The 2nd Official BloodyKnux.Com Top Ten Rankings?

[Johnny Toetags]

The 2nd Official BloodyKnux.Com
Top Ten Rankings?

Hello again Knuxors and Knuxettes, and welcome to our 2nd interactive top 10 MMA tally. These scores were tabulated by our very own Giant Robot and submitted by members of our board. If there's one thing we're proud of here at BloodyKnux.Com (except maybe for our snazzy color palette.) it's our contributing members of our MMA forum. Intelligent conversation, heated debates and careful analysis provided us, again, with what we're confident is a very solid Top 10 ranking.

We'll be releasing each weight class over the next few days within this thread, so keep an eye on it. If you don't agree or you're not a member - hell that's no problem, click on that little Register icon on the top there and join in HERE. (http://www.bloodyknux.com/forum/showthread.php?p=189756#post189756)

LIGHTWEIGHT
155Lbs. division
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v495/toetags/crusher.jpg

Lightweights
1.Tatsuya "The Crusher" Kawajiri - 224pts (17 1st place votes)
2.Takanori "Fireball Kid" Gomi - 199pts (5 1st place votes)
3.Yves Edwards - 185pts (2 1st place votes)
4.Joachim "Hellboy" Hansen - 178pts (1 1st place vote)
5.Vitor "Shaolin" Riberio - 161pts
6.Josh "The Punk" Thompson - 83pts
7.Jens "Lil' Evil" Pulver - 62pts
8.Caol Uno - 32pts
9.Hermes Franca - 31pts
T10.Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto - 27pts
T10.Genki "The Neo Samurai" Sudo - 27pts

Also receiving votes: Mitsuhiro Ishida, Koutestu Boku, Ivan Menjivar, Remigijus Morkevicius...

Kawajiri's debut for Pride has really helped get his name out there and justify the hype, as evidenced by his dethroning of everyone's favorite Chia-Pet and perenial poud-for-pounder, Takanori Gomi. Still, that's debateable - and we'll have our answers soon enough when these two compact powerhouses square off. In fact, this entire category will be shaken up with Pride's next GP - so keep checking our forums for the next TOP 10 announcement. Edwards/Hansen should be epic and of particular interest will be HERO's new year's eve show, which will probably catapult one of the two tied fighters at the number 10 spot further up the rankings. Both HERO's and Pride will be crowning lightweight champions within a matter of months, so expect some fireworks here. Both Caol Uno and Hermes Franca, former top 5 contenders, have begun slipping a bit but other constant lightweights remain in relativly stable position. For now.

NEXT UP, WELTERWEIGHTS...

[Johnny Toetags]

WELTERWEIGHT
170Lbs. division
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v495/toetags/HUGHES.jpg

Welterweights
1.Matt Hughes - 248pts (23 1st place votes)
2.Georges St. Pierre - 222pts
3.Karo Parisian - 144pts
4.Frank Trigg - 140pts
5.Akira Kikuchi - 130pts
6.Nick Diaz - 111pts
7.BJ Penn - 106pts (2 1st place votes)
8.Sean Sherk - 101pts
9.Renato "Charuto" Verissimo - 44pts
10.Hayato "Mach" Sakurai - 32pts

Fighters also receiving votes: Drew Fickett, Jake Shields, Jutaro Nakao, Jason Miller...


The welterweight rankings remain essentially the same, with only positional shifting going on and furhter definition establishing the pecking order. TUF 2 coach and the welterweight king that is Matt Hughes remains dominant with #1 contender Georges St. Pierre right behind him. Frank Trigg has fallen from grace as expected but perhaps less so than anticipated, do the masses still beleive in Ol' Twinkle-Toes? Of note is Akira Kikuchi's steady climb from number 10 to number 5... it's only a matter of time until this young man gets the attention he deserves. Relativly inactive but previously dominant fighters Penn and Sherk remain fresh in fan's minds as they maintain decent ranks despite inactivity in this weight class. That should soon change, however.

NEXT UP, MIDDLEWEIGHTS!

[Johnny Toetags]

MIDDLEWEIGHTS
185Lbs. division
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v495/toetags/rich.jpg

Middleweights
1.Rich "Ace" Franklin - 250pts (25 1st place votes)
2.Evan Tanner - 187pts
3.Matt Lindland - 185pts
4.Anderson Silva - 116pts
5.Nate Marquardt - 85pts
6.Ivan Salavary - 61pts
7.David Terrell - 57pts
8.Phil Baroni - 55pts
9.Dave Loiseau - 48pts
10.Paulo Filho - 29pts

Fighters also receiving votes: Joe Doerksen, Daniel Acacio, Akihiro Gono...

As expected, Rich Franklin and Evan Tanner switch positions after Franklin's systematic humbling of Evan Tanner (he beat him so bad Tanner became homeless. Truth!). Still, although reportedly living in his jeep, Tanner is still standing tall above most of the competition in this weight class, with only Matt Lindland competitng for the number 1 spot - something he won't get to actually fight for for a long while it seems (I'd like to thank sportsbook.com for that.). We'll see if Dave Loiseau can chop him down to size and shake up the rankings in a few weeks. Ryo Chonan's hype has officially faded as he drops out of contention to make way for Anderson Silva, Nate Marquardt and Ivan Salavary. This is a stacked division to be sure, evidanced by the contstant turn around in rankings. Baroni, Loiseau and Filho were all unranked in our previous rankings and each has clawed their way into the top 10, and you can be sure each aims to take a bigger piece of the pie soon. The upcoming Pride GP should further define this competitive weight class.

NEXT UP, LIGHTHEAVYWEIGHTS...

[Johnny Toetags]

LIGHTHEAVYWEIGHT
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v495/toetags/chuck.jpg

Light Heavyweights
1.Chuck Liddell - 230pts (13 1st place votes)
2.Mauricio "Shogun" Rua - 225pts (7 1st place votes)
3.Wanderlei Silva - 195pts (5 1st place votes)
4.Ricardo Arona - 182pts
5.Randy "The Natural" Couture - 161pts
6.Rogerio "Minotauro" Nogueria - 111pts
7.Renato "Babalu" Sobral - 103pts
8.Alistar Overeem - 77pts
9.Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - 48pts
10.Kazuhiro Nakamura - 21pts

Fighters also receiving votes: Jeremy Horn, Tito Ortiz, Forrest Griffin...

Chuck Liddell's barely managed to climb up the stacked 205lbs ladder and he's already got another Chute Boxe guy trying to knock him off? Poor guy can't catch a break! Still, after a solid year and two straight world-class performances against fellow top 10 challengers, it's hard to argue with the Iceman's standing. Coming on strong at number 2, after argueably probably the best single year performance in MMA history is the dangerous madman knows as Maricio Rua. Still considered a rookie and an uncertain one at that (perhaps his brother's specter tainted him initially.), was barely in the top 10 spectrum in January - but now that he's won Pride's Middleweight Grandprix - and faced only top oppisition in doing so - he more than warrants his share of the 205lbs pie, just edging out his mentor and friend - Wanderlei Silva. Silva's performances of late have taken a bit of a drop, and we'll see if that motivates him to climb back to the top. Silva's in a tough spot, however - the path back to the top for the still Champion goes either through the man that's just beat him - Arona, or the man he considers his heir - Rua. Talk about your rock and hard place. Dropping off a bit are the usual crop of contenders, and considering the shakeup in the top 4 it's no shame at all to see Couture, Nogueria and Sobral toe the line. What is a shame though, is seeing previously unranked Overeem catch up and beat out previous top 5 contender Quinton Jackson. A tough as nails Nakumura rounds out the top 10.

NEXT UP, HEAVYWEIGHTS!

[Johnny Toetags]

Heavyweight
fedor.jpg

Heavyweights
1. Fedor Emelianenko - 250pts (25 first place votes)
2. Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueria - 210pts
3. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic - 206pts
4. Andrei Arlovski - 178pts
5. Sergei Kharitonov - 153pts
6. Tim Sylvia - 87pts
7. Aleksander Emelianenko - 77pts
8. Fank Mir - 51pts
9. Josh Barnett - 44pts
10. Fabricio Werdum - 26pts

Fighters also receiving votes: Ron Waterman, Jeff Monson, Hidehiko Yoshida, Mark Hunt, Paul Buentello...

Not too many surprises here, but there were some questions answered over the last few months. Will Mirko Filipovic throw the "Big 3" theory out of whack with a left high kick? No. Can Fedor eliminate any doubt as to his number 1 ranking overall? Yes. Is Sergei Kharitonov's systematic dismantling of all challengers enough to push him into title contention? According to our members - yes, it is. Inching himself into the top ten is Fabricio Werdum, admitedly maybe a bit early on, but with convincing wins and improving skills he should continue to climb slowly but surely. Tim Sylvia's improved boxing and highlight reel high kick KO win over Tra Telligman is enough to pull him ahead of long inactive Frank Mir as far as UFC heavyweights are concerned. Conspicuous by his absence is Paul Buentello, but considering Andrei Arlovski sits confortably atop the UFC heavyweight throne that can't come as much of a surprise. Unless, of course, the Headhunter shocks the world at UFC 55....

NEXT UP, THE TOP 10 GREATEST MMA BOUTS OF ALL TIME...