By Conor Kerr 
The Pound for Pound debate world is the most volatile climate in all of mixed martial arts. This was not always the case, as even more volatile climates existed, and brought down destruction and chaos upon those involved, such as making Kimbo the face of an organization, or legitimately expecting Josh Barnett to pass a drug test. Also, remember that guy Gary Shaw?
Pound for pound is loved, as it allows the fight fan to envisage dream bouts. When indulged, we get to forget about the weight class for a while, and in its stead, consider the fights every fight fan salivates over. For example, if Anderson Silva fought Fedor Emelianenko, who would win? (Okay maybe not too many people are thinking this right now)
One fight can bring upheaval to the entire system. If a fighter on this list loses, not only does their status get overturned, but questions then arise, such as; does the fighter who dethrones the p4p stalwart now take their place? Does it mean that the UFC heavyweight division might really have the best heavyweights?
#1: Junior dos Santos – JDS knocked out Werdum, who defeated Fedor, making him the best fighter in the world.
#2: Fabricio Werdum – He beat Fedor, but only gets the number two spot as he was derailed by JDS.
#4094583568263583654: Fedor Emelianenko – His name was too long to remember anyway.
This is an opportune time to consider the pound for pound rankings, as right now, it is thirty six days until kingpin Junior dos Santos is in action versus Roy Nelson for the number one spot. Incidentally, UFC 117 also contains the most significant upcoming bout for pound for pound, as Anderson Silva defends his middleweight title against Chael Sonnen in a fight that should not be competitive in the slightest, but those were my exact thoughts before both Yushin Okami and Nathan Marquardt, and we all saw how they turned out. I am not of the opinion that the recent bout between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin had any pound for pound implications whatsoever.
The large event that has affected the pound for pound rankings occurred on Saturday June 26th, as Fabricio Werdum shocked the world by defeating Fedor Emelianenko with an amazing display of his Brazilian Jujitsu acumen. For over half a decade Fedor has been considered a major player on this list, but now, after one loss he has exited the pound for pound top ten ranking for many, both personal and published.
Now that the dust has settled, without further ado; let us take a look at The Pound for Pound top ten rankings:
1: Georges St. Pierre
This man, in my estimation is the best pound for pound fighter on the planet. After complete domination of Josh Koscheck, Matt Serra, Jon Fitch, BJ Penn, Thiago Alves and Dan Hardy, the Canadian superstar is beginning to attract negative criticism for not attempting to finish fights. True or not, GSP has been fighting the top competition, and I do not believe he has lost a round since the defeat to Matt Serra, a loss he overturned in relentless fashion. It is time to drop the chin issue and admit that GSP was struck by lightning and other natural disasters that night versus Serra. With a 20-2 record with both losses avenged, I believe ‘Rush’ stands slightly ahead of the Spider in the pound for pound debate.
2: Anderson Silva
The Spider is now 12-0 in the UFC, including two successful outings in the light heavyweight division. Anderson Silva is in his prime, and seems to be unbeatable. However, the top spot is lost to him because the level of competition he has been facing has been slightly lower than GSP. James Irvin, Travis Lutter, Patrick Cote and Thales Leites include some of the wins on the impressive feathered cap of Anderson. These names, whilst belonging to high level fighters just don’t live up to the tier one quality of Koscheck, Fitch and BJ Penn on GSP’s record.
3: Jose Aldo
Putting Jose Aldo on the number three spot is quite ambitious, as he has not been fighting the best in the weight class for that long. Since he has however, he has captured the title from the seemingly invincible Mike Brown in devastating fashion, and has since brutalized Urijah Faber with some of the most obscene leg kicks in MMA. The scary thing is that Aldo strongly advocates the idea that his grappling is his most effective tool, and if this is so, Aldo in a few years may climb to the top of this list.
4: BJ Penn
BJ Penn is at fourth place despite the loss to Frankie Edgar. I do not believe that this loss is enough to put Edgar ahead of BJ. Firstly, the fight was very close, and secondly, BJ Penn whilst facing the top competition has overall looked significantly better than Frankie Edgar, who was tossed around in a fight against Matt Veach before turning it around in the second. If Edgar takes the rematch scheduled for UFC 118 in August, expect him to take the place of the prodigy, but until an event of that nature occurs, I believe the number four spot belongs to Penn. As of now I do not believe Edgar has done enough to topple the long time lightweight King.
5: Frankie Edgar
Frankie Edgar is coming off one of the biggest upsets in recent MMA history. If not for Fabricio Werdum, it would be the biggest. Frankie Edgar looked very good as he out maneuvered BJ Penn to take the unanimous decision, looking to have better cardio as BJ slowed down significantly late in the fight. I do not believe that Edgar would win a rematch versus Gray Maynard and unless he defeats BJ more convincingly next time round, I do not believe that the ‘Answer’ will wear the UFC tile for much longer. However, Edgar’s boxing and footwork looks sharper than ever and his wrestling has never been a question. Combined with his fantastic cardio Edgar does have the potential to hold the belt for a while, but I don’t see him making it to September with the strap.
6: Mauricio Rua
‘Shogun’ challenged the seemingly untouchable Lyoto Machida, a man who had never lost a round inside the Octagon and took him five rounds in a fight most fans believe that Rua won. ‘Shogun’ left no room for error in the rematch as he hurt Machida early and finished the ‘Dragon’ with some ferocious ground and pound, leaving Machida with the most inflated eye I have ever seen. All of this was accomplished only six weeks removed from surgery to deal with appendicitis. A remarkable feat, but it is difficult to say the sky is the limit at this point, as Rua’s career is again plagued by injury. His next outing versus Rashad Evans will be delayed, but nonetheless tell ‘Shogun’s’ future in the pound for pound list.
7: Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Machida falls short of ‘Shogun’ on the list now due to his decisive loss against Rua that saw the ‘Dragon’ finished in round one. Up until the finish, Lyoto managed to control the fight with some very good takedowns, but his increased aggression with his striking played right into ‘Shogun’s’ hands. Nonetheless Lyoto is one of very few fighters to claim a UFC strap whilst still undefeated, with notable victories over Rich Franklin, Rashad Evans, BJ Penn and Thiago Silva and has looked untouchable in virtually every fight that wasn’t against Mauricio Rua. Look for Lyoto to climb his way back to the top of the ladder and possibly even challenge Rua in a third contest.
8: Fedor Emelianenko
Fedor Emelianenko is a name every dedicated Mixed Martial Arts fan is aware of. He has been the most dominant heavyweight of all time, and possibly holds the mantle of the greatest Mixed Martial Artist ever also. The question before last Saturday was when he was going to knock out Werdum, but now it is whether he even belongs in these rankings following the first round submission loss to Werdum. I believe that he does. One loss does not mean that you are no longer a pound for pound force, and I believe that Fedor will bounce back from this stronger than ever, and climb back to perhaps the number three spot before his time is done. Look for Fedor to dominate in a rematch and dispatch Overeem without too much trouble.
9: Jon Fitch
Jon Fitch is a beast. He has managed to gather a 12-1 record inside of arguably the best division in MMA in the (less arguably) best organization on the planet. Jon Fitch has dominated everyone except for GSP, and has notable wins over opponents Thiago Alves, Paulo Thiago and Diego Sanchez. Fitch attracts a lot of bad press for being a ‘LNP’ artist, and I have never really understood why the guy lying on his back getting dominated never gets this bad press considering they can’t get up to make the fight more exciting. As a huge Fitch fan, I look forward to his rematch versus the much improved Thiago Alves. Hopefully the time out for Thiago won’t have too bad an effect on this great fight. A loss will most likely tear him from this list, and a win most likely won’t elevate him any higher.
10: Jake Shields
On a 14 fight winning streak across two weight classes (middleweight and welterweight) it is very difficult to deny Jake a spot on this list. He hasn’t lost a fight in over five years, and holds notable wins over Carlos Condit, Dan Henderson, Nick Thompson and Yushin Okami (even if I thought it was a bad decision). Now that he is most likely UFC bound following the release from Strikeforce, look for Shields to either soar even higher or plummet from the pound for pound list. Several intriguing matchups await Shields in the UFC, such as Anderson Silva, GSP Jon Fitch or possibly a rematch with Okami, or even what would be an awesome contest versus Nate Marquardt.
