411 MMA Rankings 06.08.10: Pound for Pound

Posted by Jonathan Solomon on 06.08.2010

411mania looks at the pound for pound best in MMA as we rank the top 15 fighters in the world. Can Shogun Rua or Jose Aldo displace Fedor, GSP or Anderson Silva? How low will Lyoto Machida fall after his first loss?

Welcome back to the 411mania MMA Rankings where this week we bring you the pound for pound edition. This is the only 'division' that does not have a unanimous number one ranked fighter. Of course, with the likes of Fedor, GSP and Silva running around, it's almost impossible. Unlike UFC President Dana White, I believe you can rank the big three in any order and it would be logical. Are we?

The two big fights to impact these rankings took place in the UFC since April. Shogun Rua became the new light heavyweight champion by defeating Lyoto Machida, then Rashad Evans defeated Rampage Jackson. This was Machida's first loss so I would believe he cannot fall TOO far, right? As for Shogun, does he have the support to jump past fellow Brazilian Jose Aldo?

Turning our attention to Strikeforce, there are two big stories to follow here. First, the big man is returning to the cage very soon. Fedor Emelianenko will fight Fabricio Werdum on June 26th (Showtime). It is assumed (although you know what happens when you assume) should Fedor beat Werdum, the big fight between the Last Emperor and Alistair Overeem will fall into Strikeforce's lap. We can only hope. Back to the rankings, despite Anderson Silva's awkward antics in some of his recent fights, he is still untouchable. Georges St. Pierre is unquestionably as close to invincible as a human can be in a fight (well, on second thought, he did injure his groin in the Thiago Alves fight...). What does this mean? Fedor is and has always been in a position (since the death of PRIDE) where he has to win in impressive fashion to maintain his role at or near the top. We have not seen any lackadaisical decision wins from him in years, but if we do, will his ranking take a tumble? Let's not even think about the possibility of the Werdum upset.

Secondly, Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields can now legally receive offers from other promotions besides Strikeforce. I am no attorney or contract specialist but I would imagine this entire process to last throughout the summer and into the fall. The big question everyone is asking is how big of an offer will the UFC make to try to bring Shields into the fold?

Before you continue on, allow me to use this space to personally shill for Nick Diaz. What does the man have to do to get some support in the P4P rankings? Since the unfortunate loss to K.J. Noons in 2007, Diaz has reeled off seven consecutive wins (all of whom, he finished). Obviously, he may not have a laundry list of hall of fame caliber opponents, but he has beaten some big fighters frmo around the globe. My point? WHERE'S DIAZ?!


TWITTER

http://www.twitter.com/411mania
http://www.twitter.com/411wrestling
http://www.twitter.com/411moviestv
http://www.twitter.com/411music
http://www.twitter.com/411games
http://www.twitter.com/411mma

---

Here's some feedback to last week's light heavyweight rankings.

From Brad:
Only one thing caught my eye in this article, in Lyoto's pic for his ranking Shogun looks fat.... Yes, fat.
Between seeing that and Chuck's new picture of him clean shaven and ripped on twitter I'm a little bit confused!
The MMA gods have shaken up the sport like an etch-a-sketch. Perhaps it says something that guys with guts are more apt to win gold in the 205-division.

From Larry:
How is Jones ranked above Mo? Looking at how everyone ranked them, only one of you guys had Jones over Mo. That does not make sense
King Mo did not appear on every ballot.

From Fear_Inc.:
… After all the "Shut up & suck it" comments, towards "Shogun fans" about being sore & whinny losers & the Ex-Champ, stating that: when we look into the record books, when it comes to UFC 104 it will always say "Winner: Machida, By: UD" & all the trash talk about how Machida is unbeatable & Ruler of the LHW Division for the Next thousand years… We can officially say that the "Machida Era" was a Complete Tarnish Piece of lack luster Shit!!!... Know when we look in the same records books, about their re-match, it will say: "Winner: Shogun Rua, By: KF'O"… Thank You UFC 104 judges, you allowed us a chance to bare witness to the most desired & sweetest Victory in UFC History Ever… Machida Mark's = SUCK IT!!!

To the people who said: "Winner: Rampage, By: KO Murder"… Not one of you took notice that the man had not fought in over 14 Months? Rampage with all his "I'm in the greatest shape in my entire life, I actually love training for this fight" speeches… Remember: Jogging 10 miles a day, with somebody pepping you up, motivating you all the way… is not the same as being chase for 10 miles, by someone who wants to Dry Hump you to Death… "Ring Rust" is a Motherf@cker…

But at least we get what we wanted in the beginning: "Shogun vs. Sugar" & "Rampage vs. the Dragon" (except that the later, will not be for the championship)…
No doubt both fights coming out of the past two months are interesting in their own rights. Will Rampage suffer his third defeat in his last five fights? Will Machida fall out of title contention? Can Rashad regain the gold or will Shogun become just the third champion since Chuck Liddell to have a single successful title defense?

From gchild:
Yeah, lets forget that Lyoto was undefeated EVER in MMA whilst Forest beat Shogun a few fights earlier. I am a huge Lyoto fn but thought Shogun won it and was glad whern it was put to rest in the second fight, but dont be a dick and put down a guy who. rightly so, got the reputation for being unbeatable because, up until that point, he was! Give credit where credit is due, Shogun is a hell of a fighter. So is Lyoto. Simple as that. Before the Shogun fight, who was else was there that people were saying may have a shot against Lyoto?

Great list and agree with it all except that I really do think Little Nog is a little over-rated. He didnt do a whole lot to impress me against Brilz and you're absolutely right, if that was Forest fighting, do we really think Forest wouldnt have taken it to Nog even harder than Brilz?? Knocking out Luiz Cane was awesome but really, anyone can knock out anyone on any given night. . . do it 5 or 6 times in a row al la Chuck Liddell and you're deserving of an aura. And for a Noguiera, other than some nice sweeps, he didnt do a huge amount there either. . .

But hey, what do I know. . .
I'll wait until his next fight to say whether Lil Nog is overrated. Every fighter can have a bad night, and he still won.

From bigdom:
WTF Harris!? Putting Rashad ahead of Lyoto. I'm not gonna bring up the fight between those instead mentioning hoe they both did against Thigo Silva and how that compares.
I assume he puts more weight in yesterday as Rashad took care of Rampage and Machida went DOWN.

From SummerTwilight:
The minute Shogun comes up against a guy who doesn't fear his attacks, he's done for. Griffin proved that. And Rashad has better cardio and should out do him. Let's not forget that Rashad has only ever lost ONE fight and that was to the hugely rising star Machida, who was in a different league to everybody at the time.

I'd give Shogun two fights at the most, although I expect Rashad to win back the title that belongs to him. Then I'd also like to see a rematch between Rashad/Machida as well as Rashad/Evans.

And I'm surprised Silva is included. If he is, he should be number one, as he's the only guy on the list that is unstoppable in MMA.
The Griffin/Shogun fight will always have the cloud over it stemming from Shogun's injury. I'm favoring Shogun because he has great knockout power and Rashad's chin has already failed him once before. Plus, Shogun is more than capable on the ground so I'm not sure I'd give Rashad's wrestling a huge advantage.

From Peter:
Jackson v Machida,anyone.
Indeed, it sounds as if that will be the next fight.

From SoulBrotherNo1:
fair rankings,I think Mousasi suffered the story of "written off quickly" guys,but whatever,he will come back sooner or later,Im sure.
I hope Mousasi comes back because whatever it was, he looked outmatched against the top wrestler in King Mo. If he did take him lightly, he now knows not to.

From JP:
how Forrest stays top 10 will never cease to amaze me.
The fact is Griffin has wins over both Shogun Rua and Rampage Jackson so his ranking is just fine. Who would you rather see above him?

From Adam:
Good list, only thing is I would rank King Mo ahead of Thiago Silva and Jon Jones.
King Mo's first appearance came after the Mousasi win so jumping into the top 8 or so would have been HUGE. WIth another good performance (ie. title defense), I would not be surprised to see him continue to rise.

From KSti:
Mousasi and Babalu should not be ranked. Davis, Brilz, Cane, and Diabte are all better choices over both of them. Brilz has certainly proven himself.
Babalu, you have an argument. Mousasi? What's your problem with him? He won a bajillion fights in a row and ran into a world class wrestler and lost. He's still one of the top light heavyweights in the world, so dropping him would have been a total overreaction.

From Jon:
Inevitably, Nog looks far too high now. Cane wasn't all that, and Brilz wasn't ranked, and he really struggled to beat him. 6th for a guy who hasn't beaten a stable top 15 fighter for some time is very, VERY high.

His level of competition, the guys he's beaten are on a par (talent-wise) with the people Couture, Thiago Silva, Jon Jones, Gegard Mousasi, Ryan Bader and King Mo have beaten - in fact, I would argue that Mo's win against Mousasi is bigger than any Nog has got in the past couple years, and his roll is not as impressive as Mousasi's was. Then again, he hasn't actually LOST, having been gifted the decision.

But 6th?

Next stop, Couture vs. Lil Nog?
You have a good argument but at the end of the day, somebody has to be 6. If it's Griffin, people hate. If it's Bones, it's too high for him. Couture? Not at this point. King Mo? Too high right out of the gate? Couture is a very popular fight for various guys. He's taking on James Toney in August and even Shogun Rua has talked about wanting to fight him. As for Lil Nog, I'd imagine he could fight Forrest Griffin if he is healthy before the end of the year.

From guest guest:
"I see it like this: for a UFC heavyweight to jump over Fedor and be the legit #1 heavyweight in the world...they will need to beat all of the top UFC contenders. Such as Brock beating Carwin, Velasquez and even JDS/Nelson. Any combination and they would have a legit argument for #1 overall."

Agreed good sir. Once again, good rankings here. LHW is the toughest div to rank IMO, but this looks pretty good.
Thanks.

From Diavo:
"This is the first time Shogun has had gold since he won the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix (he defeated Rampage Jackson, Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona from April through August that year).
"

Man, how good was (is?) Shogun?
Well, at that time in PRIDE when he burst onto the scene, he was considered right up there with Chuck Liddell. Unfortunately, he broke his arm in the Coleman fight, returned seven months later and reeled off another four wins (including a second win over Overeem) before heading to the UFC and losing to Griffin. Right now, it appears he's as healthy as he was since his original PRIDE run and confident, too. Dangerous combination.

From Samer Kadi:
Rua wins 1 fight-and he jumps to number 1? Machida goes undefeated for ages, loses 1 fight-and he is in the can?

Posted By: Guest#3383 (Guest) on June 01, 2010 at 10:31 AM

Machida is ranked number 2, how is that "in the can"?

And Shogun's ranking COULD have something to do with the fact that he's, you know, the UFC light-heavyweight champion.
Possibly. HA!

From MPMoore:
You guys are such nut-huggers, it's scary.
Rua wins 1 fight-and he jumps to number 1? Machida goes undefeated for ages, loses 1 fight-and he is in the can?

Posted By: Guest#3383 (Guest) on June 01, 2010 at 10:31 AM

Many people saw Machida/Shogun as a decision for Shogun, then Shogun came back in dominant fashion as Machida looked scared. That's why.
No knock against Machida, he definitely is a top fighter, but everyone has a weakness and Rua is Machida's.

I like the list overall and enjoy the love for Bones. He will be a serious competitor along with Bader in the next couple years.
Bader and Bones both have great wrestling and power in their hands. That mix is a proven winner in MMA.

From MJH:
As an ironic continuation of our argument with my comments in the past - using what criteria is Ramapage ranked ahead of Forrest? The past 5 fights they are both 3-2. Both last to Rashad. Forrest also lost to Spider (who is really the best in the class), and Rampage lost to......Forrest. Their wins in the past 5 - Rampage has zero over anyone currently in the top 15 in the class. Forrest has one over the #1 ranked guy in the class as well as the previously mentionned win over Rampage.

That is a span of 2.5 years - more than enough of a sample size to determine who is currently the better fighter.

I loved Pride as much as the next guy, and if these are career rankings then I will shut up. I was under the impression they are current rankings.

And don't even get me started on Lil Nog and his lack of quality wins - and yes another continuation of my earlier argument Diabate completely nullified the win over Cane as significant. If Forrest turned in a performace like that against Brilz then he would be ranked below Bader.

Also - if the fairness of full disclosure, the last time you ranked Light Heavies I was adamant in my stance that Machida would defeat Shogun the 2nd time.
As always, if you believe in future fights voiding past wins, then you will probably rarely be satisfied with rankings in general. Griffin does have an impressive record with the big wins over Shogun and Rampage, while over the same period Rampage has wins over Hendo, Wanderlei and Jardine. Both have two losses with the only difference being Griffin was finished twice and Rampage was never finished. Perhaps Griffin is getting the shaft.

From mae:
never thought i'd say this, but great job ranking Jeffrey Harris (Brilz at 15)

Brilz has some serious talent
Brilz certainly impressed at UFC 114, so you can imagine a lot of people will be interested to see his next fight.

From Jeffrey:
Shogun is the light heavyweight champion. He decisively beat and knocked out Machida. And he arguably did it twice. Who should be #1 other than Shogun right now?
Arguably? Machida won the fight. Let it go, brother. Who should be #1? CHUCK LIDDELL~! FTW!

From Magog:
Well I was hopping to see Rampage fall a few places, I guess I'll just have to wait. You guys are ranking him where he should been before fighting Evans.
He fell one spot, so be patient. I assume you'll be rooting for Machida should he fight Rampage next. I will assume a loss there will drop Rampage to the back end of the top 10.

From beef23:
'The minute Shogun comes up against a guy who doesn't fear his attacks, he's done for. Griffin proved that. And Rashad has better cardio and should out do him. Let's not forget that Rashad has only ever lost ONE fight and that was to the hugely rising star Machida, who was in a different league to everybody at the time.'

actually what griffin proved was that shogun had serious health/cardio issues which were also evident in the coleman fight. those seem to be gone which explains how he wen 5 rounds with machida. lets not forget rashad was completely outclassed by machida's speed and technique, yet shogun picked him apart.



'I'd give Shogun two fights at the most, although I expect Rashad to win back the title that belongs to him. '

how exactly does the belt belong to rashad? he lost the belt decisively to machida.

"I see it like this: for a UFC heavyweight to jump over Fedor and be the legit #1 heavyweight in the world...they will need to beat all of the top UFC contenders. Such as Brock beating Carwin, Velasquez and even JDS/Nelson. Any combination and they would have a legit argument for #1 overall."

so for a ufc heavy weight to overtake fedor they need to beat atleast 3 of the top 5 heavyweights? while fedor cannot come across any of these guys?
imo if brock or carwin win their next 2 fights they deserve number due to quality of opposition.
The top heavyweight spot is all dependent on dominant performances. If Brock/Carwin/Cain look sluggish in victory and barely move along, while Fedor continues wrecking opponents, perhaps he remains the top guy until he retires.

From PFJ20:
Shogun is the best 205 pounder in the world...period.

Any one arguing that is a hater, a Machida fan boy, or just hasn't followed the sport enough.

For God's sakes, did u guys watch him in Pride!?

He lost to Forrest because he jacked his knee all up 6 weeks prior to the fight and could do virtually no cardio in training...and it was still seriously injured come fight day. And Shogun still won the first round.

Against Coleman he was coming off two knee surgeries and a long layoff, and was at still able to get the win.

Then he KO's the former king of the division (Chuck), beats Machida in a lopsided decision (it was obvious, even to Dana White-f*ck the judges), then he KTFO's Machida in the 1st Round!

SHOGUN IS the class of the division. He proved it against Machida, he'll prove it when he finishes Rashad in the first 2 rounds, and if Anderson comes up to 205 next year Shogun will prove to be the toughest test of Silva's career.
No argument here about Shogun. Although he did lose to Machida. Regardless, he more than made up for that in avenging the defeat by major league KO.

From 401k:
Good list.. 205 isnt going to have a dominate champion anytime soon in my opinion.. If you don't agree just remember exactly what you thought after Machida knocked out Evans, and look how that turned out.. That's not a knock, its more of a testament to the diversity of skills within the division.. Every top guy does something that can give the others fits.. Looking ahead Shogun is the favorite, but Rashad is a VERY live dog.. A Rampage/Machida fight has all types of intrigue for 2 guys coming off looking terrible.. Wildcards like Lil Nog, Forrest, and Thiago.. As well as up and coming stars like Baber and Bones.. AND Gatekeeper to the stars Keith Jardine.. To think pissing off Anderson Silva is stupid enough, but Sonnen actually called 205 a joke..
Thanks. It makes you wonder, for there to be a dominant champion (meaning at least three title defenses), that fighter will have to be AWESOME. Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out why Sonnen knocked the 205ers. Perhaps he's of the belief that for a division to be considered great, the champion must have the belt for a long time? Who knows?


Thank you for the comments, they are always much appreciated.

---

Pound for Pound Rankings from Last Year (06/23/2009)

1. Fedor Emelianenko

2. Georges St. Pierre

3. Anderson Silva

4. Lyoto Machida

5. Miguel Torres

6. BJ Penn

7. Rampage Jackson

8. Rashad Evans

9. Mike Brown

10. Urijah Faber

11. Kenny Florian

12. Forrest Griffin

13. Dan Henderson

14. Shogun Rua

15. Jon Fitch

---

THE CREW

Here are the nuts and bolts, the breakdown of the rankings from your favorite 411 MMA personalities:

Scott Kuczkowski 1. Georges St. Pierre 2. Anderson Silva 3. Fedor Emelianenko 4. BJ Penn 5. Mauricio Shogun Rua 6. Jake Shields 7. Lyoto Machida 8. Jose Aldo 9. Gilbert Melendez 10. Kenny Florian 11. Cain Velasquez 12. Rashad Evans 13. Jon Fitch 14. Gegard Mousasi 15. Nick Diaz	Samer Kadi 1-Anderson Silva 2-GSP 3-Fedor 4-Jose Aldo 5-Mauricio "Shogun" Rua 6-Frankie Edgar 7-BJ Penn 8-Jake Shields 9-Kenny Florian 10-Lyoto Machida 11-Rashad Evans 12-Jon Fitch 13-Gilbert Melendez 14-Cain Velasquez 15-Dominick Cruz	Daniel Bonnizzio 1) KING Georges St-Pierre 2) Anderson Silva 3) Fedor Emelianenko 4) Mauricio "Shogun" Rua 5) Jose Aldo 6) BJ Penn 7) Jake Shields 8) Lyoto Machida 9) Jon Fitch 10) Dominick Cruz 11) Gilbert Melendez 12) Rashad Evans 13) Rogerio Nogueira 14) Kenny Florian 15) Cain Velasquez	Matt Welch 1. Georges St-Pierre 2. Fedor Emelianenko 3. Anderson Silva 4. Jose Aldo 5. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua 6. Jake Shields 7. Frankie Edgar 8. B.J. Penn 9. Lyoto Machida 10. Jon Fitch 11. Dominick Cruz 12. Rashad Evans 13. Thiago Alves 14. Cain Velasquez 15. Nick Diaz
Jeffrey Harris 1. Georges St. Pierre 2. Mauricio Shogun Rua 3. Anderson Silva 4. Fedor Emelianenko 5. BJ Penn 6. Jose Aldo 7. Jake Shields 8. Lyoto Machida 9. Gilbert Melendez 10. Cain Velasquez 11. Rashad Evans 12. Dominik Cruz 13. Nick Diaz 14. Gegard Mousasi 15. Dan Henderson	Andrew Gladstone 1. Fedor Emelianenko 2. Georges St. Pierre 3. Anderson Silva 4. Mauricio Rua 5. Jose Aldo 6. BJ Penn 7. Thiago Alves 8. Jon Fitch 9. Jake Shields 10. Dominick Cruz 11. Lyoto Machida 12. Dan Henderson 13. Gilbert Melendez 14. Gegard Mousasi 15. Nick Diaz	Daniel Plunkett 1. Anderson 2. GSP 3. Fedor 4. Shogun 5. Aldo 6. Penn 7. Edgar 8. Shields 9. Machida 10. Florian 11. Fitch 12. Evans 13. Cruz 14. Melendez 15. Velasquez	Jonathan Solomon 1. Anderson Silva 2. Fedor Emelianenko 3. Georges St. Pierre 4. Shogun Rua 5. Jose Aldo 6. Frankie Edgar 7. B.J. Penn 8. Lyoto Machida 9. Nick Diaz 10. Jake Shields 11. Jon Fitch 12. Gilbert Melendez 13. Rashad Evans 14. Kenny Florian 15. Hector Lombard

---

411's MMA Ranking Rules

- If a fighter hasn't fought in a year, he can not be ranked. It's not fair to people who are fighting to not be ranked because a fighter is taking a year off. The rule also applies to specific divisions. If a fighter hasn't fought in a weight division in a year he is no longer eligible to be ranked. However, if a fighter schedules a fight he is still eligible for being ranked.

- If a fighter appears on just one single ballot, and in the top ten, five points shall be deducted to balance out between other fighters who may have been ranked lower, but appeared on more total ballots.

- Compliments? Disgust? Whatever you think of the rankings, discuss it below in the comments section. For the love of god, USE LOGIC. I beg of you.





411's MMA Rankings

Pound For Pound



1) Georges St. Pierre (20-2)

Height: 5'10

Birthday: May 19, 1981

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Dan Hardy - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy - March 27, 2010

- vs. Thiago Alves - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 100 - July 11, 2009

- vs. BJ Penn - Win via TKO (corner stoppage) - UFC 94: St Pierre vs. Penn 2 - January 31, 2009

- vs. Jon Fitch - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 87: Seek And Destroy - August 9, 2008

- vs. Matt Serra - Win via TKO (knees to body) - UFC 83: Serra vs. St. Pierre II - April 19, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Josh Koscheck - TBA - TBA

Comment: GSP is the top P4P fighter and by a significant margin this month. We are three months away from the start of TUF12 on Spike but you can only imagine the intrigue behind Koscheck's second chance against GSP. GSP has downright dominated the likes of Penn, Alves and Hardy with his outstanding wrestling. He beat the hell out of Jon Fitch, too, so what makes us think Koscheck will fare better?

---

2) Anderson Silva (26-4)

Height: 6'2

Birthday: April 14, 1975

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Demian Maia - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 112: Invincible - April 10, 2010

- vs. Forrest Griffin - Win via KO - UFC 101: Declaration - August 8, 2009

- vs. Thales Leites - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 97: Redemption - April 17, 2009

- vs. Patrick Cote - Win via TKO (injured knee) - UFC 90: Silva vs. Cote - October 25, 2008

- vs. James Irvin - Win via KO (punches) - UFC: Fight Night 14 - July 19, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Chael Sonnen - UFC 117 - August 7, 2010

Comment: In his last five fights, The Spider has made three successful title defenses in the middleweight division. The only reason the Patrick Cote fight finished was due to an injury. Otherwise, the other two wins came by unanimous decisions. If the Silva/Sonnen fight goes the distance, the trash talker may actually have a legitimate shot at the upset.

---

3) Fedor Emelianenko (30-1)

Height: 6'0

Birthday: September 28, 1976

Currently fighting with: Strikeforce

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Brett Rogers - Win via KO (punch) - Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers - November 7, 2009

- vs. Andrei Arlovski - Win via KO (punch) - Affliction: Day Of Reckoning - January 24, 2009

- vs. Tim Sylvia - Win via submission (rear naked choke) - Affliction: Banned - July 19, 2008

- vs. Hong Man Choi - Win via submission (arm bar) - Yarennoka - New Year's Eve 2007 - December 31, 2007

- vs. Matt Lindland - Win via submission (arm bar) - BodogFight: Clash of the Nations - April 14, 2007

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Fabricio Werdum - Strikeforce on Showtime - June 26, 2010

Comment: Fedor returns to the cage in 18 days against a talented heavyweight in Fabricio Werdum. Here we go again...

---

4) Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (19-4)

Height: 6'1

Birthday: November 25, 1981

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Lyoto Machida - Win via KO (punches) - UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2 - May 8, 2010

- vs. Lyoto Machida - Loss via decision (unanimous) - UFC 104: Dragon vs. Shogun - October 24, 2009

- vs. Chuck Liddell - Win via TKO (strikes) - UFC 97: Redemption - April 18, 2009

- vs. Mark Coleman - Win via TKO (punches) - UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson - January 17, 2009

- vs. Forrest Griffin - Loss via submission (rear naked choke) - UFC 76: Knockout - September 22, 2007

- vs. Alistair Overeem - Win via KO (strikes) - PRIDE 33: Second Coming - February 24, 2007

Next scheduled appearance:

- Unknown

Comment: MAURICIO SHOGUN RUA! That is the answer to the question, who is the man that ended 'The Machida Era?' Shogun looks to be at his best right now after knocking out Lyoto Machida in the first round at UFC 113. However, the problem in the 205-division has been few successful title defenses in recent years. Can Shogun change the tide?

---

5) Jose Aldo (17-1)

Height: 5'7

Birthday: September 9, 1986

Currently Fighting With: WEC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Urijah Faber - Win via decision (unanimous) - Aldo vs. Faber - April 24, 2010

- vs. Mike Brown - Win via TKO (strikes) - WEC 44: Brown vs. Aldo - November 18, 2009

- vs. Cub Swanson - Win via TKO (flying knee) - WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber II - June 7, 2009

- vs. Chris Mickle - Win via TKO (strikes) - WEC 39: Brown vs. Garcia - March 1, 2009

- vs. Ronaldo Perez - Win via TKO (strikes) - WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone - January 25, 2009

Next scheduled appearance:

- Unknown

---

6) B.J. Penn (15-6-1)

Height: 5'9

Birthday: December 13, 1978

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Frankie Edgar - Loss via decision (unanimous) - UFC 112: Invincible - April 10, 2010

- vs. Diego Sanchez - Win via TKO (cuts) - UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez - December 12, 2009

- vs. Kenny Florian - Win via submission (rear naked choke) - UFC 101: Declaration - August 8, 2009

- vs. Georges St. Pierre - Loss via TKO (corner stoppage) - UFC 94: St. Pierre vs. Penn 2 - January 31, 2009

- vs. Sean Sherk - Win via TKO (knees and punches) - UFC 84: Ill Will - May 24, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Frankie Edgar - UFC 118 - August 28, 2010

---

7) Jake Shields (25-4-1)

Height: 5'11

Birthday: January 9, 1979

Currently Fighting With: Free Agent

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Dan Henderson - Win via decision (unanimous) - Strikeforce: Nashville - April 17, 2010

- vs. Jason Miller - Win via decision (unanimous) - Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers - November 7, 2009

- vs. Robbie Lawler - Win via submission (guillotine choke) - Strikeforce on Showtime - June 6, 2009

- vs. Paul Daley - Win via submission (armbar) - EliteXC "Heat" - October 4, 2008

- vs. Nick Thompson - Win via submission (guillotine choke) - EliteXC: Unfinished Business - July 26, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- Unknown

Comment: Shields' exclusive negotiation period with Strikeforce came to an end recently although the promotion has the power to match any offer their middleweight champion receives on the open market. It's unclear when he may truly become a free agent without Strikeforce having the ability to match an offer. However, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker recently said he will not be involved in a bidding war for Shields. If so, how soon until the UFC announces a new signing for their welterweight division?

---

8) Lyoto Machida (16-1)

Height: 6'1

Birthday: May 3, 1978

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Shogun Rua - Loss via KO (punches) - UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2 - May 8, 2010

- vs. Shogun Rua - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun - October 24, 2009

- vs. Rashad Evans - Win via TKO (punches) - UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida - May 23, 2009

- vs. Thiago Silva - Win via KO (punches) - UFC 94: St. Pierre vs. Penn 2 - January 31, 2009

- vs. Tito Ortiz - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 84: Ill Will - May 24, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- Unknown

Comment: So long Machida era, we hardly knew ye...

---

9*) Frankie Edgar (12-1)

Height: 5'6

Birthday: October 16, 1981

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. B.J. Penn - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 112: Invincible - April 10, 2010

- vs. Matt Veach - Win via submission (rear naked choke) - UFC Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale - December 5, 2009

- vs. Sean Sherk - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida - May 23, 2009

- vs. Hermes Franca - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Irvin - July 19, 2008

- vs. Gray Maynard - Loss via decision (unanimous) - UFC Fight Night 13 - April 2, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. B.J. Penn - UFC 118 - August 28, 2010

Comment: Edgar is preparing for the big rematch with Penn as everyone wonders whether he will become a fighting champon or a one hit wonder.

---

9*) Jon Fitch (21-3)

Height: 6'0

Birthday: February 24, 1978

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Ben Saunders - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy - March 27, 2010

- vs. Mike Pierce - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez - December 12, 2009

- vs. Paulo Thiago - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 100 - July 11, 2009

- vs. Akihiro Gono - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 94: St. Pierre vs. Penn II - January 31, 2009

- vs. Georges St. Pierre - Loss via decision (unanimous) - UFC 87: Seek And Destroy - August 9, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Thiago Alves - UFC 117 - August 7, 2010

---

11) Gilbert Melendez (17-2)

Height: 5'9

Birthday: April 12, 1982

Currently Fighting With: Strikeforce

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Shinya Aoki - Win via decision (unanimous) - Strikeforce: Nashville - April 17, 2010

- vs. Josh Thomson - Win via decision (unanimous) - Strikeforce: Evolution - December 19, 2009

- vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida - Win via TKO - Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg - August 15, 2009

- vs. Rodrigo Damm - Win via KO - Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz - April 11, 2009

- vs. Josh Thomson - Loss via decision (unanimous) - Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson - June 27, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- Unknown

Comment: Melendez is still waiting to handle whatever consequences come from the Nashville brawl. At this point, it sounds like he will be able to pay a fine and avoid a significant suspension. The other talk about Melendez is the hype surrounding a potential fight with Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez. If Bellator's CEO is correct, then Scott Coker, PICK UP THE PHONE!

---

12) Rashad Evans (15-1-1)

Height: 5'11

Birthday: September 25, 1979

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Rampage Jackson - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 114: Rampage vs. Rashad - May 29, 2010

- vs. Thiago Silva - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva - January 2, 2010

- vs. Lyoto Machida - Loss via knockout (punches) - UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida - May 23, 2009

- vs. Forrest Griffin - Win via TKO (punches) - UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 - December 27, 2008

- vs. Chuck Liddell - Win via KO (punch) - UFC 88: Breakthrough - September 6, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- Unknown

Comment: Rashad jumps up a few spots this month after his unanimous victory over Rampage Jackson last month. Rashad should be the favorite to get the first shot against Shogun Rua, but nothing is official just yet.

---

13) Dominick Cruz (15-1)

Height: 5'8

Birthday: September 3, 1985

Currently Fighting With: WEC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Brian Bowles - Win via TKO (doctor stoppage) - WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz - March 6, 2010

- vs. Joseph Benavidez - Win via decision (unanimous) - WEC 42: Torres vs. Bowles - August 9, 2009

- vs. Ivan Lopez - Win via technical decision (unanimous) - WEC 40: Torres vs. Mizugaki - April 5, 2009

- vs. Ian McCall - Win via decision (unanimous) - WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone - January 25, 2009

- vs. Charlie Valencia - Win via decision (unanimous) - WEC 34: Faber vs. Pulver - June 1, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- Unknown

Comment: Cruz's first title defense is not yet official but he has hinted that he will return to the cage in August at WEC 50. Whether he will be 100% is unknown as he suffered an injury to a ligament in his right wrist in the title win over Bowles. He has avoided surgery up to this point.

---

14) Kenny Florian (14-4)

Height: 5'10

Birthday: May 26, 1976

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Takanori Gomi - Win via submission (rear naked choke) - UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Gomi - March 31, 2010

- vs. Clay Guida - Win via submission (rear naked choke) - UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez - December 12, 2009

- vs. BJ Penn - Loss via submission (rear naked choke) - UFC 101: Declaration - August 8, 2009

- vs. Joe Stevenson - Win via submission (rear naked choke) - UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar - November 15, 2008

- vs. Roger Huerta - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 87: Seek And Destroy - August 9, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Gray Maynard - UFC 118 - August 28, 2010

Comment: Before Ken-Flo takes on fellow top lightweight contender Gray Maynard in August, he will do color commentary on the next WEC broadcast set for June 20th on Versus.

---

15) Cain Velasquez (8-0)

Height: 6'2

Weight: 242

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira - Win via KO (punch) - UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez - February 20, 2010

- vs. Ben Rothwell - Win via TKO (strikes) - UFC 104 - October 24, 2009

- vs. Cheick Kongo - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 99: The Comeback - June 13, 2009

- vs. Denis Stojnic - Win via TKO (strikes) - UFC Fight Night 17 - February 7, 2009

- vs. Jake O'Brien - Win via TKO (strikes) - UFC: Silva vs. Irvin - July 19, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- Unknown







Closing Comments: Others receiving votes include Nick Diaz, Thiago Alves, Gegard Mousasi, Dan Henderson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Hector Lombard.