Henderson "Shogun" Rua
These two guys could beat anyone in this weight division and in the middle weight division on any given day, then again, they could suffer a loss to an underdog like Cro Cop did, that's the unpredictability that makes this sport so fun to watch. Anyway, either of these guys might get an immediate or almost immediate shot at the title since they've proven themselves in PRIDE which has had some of the best fighters in the world. In fact, I think that they're (Dana and the boys) going to give Henderson a shot at Rampage right off the bat. Henderson, if he wins, will be marketable too because he'll then hold THREE BELTS since he's currently both the LHW and MW champ of PRIDE.
*NOTE: Henderson will get the first shot at Rampage, which I am sure he made part of his contract when he signed with the UFC. Nice.
Furthermore, a lot of people don't consider Michael "The Count" Bisping (13-0), the undefeated, high energy English fighter, ready for contention, but I personally think he could fight any of these guys and do well. The only problem with Bisping is that he shoots his wad too early (look at the Elvis fight when he nearly punched himself out of gas and got submitted) and can find himself gassed early. I also think he's untested in a true ground war.
Bisping:
There's also Forrest Griffin who is a great stand up fighter as well as Stephan Bonnar who is a good all around fighter. Although I love to watch both of these guys, I don't think they pose any real threat to the likes of Shogun, Liddell, or Hendo at this point in their careers.
Bonnar and Griffin:
Middleweight 180lbs
Maybe my favorite division to watch, although there hasn't been a lot of action in it lately.
Champ: Anderon "The Spider" Silva (18-4)
The Spider is arguably the greatest striker in the world and has destroyed his recent competition on the feet and on the ground. He's on a hot streak and will face Nathan Marquardt for the belt very soon. Go to google video or YouTube and type in his name and be prepared for violence. Despite the dances he does after fights, he's a humble, nice guy who's been doing muy thai since the age of like five or something. He also made a name for himself overseas and has only had three fights in the UFC, destroying Leben, Franklin, and home dude who didn't make weight, Lutter, who was supposed to be able to take it to him on the ground.
1. Rich "Ace" Frankin (21-2)
Ex-math teacher, brawler and perennial nice guy. He's on a comeback after having his nose broken and body mangled by The Spider's knees. He's really big for a middleweight, so his next match up against Okami won't be so bad since Okami won't be able to bully him around like he has other fighters. I'd guess that Franklin walks around at about 200lbs and then cuts 5 lbs. weeks before the fight and then dehydrates to make 185 and is back up to about 200lbs for the fight. Some claim the UFC "protects" Franklin, that's insane. I guess if protecting means putting him up against the likes of Anderson Silva and Okami, then he's well protected.
2. Nathan Marquardt (25-6)
Marquardt quietly, at least for us Westerners, made a name for himself over in Pancrase, a Japanese MMA org. He's big for a middle weight, just like Franklin, and although his stand up is good, he's a submission fighter with 14 of his wins coming from subs and a technical fighter (7 from decision). Not the most exciting fighter, but the idea is to win by sticking to one's game plan and that's what he does. He's a quiet, Christian guy btw.
3. Yushin Okami (20-3)
Ground and pound Japanese fighter Okami is another big middle weight who likes to play it safe and win rounds through attrition. He generally picks up the pace and tries to use his superior stamina to bring the pain, and the TKO, via GnP in the later rounds. Look for a war against Franklin at the very next UFC! By the way, he just beat one of my favorite fighters by decision in Mike Swick. Bummer. I like Okami, however, because he's easy going and humble.
4. Terry Martin (16-2)
Not a fan favorite but obviously a tough guy...strong/compact, fierce strikes, and the heart of a lion. We just watched him beat Ivan Salaverry, although it seemed to have been stopped a bit prematurely. We'll see how he does against top level competition.
5. Jason "The Athlete McDonald" (18-8)
Don't let his record full you, McDonald has a got some game...SOME game. I don't think he'll ever be champ because he just seems to be too one-dimensional. When he couldn't take Franklin down in his last fight, he ended up getting frustrated and then got man handled and TKOed with strikes. I think he'll do OK against other ground fighters, or against B-level guys, but I don't think he can handle the Okami's, Silva's and Franklin's of his division. We all hated this guy, and he's definetly not our favorite, but he's not as bad as I personally thought after
Other middleweights:
Mike "Quick" Swick (10-2)
Once again these rankings don't tell the whole story. First off, Henderson can drop to middleweight and if he ever takes the belt at LightHeavy, I think he'll drop down and go for the MW belt. Other middle weights to watch out for:
Kendall "Da Spyder" Grove (8-3)
This dude is LONG for a middleweight...he's 6'6! He has an easy time using his knees to hurt guys, and he's shown a knack for elbows and kicks as well. Perhaps what's most impressive is that he mates his striking skills to some crazy submissions for an all out assault on people. His losses came early on and he's currently undefeated in the UFC. I think he has a bright future in the division and could be a champ.
Other notable middleweights:
Ed Herman (14-4) Tough Son B with good all around game. Won his last fight.
Travis Lutter (Great ground game... didn't make weight for his title shot against Silva..bonehead!)
Nate Quarry (got BEAT down by Franklin in his title shot, but some people believe in him still. He's supposed to be back this year)
Evan Tanner (Ex champ, supposed to be back, I love this guy!)
WELTERWEIGHT (170lbs)
The pride of the UFC. No other organization in the world boasts WWs like the UFC has. I'd personally bet my home that the UFC's WWs would beat the WWs from any other organization in the world in a tournament. Check out the talent (by the way, it's REALLY tough to rank these guys as any one of them could tear anyone up on a given night in the right circumstances.
Current Champ: Matt "The Terror" or "Terra" Serra (15-5)
Face it, he got lucky beating St. Pierre. I said it'd never happen, but it did. He simply will NOT last long at the top of the WW heap, it's just not going to happen, and this time that's a fact. He could, by some freak chance, survive Matt Hughes, but I highly doubt that. I'll throw my 360 out of the window if he wins. He's a charming little man most of the time but I think he's somewhat immature for a guy his age and it bugs me. I'd love nothing more than to see St. Pierre pound him out...unfortunately Matt Hughes is going to get that chance. I forsee Matt Hughes winning in the 1st round when they meet up.
#1 Georges "Rush" St. Pierre (13-2)
Georges St. Pierre is widely regarded as one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world. Before the big upset to Serra, his only lost had been to Matt Hughes, the most dominant WW champ ever, and St. Pierre beat him soundly at UFC 69 for their rematch, essentially erasing that loss. Everyone, and I mean everyone (minus a few Serra fans), want St. Pierre back on top. His next fight is going to be one of his toughest ever when he takes on Josh Koscheck, the dominant wrestler who is nearly undefeated, his only loss a freak submission right before the bell against Drew Fickett (the ref stood them up and Fickett delivered a high kick which rocked Josh and allowed Fickett to sink in a rear naked choke). Anyway, St. Pierre can strike like a boxer/kickboxer and work it on the ground like a Brazilian. We'll see if he can get back on the wagon against Koscheck.
St. Pierre in action:
#2 MATT HUGHES (41-5)
The most dominant welterweight and one of the most dominant fighters PERIOD. Matt Hughes stood atop the WW division for years thanks to his incredible ability to take down fighters and beat them into submission. He has slammed people so hard it's knocked them out. More than anything else, Hughes wants to beat Serra (which should be EASY) and then welcome all of the amazing welterweight fighters into his world. YouTube, will yield some of his most dominating performances.
#3 Karo "The Heat" Parisyan (17-4)
Karo is the judo master, as we witnessed last week when he picked up a unanimous decision against the ever tough Burkman by tossing and turning him with punches and throws. Karo is a relentless fighter who has only dropped two of this last thirteen fights and they were to Hughes and Sanchez. He is up for a title shot soon, although they'll probably give him one more fight before he faces the champ.
#4 Josh Koscheck (9-1)
His distinct look and the fact that he is a "TUFFER" (ex-contestant of The Ultimate Fighter) have helped make Josh well known. More importantly than his celeb-status in the sport is the fact that he is a monster at wrestling. He gets a lot, and I mean A LOT, of heat for not being a finisher. He uses his wrestling to dominate his opponents, but often this results in decision wins which are not very exciting. This has earned him nicknames such as "the human blanket" and "dry humper." In reality, however, Josh is evolving as a fighter and has won about half of his fights by submission. He demonstrated quick, if unexciting, striking against Sanchez on his way to winning by decision and giving Diego his first loss. Koscheck will be fighting St. Pierre next and it's one of the fights I'm looking forward to the most this year. Although I want to St. Pierre to win, I'm fearful Kos will pull it off...I say I'm "afraid" because I don't like Josh so much as a person and I don't think he'd make a good champ, but that's assuming he'll dethrone the champ IF he gets by Rush.
#5 Jon Fitch (13-2)
Fitch and his fans are mad. Fitch is a dominating (he's won his last 11 fights!) fighter trying to make a name for himself in the deepest weight division in the UFC, no easy task. He's mad because despite his amazing record, the UFC has refused to televise most of his fights. Suddenly, however, things have changed drastically and we'll get to see Fitch fight a tough guy in Carneiro next week at UFN (Ultimate Fight Night). If he wins, he's gonna get a tough cookie, one of the top five guys, probably Karo, for his next fight and then he's in line for a shot at the title.
Other top Welterweights:
Diego "The Nightmare" Sanchez (17-1)
Meditation, unwaivering confidence, love for "the razza," and a penchant for Yoga. Sanchez is one of the most colorful fighters in the UFC and up until recently, he was undefeated. He could easily find himself with a title shot if he wins his next fight or two. He's got mad ground skills and, in my opinion, great stand up. When he's "on" he's deadly, often submitting or pounding out his opponents in the first few minutes of the round. Last year he pulled out a unanimous decision against Karo Parisyan that he won due to his excellent cardio. His last fight against Kos was weird and it has since surfaced that he may not have been healthy. I don't think that's the case, but either way, he's an exciting, nutty guy and I think he may end up giving the division a run for the money.
Drew Fickett (29-5)
The only fighter to have beaten Koscheck, Fickett is one tough cookie and despite his recent loss to Parisyan and somewhat spotted record, he's a legitimate contender in my opinion. He's one of those guys that the UFC likes, but has definitely challenged. We'll see what happens in the future. By the way, he's won 18 of his fights by submission, so despite what some say, I think he's primarily a submission fighter.
There plenty more fighters in the WW that are very good, but for the sake of my sanity, I don't want to go through and pull their info for now. For now these are the guys to know since they're going to provide the most exciting match ups as contenders.
LIGHTWEIGHTS (155lbs)
When I first got back into MMA, I thought "155? What's up with that?" Well, I'll tell you: lighting fast guys with way more stamina putting on some of the best shows around. The lightweight division has been dismantled due to lack of fighters and money, but it was resurrected last last year and the current champ, Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk stands atop a pile of eager fighters all of whom are chomping at the bit to take his belt and reign supreme over the new division.
CURRENT CHAMP:
Sean Sherk (31-2)
Sean Sherk is a huge little guy. Yeah, I know it sounds contradictory, but look at this picture. Doesn't look like a guy who weighs 155 eh? Well, he's 5'6", so that helps. He has mad wrestling skills so he's mostly looking for the decision or submission. Not the most exciting fighter, but he's good at what he does. One of his only recent losses came when he was forced to move up to 170 and fight in the welterweight division where he got killed by St. Pierre.
#1 Hermes Franca (18-5)
Having won his last eight fights in a row, including a dominant performance over one of my favorite fighters, Spencer "The King" Fisher who, previous to his knockout loss, had never been rendered unconscious in a fight before. To me, Franca's just not that impressive and I think he's going to run into trouble when he faces Sherk at UFC 73 which we're watching, yes, you're watching it or I'll put you in an arm bar!
#2 B.J. "The Prodigy" Penn (10-4)
The most overrated fighter in MMA. Hardcore MMA fans are mostly Penn nuthuggers and they're not shy about their opinion that he'll someday hold multiple belts at the same time and laugh in the face of Fedor. OK, maybe not Fedor, but you get the idea. He's got crazy ground skills and he's tough as nails. His biggest enemy: his stamina and cardio. He stormed the scene years ago and dropped only one of his first 11 fights (one was a draw too). He became champ, retired, and then came back as welterweight and lost two fights in a row to St. Pierre (split decision) and Matt Hughes (he got TKOed with strikes). He's currently the coach for the blue team (Team Penn) on the 5th season of the Ultimate Fighter. He's going to be fighting the first guy who ever defeated him in Jens "Lil" Evil Pulver. That's all going down on the 23rd. Can he come back and become a champion again or will Pulver retire him?
#3 Joe "Daddy" Stevenson (27-7)
Remember this guy? He submitted Melvin Guillard (the black dude with bright blond hair) in about 20 seconds at the UFN we watched at my pad? Well, he's the real deal and he wants a title shot. He's a TUFFER and pretty well respected in the sport due to his ground game and grounded personality. I think he's good because he looks of the subs and goes after them fast when they're there and he's got good stamina.
#4 Kenny "Ken-Flo" Florian 5-3
Yes, his record is not that impressive, but as Walter mentioned at the last UFC PPV over at Ned's, records don't mean the same thing as they do in boxing, for example. It's all about your opponents and how you win/lose. A close split decision or getting "caught" by a random punch can really be seen as flukes sometimes. Ken-Flo, however, is no fluke. He doesn't look tough but he is. He's got great stamina, tons of heart, and good submissions. He could've easily been the champ had he pulled out the win against Sherk at the end of 2006. Look for more exciting fights. (We saw him the same night as Stevenson, remember he almost got tapped by the Japanese dude Mishima he beat that night?).
#5 Roger "El Matador" Huerta (17-1)
He's won his last 14 fights (minus a no decision to Guillard) and many MMA fans think he's the future of the division. We'll see. He's got a great chin and heavy hands. I'm excited to see him fight again.
The division is deep, and here are a few stand outs that could beat any of the guys above in the right conditions:
Jens "Lil' Evil" Pulver (21-7, 18 of which are knockouts!)
Pulver is a tough cookie known primarily for his great striking, crazy hair, and for having eyes that are different colors (one is blue, the other brown...I think, either way it's disconcerting). He is currently coaching Team Pulver on the Ultimate Fighter and is slated to fight BJ Penn, the other coach, on June 23rd. Pulver gave Penn his first loss, so the rivalry is thick and only getting thicker. He once held the lightweight belt before taking off to Japan to fight. He made his comeback last year, only to be knocked out by an unknown kid named Joe Lauzon (the internet nerd or "J-Lau") who is now on TUF 5 as a fighter.
Some biographical info I found on Pulver:
"Jens was raised in what he referred to as a “daily hell.” His childhood house was one of violence, stemming mostly from his alcoholic father. Many examples of the abuse Jens faced as a youth are depicted in his autobiography, “Little Evil, One Ultimate Fighter’s Rise to the Top.” The most extreme of which include an incident where Jens' father threatened the then seven-year-old Jens and his young sibling with a loaded firearm. As described in his autobiography, the firearm was placed in Jens’ mouth, then removed when his father stated, “you aren’t worth the bullets.
Joe "J-Lau" or "The Quiet Internet Kid" OR "Dumbo" Lauzon (14-3)
Joe Lauzon caught a lucky break, although he claims hard work and intelligence were the cause, not luck. I say it's a combination. He came out at UFC 63 and was supposed to lose to Jens Pulver in order to help Jens on his comeback. As I mentioned above, Jens left the UFC after becoming the champ and as the UFC resurrected its lightweight division, both Pulver and the org decided he would be good to bring him back since he's got personality and great stand up skills. They brought him in against this kid Lauzon, who was a first timer in the UFC, and we all laughed. We called him DUMBO thanks to his huge ears. The kid is in IT for crying out loud, he's a self-proclaimed internet nerd. Anyway, one low kick and a hard left hook and Jens found himself waking up to the news he'd just been knocked out. Nice. Now Joe is one of the last four competitors left on season 5 of TUF. I think he has a very good chance of going on to win. He's got crazy ground and pound.
Sam "Hands of Stone" Stout (11-2)
Heavy handed muy-thai fighter who picked up a close split decision of Spencer Fisher. He's won most of his fights via TKO, so he's exciting if you like to watch leather fly. This Wed. the rematch is happening, so come over!
