Friday, August 10, 2007

New Sherdog MMA Rankings

Sherdog.com today put out one of the better MMA rankings I've come across in a while. The fighters are ranked not on skill - much to the chagrin of BJ Penn fans around the world - but rather on what he has accomplished in the ring or cage.

Sherdog posted the following in connection to their new ranking system: "Criterion for the ranking mandates that a fighter must have competed during the past 12 months in the division in which they are ranked. Fighters currently under suspension for banned substances will not be considered for the ranking until their suspension has run its course. If a fighter appeals, they will be ranked until the appeal is heard. Placement in the poll is based largely on results in competition and the strength of opposition."

For more on how each weight class was ranked, click on the name of that weight class.

Heavyweight

1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Rodrigo Nogueira
3. Gabriel Gonzaga
4. Mirko Filipovic
5. Josh Barnett
6. Randy Couture
7. Tim Sylvia
8. Andrei Arlovski
9. Fabricio Werdum
10. Aleks Emelianenko

Gonzaga above Couture, the champ? Sylvia at 7? Very interesting. In my opinion, Josh Barnett's recent inactivity is the only thing keeping him out of the top three. As I've said before several times, don't be at all surprised to see Rodrigo Nogueira hold the UFC title within a year. Call me crazy, but I'd give Heath Herring an honorable mention after his gutsy showing against Nogueira last month.

Light Heavyweight

1. Mauricio Rua
2. Quinton Jackson
3. Dan Henderson
4. Chuck Liddell
5. Wanderlei Silva
6. Thierry Sokoudjou
7. Ricardo Arona
8. Rogiero Nogueira
9. Rashad Evans
10. Jason Lambert

If Rashad made it in at #9, Tito Ortiz should have cracked the top 10. In my book, Tito looked busier, hungrier, and younger than Rashad in their fight at UFC 73. Other than that, this list looks good to me. This has the most talented 1-7 of any weight division in MMA. Also, I believe that if the UFC ever decides to give Michael Bisping some real competition, he'll show that he has the skills to be on this list. I bet that Dana and the UFC would love to have seen Keith Jardine placed in the top 10, which would be undeserved.

Middleweight

1. Anderson Silva
2. Paulo Filho
3. Dan Henderson
4. Rich Franklin
5. Matt Lindland
6. Nate Marquadt
7. Denis Kang
8. Yushin Okami
9. Robbie Lawler
10. Frank Trigg

I was a bit surprised initially see Franklin ranked above Lindland, but it makes sense if you think about it. Sherdog explains it nicely. I also think that Kendal Grove has the skill set to rack up a few more wins and find himself in this list. It's puzzling to me why we haven't seen more of him since winning his UFC title.

Welterweight

1. Matt Serra
2. Georges St. Pierre
3. Matt Hughes
4. Josh Koscheck
5. Diego Sanchez
6. Jon Fitch
7. Karo Parisyan
8. Shinya Aoki
9. Jake Shields
10. Carlos Condit

Wow! Before Serra's KO win over GSP, he wasn't anywhere near the top 10, but to be the man, you've got to beat the man, and Serra did just that. I think that Carlos Condit is only #10 because he fights in the WEC. He's no joke. And speaking of no joke, wit until Hayato Sakurai starts competing at 170 lbs!

Lightweight

1. Takanori Gomi
2. Gilbert Melendez
3. Tatsuya Kawajiri
4. Vitor Ribeiro
5. Sean Sherk
6. Mitsuhiro Ishida
7. Joachim hansen
8. Marcus Aurelio
9. Gesias Calvancanti
10. BJ Penn

I have a lot of problems wit this list. Gomi at 1? Sherk at 5? I'm certainly not his biggest fan, but I really think The Muscle Shark would run through everyone ranked above him. And where the f- is Nick Diaz??? If Serra is tops at welterweight, Diaz, should be at - or certainly near - the top of this list after dismantling Gomi. Unfortunately, Sherdog will not consider him until his suspension is expired, so an asterisk belongs next to Gomi on this list. As for Kid Yamamoto, Sherdog explains that his resume at 155 lbs. does not merit top-ten status, which I understand. Finally, convincing me that Joe "Daddy" Stevenson wouldn't beat up most of the fighters on this list could be difficult.

In the Featherwight division, Akitoshi Tamura somehow beat out Urijah Faber, while Akitoshi Hokozono tops the Bantamweight list and Sinichi Kojima rightfully sits atop the Flyweight division.

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