10 (tie). Thiago Alves
Points: 15
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Welterweight
Hometown: Fortaleza, Brazil
Record: 16-3 (won last seven)
Last month’s ranking: unranked
Most recent result: def. Josh Koscheck, unanimous decision, Oct. 20
Analysis: Alves has flirted with top-10 status since his win over Koscheck last fall. His opportunity to prove he belongs is upcoming.
10 (tie). Urijah Faber
Points: 15
Affiliation: WEC
Weight class: Featherweight
Hometown: Sacramento, Calif.
Record: 22-3 (lost last one)
Last month’s ranking: 10
Most recent result: lost to Mike Brown, unanimous decision, June 5
Analysis: Voters aren’t ready to abandon the world’s second-best featherweight, especially given his valiant performance in going the distance against Brown after breaking his right hand early.
9. Rashad Evans
Points:16
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Light heavyweight (UFC light heavyweight champion)
Hometown: Lansing, Mich.
Record: 13-1-1 (lost past one)
Last month’s ranking: 5
Most recent result: lost to Lyoto Machida, R2 TKO, May 23.
Analysis: No one has figured out how to beat Machida. And no one besides Machida has figured out how to beat Evans.
8. Quinton Jackson
Points: 56
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Light heavyweight
Hometown: Memphis, Tenn.
Record: 30-7 (won last two)
Last month’s ranking: 8
Most recent result: def. Keith Jardine, unanimous decision, March 7
Analysis: Expect “Rampage” to kick around these parts of the rankings for quite some time, as “The Ultimate Fighter 10” will keep him on the sidelines.
7. Mike Brown
Points: 66
Affiliation: WEC
Weight class: Featherweight (WEC featherweight champion)
Hometown: Portland, Maine
Record: 22-4 (won last 10)
Last month’s ranking: 9
Most recent result: def. Urijah Faber, unanimous decision, June 7
Analysis: Left no doubt about his worth by taking four rounds out of five from Faber in hostile territory.
6. B.J. Penn
Points: 75
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Lightweight (UFC lightweight champion)
Hometown: Hilo, Hawaii
Record: 13-5-1 (lost past one)
Last month’s ranking: 6
Most recent result: lost to Georges St. Pierre, doctor stoppage after R4, Jan. 31
Analysis: Not much left to be said as he gets set to meet Kenny Florian in August.
5. Miguel Angel Torres
Points:85 (1 first-place vote)
Affiliation: WEC
Weight class: Bantamweight (WEC bantamweight champion)
Hometown: East Chicago, Ind.
Record: 36-1 (won past 17)
Last month’s ranking: 4
Most recent result: def. Takeya Mizugaki, unanimous decision, April 5
Analysis: Has a pattern of running over American opponents, followed by barnburners against Japanese foes. Will this repeat when he meets the unbeaten Bowles?
4. Lyoto Machida
Points: 110
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Light heavyweight
Hometown: Belem, Brazil
Record: 15-0
Last month’s ranking: 7
Most recent result: def. Rashad Evans, R2 TKO, May 23
Analysis: Not only is Machida unbeaten, but he hasn’t dropped a single round in his UFC tenure. “The Dragon” may actually be underrated at this point.
3. Anderson Silva
Points: 139 (four first-place votes)
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Middleweight (UFC middleweight champion)
Hometown: Curitiba, Brazil
Record: 23-4 (won past nine)
Last month’s ranking: 3 (tie)
Most recent result: def. Thales Leites, unanimous decision, April 18
Analysis: No matter how much Dana White pushes Silva as the world’s best, Silva will need to come through against Forrest Griffin in order to remain in the conversation.
1 (tie). Georges St. Pierre
Points: 153 (four first-place votes)
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Welterweight (UFC welterweight champion)
Hometown: Saint-Isidore, Quebec
Record: 18-2 (won past five)
Last month’s ranking: 1 (tie)
Most recent result: def. B.J. Penn, doctor stoppage after R4, Jan. 31
Analysis: Ready to face his toughest challenge since winning the welterweight title.
1 (tie). Fedor Emelianenko
Points: 153 (eight first-place votes)
Affiliation: Affliction/M-1 (WAMMA champion; never lost PRIDE title)
Weight class: Heavyweight
Hometown: Stary Oskol, Russia
Record: 30-1, one no-contest (won past 10)
Last month’s ranking: 1 (tie)
Most recent result: def. Andrei Arlovski, R1 KO, Jan. 24
Analysis: We don’t know if Barnett is the fighter he used to be. But have no doubt Emelianenko will be training for the man who won UFC and Pancrase titles.
More
• Votes for others: Dan Henderson 7; Shinya Aoki 4; Kenny Florian, Jake Shields, Brock Lesnar 3; Forrest Griffin, Jon Fitch 2.
Sphere: Related Content
Loading ...