(Rising and falling: Nate Marquardt and Randy Couture. Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)
Following UFC 102, we’ve updated the middleweight, light-heavyweight, and heavyweight pages in our Power Rankings section. Some notable changes:
– Nate Marquardt moves up to #3 in the 185-pound rankings after his knockout of Demian Maia (who drops to #9). Gegard Mousasi leaves the middleweight list (he’s here now) and Vitor Belfort sneaks in at #10 to fill the gap.
– Thiago Silva replaces Renato Sobral as the #10-ranked light-heavyweight following his KO of Keith "Sardine" Jardine.
– Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira moves to #3 on the heavyweight list, while Randy Couture sinks to #10. That’s what happens when you go two years without winning a fight.
Check ‘em out and let us know how you feel.
(BG)
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Comments
Tue, 09/01/09 - 07:28
There's a conflict in your rankings. Mousasi is at #8 LHW & #8 P4P. I'm conflicted on him too because there's not much at LHW outside the UFC and he's been fighting all sorts of oddball weights/fights, but obviously if there are 7 LHW's better he can't be #8 P4P can he?
Tue, 09/01/09 - 07:35
HW looks good although Monson over Randy ? Sure Randy has lost his last two fights but look who he has fought compared to who Munson has fought. Not saying Monson shouldn't be in the top 10 but not above Randy. Man I wish Jake Shields would come to UFC and fight GSP!
Tue, 09/01/09 - 07:41
@ cchaos:It's because he was dominating at middleweight for a long time. I took him off the middleweight list because he has no intention of going back there, but the fact that Mousasi could be successful at two different weight classes is the main reason I ranked him in the P4P list. Once Mousasi gets more fights at 205, he'll be moving up the light heavyweight list and it'll start to make more sense.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 07:57
Don't you mean once he wins more fights against relevant competition? Of Mousasi's 26 wins, I'd say about 3 of them were against relevant competition for rankings purposes: Kang, Sobral, and Jacare. I have a hard time seeing how you can rank a fighter with zero wins against top 10 fighters, or to be generous at best 2 guys who were top 10 when he fought them, as #8 P4P. It seems that Mousasi is being given an extraordinary amount of credit for his hypothetical abilities rather than his actual record.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 08:00
Ben, you guys don't feel stupid having Barnett ranked after testing positive for steroids two times in his career? Not only should he never fight again, but he certainly shouldn't be considered for any top 10 lists. The man is a cheater.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 08:02
I just wish people wouldn't legitimize a cheater's accomplishments.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 08:04
@ BuckWild I gotta support Ben with Monson's position over Randy. Randy had a long stretch of inactivity and since he's been back in the UFC he hasn't won a single fight. Granted, Lesnar and Nog are tall orders and I don't take anything away from Couture. But Monson is on a 7 fight win streak defeating notable fighters such as Roy Nelson (personally, I think Nelson won that fight) and Sergei Kharitonov. He's active and he's crushin' dudes. I don't expect him to be on that list a year from now, but at the moment, it's the right call.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 08:07
Good point, CJ. I guess I'm so used to seeing the BabyFat Assassin on the lists that I didn't even question it. If he ends up fighting in DREAM, I guess he would need to stay on. Personally, I don't think he's done fighting. Just done fighting in the USA.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 08:20
ok, why is there no Big Foot Silva on the list? He should be at least top 5 in the HW.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 08:33
@ KillDozer "ok, why is there no Big Foot Silva on the list?" Uhmmmm...because he hasn't fought anyone since January? And the guy he beat blew out his knee and that's what ended the fight? And he really never beat anyone of record? So why exactly should he even be considered in the top 5? Oh wait...I get it! YOU'RE JOKING! Ha ha ha...okay...that was a good one....Bigfoort Silva in the top 5...LOL! P.S. - Love the "KillDozer" handle. They need to remake that movie. Tarrantino: GET ON IT!
Tue, 09/01/09 - 08:41
Anderson should be #2 LHW behind Lyoto. C'mon Rashad lost 2 rounds to Forrest before catching him. Rampage LOST to Forrest, then almost lost to Jardine , and was even rocked and in trouble against him. If he didn't knock him down the last 10 seconds he loses that fight... Not only does he dodge Lyoto, which shows he lost his championship drive... Now he appears to be dodging Rashad to do a movie. Judging by all 3 performances with a recent/common opponent in Forrest. Rashad getting destroyed by Lyoto, and Rampage dodging Lyoto. I think Anderson has to be ahead of them.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 08:47
I would definitely put Anderson at #2 for LHW. I would only have him behind Lyoto because Lyoto has the belt. Lyoto is awesome but Anderson is a god.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 08:52
lesner is a fag. thats all i gotta say
Tue, 09/01/09 - 08:56
You guys forgot to put Hirota in the LW rankings again.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 08:57
We couldn't tell by your screen name. I guess Nate and Anderson again would be ok, but I'd rather see Nate and Hendo and Anderson go up to LHW.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 09:09
Shouldn't Marius Zaromskis break into the top 10 of Welterweights?
Tue, 09/01/09 - 09:22
@OBI: So do you really think Monson would beat Randy right now? I guess in my mind, this calls in to question the function of rankings in the first place. Are rankings for "rewarding" fighters for accomplishments like 7-win streaks (even if they came against cans and were, as you note in the case of the Nelson fight, probably not even deserving victories), or should they describe as nearly as possible who would beat whom in head-to-head matchups? I think the latter should be the case. And for all the people declaring Anderson should be the #2 LHW, the guy has one relevant fight at the weightclass, and hasn't even made it clear he intends to stay there, so what is the point of ranking him there? Saying shit like 'Rampage almost lost to Jardine' and 'Rashad caught Forrest' disguises other interpretations of those fights, like 'Jardine was knocked down twice by Rampage and lost unanimously,' or 'Rashad, a notorious slow starter, decisively beat the champ,' or 'Forrest won a suspect decision against Rampage,' or even 'Anderson knocked out a guy in Forrest who is known for a having a weak chin.'
Tue, 09/01/09 - 09:23
where's aleksander? and barnett should be banned for life.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 09:31
When you haven't won a fight in 2 years, how does that keep you on ANY list. I love Randy, but how long can he survive on his popularity. And I know he had a great fight with Nog and did well against Brock, but he LOST! Pretty soundly too!
Tue, 09/01/09 - 10:36
For the heavy weights, I think Carwin might be a little over-rated. It's not that he's not potential champion, it's just that he hasn't fought the level of fighters that the other have. In my opinion, I would put Couture ahead of him. Mir as number four is an interesting position, and I think it helps make the case for him being decent gateway fighter. I think Cain and Nog should have to have a good showing against him before moving on to Lesnar. Oh, and does anyone have a picture of Lesnar holding a puppy? He really needs to rehab his image. As it is now, I just want to see him lose.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 10:57
Anderson didn't just KO Forrest. He outclassed him like we've never seen in this sport... Rashad did decisively beat forrest... but not even NEAR the same level... He lost the first 2 rounds. Anderson's only 2 fights at 205 have been so dominant its ridiculous. He is #2
Tue, 09/01/09 - 11:12
cain velasquez Vs Mir. Please let this fight happen and get cain in the ranking where he should be.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 11:56
@OBI I wasnt actually joking because Big Foot does deserve a spot in top 10. The guy is huge, athletic, fast and technical. He crashed everyone who he fought and even was Elite EX champ. I am 100% sure he would smash most of the guys on Ben's HW top 10 list. He never takes any damage and always wins. And you saying he hasnt fought since January doesn't mean anything. Look at Randy. Who did he beat last? Ganzaga, and it was like 2 years ago. Bret Rogers is #9?? He fought cans his entire short career and ko'd glass chin Arlovski in his last fight. Monson #8 - no idea wtf he is doing on that list. Submission win over rusty Kharitonov doesn't mean shit to me, the rest were wins over nobodys. Shane Carwin at #7 - he ko'd a bunch of cans and Ganzaga. It doesnt mean he's p4p fighter yet. Overeem at #6 - who did he beat in MMA that was relevant? Josh Bernett at #5- roid head. Frank Mir at #4 - seriously??? He got destroyed in his last fight and should be nowhere near top 10. Big Nog at #3 - that's a joke as well. He beat Randy in a slow motion scrap of semi-retired old timers. That should't place him in the 3d place at all. Brock and Fedor being in the lead - no questions there. My point is the only reason HW top 10 list looks like this is because these guys fought recently and picked up some wins. And no way it represents the list of top best fighters. If you look at potential match ups, Big Foot would beat most of the guys on the list and therefore deserves a spot there.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 12:02
oh what the hell, only a few months ago Randy was at #2 spot and everyone wanted to see Randy vs Fedor. Now every one of these guys shut the hell up. So pretty much if these guys lose at least one fight, most of them wouldn't be on the list anymore.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 01:19
I kind of agree with Killdozer, Big Foot is a fucking beast and has actually beat some decent competition but he has never fought an elite fighter, sure Nakao isn't bad, Eillers wasn't bad, Rodriguez...hah not going there. Rogers may be have fought a ton of cans but he did knock Arlovksi the fuck out regardless of what you wanna say about AA's chin.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 02:09
then you might just as well put Ray Mercer on the list for his win over Big Timmy. After all, he knocked the fuck out him as well. Although maybe Bratt does deserve a spot, since there isnt anybody else out there, but you gotta wait and see what happens. Who knows, maybe after his fight with Fedor rankings will change again and we will see him on number 1 spot.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 04:29
I don't think Mercer's fight with Kimbo was even a pro fight was it? So that puts Mercer's record at what 1-0? as opposed to Rogers 10-0 with a win over AA, come one man.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 08:48
Got to admit, Brock showed some class when he went to Randy's corner in the third round of the Nogueira fight to cheer on Couture. Brock surprised me, and if he shows more of this side of himself I just may be able to cheer for him.
Tue, 09/01/09 - 09:14
I'm sure you can find plenty of big black dudes with records at least 10-0, doesnt mean they are anywhere top 10. Rogers needs to prove that he deserves that spot. Big Timmy beat AA 2 times and so the fuck what?
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