Passing the Guard: MMA Fighter Rankings

Music to listen to:  Chanbara by At The Drive-In

Time for a Mixed Martial Arts Rankings here at the Inquirer:

Heavyweight:

1)  Junior Dos Santos

2)  Cain Velasquez

3)  Alistair Overeem

4)  Fabricio Werdum

5)  Frank Mir

Just outside of top-five:  Shane Carwin, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Thoughts:  We were all looking forward to a semifinals of sorts within the UFC heavyweight division with the winners of the Dos Santos/Overeem and Mir/Velasquez fights battling each other maybe at the end of 2012 to determine the ultimate champion of the division.  However, with Overeem’s subsequent suspension due to elevated testosterone levels, Dos Santos will now square off against Mir in May.  I still have Velasquez ahead of Overeem because the lack of cardio and wrestling skills by the Dutchman would be a determent in a contest between the two men, testosterone issues aside.  I like the improvements that Werdum has made to his stand up and would be one of the only heavyweights that could match the ground skills of Mir in a contest.  Carwin misses the top-five due to inactivity and recovering from a major injury.  The same goes for Big Nog.

Light Heavyweight:

1)  Jon Jones

2)  Dan Henderson

3)  Rashad Evans

4)  Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

5)  Lyota Machida

Just outside of top-five:  Phil Davis, Ryan Bader, Alex Gustafsson

Thoughts:  If you’re a frequent reader of the Inquirer, you know that we’ve been long-time fans of Dan Henderson and the entire Team Quest squad.  However, while it was good to see Hendo officially get the title shot against Jon Jones later in 2012, its going to be tough to see anyone beating Jones in the near future.  While the performance against Evans at 145 may not have produced the highlight finishing moves that most fans wanted to see, an appreciation should be had for dominating a former champion like Evans so easily in a title fight over five rounds.  Evans will have plenty of potential opponents to face in Rua, a rematch against Machida or even Bader.  There’s always an option for Machida and Rua to have a rubber match in their trilogy.  The interesting prospect is Gusfaffson who may not be ready for a title fight yet but looked impressive in a solid victory over Thiago Silva at UFC on Fuel TV 2 earlier this month.

Middleweight:

1)  Anderson Silva

2)  Chael Sonnen

3)  Mark Munoz

4)  Vitor Belfort

5)  Michael Bisping

Outside of top-five:  Tim Boetsch, Yushin Okami

Thoughts:  The division has been in a standstill the past few months but things should improve over the rest of 2012 with the long-awaited rematch between Anderson Silva and Sonnen finally taking place in July.  The winner of that contest will most likely get Munoz, who was supposed to face Sonnen this past January but had to pull out due to injury.  The rest of the middleweights are interchangeable, even though a victory by Boetsch over Bisping in July can make things interesting.

Welterweight:

1)  Georges St. Pierre

2)  Carlos Condit

3)  Nick Diaz

4)  Josh Hendricks

5)  Jake Ellenberger

Outside of top-five:  Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch

Thoughts:  While GSP has been injured for most of the calender year, the rest of the division has been active, highlighted by Condit’s narrow victory over Diaz in February.  While the decision of the fight was questionable (full disclosure, I thought Diaz won the fight), Condit did earn the title shot with the victory.  Diaz has legal issues to face against the Nevada State Athletic Commission in relation to marijuana usage, the fighter himself is still a top-five contender in the division.  The development of Hendricks and Ellenberger over the past six months has been tremendous to see and both fighters will be fighting for a major title by late 2013.  Koscheck and Fitch have had their opportunities to win the UFC title and while both men are still solid pros, their days of competing for the top crown look like they’re in the past.

Lightweight:

1)  Benson Henderson

2)  Frankie Edgar

3)  Gilbert Melendez

4)  Jim Miller

5)  Gray Maynard

Outside of top-five:  Nate Diaz, Eddie Alvarez, Clay Guida, Anthony Pettis, Michael Chandler

Thoughts:  In arguably the deepest division in MMA, Henderson proved his valor in a close decision victory over Edgar at UFC 144.  I thought Henderson won the fight but some have made arguments for Edgar.  Both men will fight this summer so an end to that debate will come.  However, what happens after that is unknown.  Does Melendez FINALLY make his UFC debut?  Where does Maynard fit in the title picture because we WON’T see a fourth fight between him and Edgar.  I could have easily put Nate Diaz in Jim Miller’s spot in my rankings but both of those guys fight each other so that will settle that debate as well.  What will be interesting is seeing what happens to the Bellator guys, especially Chandler and Eddie Alvarez.  We could see both men in the UFC by the end of the 2012 or they may become the franchise players for the organization when the promotion officially becomes a part of the Viacom family in 2013.

Flyweight:

1)  Jose Aldo

2)  Hatsu Hioki

3)  Pat Curran

4)  Chad Mendes

5)  Marlon Sandro

Just outside of top-five:  Duston Poirier, Diego Nunes, Dennis Silver

Thoughts:  Arguably no fighter has as much dominance of his division as Aldo has.  I’m intrigued if the UFC will finally place him against Hioki in the summer.

Those are my thoughts, what are yours?