Your Top 5 Pound For Pound Fighters

[Turd Ferguson]

Given the fallout of UFC 112, I think this topic is relevant more than ever. For starters, you can no longer rank BJ Penn in the top 5, period. I never felt he was in the top 3. After all, he did lose to GSP at 170. Why would he ever be ranked that high to begin with? And hey, he did lose to Machida too. Putting my top 5 together, here's how I would rank them...

1.) Georges St. Pierre
2.) Fedor Emelianenko
3.) Anderson Silva
4.) Jose Aldo
5.) Lyoto Machida

Prior to UFC 112, Anderson Silva was my #1. I thought he was past the point where he was through with lackluster wins with absolutely no substance. The Cote and Leites fights were to me, aberrations, given how he destroyed Forrest Griffin. Now that we're past the Maia fight, I don't know what Silva's deal is. I don't know if he's bored of fighting at 185, or if he's just that disrespectful. Personally, I think he and Ed Soares like fucking with Dana White by making his job and life as difficult as possible. Anderson Silva has the talent to be the absolute best fighter in the world. He can clear out any division, whether it is Middleweight, Light Heavyweight, and most likely Welterweight. The only issue is that he seems way more content showboating and embarrassing his opponents in every single way in fights, when he should be focusing on finding a way to win.

I'm not the biggest Fedor Emelianenko fan. However, the fact of the matter is that he's no nonsense. He would never give excuses for a bad performance, because the man has never had one, like Silva who has now had three of his last four fights be fucking terrible to watch. The best pound for pound fighter wins in spectacular fashion, leaving no debate. If an opponent doesn't fall into what he wants them to do, would he start playing the air guitar and dancing around? No. He would find a way to engage with his opponent and win. He'd make adjustments. He also wouldn't pick and choose opponents. If Silva felt he was the best in the world, he would have fought Dan Henderson again. He knew that Henderson had him beat for one round, and if he continued his gameplan, he would have beaten him at UFC 82. So, that prompts Silva and Ed Soares to think they call the shots, demanding Hendo takes on Nate Marquardt first, even though it was guaranteed the winner of Hendo/Bisping would get a title shot. Fedor's beaten all comers. However, the reason why I can't put him at #1 is due to the competition he's faced lately. Tim Sylvia was only the UFC Heavyweight Champion because he and Arlovski were two of the best in a thin pool of contenders. If any of the guys at the top of the Heavyweight Division in the UFC right now were around back when Arlovski and Sylvia were trading the title, they would have dominated the division. Brett Rogers is a prospect. He's good, but he still needs work to be an elite fighter. Fabricio Werdum was knocked out of the UFC by Junior Dos Santos. Fact of the matter is that until Fedor defeats some top competition, and faces guys like Mir, Velasquez, JDS, Carwin, and Lesnar, I think it's hard to put him at #1.

I'm putting GSP at #1 because he's been so good for so long, and we've watched him evolve. He's avenged both of his losses. He's beaten BJ Penn twice. He's beaten Matt Hughes and Matt Serra. He's beaten Sean Sherk when he was in his prime. He's beaten Frank Trigg, Mayhem Miller, Jay Hieron, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves, and Dan Hardy. He's cleaned out the Welterweight Division, and beaten a who's who of the division throughout his career. He's only 28 years old too. He could easily dominate his division for another 7-10 years. Why do I rank him over Fedor? He's still fighting the class of his division, and winning convincingly.

Jose Aldo I'm ranking #4. He's only 21 years old, and he's already the WEC Featherweight Champion. He only has one loss, and he has dominated in all of his fights so far. He's not showing any signs of slowing down either.

I have Lyoto Machida ranked 5th. He's only gotten better, but he still looked like he lost against Shogun. And now, all the attention of the MMA world is going to be focused on him and Shogun's rematch coming up at the beginning of next month.

 

[INDYjon22]

1. Fedor
2. George St-Pierre
3. Anderson Silva
4. B.J. Penn
5. Dan Henderson

Regardless of if Fedor has fought top notch opponents or not I still think he is pound for pound the best in the world. It is a very close choice but his wins still speak for themselves. The man lives and breathes MMA and it shows in his fights. He always comes prepared and his fights rarely go the distance.

GSP is a great fighter, and I try not to use the word great in terms of fighters lightly. He is as dominate a fighter as we have ever seen and I really do not see that changing. The problem is as great of a fighter he is he has not had the killer instinct that he had prior to being a champion. If he can start finishing fights then he could very well top my list.

Anderson Silva is very dominate but the fact that he can't or doesn't finish his opponents at 185 is mind boggling. The man can knock out Light Heavy's in mere minutes but when he fights 185 pounders he seems to not try. He should be finishing these guys just as fast as he is finishing the Light Heavyweights.

B.J. Penn may be coming off of a loss but the man has proven to be a winner at both LW and WW. I expect him to move up to WW permanently and then we will get a better sense of where he ranks in the all time great pound for pounders.

My final guy is Dan Henderson. He has fought and been effective in both the MW and LHW divisions, especially as of late. He has been able to give both Rampage and Anderson tough fights. He knocked the shit out of Michael "The Overrated Count" Bisping. And he has a title fight coming up that will help solidify him on this list if he can win.

Honorable mention would go to Nick Diaz. Diaz has looked awesome in all of his fights since leaving the UFC but has looked like an elite fighter as of late. He is dominating guys at both WW and MW. If he can beat Sakurai and then string together some title defenses I could easily see him climbing onto this list.

 

[jmt225]

1) Georges St. Pierre
2) Anderson Silva
3) Fedor Emelianenko
4) Nick Diaz
5) BJ Penn

GSP right now is undoubtedly the best Pound for Pound Fighter in the World. It's not even an argument. He has fought and beat the absolute best his division has to offer, and not only did he beat them, but he completely dominated them. Sure, he has a bit of a problem finishing fights, but that's not because of lack of effort. No, he goes out, gives 100% for 25 straight minutes, dominates his opponent and does everything he can to put them away. He's not always successful in putting them away, but he literally dominates each fight in very impressive fashion.

Plus, you look at GSP's record... he's basically undefeated, even with 2 losses. He was beating Matt Hughes before Hughes got a lucky armbar, but of course since then GSP has destroyed Matt Hughes twice, finishing him in both fights. He lost, in perhaps the biggest upset in MMA history, to Matt Serra, only to completely dominate Matt Serra a year afterward.

So, every "loss" GSP has, he has avenged in dominating fashion. To me, that's even more impressive than actually being undefeated.

Anderson Silva... look, I know his win yesterday wasn't very impressive, but he's still one of the best fighters in the World. That's simply a fact. His boxing is the best in MMA, bar none, and the guy is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Big Nog. So, he has it all, ability wise. Has some of the hype and success gone to his head? Sure, but that doesn't take an ounce of ability away from him. He's still the most dominate Middleweight in the history of the sport, and the fact that he's able to move up to 205 every now and then and knock motherfuckers out there, easily... I mean, that's just impressive as all hell. You cannot take anything away from his abilities, no matter what you think of him personally.

Fedor Emelianenko... this guy would be #1, and he was once upon a time (from 2003-2006 this was an indisputable fact), but what puts him back is his caliber of opponents the past 5 years. His last great win was against Mirko Cro Cop in the summer of 2005. Since then he has beat no-names, has beens, and unproven "up-and-comers." I mean, even with Fedor's unquestioned abilities as an all-around fighter, how can I put someone who has fought and dominated those names over guys who have fought and dominated the best of the best their division has to offer? I just can't do it. Fedor has all my respect in the World, but until he starts fighting legit competition, no one can regard him as the best fighter in the World.

Nick Diaz.. his record in the past 4 years is 10-1-1, with the one loss being a bullshit cut stoppage, and the draw being an actual win that was taken away from him by the commission because he tested positive for marijuana. Also, it should be noted that only one of those wins was a decision; the rest of them he either knocked his opponent out, or made them tap out.

But yeah... Diaz has proven himself in the last few years as unquestionably one of the most gifted fighters in the sport. His boxing improves with each passing fight, and he's still regarded as one of the best Jiu-Jitsu practitioners in the entire sport. Sure, he hasn't beaten the best names, but it's not like he defeated scrubs, either. He beat Takanori Gomi in one of the greatest fights of all time, when Gomi was ranked as the top Lightweight in the World, and a top 5 Pound for Pound fighter himself. And in his last 3 fights, Diaz hopped around weight wise between 180 and 170, completely dominating Frank Shamrock, Scott Smith, and Marius Žaromskis in the process, all three well respected fighters.

So, you can say I'm just a fanboy of Nick Diaz, but you cannot deny my points here. His record over of the last few years speaks for itself, especially the part of him finishing his fights. Plus, the fact of the matter is his ability both on the feet and ground combined isn't matched by many, if any. So, when you look at it from a pure ability standpoint and that his record is so impressive, to me you have to include him on the list.

BJ Penn... I'm just not ready yet to take him off, even with his loss yesterday. I'm firmly believe he would destroy Frankie Edgar if they got a rematch, and also that he could decisively defeat any other Lightweight in the World, and 90% of the Welterweights and Middleweights out there as well.

 

[Via Armbar]

I'm not the biggest Fedor Emelianenko fan. However, the fact of the matter is that he's no nonsense. He would never give excuses for a bad performance, because the man has never had one, like Silva who has now had three of his last four fights be fucking terrible to watch. The best pound for pound fighter wins in spectacular fashion, leaving no debate. If an opponent doesn't fall into what he wants them to do, would he start playing the air guitar and dancing around? No. He would find a way to engage with his opponent and win. He'd make adjustments. He also wouldn't pick and choose opponents. If Silva felt he was the best in the world, he would have fought Dan Henderson again. He knew that Henderson had him beat for one round, and if he continued his gameplan, he would have beaten him at UFC 82. So, that prompts Silva and Ed Soares to think they call the shots, demanding Hendo takes on Nate Marquardt first, even though it was guaranteed the winner of Hendo/Bisping would get a title shot. Fedor's beaten all comers. However, the reason why I can't put him at #1 is due to the competition he's faced lately. Tim Sylvia was only the UFC Heavyweight Champion because he and Arlovski were two of the best in a thin pool of contenders. If any of the guys at the top of the Heavyweight Division in the UFC right now were around back when Arlovski and Sylvia were trading the title, they would have dominated the division. Brett Rogers is a prospect. He's good, but he still needs work to be an elite fighter. Fabricio Werdum was knocked out of the UFC by Junior Dos Santos. Fact of the matter is that until Fedor defeats some top competition, and faces guys like Mir, Velasquez, JDS, Carwin, and Lesnar, I think it's hard to put him at #1.

What people fail to realize is that 90% of Fedor's opponents have been ranked in the top ten at fight time. Rogers was ranked at 8 I believe and Arvlovski was ranked in the top ten as well. Tim Sylvia is one of only a few of the only opponents he's had since he won the Pride HW title that wasn't ranked at the time. Outside of them, all of the opponents were absolutely game competitors. People shit on Zulu but he was undefeated at the time and somewhat of a prospect, albeit being a freakshow. People say he hasn't faced top ten competitors lately like GSP or BJ Penn, yet they've had a couple of fights that were against lower ranked fighters. GSP just fought Hardy and The Outlaw was ranked in the middle of the top ten at the time. Penn had fought Sanchez a while ago who wasn't ranked at all. If you use the argument that both men have been running out of opponents, the same can absolutely can be said about Fedor before the closing of Pride. Silva has done the same thing, fighter guys in the lower half of the top ten or not even ranked at all like Leites. Werdum is ranked either 9 or 10 right now by most for the HW division. I agree that he isn't as much of a threat as Arvloski was, but still a ranked fighter. It's the same with Maia and Silva or Hardy and GSP lately.

With that out of the way, here's how I would rank the top five pound for pound.

1) Fedor Emelianenko- For reasons already listed. I believe that the competition he has faced in the past 2 or 3 years has been on par with a lot of the competition that others have faced. Still the only one who's undefeated (in most peoples eyes) and has arguably more top ten wins than any champion in the UFC right now.

2)Georges St. Pierre- What is left to be said about GSP. The man has dominated his division like few ever have. A move up looks to be of the only options left unless he is planning on making another lap around the WW talent pool. Without a loss in over two years, he's showing no signs of slowing down and a few catch wieght fights may be the best road he could take right now before he's fighting the same guys again with the same results.

3)Anderson Silva- Hate him. Always have and more than likely always will. With that being said, he is still one of the best in the world. The man seems hell bent on becoming the Roy Jones Jr. of mma and inspiring people to hate him. The show boating has become a problem now and the fact that he has become so complacent in his fighting tells you that a change is needed badly. There's plenty of fights for him at LHW and even HW, but at MW there is very little left for hi outside of Chael Sonnenn.

4)Jose Aldo- The reigning king of a widely ignored division. Again, six beautiful knockouts against top ranked FW has cemented his place on my list. Someone who has some of the best bjj in the world and yet chooses to end fights in devestating fashion like that shows that he is one of the greatest fighters of the modern era. A fight with Faber lurks on the horizon, one of my most anticipated fights as well as one of the biggest fights at that wieght that I can remember. I'm betting on Aldo here which will let him keep his spot on most p4p lists.

5)B.J. Penn- A shock for sure was his fight with Edgar, and one that ended in controversy. For the record, any time that a title has changed hands in the UFC by result of a decision, there has been controversy. People were hollaring that this was a robbery, when in my opinion it was a victory for Edgar. Either way, Penn loses very little credibility as it was clearly a fight that on any other day he could have walked away with. Look for him to rack up a LW victory or two before a rematch. The thing that can be said about Penn that can't be said about GSP: He finishes fights. He challenges himself and moves up when he wants competition. That isn't a knock on GSP at all, only a nod for Penn. He's always looking for the challenge, even if it's not in his best interest. That's the test of a true champion to me.

 

[cky73]

1. Anderson Silva
2. GSP
3.Fedor
4.BJ Penn
5.Brock Lesnar


Look Anderson Silva might have not given a good performance at UFC 112, but seriously he was leaving his face out for Maia to punch him and he would not. Yah he should of not done all that dancing crap but really what fighter just does that cause he is that good. Tell me one person that could be him at 185 or 205? No one I think

GSP is the man. But know one gets on him either. He could of finished the fight easily against Hardy but he ust took him down and didn't really punish him. He needs to be truly tested in a fight. (Anderson Silva)

Fedor needs to stop being a wuss. Sign with the UFC and take on the best in the world. IF he would be domintaing people like he does in the Ufc, without a doubt he would be number 1 . But he fights mediocore fighters and is not really tested.

BJ Penn is my favorite fighter. And he lost. But he still has some of the most talent any fighter has ever had. And has fight big name fighters, not might have won but he gave it a good run. He has been lokking unstopable in his last few fights. But i don't know he might of been injured or something with his last performance.

Brock Lesnar, hey he only has like 4 wins. But 3 of them in the UFC aganist Coutre, Mir, and Herring people who have been in this sport for such a long time. And Brock has destroyed them. I think Carwin does not stand a chance.

 

[Frozentrash75]

Well my Top 5 goes like this

1. George St.Pierre
2. Anderson Silva
3. Fedor
4. Brock Lesnar
5. Jon Fitch

I picked GSP because he just dominates people he wins and he makes it look easy and i think he has cleaned out the Welterweight division only person their i think can beat him is Jon Fitch. I think it might be time for GSP to move up a decision and take on Anderson Silva.

Anderson Silva even though i can't stand him especially after last nights fight with Maia is a great fighter but still a giant Douchebag he's dominated his division and destroyed every one he has fought unless he's to busy dancing around in the cage.

I would have Fedor higher but his lack of top notch competition has hurt his legacy the big names he has fought have been on the decline of their career such as Sylvia and Arlovski. Fedor will be number one when he beats the likes of Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin, and Frank Mir until then i can't put him higher then 3.

I have Brock Lesnar 4 because he is the Heavyweight Champion and besides his first fight with Mir he has been pretty dominant and if it wasn't for his illness he would probably have another 2 wins on his record and if Brock beats Carwin i might move him higher then Fedor.

I know this might be a controversial pick but Jon Fitch has lost only lost 1 fight in his last 22 and that was to the best fighter in the world GSP and even though people don't like that he doesn't finish fights he stills get the wins and that is all that matters and he beats the top welterweights in the world to so that only helps his stock.

 

[Buffalo Dave]

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Anderson Silva
3. Fedor
4. Jose Aldo
5. Gegard Mousasi

Well I dont really want to go into discussion with my top 4 picks cause it will just be a brocken record and pretty much be the same thing everyone has said about them, each of them have dominated their respective divisions, with the exception to Silva who wins when he moves up, but that has been covered too! BTW GuyCompton Aldo is actually 23, not that it matters because he is the best FW and will stay that way for a while.

On to my 5th pick Gergard Mousasi - Im surprised he hasn't been mentioned seeing the likes of Hendo and even Fitch getting some. This guy is 24 years old and has 31 fights under his belt already with 1 loss and a draw coming in his first 7 fights, then to win 23 out of 24 in the rest of his fights is pretty damn good for being that young. 17 out of 28 coming by TKO or KO, then 9 more wins coming by submission. Both losses coming by submission. He's also another fighter that will move around and fight at differnt weights. If (when) he gets by King Mo then there should be little discussion that he rightfully deserves to be there!

 

[Whistler 619]

I think my List would be something like this:

1.) Anderson Silva
2.) George St. Pierre
3.) Jose Aldo
4.) Fedor Emelianenko
5.) Lyoto Machida

I put Lyoto Machida as my 5th pick simply because hes a great Light Heavyweight fighter, and truly is one of the best, it'll be fun to watch him in Montreal vs Shogun V2.0 were I get to be in attendance to watch the fight.

Fedor is number 4 on my list for the simple reason that I want to see him in the UFC before I make a call on him, I want to see him fight guys like Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin, Frank Mir, Gabriel Gonzaga and Minotauro Nogueira. I am not saying he isn't good, but id like to watch him fight a couple of the UFC boys first.

Jose Aldo is number 3 because, well, Jose Aldo is absolute tank, hes the best Featherweight in the world, period.

GSP is my home town boy, it was hard not to put him first, but right now no ones better then Silva, however GSP I think is the closest thing you can get to Silva, he is an absolute terror out there, you can't beat him, period. Hes one of the best ground guys, and has an amazing stand up game, hes just an Extremely well rounded fighter.

Number One, is of coarse Silva, you can't put anyone else first in my mind simply because he can be so cocky, so relax, so.... Aloof, and still dominate people. He is simply the best there is in the not only the UFC but in any other MMA Company, pound for pound he is the best.

-- If rumors are true, I'd love to see a GSP vs Silva fight, that could be the best ever.

 

[The Roid Rage]

My Top 5 is little different than yours but it's the best in the world no matter what so deal with it.

1. Manny Pacquiao - I don't even need to go down the list of achievements here, the P4P king is easily deserving of the #1 spot.

2. Shane Mosley - Sugar Shane has been on fire, his most recent loss was via shit decision in a fight he pretty well won to the viewing public. Other than that, Mosley has been taking out the names one by one to climb his way back to the top of the rankings. Here's another guy with super skills in the ring and Mosley is as smart a fighter as there is. Through his years of experience there is no style or circumstance he has not seen, he really has some intangibles that you don't just have, you acquire through experience. He has fought the best and beat the best, fearlessly accepting any and all comers who want to claim they are the best.

3. Floyd Mayweather - I really, really can't explain to you how much it absolutely pains me and eats me from the inside out to do this, but I have to give the man his credit. I hate this guy with a passion as a boxer and a person from everything I have gathered about his character throughout his career. Still, he is one of the most technically sound boxers anyone has ever seen, and is undefeated with some big names on the list. The reason he is at #3 instead of #2 though is because he hasn't taken any tough fights, and hasn't proven he can handle a tough fight like Mosley and Pacquiao. If I were to put him anywhere else though, I would be lying.

4. Wladimir Klitschko - Technically Wlad should be #1 or #2 as he has had a lot of success and been on one hell of a roll for a while now. All his wins come via TKO or KO, he has actually fought all the top contenders there have been, and his activity has been greater than any of the above mentioned. The only reason you don't put him up there is because he can only draw over seas. He isn't the attraction he should be like Pacquiao, Mayweather, or Mosley. The other factor is that although he has fought all the top competition they weren't as big of threats to him as the competitors Pacquiao, Mosley, and Mayweather have fought recently.

5. Chad Dawson - Now many of you might not be as familiar with Chad Dawson but this guy really does deserve the #5 spot if your only doing a top 5. Chad Dawson is a light heavyweight, holding the IBF and WBC championships in that division. This is an undefeated fighter who has also fought all the top competition and been able to win convincingly. Chad has wicked fast hands and feet, good sound boxing skills, and can take a punch really good which is the most valuable asset a fighter can have.

His last four fights were against Antonio Tarver and Glenn Johnson with all fights going the distance as Chad is not a KO puncher, he just works and works and works in there. Put that into perspective that's 48 rounds in is last four fights. Notice that not Roy Jones or Bernard Hopkins is jumping at the opportunity to fight him too, he is too fast for those guys and they know it. Chad has been dominating the division as a champion and remains undefeated. His only real draw back is the same as Klitschko's being that he hasn't become much of a draw. All of that put into consideration I think he is a very safe bet for #5 P4P.


That's my top 5 P4P, not MMA, but we are still in familiar territory so don't get and sand in your snatch for me posting the Boxing P4P. I'm not a real big MMA fan like most of you so I wouldn't really feel right trying to come up with a P4P ranking with them...................................

Don't think that is going to stop me though. Here is goes without explanation to save you from that word fort. I only wanted to explain the rankings that actually mattered anyways...eeewwwww buuuurrrrrnnnn.....Sorry sorry, just fuckin with you bit, LOL.

1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. George St. Pierre
3. Anderson Silva
4. B.J. Penn
5. Brock Lesnar

That's a pretty fair assessment I'd say, and truthfully you could probably switch all of them around into any order and it would still be fair for one reason or another. Those just happen to be the best in MMA period in any given order.

 

[Ryman]

1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. George St Pierre
3. Anderson Silva
4. John Fitch
5. Dan Henderson

Fedor i nr 1 for me, when you look at his career you just cant say anything else imo, if your not Dana White People say that he doesnt fight "top competition" but if you are going to use rankings for the guys he is facing he doesnt really fight "worse" fighters then say GSP(like armbar pointed out). Dan Hardy-Werdum in a ranking i each division who is lower on that scale?

GSP at nr 2 he is just dominating everybody and even if he goes to a lot of decision he is looking so dominant that it is insane. The only bad thing against Fedor is that Fedor finishes his opponents and GSP doesnt.

Anderson is the most talented of them all but if you act like you do against Maia you are not only making everybody mad but you are destroying you own name, i want to know what his problem is.

Fitch at nr 4 is beacuse he has only lost once since 2002 and that was against GSP. People find him boring and lacks killer instinct but if you cant stop the takedowns and the top control then it sucks for you. He fights anybody and he gets the win over (almost) anybody of the top 170 pounders.

Henderson fights at 185 and 205 and he will give you a very hard fight everytime, if he defeats Shields it will only help his position.

Other figthers to be mentioned is Shields, Lesnar, Aldo. I took Penn of due to his loss but if he wins the rematch is up there again.

 

[PsychoBlack]

1. Fedor
2. GSP
3. Anderson Silva
4. Jose Aldo
5. Jon Fitch/Machida

I have fedor first because hes so dominating his record speaks for itself anyone whos ever seen his fights knows that this dude is the real deal and a match up with him and lesnar MUST happen in the future

GSP is 2nd because hes constantly knocking off top ten p4p fighters the man is a monster and one of the best ever at what he does and for the unlucky welterweights in the ufc i feel sorry for them because GSP is focused

Silva is 3rd because theres not as many talented fighter for him to face anymore (hes beat most of them) but he still wins constantly and if he moves up or down in weight and beats the best at 205 or 170 then hes an instant number one

Jose aldo stopped every opponent hes had since coming to the ufc the guy is tough as hell and i dont see anyone in the wec beating him anytime soon

fitch and machida i couldnt decide here fitch wins fights so does machida. fitch is like the jets it takes a long time for him to scare and he pounds on you when he does it and by the end of the fight your saying damn i knew what he was going to do but still couldnt stop it. Machida is the spread offense hes goes big and he goes big often. both ways are succesful and both of these guys really impress me