(Okay Cung, you got your revenge on Scott Smith. We all saw it. There’s no need to rub it in by levitating. Photo courtesy of the "Fedor vs. Werdum Photos" gallery on MMAFighting.com.)

The Potato Index has been chewing its nails and tapping its feet since Saturday night, just waiting for the chance to throw out some arbitrary numerical rankings at Fedor vs. Werdum. And now, the moment has arrived. Don’t mess it up, Potato Index. Please, for the love of God, act like you’ve been there before.

Fabricio Werdum +1,089
Any time you can accomplish something that’s never been done before, it’s a good day. Werdum stopped an unbeatable legend — quickly, we might add — and brought some glory back to BJJ. No matter what happens next in his career, Vai Cavalo will go down in history. And honestly, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Look how happy he is!

Fedor Emelianeko -113 
Fedor’s fight instincts are what set him apart from mere mortals, and have gotten him out of many a jam during his career, but they failed him on Saturday. He thought he had Werdum hurt and went in for the kill, but Werdum was playing possum, and seized on his first opportunity to hit the mat. Fedor could have played it safe against a superior grappler — he could have let Fabricio up so he could slug him some more — but that’s not what Fedor does, and that’s not why we love him. The loss only proves that Emelianenko is not literally invincible. It doesn’t affect his status as the greatest heavyweight of all time.

Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin +99, each
I know, these guys weren’t even at the show. But now their fight at UFC 116 will determine the #1 heavyweight fighter in the world on most ranking lists, simply by default. Next step: Unifying the WAMMA title.


Cung Le +187
His previous loss to Scott Smith? Movie trailer rust. And he wasn’t going to let the rematch go to round three. Le’s flashy-but-precise striking is so entertaining to watch, and so devastating to his opponents. Could he be the dark horse for Strikeforce’s upcoming middleweight tournament?

Scott Smith -144
There’s a reason that Smith has only gone the distance once in 25 fights. His chase-and-bang style may make for some exciting scraps, but it’ll also get his ass killed one day. You can’t always depend on a third-round comeback.

Cris Cyborg +51
What do you say, really? It was a fight Cyborg was supposed to win in brutal fashion, and she delivered. The victory over Finney didn’t add much to her resume, and it exposed an alarming unwillingness to play defense in a firefight. If Cyborg ever faces a striker with as much power as she has, she could be in deep doo-doo. Luckily, that will never happen. Not ever.

Jan Finney +10
Hey, props to the kid for even stepping up, and double-props for lasting as long as she did. Finney could have curled up into a ball much earlier in the fight and had the ref save her, but she kept swinging on Cyborg when she was upright, and she kept grabbing for Cyborg’s leg when she was on the mat (which, again, reminded me so much of this). Finney’s gutsy performance earned her another fight in Strikeforce — hopefully against an opponent that’s close to her own size and talent level.

Josh Thomson +72
Anybody who was disappointed that Thomson had so much trouble with Pat Healy probably doesn’t appreciate how tough an opponent Healy is. For a rebound fight, you can’t ask for much better. Thomson survived some submission attempts, didn’t let Healy do much damage from the top, and made adjustments to his game in the final round that allowed him to turn the tables and choke Healy out in the last minute of the fight. Hopefully that match against Lyle Beerbohm will come together next.

Pat Healy +16
Not bad for a late replacement. It’ll be a while until Healy gets back on the main card of a major Strikeforce show, but at least he proved that he’s a high-level competitor who’s worth watching.

Kim Winslow +125
Though some fans have been giving Winslow crap for letting the Cyborg/Finney match go on too long, we think she handled it perfectly; Finney was defending herself to the bitter end. Plus, Kim got to feel up Fedor at the prep-point. And did she dye her hair darker since the TUF 11 Finale? Lookin’ good, baby!

(BG)