Verbal Submission: Middleweight & Welterweight Fighter Rankings

I’m going to mix things up in my next set of weight class rankings in MMA

Music to listen to: 10,000 Days by Tool (pt. 2)

I’m going to give you the middleweights and welterweights in one single post because the top man in each class has dominated to a point where there isn’t much debate, plus they will probably face each other in 2011. So instead, I’m going to go with the top-five in the division instead of ten.

First the middleweights:

1- Anderson Silva: Survived a four round beating by Chael Sonnen to pull off the most impressive and arguably most improbable finish of his career. Will draw Vitor Belfort in February at UFC 126.

2- Chael Sonnen: Its tough to place Sonnen here because while his work on paper deserves this placement, the suspension for synthetic testosterone is worrisome. Was his effort against Silva based on skill or illegal substances. I’m going to say it was a mix of both and still makes him the second-best middleweight in the world.

3- Yushin Okami: Bested Nate Marquardt at UFC 122 and is poised to face the winner of Silva/Belfort for the promotion’s middleweight title. That’s a fair fate for a man who struggled in previous big fights against Jake Shields and Rich Franklin but stepped up against Marquardt. What was most impressive in that victory was the solid wrestling we saw from the Okami. As Sonnen showed, wrestling may be the best and only way to best Silva and if Okami can at least be effective in this mode of fighting, he may be a champion in 2011.

4- Vitor Belfort: Finally gets his shot at Silva in February but you have to wonder if recovering from major surgeries and not fighting since a first round victory over Rich Franklin at UFC 103 in September of 2009 will have an adverse effect on his title shot.

5- Dan Henderson: The win over Babalu earlier this month was a good step for Hendo who was humbled by Jake Shields in April earlier this year. It looks like Strikeforce may place him in a title match against Rafael Cavalcante in early 2011.

On to the welterweights

1- Georges St. Pierre: Another title fight, another victory. St. Pierre disposed of Josh Koscheck handily earlier this month and has beaten nearly every viable opponent for his crown, some of them even twice. The man hasn’t lost since April of 2007, an eternity in MMA time, and hasn’t struggled in any of those fights. I don’t know if we’re ready to place G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) status on GSP but we have to start thinking about it. If he gets past Jake Shields, which won’t be easy, a mega-fight with Anderson Silva would place two of the top-ten fighters of all-time in a match with the winner arguably being able to claim legendary status.

2- Jon Fitch: Sure his fighting style isn’t exciting visually to most. Yes, it would be nicer if he finished more fights and didn’t rely on decisions. However, Fitch is effective, wins and is arguably one marquee win against B.J. Penn in February from earning a second shot at GSP for the title.

3- Thiago Alves: He should be ahead of Fitch physically but two losses against the number two fighter on my list marks the Brazilian down in my rankings. Alves looked to figure out his weight-cutting issues at UFC 124 earlier this month and placed a devastating performance en route to a victory over John Howard.

4- Jake Shields: Arguably the best fighter to never fight in the UFC outside a certain Russian heavyweight that shall remain nameless, Shields made his debut for the promotion at UFC 121 in October and earned a nice decision victory over Martin Kampmann. Now the waiting game begins to see if/when/where Shields will face GSP.

5- Josh Koscheck: Kos made a game effort against GSP but lost to the Canadian for the second time in his career. Now he has to heal his broken orbital bone that will keep him sidelined for at least the first quarter of 2011. The question is who will he face in his next fight

Those are my thoughts. What are yours?