Sherdog names Brock Lesnar #1 Ranked HWT in the World

[pun2003hh]

http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/2/Sherdog-Official-Mixed-Martial-Arts-Rankings-25392

Ok, look. I am a Huge Lesnar fan. I think he is a freak of nature, improves everytime he gets into the cage, and is just flat out entertaining to watch. But even I can't agree with this. This list is supposed to show who is the number 1 heavyweight in the world at this very moment. How do you give it to a guy who hasn't competed in a year? Actually, this whole list is screwy. Let's take a look.

1 - Brock Lesnar
2 - Fabrico Werdum
3 - Fedor Emelianenko
4 - Cain Velasquez
5 - Shane Carwin
6 - Frank Mir
7 - Junior Dos Santos
8 - Allistair Overeem
9 - Antonio Nogueira
10 - Antonio Silva

First off, Fedor just lost, and you have another ppv in less then a week. How about you hold off on demoting him until we see the outcome of the Lesnar v Carwin fight. It is unfair to award the number 1 status to either one of them before then. Secondly, how does Werdum jump from number 7 to number 2? I understand that he just defeated the number 1 ranked guy, but that doesn't justify a 5 spot jump when you lost to a lower ranked contender not that long ago. And how is Carwin ranked below Velasquez? Carwin's quality of opponents have been slightly tougher, he has more wins, and he is the number 1 contender to the Heavyweight crown.

And that brings me back to Brock. Again, I love the guy, and my money is on him to keep the belt, but even with the win, I can't justify him being ranked at number 1. He would have to earn one more win against a top ten contender, namely a Dos Santos or a Velasquez before I would consider him the legitimate number 1 HWT.

Again, all of this is subjective and I would love to hear other opinions.

 

[Whistler 619]

Although I see your point about Brock Lesnar being #1 on the List, it makes sense. The guy is the Heavyweight Champion of the #1 MMA Promotion in the World of coarse hes going to be Ranked high or First, especially with Fedor losing.

On Fabricio, the guy just beat the former #1 and the guy most people said was the "Best fighter in the world", yeah he gets put to #2, what else did you expect? Although it was a lucky win in my opinion he did beat Fedor, fair and square, hence why he gets moved up.

 

[Dave]

I will go ahead and say that I believe Brock Lesnar to be the finest heavyweight talent in all of MMA. However, I don’t consider him to be the best ranked MMA fighter in the heavyweight division. Now, don’t get me wrong, those may sound like contrasting statements but it actually make sense.

What I mean is that Lesnar hasn’t fought for almost a year and I have no idea how you can be named the best MMA fighter in the world if it has been almost a year since you last fought in the cage. However, he does have the talent to warrant that claim… He just hasn’t shown it lately. Lesnar last fought against Frank Mir in a match that everyone thought he would lose. Yet, he took it to the ground and basically punched Frank Mir into pulp. His talent for the MMA game was shown in that match but after that, situation has dictated that we do not get to see Brock Lesnar for a while. He is a great talent but I fail to see how you can name him the top ranked heavyweight in the world right now.

I have no idea what Sherdog base these rankings on but they are a load of shit. You only have to look at this table that not one of the decisions actually make sense. Brock Lesnar shouldn’t be names the top heavyweight in the world. Fedor should be further down the list because Shane Carwin is definitely on a hotter streak than Fedor is right now. The fact that you have someone who lost, not a week ago, higher than Shane Carwin, who is Interim Champion and will be facing Lesnar with every chance of beating him is ludicrous. Frank Mir at number six also raises my eyebrows. In has last two matches, he has been beaten and beaten well. Lesnar pummelled him and Carwin beat him for the Interim Championship. He is even considering dropping down to light-heavyweight so I don’t know what they are thinking.

EDIT: Shit! Forgot about Kongo. Thanks for pointing that out, dude.

 

[pun2003hh]

I will go ahead and say that I believe Brock Lesnar to be the finest heavyweight talent in all of MMA. However, I don’t consider him to be the best ranked MMA fighter in the heavyweight division. Now, don’t get me wrong, those may sound like contrasting statements but it actually make sense.

What I mean is that Lesnar hasn’t fought for almost a year and I have no idea how you can be named the best MMA fighter in the world if it has been almost a year since you last fought in the cage. However, he does have the talent to warrant that claim… He just hasn’t shown it lately. Lesnar last fought against Frank Mir in a match that everyone thought he would lose. Yet, he took it to the ground and basically punched Frank Mir into pulp. His talent for the MMA game was shown in that match but after that, situation has dictated that we do not get to see Brock Lesnar for a while. He is a great talent but I fail to see how you can name him the top ranked heavyweight in the world right now.

I have no idea what Sherdog base these rankings on but they are a load of shit. You only have to look at this table that not one of the decisions actually make sense. Brock Lesnar shouldn’t be names the top heavyweight in the world. Fedor should be further down the list because Shane Carwin is definitely on a hotter streak than Fedor is right now. The fact that you have someone who lost, not a week ago, higher than Shane Carwin, who is Interim Champion and will be facing Lesnar with every chance of beating him is ludicrous. Frank Mir at number six also raises my eyebrows. In has last two matches, he has been beaten and beaten well. Lesnar pummelled him and Carwin beat him for the Interim Championship. He is even considering dropping down to light-heavyweight so I don’t know what they are thinking.

Well, don't forget that between Mir's second fight with Lesnar and his fight with Carwin, he did beat the snot out of Cheick Kongo, which is no easy task, but I agree that him being number 6 is a stretch. The entire list is questionable, and they should have just held off until next week when we might have a bit of a clearer picture of the heavyweight division.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

This entire thread pinpoints why Sherdog is so terrible. Between their articles, their forums, and their rankings, it's the drizzling shits when it comes to MMA, and the only useful thing about that site is the fight finder. Really, MMA Journalism is awful to begin with, but Sherdog is a shining example of why it's the worst.

Pun is absolutely right when he says that they should have waited until next week to update their rankings. And even after next week, the top 3 should be the winner/loser of Brock/Carwin, with Cain Velasquez sandwiched between the two. Then, as far as the next three, it should absolutely be Werdum, Fedor, and Junior Dos Santos. This is when you get into the dreaded parable of MMAth though. Werdum beat Fedor, but JDS beat Werdum. Does that mean JDS goes 4th? It's very tricky putting rankings together, especially when they've been overhauled like this. Fabricio Werdum is NOT the second best Heavyweight in the world right now though. That's Shane Carwin.

 

[jmt225]

In no way, shape, or form should anyone be #1 right now other than Fabrico Werdum.

Seriously, Lesnar has 4 wins to his name for fucks sake. And none of those names have anywhere near the respect and stature that Fedor Emelianenko has. Belt or no belt... beating Fedor in just one minute, that should get pretty much ANYBODY that #1 spot. That's all there is to it.

In fact, I don't even care for the outcome of Lesnar and Carwin's fight next week... whoever wins should still be ranked #2 behind Werdum. I mean, come on... Werdum beat the man who has had that #1 spot for YEARS and YEARS; how does he not get that spot now? It just makes no sense.

I'm a big Lesnar fan like most here, and he's impressed the fuck out of me with what he has accomplished so far in the UFC, but man... nothing he's done beats Werdum defeating who many people believe to be the greatest Mixed Martial Artist in history in just one minute.

And you know what's funny? Let's assume that Werdum and Fedor do have a rematch, I GUARANTEE if Fedor wins, he'll have that #1 spot back, even if Lesnar beats Carwin and ANOTHER name like Cain Velasquez by that time. That's exactly why you can't take these ratings seriously.

 

[pun2003hh]

In no way, shape, or form should anyone be #1 right now other than Fabrico Werdum.

Seriously, Lesnar has 4 wins to his name for fucks sake. And none of those names have anywhere near the respect and stature that Fedor Emelianenko has. Belt or no belt... beating Fedor in just one minute, that should get pretty much ANYBODY that #1 spot. That's all there is to it.

In fact, I don't even care for the outcome of Lesnar and Carwin's fight next week... whoever wins should still be ranked #2 behind Werdum. I mean, come on... Werdum beat the man who has had that #1 spot for YEARS and YEARS; how does he not get that spot now? It just makes no sense.

I'm a big Lesnar fan like most here, and he's impressed the fuck out of me with what he has accomplished so far in the UFC, but man... nothing he's done beats Werdum defeating who many people believe to be the greatest Mixed Martial Artist in history in just one minute.

And you know what's funny? Let's assume that Werdum and Fedor do have a rematch, I GUARANTEE if Fedor wins, he'll have that #1 spot back, even if Lesnar beats Carwin and ANOTHER name like Cain Velasquez by that time. That's exactly why you can't take these ratings seriously.

Dude, you have to keep in mind that these rankings show who the number 1 guy is now, not over the last 10 years. I personally judge not just by wins, but by quality of recent opponents. Werdum did defeat the number 1 ranked guy in the world, as well as Mike Kyle and 10th ranked Antonio Silva recently, but he was knocked out in the first round by JDS about 18 months ago, a recent loss that went unavenged.

Fedor, as good as he has been through out his career, has really lacked quality opponents as of late. He beat Rogers, someone who had never really been tested until his fight with Fedor, and even then, Fedor struggled a bit. He beat Arlovski and Silvia, two guys who are only names because they dominated the UFC at a time when there was virtually no talent in the heavyweight division.

Lesnar over the last two years has beaten Frank Mir, Randy Couture, and Heath Herring, all convincingly. Frank Mir is obviously a top ranked heavyweight and a win over Shane Carwin can bring him closer to legitimizing his claim as the world's number 1 heavyweight. Honestly, if Lesnar had not gotten hurt and faced Carwin back in November, (possibly beat him) and had already faced a JDS or Velasquez by now, I don't think we would be having this debate.

Carwin is just coming into a streak of quality opponents with knockout wins over Gonzaga and Mir and is looking for his 5th straight win in the UFC. I don't know if a win over Lesnar would justify a number 1 ranking, but it would bump him from where he is now.

Yes, I agree that these MMA rankings can be a joke at times, but this is all we have at the moment. But I can't agree with Werdum being number 1. He beat a Fedor that has coasted for the last two years with sub quality opponents. If this was 2004-2005 and Werdum tapped out the Fedor that took out Cro Cop, Noguiera, and Randleman when they were the cream of the crop, you might have a point.

 

[jmt225]

Dude, you have to keep in mind that these rankings show who the number 1 guy is now, not over the last 10 years. I personally judge not just by wins, but by quality of recent opponents.

Exactly, which is why Werdum should be ranked #1 with his recent win over the greatest MMArtist of all time.

Werdum did defeat the number 1 ranked guy in the world, as well as Mike Kyle and 10th ranked Antonio Silva recently, but he was knocked out in the first round by JDS about 18 months ago, a recent loss that went unavenged.

And not long before that Brock Lesnar got tapped out by Frank Mir in just over a minute.

Fedor, as good as he has been through out his career, has really lacked quality opponents as of late. He beat Rogers, someone who had never really been tested until his fight with Fedor, and even then, Fedor struggled a bit. He beat Arlovski and Silvia, two guys who are only names because they dominated the UFC at a time when there was virtually no talent in the heavyweight division.

I agree to a certain extent with your point, but still... Fedor was without a doubt the best Heavyweight in the World, and had been so for a very long time, and since Werdum was able to be the first to FINALLY beat the guy, that more than justifies a #1 ranking.

Lesnar over the last two years has beaten Frank Mir, Randy Couture, and Heath Herring, all convincingly. Frank Mir is obviously a top ranked heavyweight and a win over Shane Carwin can bring him closer to legitimizing his claim as the world's number 1 heavyweight.

Brock is 1-1 against Mir, Heath Herring hasn't beaten anybody worth noting in years (hell, Fedor beat Herring's ass way worse than Lesnar did, for the record), and Randy Couture... a guy who's two HW fights before fighting Lesnar were against Tim Sylvia (a guy who he couldn't finish, even after getting his back, whereas Fedor was able to finish him in just under a minute) and Gabriel Gonzaga (who Werdum has beaten). After the fight against Lesnar, he lost against Big Nog and then moved down to LHW.

The point is, outside of Mir, none of Brock's wins were really all that impressive. Did he look great in them? Sure, but his opponents weren't the absolute best in the World, either.

Honestly, if Lesnar had not gotten hurt and faced Carwin back in November, (possibly beat him) and had already faced a JDS or Velasquez by now, I don't think we would be having this debate.

What if's have nothing to do with rankings, man.

Carwin is just coming into a streak of quality opponents with knockout wins over Gonzaga and Mir and is looking for his 5th straight win in the UFC. I don't know if a win over Lesnar would justify a number 1 ranking, but it would bump him from where he is now.

Carwin's only really good win was against Mir. He definitely wouldn't deserve the top spot, even if he beats Lesnar.

Yes, I agree that these MMA rankings can be a joke at times, but this is all we have at the moment. But I can't agree with Werdum being number 1. He beat a Fedor that has coasted for the last two years with sub quality opponents. If this was 2004-2005 and Werdum tapped out the Fedor that took out Cro Cop, Noguiera, and Randleman when they were the cream of the crop, you might have a point.

You can argue the caliber of Fedor's opponents the last couple of years, but not once did he ever show he wasn't the same Fedor that fought CroCop, Big Nog, Randleman, Coleman, etc. during that time period. The Fedor that Werdum beat is most certainly the same Fedor that was crushing motherfuckers in 2004-2005, if not a better Fedor. It's not like Fedor is ridiculously old or taken a lot of punishment in his career... there's no reason to believe that he's still not in his prime.

 

[Digging4Plunder]

Werdum, Lesnar, Fedor, Carwin, Velasquez.

Werdum has to be #1 if they are going to drop Fedor out of the top placement. As some have said, Lesnar is still lacking in the win column, so although he is impressive, we really haven't seen anything yet. I'll take him #2 though, because of how impressive he's actually been and because he's the Champ going in. Fedor drops to three because he just lost, Lesnar won his last fight and is a champ.. that simple. Carwin below Fedor, because although Carwin is considered a co-holder, Fedor's resume still trumps Carwin's. Velasquez 5th because he's next in line for what's widely considered the #1 Belt for heavyweights in MMA.. the way they do these rankings is easy, except when they pretty much display it as more of a popularity thing than overall ability/fight totals. That's kind of what it seems like to me.