check them out.....
I want to see Machida/Rua II. I don't think either man will leave it to the judges this time. Rua REALLY impressed me, and although I'm a Machida nuthugger from way back, if he doesn't come with the same mindset he had when he fought Evans for the title, Rua is going to PWN him the next time out.
Posted By: Machida Nuthugger (Guest) on December 25, 2009 at 04:56 AM
you don't call machida the best fighter of 2009 because he was 2-1 and is no longer the UFC LHW champ.... at least in the minds of 95% of mma fans.
Posted By: dale (Guest) on December 25, 2009 at 05:27 AM
lol who are those guys who defeated mediocre opponents this list is so bad sorry
Posted By: stan (Guest) on December 25, 2009 at 05:43 AM
I think you missed an important one. Jon Jones. His one loss came when he used an illegal move. Hamil even came out and said he didn't win. Two more great fights and I think he'll be top 2 for a title shot.
Posted By: ilb320 (Guest) on December 25, 2009 at 06:11 AM
Gee, that is crap ranking Machida the number 1 UFC fighter of the year. More power to you and your crappy decision-making.
Posted By: Crap (Guest) on December 25, 2009 at 07:10 AM
Jon Jones, BJ Penn, you gus missed a lot.
Posted By: Kevin (Guest) on December 25, 2009 at 07:17 AM
Welcome back Dustin. Good column.
However, Anderson Silva over GSP?
They both fought twice, they both finished a fight and went to a decision in the other. But looking back, Silva fought Thales Leites (and went to a decision) and Forrest Griffin, while GSP fought BJ Penn and Thiago Alves. I think it's pretty clear St. Pierre fought the toughest competition.
And even though I don't agree with the Machida/Rua decision, the fact is Lyoto still won and he undoubtedly had the best year of any UFC fighter, and arguably beat the most impressive list of fighters. So good call there.
Posted By: Samer Kadi (Registered) on December 25, 2009 at 07:55 AM
Why does everyone on this site love A Silva? His wins were shit this year, an awful fight with Leites who lost his next fight to Sakara and a Forrest Griffin who was coming off a long lay off and was made for Silva to beat. Compare that to GSP who beat a top 5 Pound for Pound fighter and the 2nd ranked WW in the WW.
Machida should be one I think because he DID beat Shogun in a very close decsion. It could have gone either way and I don't know why people were so suprised Machida won. Maybe because Rogan was so bias...
Dos Santos should be on the list as well, at least an honurable mention considering he destroyed Struve.
Posted By: Guest#7906 (Guest) on December 25, 2009 at 08:06 AM
The total absence of BJ Penn on the top 1-2 spots of this lost makes is an absolute and totally EPIC FAIL
Posted By: Penn >>>> Unknown Guys (Guest) on December 25, 2009 at 08:25 AM
Yay, love for Denis Siver! This guy is one of the most exciting fighters out there, I love his fights. Here's hoping he becomes more prominent in 2010.
Posted By: Jon (Guest) on December 25, 2009 at 09:01 AM
where are you getting your stats for the opponents combined record? Just becaue someone beat sone dudes unlce at a county fair shouldn't count lol And Machida? We all know he lost to Shogun. Dan Hardy is a joke. Bring back Bergman, at least he had a clue what he was talking about.
Posted By: todd Bergman (Guest) on December 25, 2009 at 09:51 AM
Wow, Dustin. Just wow. As someone who was one of your biggest supporters I'm disappointed to see you come back to double-A and be 10X more productive in two weeks than you were at 5 Oz. in two months.
Posted By: punchdrunk (Registered) on December 25, 2009 at 10:11 AM
Granted B.J. had a one sided loss to GSP, but who hasn't as of late? B.J. used that as motivation and ABSOLUTELY DOMINATED the two best lightweights in the UFC who weren't holding belts. Also keep in mind HE MOVED UP to fight GSP and wasn't at his prime weight. How is he not on here at all when guys like Stefan Struve receive honorable mentions against competition nowhere near that level?
Posted By: Patrick Mullin (Guest) on December 25, 2009 at 01:21 PM
Posted By: Machida Nuthugger (Guest) on December 25, 2009 at 04:56 AM
clearly openly gay
lyoto i can see took it taking champ winning over best names shogun clearly lost no need for a rematch amateurs want the rematch becuase of an untrained eye, silva shouldnt have been on top because he didnt do anything special at all, hes just a top fighter not a great spectacular year, HUUUGE year for hardy easily would have put him in front of gsp, coming as an unknown to the number 1 contender over top names says somehting alone
Posted By: Guest#8474 (Guest) on December 25, 2009 at 01:30 PM
Lyoto Macshita is a piece of shit. He lost and then the judges decided tot ake some backhanders. Fuck this site and fuck you all for putting that piece of shit as number one. I hope in the rematch Rua floors him, then disregards the rules and procedes to splatter that piece of shits head all over his feet, and we have the first death in the octagon. I used to be that McDojo black belts fan untill he madehis comments about beating Shogun. That's when I realised that him and his dad are shits who are trying to do to McShita Karate what Royce did to BJJ. I hope he dies in the octagon.
Posted By: The Last Emperor (Guest) on December 25, 2009 at 04:34 PM
i'd like to see a list of best fights of the year.
Posted By: mark19 (Guest) on December 25, 2009 at 11:58 PM
am i the only one that saw BJ Penn Rape the next to best fighters in the weight class?
Please dont tell me you held him out of the list because He went up in weight and got banged up by GSP.
Posted By: umm (Guest) on December 26, 2009 at 02:39 AM
no love for BJ for dominating the two biggest threats in 2009 in 155 is retarded
Posted By: wylun (Guest) on December 26, 2009 at 05:22 AM
This list is a joke. You rank GSP #3 because he's only had 2 fights, but Silva had the same number of fights, with no mention from you. And GSP's opponents were like 5x better than who Silva faced. Silva had one of the most boring fights in UFC history and beat one of the most overrated fighters in UFC history. Ya... great year. GSP beat one of the best WW right now and the best LW in the world(and one of the top P4P fighters). How does Silva being undefeated in the UFC throughout his career mean anything when determining the best fighter of the year? Anything outside of 2009 has no relevance, so Silva could be 100-0 before 2009, who cares. This list is an embarrassment to a great site.
Combined relevance of opponents for #10-#6: None
Posted By: 420 (Guest) on December 26, 2009 at 11:14 AM
Where is Jon Jones? He should be in on that list for sure. BJ Penn? Machida is # 1 when in the real world he lost to Shogun?
Posted By: Brian (Guest) on December 26, 2009 at 11:27 AM
You can't just judge by records.
Machida may have had one more fight than GSP & Silva, but the latter two were certainly more impressive, and both guys clearly won their fights. I like Lyoto, but he did not win the Shogun fight.
Also, you are missing a lot of fighters who should be on this list.
It's your list in the end, but I can't agree with a lot of your picks.
Posted By: Vordeo (Guest) on December 27, 2009 at 06:33 PM
Where am i on this list?
Posted By: Brock Lesnar (Guest) on January 03, 2010 at 01:35 AM
THE REAL 2009 List...deal with it!
10. Joe Son
9. Ken Shamrock
8. Keith Hackney
7. Emmanuel Yarborough
6. Tank Abbott
5. Oleg Taktarov
4. Paul Varlens
3. Royce Gracie
2. Steve Jennum
1. Dan The Beast Severn
Posted By: Shark Boy (Guest) on January 03, 2010 at 01:39 AM
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