Your top 3 in each division (possible spoilers)

MrStuffins

There is a constant debate on the boards here about who is ranked where and who deserves this shot and that shot!

UFC is obviously where the vast majority of fighters in the world are fighting, but UFC don't necessarily do "rankings", so it's left to various websites to rank and they never seem to agree.

So, today, who do you reckon are YOUR Top 3 in each division (and why where applicable).

My Top 3 in each class are:

HW

#1 - Brock Lesnar
#2 - Fedor
#3 - Cain Valasquez


LHW

#1 - Shogun Rua
#2 - Lyoto Machida
#3 - Rashad Evans


MW

#1 - Anderson Silva
#2 - Chael Sonnen
#3 - Jake Sheilds

(No Vitor as he actually hasn't fought at MW in about 28 months)

WW

#1 - GSP
#2 - Jon Fitch
#3 - Josh Koscheck

LW

#1 - BJ Penn
#2 - Frankie Edgar
#3 - Shinya Aoki

(LW was a tough one. Personally i scored BJ beating Edgar in Abu Dhabi. I still think he's No.1 in the world. Although Aoki got beat my Melendez, i still have him up there

Also, i think Ben Henderson could be up there if given a chance against some Top 10 guys)


Throw in non-UFC weight classes too if you wish

FW

#1 - Jose Aldo
#2 - Manny Gamburyan
#3 - Mike Brown


BW

#1 - Dominic Crus
#2 - Joseph Benevidez
#3 - Brian Bowles


(I'm leaving out Flyweight because i haven't seen a lot of Flyweight fights over the past 12 months)

Rickson1

HW
1. Brock Lesnar
2. Junior Dos Santos
3. Cain Velasquez
(Noguiera, Roy Nelson)

LHW
1. Shogun
2. Rich Franklin
3. Rashad Evans
(Machida, John Jones)

MW
1. Anderson Silva
2. Chael Sonnen
3. Yushin Okami
(Jake Shields, Dan Henderson)

WW
1. GSP
2. Nick Diaz
3. John Fitch
(Thiago Alves, Josh Koscheck)

LW
1. BJ Penn
2. Kenny Florian
3. Frankie Edgar
(Gomi, Clay Guida)

Heavyweight
1- Brock Lesnar
2- Allistair Overeem
3-Cain Velasquez

Light Heavyweight
1- Mauricio Shogun Rua
2- Lyoto Machida
3- Rashad Evans

Middleweight
1-Anderson Silva
2- CHael SOnnen
3- Demian Maia

Welterweight
1- Georges St Pierre
2- Jon Fitch
3- Josh Koscheck

Lightweight
1- Frankie Edgar
2- BJ Penn
3- Kenny Florian

callaway92

Heavyweight
1- Brock Lesnar
2- Junior Dos Santos
3-Cain Velasquez

Light Heavyweight
1- Mauricio Rua
2- Lyoto Machida
3- Rashad Evans

Middleweight
1-Anderson Silva
2- Chael Sonnen
3- Nate Marquardt

Welterweight
1- Georges St Pierre
2- Jon Fitch
3- Thiago Alves

Lightweight
1- Frankie Edgar
2- BJ Penn
3- Kenny Florian

callaway92

MrStuffins wrote: »

LW

#1 - BJ Penn
#2 - Frankie Edgar
#3 - Shinya Aoki

also, would you not rank Melendez above Aoki since he dismantled him?

ScareGilly

I think we should make sure this isn't a discussion topic before it gets out of hand...

Maybe we could make a boards top 3 fighters in each category, take everyone's votes and put them together :rolleyes:

HW:
1. Junior Dos Santos
2. Alistair Overeem
3. Brock Lesnar/Cain Velasquez/Fedor Emelianenko

LHW:
1. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua
2. Lyoto Machida
3. Rashad Evans

MW:
1. Anderson Silva
2. Chael Sonnen (Just one fight away from no.1! [Hopefully] :rolleyes: My brain has beaten my man-crush this time, I'm almost crying putting Chael 2nd )
3. Dan Henderson/Cung Le/Vitor Belfort/Demian Maia/Rousimar Palhares/Nate Marquardt (You might as well count none of these, I can't pick a 3rd place MW )

WW:
1. Georges St.Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Nick Diaz/Matt Hughes/Josh Koscheck/Jake Shields

LW:
1. BJ Penn
2. Kenny Florian/Frankie Edgar
3. Gray Maynard/Gilbert Melendez/George Sotiropoulos/Clay Guida
Special mention: I think Sean Sherk will be back in the mix after a few fights..
Other special mention: Cristiane 'Cyborg' Santos - She could probably stick it to a few of the guys in the LW Division :pac:

Really, I think I should just stick to picking the top 2, the top 3 is impossible! :rolleyes:

Fromvert

callaway92 wrote: »

also, would you not rank Melendez above Aoki since he dismantled him?

I think I've seen the OP say that he had BJ beating Edgar so I'd say that's the reason. I would agree with him and I think a lot people do aswell.

I'd agree with you on Melendez.

HW
Brock
JDS
Overeem
(just outside Fedor and Cain)

LHW
Shogun
Lyoto
Rashad
(Rampage, Franklin)

MW
Silva
Sonnen
Can't really seperate a lot of the rest of the MWs.

WW
GSP
Fitch
Diaz
(Shields, Koscheck)

LW
BJ
Florian
Edgar
(Melendez)

seadnamac

HW

1. Brock Lesnar
2. Junior Dos Santos
3. Fedor

LHW

1. Shogun Rua
2. Lyoto Machida
3. Rashad Evans

MW

1. Anderson Silva
2. Chael Sonnen
3. Jake Shields

WW

1. GSP
2. Jon Fitch
3. Thiago Alves

LW

1. Frankie Edgar
2. BJ Penn
3. Gilbert Melendez

Kazooie

HW
1) Fedor
2) Overeem
3) Lesnar

LHW
1) Shogun
2) Machida
3) Mousasi

MW
1) Silva
2) Sonnen
3) Sheilds

WW
1) GSP
2) Fitch
3) Alves

LW
1) Penn
2) Kenflo
3) Eddie Alvarez

MrStuffins

callaway92 wrote: »

also, would you not rank Melendez above Aoki since he dismantled him?

I explained in the OP

MrStuffins wrote: »

LW

#1 - BJ Penn
#2 - Frankie Edgar
#3 - Shinya Aoki

(LW was a tough one. Personally i scored BJ beating Edgar in Abu Dhabi. I still think he's No.1 in the world. Although Aoki got beat my Melendez, i still have him up there

Also, i think Ben Henderson could be up there if given a chance against some Top 10 guys)

To go further on the subject on Melendez v Aoki. Gilbert DID destroy Aoki, but i think there were many factors to consider. I think if someone asked me who was the better fighter, i'd say Aoki. There's a massively strong case for Melendez to be above him, but i just don't think Melenddez would beat Aoki in a ring in Japan.

danlen

HW

#1 - Brock Lesnar
#2 - Junior Dos Santos
#3 - Cain Valasquez

Judged this on recent displays. Also these three will be battling it out for the UFC title over the next 6-9 months. Overeem not a million miles a way though.

LHW

#1 - Shogun Rua
#2 - Lyoto Machida
#3 - Rashad Evans

By far the hardest division to separate into a 1-2-3, but I think this is just about right.


MW

#1 - Anderson Silva
#2 - Chael Sonnen
#3 - Vitor Belfort

Yushin Okami has a big shout here too, was close to putting him in at three. Now that Anderson is injured, I would love to see Okami/Belfort.

WW

#1 - GSP
#2 - Jon Fitch
#3 - Nick Diaz

Has to be these three for consistently dismantling guys!

LW

#1 - BJ Penn
#2 - Frankie Edgar
#3 - Gilbert Melendez

Although if Kenny can beat Maynard I would prob throw him in at #2, with the loser of the Penn/Edgar fight dropping to 3.

scooby2791

This would be my overall ranking as the OP seemed to make it out as UFC only but then included Fedor & Aoki.

HW

#1 - Fedor Emelianenko
#2 - Brock Lesnar
#3 - AO

LHW

#1 - Shogun Rua
#2 - Rashad Evans
#3 - Rampage/Machida


MW

#1 - Anderson Silva
#2 - Maia
#3 - Nate/Sonnen


WW

#1 - GSP
#2 - Jake Shields
#3 - John Fitch

LW

#1 - BJ Penn
#2 - KenFlo
#3 - Gilbert Melendez/Aoki



FW

#1 - Jose Aldo
#2 - Manny Gamburyan
#3 - MTB



BW

#1 - Dominic Crus
#2 - Joseph Benevidez
#3 - Urijah Faber

MrStuffins

scooby2791 wrote: »

This would be my overall ranking as the OP seemed to make it out as UFC only but then included Fedor & Aoki.

Where did i say "UFC Only"?

My rankings are based on my opinion across the board.

Your rankings are awash with UFC fighters just as mine are!

The only real unqualified difference is your inclusion of Overeem. I didn't include Overeem because he hasn't been fighting Top guys. I think Cain has been fighting a MUCH higher quality of fighter.



(also, no Edgar in the Top 3? Maia as No.2 ahead of Sonnen? Shields ahead of fitch at WW? Some strange picks indeed)

Jayo_M

HW

#1 - Fedor
#2 - Brock
#3 - JDS


LHW

#1 - Shogun Rua
#2 - Lyoto Machida
#3 - King Mo Lawal


MW

#1 - Anderson Silva
#2 - Rousimar Palhares
#3 - Chael Sonnen

I would have Belfort in there, but yeah, he needs to fight in the division once in a while first :-p

WW

#1 - GSP
#2 - Nick Diaz
#3 - Jake Shields

LW

#1 - BJ Penn
#2 - Eddie Alvarez
#3 - Gilbert Melendez

FW

#1 - Jose Aldo
#2 - Bibiano Fernandes
#3 - Manny Gamburyan


BW

#1 - Dominic Cruz
#2 - Joseph Benevidez
#3 - Brian Bowles

scooby2791

MrStuffins wrote: »

Where did i say "UFC Only"?

My rankings are based on my opinion across the board.

Your rankings are awash with UFC fighters just as mine are!

The only real unqualified difference is your inclusion of Overeem. I didn't include Overeem because he hasn't been fighting Top guys. I think Cain has been fighting a MUCH higher quality of fighter.



(also, no Edgar in the Top 3? Maia as No.2 ahead of Sonnen? Shields ahead of fitch at WW? Some strange picks indeed)

Yeah I said it seemed like it was UFC only, twas my misinterpretation.

As for Cain, Its not that impressive outwrestling Kongo or Rothwell. The Nog win was good though, didn't see that coming, but Kongo and Rothwell fights really didn't impress me, sure Kongo had him stunned most times they stood up.

Edgar was a mishap, not sure how I missed him. Maia has a very very quick/impressive win over Sonnen so yes I rate him higher. Shields is fighting at WW now, 14fight win streak, natural WW fighting up and down the scales.

MrStuffins

scooby2791 wrote: »

Yeah I said it seemed like it was UFC only, twas my misinterpretation.

As for Cain, Its not that impressive outwrestling Kongo or Rothwell. The Nog win was good though, didn't see that coming, but Kongo and Rothwell fights really didn't impress me, sure Kongo had him stunned most times they stood up.

Edgar was a mishap, not sure how I missed him. Maia has a very very quick/impressive win over Sonnen so yes I rate him higher. Shields is fighting at WW now, 14fight win streak, natural WW fighting up and down the scales.

Guess i'm gonna have to switch my Lightweights. No doubt Edgar is No.1 now!

Odats

Heavyweight
1) Brock Lesnar
2) Cain Velasquez
3) Alistair Overeem

Light Heavyweight
1) Shogun Rua
2) Rashad Evans
3) Lyoto Machida

Middleweight
1) Anderson Silva
2) Chael Sonnen
3)Demian Maia / Jacare Souza

Welterweight
1) Georges St Pierre
2) John Fitch
3) Jake Shields

Lightweight
1) Frankie Edgar
2) BJ Penn
3) Gilbert Melendez

Featherweight
1) Jose Aldo
2) Bibiano Fernandez
3) Manny Gamburyan

Bantamweight
1) Dominick Cruz
2) Joseph Benavidez
3) Miguel Torres/Brian Bowles/Scott Jorgenson

SDTimeout

Heavyweight
1) Junior Dos Santos
2) Fedor Emelianenko
3) Cain Velasquez

Light Heavyweight
1) Shogun
2) Lyoto Machida
3) Thiago Silva.

Middleweight
1) Demian Maia
2) Anderson Silva
3) Chael Sonnen

Welterweight
1) Georges St Pierre
2) Matt Hughes
3) Diaz/Kos/Alves

Lightweight
1) George Sotiropoulos
2) Frankie Edgar
3) Ben Henderson

Jose Aldo + Faber + Brown + Miguel Torres + Brian Bowles all get mentions. Mine is personal opinion of the fighter and their style.

MrStuffins

SDTimeout wrote: »

TROLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



:pac:

TheTMO

I think Lesnar at the very least deserves to be in peoples top 3. Complete joke leaving him out of any top 3.

lil-evil

Heavyweight
1) Overeem
2) Cain Velasquez
3) Brock Lesnar

Light Heavyweight
1) Shogun
2) Gegard Mousasi
3) Lyoto Machida

Middleweight
1) Chael Sonnen
2) Anderson Silva
3) Jacaré Souza

Welterweight
1) Georges St Pierre
2) Fitch
3) Diaz

Lightweight
1) Frankie Edgar
2) Ben Henderson
3) Gilbert Melendez

seadnamac

Taught this would be a good place to post this. Interesting article about who would be the LINEAR champion in each division ie. the guy who beats the champion who beat the champion and so on, regardless of organisation etc.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=AlSJzpu0OtPqNuJNQuTJSic9Eo14?slug=dm-linear090310

The middleweight division throws up a surprise, kind of...

MrStuffins

Im very surprised by how many people consider Overeem Top 3 (even No.1 in cases) when he hasn't beaten a Top 10 HW............well............ EVER!!

el dude

HW
Brock
Fedor
Overeem

LHW
Shogun
Machida
Jon Jones

MW
Anderson
Jacare
Jake Shields

WW
GSP
Fitch
Diaz

Jones is in there because, even though he's not beat the big names, he's just looked so damn impressive every time i've seen him. So Rashad loses out.

I've left out Chael because he's so one dimensional and doesn't finish fights. Unfair? Yeah. But it's my list so whatever.

Overeem makes my list too because well, i don't think the UFC HW division is all it's made out to be, the JDS/Roy Nelson and Lesnar/Carwin fights hit that one home for me. I like Roy, he's a solid fighter, but he gets absolutely blasted by Fedor or Overeem and the Lesnar Carwin fight where Carwin gassed after three minutes. I think Overeem and Fedor beat him and give Brock a good fight. Not to say JDS, Cain and Carwin are no good, i'd simply, at this moment in time, pick Fedor and Overeem above them.