MMA Fighter Rankings ...

Heavyweight MMA

Consensus Rankings posted March 25, 2010

Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Fedor Emelianenko	100	M-1 Global/Strikeforce	1
2	Brock Lesnar	96	UFC	2
3	Frank Mir	92	UFC	3
4	Cain Velasquez	88	UFC	5
5	Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira	80	UFC	4
6	Shane Carwin	75	UFC	7
7	Junior Dos Santos	75	UFC	6
8	Brett Rogers	72	Strikeforce	8
9	Alistair Overeem	63	K-1/DREAM/Strikeforce	9
10	Andrei Arlovski	57	Strikeforce	11
11	Josh Barnett	56	DREAM	12
12	Fabricio Werdum	50	Strikeforce	10
13	Gabriel Gonzaga	41	UFC	13
14	Cheick Kongo	28	UFC	25
15	Aleksander Emelianenko	26	ProFC	16
16	Pedro Rizzo	25	Bittetti Combat	18
17	Antonio Silva	23	WVR/Strikeforce	17
18	Mirko Filipovic	23	UFC	20
19	Tim Sylvia	19	Adrenaline	24
19	Ben Rothwell	19	UFC	23
21	Jeff Monson	17	Free Agent	22
22	Randy Couture	17	UFC	14
23	Stefan Struve	16	UFC	NR
24	Ray Mercer	15	Adrenaline	15
25	Roy Nelson	13	UFC	NR
25	Gilbert Yvel	13	UFC	27

113

Analysis by Kid Nate

With #1 Fedor Emelianenko's next fight date forever receding just beyond the horizon like a mirage in the desert, fans of top flight heavyweight action are turning increasingly to the UFC.

Light Heavyweight MMA

Consensus Rankings posted March 26, 2010

Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Lyoto Machida	100	UFC	1
2	Mauricio Rua	92	UFC	2
3	Rashad Evans	91	UFC	3
4	Quinton Jackson	87	UFC	4
5	Forrest Griffin	80	UFC	6
6	Anderson Silva	79	UFC	5
7	Gegard Mousasi	76	Strikeforce	6
8	Antonio Rogerio Nogueira	71	UFC	8
9	Thiago Silva	58	UFC	9
10	Dan Henderson	56	Strikeforce	10
11	Rich Franklin	49	UFC	12
12	Randy Couture	38	UFC	11
13	Luis Arthur Cane	37	UFC	13
14	Ryan Bader	33	UFC	NR
15	Keith Jardine	30	UFC	14
16	Brandon Vera	29	UFC	18
17	Chuck Liddell	29	UFC	16
18	Renato Sobral	28	Strikeforce	20
19	Vitor Belfort	26	UFC	15
20	Jon Jones	22	UFC	23
21	Tito Ortiz	21	UFC	24
22	Paulo Filho	16	DREAM	17
23	Matt Hamill	16	UFC	26
23	Muhammed Lawal	16	Strikeforce	21
25	Vladimir Matyushenko	13	UFC	NR

19

Analysis by Kid Nate

Things have been so slow in the Light Heavyweight division lately that I was tempted to simply re-post last month's commentary. But that would be wrong.

Middleweight MMA

Consensus Rankings posted March 26, 2010

Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Anderson Silva	100	UFC	1
2	Dan Henderson	92	Strikeforce	2
3	Chael Sonnen	92	UFC	3
4	Vitor Belfort	87	UFC	4
5	Nate Marquardt	85	UFC	4
6	Demian Maia	80	UFC	6
7	Jake Shields	76	Strikeforce	7
8	Yushin Okami	65	UFC	9
9	Robbie Lawler	59	Strikeforce	8
10	Jorge Santiago	55	WVR	12
11	Yoshihiro Akiyama	39	UFC	11
12	Wanderlei Silva	38	UFC	NR
13	Mamed Khalidov	37	WVR	10
14	Michael Bisping	35	UFC	14
15	Ronaldo Souza	34	DREAM/Strikeforce	13
16	Thales Leites	27	MFC/Bitetti Combat	15
17	Alan Belcher	25	UFC	18
18	Melvin Manhoef	25	Strikeforce	22
19	Kazuo Misaki	21	K-1	17
19	Paulo Filho	21	DREAM	16
21	Alessio Sakara	20	UFC	20
22	Dan Miller	17	UFC	NR
23	Scott Smith	15	Strikeforce	24
24	Gegard Mousasi	14	Strikeforce	21
25	Hector Lombard	12	Bellator/CageFC	26

28

Analysis by Kid Nate

#1 Anderson Silva is spending more time talking about moving up to heavyweight than he is about his UFC 112 challenger #6 Demian Maia.

Welterweight MMA

Consensus Rankings posted March 26, 2010

Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Georges St. Pierre	100	UFC	1
2	Jon Fitch	96	UFC	2
3	Thiago Alves	92	UFC	3
4	Josh Koscheck	84	UFC	4
5	Paulo Thiago	81	UFC	5
6	Dan Hardy	78	UFC	5
7	Nick Diaz	76	Strikeforce	8
8	Matt Hughes	69	UFC	9
9	Paul Daley	67	UFC	7
10	Martin Kampmann	45	UFC	10
11	Mike Swick	44	UFC	11
12	Carlos Condit	43	UFC	12
13	Jay Hieron	42	Strikeforce	13
13	Matt Serra	42	UFC	14
15	Marius Zaromskis	35	DREAM/Strikeforce	17
16	Dan Hornbuckle	31	WVR/Bellator	16
17	Jake Shields	27	Strikeforce	15
18	Anthony Johnson	27	UFC	19
19	Akihiro Gono	26	WVR	18
20	Mike Pierce	23	UFC	20
21	Jake Ellenberger	20	UFC	21
22	Chris Lytle	15	UFC	NR
23	John Howard	15	UFC	24
24	Rory MacDonald	12	UFC	23
24	Lyman Good	12	Bellator	NR

12

Analysis by Kid Nate

#1 Georges St. Pierre will put his UFC title on the line against #6 Dan Hardy this Saturday at UFC 111. Few expect the trash talking Brit to take the title, but it's a fight and anything can happen. Fans should relish the chance to see a great champion like GSP fighting at the top of his form regardless.

Lightweight MMA

Consensus Rankings posted March 27, 2010

Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	B.J. Penn	100	UFC	1
2	Shinya Aoki	92	DREAM/Strikeforce	2
3	Eddie Alvarez	90	DREAM/Bellator	4
4	Kenny Florian	88	UFC	3
5	Gray Maynard	83	UFC	5
6	Tatsuya Kawajiri	81	DREAM	7
7	Frank Edgar	69	UFC	6
8	Gilbert Melendez	61	Strikeforce	8
9	Sean Sherk	57	UFC	10
10	Diego Sanchez	56	UFC	9
11	Tyson Griffin	55	UFC	11
12	Mizuto Hirota	42	WVR	13
13	Takanori Gomi	34	UFC	17
14	Jim Miller	33	UFC	14
15	George Sotiropoulos	30	UFC	NR
16	Benson Henderson	29	WEC	18
16	Joe Stevenson	29	UFC	15
18	Joachim Hansen	27	DREAM	12
19	Gesias Cavalcante	22	DREAM	16
20	Jorge Masvidal	21	G-Force Fights	20
21	Kazunori Yokota	17	WVR	22
22	Josh Thomson	17	Strikeforce	21
23	Luis Palomino	16	G-Force Fights	19
23	Nate Diaz	16	UFC	25
25	Eiji Mitsuoka	15	WVR	23

18

Analysis by Kid Nate

Another month, another four weeks of #1 B.J. Penn ruling over the lightweight division like a restless prince upon whom the crown weighs heavy.

Featherweight MMA

Consensus Rankings posted March 25, 2010

Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Jose Aldo	100	WEC	1
2	Mike Brown	96	WEC	2
3	Urijah Faber	92	WEC	3
4	Hatsu Hioki	82	WVR	4
5	Bibiano Fernandes	79	DREAM	5
6	Michihiro Omigawa	75	K-1	8
7	Marlon Sandro	73	WVR	9
8	Manny Gamburyan	61	WEC	7
9	Masanori Kanehara	60	K-1	10
10	Rafael Assuncao	56	WEC	6
11	Josh Grispi	54	WEC	11
12	L.C. Davis	50	WEC	NR
13	Deividas Taurosevicius	45	WEC	14
14	Leonard Garcia	41	WEC	13
15	Yuji Hoshino	35	WVR	18
16	Takeshi Inoue	33	Shooto	12
17	Mark Hominick	28	WEC	17
18	Mackens Semerzier	27	WEC	25
19	Chad Mendes	25	WEC	NR
20	Takafumi Otsuka	25	DEEP	20
21	Joe Soto	23	Tachi Palace Fights	22
22	Hiroyuki Takaya	21	K-1	19
23	Kazuyuki Miyata	17	DREAM	21
24	Joachim Hansen	11	DREAM	16
25	Wagnney Fabiano	10	WEC	15

0

Analysis by Luke Thomas

#1 Jose Aldo will defend his title and position as the 145lbs fighter in the world on April 24th as the WEC makes their first foray into the pay-per-view market. He'll defend his title against WEC poster boy #3 Urijah Faber in Faber's hometown of Sacramento, California.

Bantamweight MMA

Consensus Rankings posted March 25, 2010

Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Dominick Cruz	98	WEC	4
2	Brian Bowles	95	WEC	1
3	Joseph Benavidez	92	WEC	5
4	Miguel Torres	88	WEC	2
5	Masakatsu Ueda	78	Shooto	3
6	Scott Jorgensen	76	WEC	6
7	Takeya Mizugaki	69	WEC	7
8	Rani Yahya	63	WEC	9
9	Damacio Page	59	WEC	8
10	Wagnney Fabiano	51	WEC	10
11	Akitoshi Tamura	51	WEC	11
12	Charlie Valencia	50	WEC	11
13	Antonio Banuelos	44	WEC	18
14	Masakazu Imanari	40	DEEP	13
15	Eddie Wineland	37	WEC	14
16	Abel Cullum	32	KOTC	16
16	Jeff Curran	32	XFO	17
18	Yoshiro Maeda	19	DREAM	NR
19	Brad Pickett	18	WEC	15
20	Chase Beebe	17	DREAM	NR
21	Cole Escovedo	16	DREAM	24
22	Clint Godfrey	15	WEC	21
23	Frank Gomez	13	WEC	22
24	Atsushi Yamamoto	12	DEEP	NR
25	Mike Easton	12	UWC	26

2

Analysis by Luke Thomas

There's a new champion and his name is #1 Dominick Cruz. The Alliance Gym bantamweight outclassed the seemingly overmatched (albeit also injured) #2 Brian Bowles at WEC 47 this month. After two rounds of dynamic angles, head and trunk movement as well as a frustrating jab, Bowles was getting picked apart.