Lucky7
12-22-2008, 12:35 PM
This list originally caught my eye, because on the front page of Yahoo Sports, it's in a slightly different order...they had Torres 6th and Urijah 8th. Which would be more due to timing and voters memories, as Torres had a recent fight.
It's hard to disagree with any of the rankings...again, Silva had the most recent fight, so he's at the top of the list. I think if that wasn't the case, GSP would be number 1.
As much as I'm a big "Big Nog" fan, I definitely can't disagree with Fedor being above him on the list...January 24th he will ruin Andrei Arlovski.
There's definitely some others missing...maybe a bunch tied for 10th place...
and of course, Urijah should be at the top of the list...or at least if they had sub-categories, he would be "most entertaining" (and you ladies can vote for him as the hottest!)
1. Anderson Silva (3-0), 110 points: The UFC middleweight champion took over the top spot in January, after voters were less-than-impressed with Fedor Emelianenko’s win over inexperienced Hong Man Choi on New Year’s Eve. Silva ran the table beat Dan Henderson, James Silva and Patrick Cote and ran his win streak to a record nine.
2. Georges St. Pierre (2-0), 87 points: St. Pierre claimed the No. 2 spot in the rankings after beating Matt Hughes for the interim welterweight title on Dec. 29, and kept it after beating Matt Serra for the real 170-lb. crown in April. In one of the more curious results in the poll, he dropped to No. 3 after beating Jon Fitch in August in one of the most one-sided five-round title fights in UFC history. He’s stayed at No. 3 in the rankings since.
3. Fedor Emelianenko (1-0), 84: Few dispute that Emelianenko is the greatest heavyweight fighter in the history of mixed martial arts. But he dropped to an artificially low rank of sixth in May, in large part because he had not fought a quality opponent in more than a year at the time. Emelianenko quickly reminded everyone where he stands on July 19 with his awe-inspiring thrashing of Tim Sylvia in Anaheim. He’s been ranked No. 2 since.
4. B.J. Penn (2-0), 71: Penn shot up the rankings with a pair of one-sided wins this year, the first being his lightweight title victory over Joe Stevenson and the second his three-round tail-kicking against Sean Sherk. Penn peaked at No. 3 in June before dropping a spot.
5. Quinton Jackson (1-0), 56: It almost seems hard to believe, but “Rampage” spent the first half of the year ranked No. 3. Considering that he lost a close fight to Forrest Griffin, his only loss in three years, it’s almost as hard to believe that he’s dropped as low as No. 10 since.
6. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (1-0), 51: Big Nog led a charmed life in 2008, beating Tim Sylvia for the interim heavyweight title in February with a third-round armbar after getting dominated in the first two rounds. Then he spent the rest of the year on the sidelines filming The Ultimate Fighter. He bounced between Nos 6 and 7 over the course of the year based on how others fared.
7. Urijah Faber (2-1), 50: The man who put lighter-weight fighters on the map debuted in the poll at No. 8 in January and rose to No. 5 before losing his WEC featherweight title in an upset against Mike Brown last month. Faber won 13 consecutive fights before the loss.
8. Miguel Torres (3-0), 30: There are those who consider Torres the finest all-around fighter in the world. The WEC bantamweight champ debuted in the March poll after dropping Chase Beebe to take the title, then gradually improved his position during the year with solid wins over Yoshiro Maeda and Manny Tapia.
9. Randy Couture (0-1), 23: The UFC Hall of Famer stayed in the top 10 while embroiled in a legal dispute with the company and didn’t fall out until August, when the poll’s one-year inactivity clause kicked in. Lesnar put in a game effort in neutralizing Brock Lesnar in their Nov. 15 fight until Lesnar caught him.
10 (tie). Dan Henderson (1-1), 16 points: Back-to-back high profile losses to Jackson (in 2007) and Silva dropped Henderson out of the poll, but September win over Rousimar Palhares was a reminder that he’s not done yet.
10 (tie) Forrest Griffin (1-0), 16 points: Griffin forced his way into the poll with his decision victory over Jackson to claim the light heavyweight title.
It's hard to disagree with any of the rankings...again, Silva had the most recent fight, so he's at the top of the list. I think if that wasn't the case, GSP would be number 1.
As much as I'm a big "Big Nog" fan, I definitely can't disagree with Fedor being above him on the list...January 24th he will ruin Andrei Arlovski.
There's definitely some others missing...maybe a bunch tied for 10th place...
and of course, Urijah should be at the top of the list...or at least if they had sub-categories, he would be "most entertaining" (and you ladies can vote for him as the hottest!)
1. Anderson Silva (3-0), 110 points: The UFC middleweight champion took over the top spot in January, after voters were less-than-impressed with Fedor Emelianenko’s win over inexperienced Hong Man Choi on New Year’s Eve. Silva ran the table beat Dan Henderson, James Silva and Patrick Cote and ran his win streak to a record nine.
2. Georges St. Pierre (2-0), 87 points: St. Pierre claimed the No. 2 spot in the rankings after beating Matt Hughes for the interim welterweight title on Dec. 29, and kept it after beating Matt Serra for the real 170-lb. crown in April. In one of the more curious results in the poll, he dropped to No. 3 after beating Jon Fitch in August in one of the most one-sided five-round title fights in UFC history. He’s stayed at No. 3 in the rankings since.
3. Fedor Emelianenko (1-0), 84: Few dispute that Emelianenko is the greatest heavyweight fighter in the history of mixed martial arts. But he dropped to an artificially low rank of sixth in May, in large part because he had not fought a quality opponent in more than a year at the time. Emelianenko quickly reminded everyone where he stands on July 19 with his awe-inspiring thrashing of Tim Sylvia in Anaheim. He’s been ranked No. 2 since.
4. B.J. Penn (2-0), 71: Penn shot up the rankings with a pair of one-sided wins this year, the first being his lightweight title victory over Joe Stevenson and the second his three-round tail-kicking against Sean Sherk. Penn peaked at No. 3 in June before dropping a spot.
5. Quinton Jackson (1-0), 56: It almost seems hard to believe, but “Rampage” spent the first half of the year ranked No. 3. Considering that he lost a close fight to Forrest Griffin, his only loss in three years, it’s almost as hard to believe that he’s dropped as low as No. 10 since.
6. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (1-0), 51: Big Nog led a charmed life in 2008, beating Tim Sylvia for the interim heavyweight title in February with a third-round armbar after getting dominated in the first two rounds. Then he spent the rest of the year on the sidelines filming The Ultimate Fighter. He bounced between Nos 6 and 7 over the course of the year based on how others fared.
7. Urijah Faber (2-1), 50: The man who put lighter-weight fighters on the map debuted in the poll at No. 8 in January and rose to No. 5 before losing his WEC featherweight title in an upset against Mike Brown last month. Faber won 13 consecutive fights before the loss.
8. Miguel Torres (3-0), 30: There are those who consider Torres the finest all-around fighter in the world. The WEC bantamweight champ debuted in the March poll after dropping Chase Beebe to take the title, then gradually improved his position during the year with solid wins over Yoshiro Maeda and Manny Tapia.
9. Randy Couture (0-1), 23: The UFC Hall of Famer stayed in the top 10 while embroiled in a legal dispute with the company and didn’t fall out until August, when the poll’s one-year inactivity clause kicked in. Lesnar put in a game effort in neutralizing Brock Lesnar in their Nov. 15 fight until Lesnar caught him.
10 (tie). Dan Henderson (1-1), 16 points: Back-to-back high profile losses to Jackson (in 2007) and Silva dropped Henderson out of the poll, but September win over Rousimar Palhares was a reminder that he’s not done yet.
10 (tie) Forrest Griffin (1-0), 16 points: Griffin forced his way into the poll with his decision victory over Jackson to claim the light heavyweight title.