InsideFighting Top 10 Pound for Pound MMA Fighters:
Last updated: January 9, 2008



1. Randy Couture (16-8)
For the years that Fedor held our number one spot, we always remarked that it was unusual to have a heavyweight top a pound for pound list, but that he was simply that good. Well, so is Randy Couture. He was already the first two time heavyweight champion when he decided to drop down to the light heavyweight division in his late thirties for what most thought would be a valiant but failing effort to reclaim a top spot. Couture then went on to win the light heavyweight title more than once and became the first and only MMA fighter in history to win two major world titles in two different weight classes. As if that wasn't enough, Couture came out of retirement last March and moved back up in weight to challenge UFC heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia. Couture shocked the world again and dominated Sylvia for five rounds, claiming the UFC heavyweight strap for a third time, becoming the first person to have ever done so. An underdog once again when he faced Gabriel Gonzaga in August, Couture showed again that he brings his own odds to the ring and scored a stoppage win. As a young Fedor, for whatever reason, chooses to stay away from the best fighters in his weight class Couture in his mid forties is going after the toughest fights. His biggest risk yet and toughest challenge may still lie ahead for Couture as he appears to be trying to out-last his UFC contract in order to chase Fedor and fight him elsewhere if need be. The situation between Couture and the UFC is messy, but that doesn't affect the rankings. A relatively easy argument can be made that Couture has simply accomplished more than any other MMA fighter in the young sport's history. Remarkably, not even being over forty is slowing him down. Last: A stoppage win over Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74. Next: Not known at this point, but he's said publicly that he wants to fight Fedor.


2. Dan Henderson (22-6)
This past February Henderson, a natural 180-some odd pounder, knocked out Wanderlei Silva to become only the second Pride middleweight (205-lb) champion in the title's history, while simultaneously holding the Pride welterweight (183-lb) belt. That's pretty much all fans need to know about why Henderson deserves to be on the pound for pound list. But add to that story a history of consistently taking on all comers in any weight class and its clear that Henderson is nothing if not a pound for pound gun-slinging great. A losing but impressive five round performance against UFC light heavyweight champ Quinton Jackson at UFC 75 didn't hurt Henderson's status at all. In March, Hendo will get the chance to fight someone more his own size in UFC 185-lb champion Anderson Silva. If Henderson can become the man to end Silva's recent streak of dominance, he'll have a shot at topping the pound for pound ranks. Last: A decision loss to Jackson in September. Next: Another historic Pride/UFC title unification fight, this time against UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva March 1st in Columbus, OH.


3. Fedor Emelianenko (27-1)
Since suffering his only professional loss in December 2000, Fedor embarked on a reign of terror over the MMA world. After going 13-0 in the Pride organization and beating the likes of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic, Fedor had just about cleared out the division. "CroCop" worked his way back to deserving another shot at Fedor but left to the UFC before he could get his return bout. At that point, it seemed the most interesting fight left for Fedor was Josh Barnett. It has been literally years since Emelianenko was not at the top of both our pound for pound ranks and heavyweight ranks. His record and skill set is just that impressive. Unfortunately for fans, when Pride was sold to UFC ownership last year, Emelianenko did not sign with the UFC where all the meaningful match ups awaited him. Instead he fought a natural middleweight in Matt Lindland and then this past New Year's eve, a miserably inexperienced and overmatched Hong Man Choi. Fedor won both fights, but by not fighting any of the best in his weight class, and signing with an organization that at present doesn't appear able to provide any substantive fights for him, Fedor did not score any rankings points. Make no mistake, Fedor is probably the best all around and most devastating mixed martial artist in the world and we're not ready to bet against him any time soon. But unless he again starts fighting others at his level, instead of novelty fights, he will continue to drop in the rankings.
Last:A first round arm bar submission win over Hong Man Choi on New Year's eve. Next: Unknown.


4.Anderson Silva (20-4) With the exception of a disqualification loss to Yushin Okami in the 175-lb Rumble On The Rock tournament in January of 2006 it has been a long time since Anderson Silva hasn't simply overwhelmed whomever he was facing for a devastating win. All of Silva's last eight wins, going back to 2005, have been by KO, TKO or submission, and he's taken on some pretty tough opponents. Fans may have missed his highlight reel worthy stoppages over Curtis Stout and Tony Fryklund in Britain's Cage Rage event but Silva's flashy and deadly style has been on full display in the UFC for a little over a year now. In quick fashion Silva has gone 5-0 in the UFC with five stoppages and only two fights seeing the second round, and become the middleweight champion. What's more Silva has shown he's capable of finishing opponents in new ways with every fight. He put on a boxing and footwork clinic against Chris Leben in his UFC debut, used a devastating clinch to dismantle Rich Franklin, displayed excellent submission skills to tap out world class grappler Travis Lutter and most recently set up a ground and pound finish with excellent wrestling skills against Nate Marquardt. In October, Silva TKO'd Rich Franklin for the second time in impressive fashion. The last time out we projected that the only foreseeable challenges for "The Spider" would have to come from the quality 185-lb (or so) fighters from Pride. Sure enough, Silva will next take on perhaps his toughest challenge to date; Pride 183-lb champion Dan Henderson in March at UFC 82 in Columbus, Ohio. Last: A second round stoppage of Rich Franklin at UFC 77 in Cincinnati, Ohio last October. Next: Title unification bout with Dan Henderson in Columbus, Ohio on March 1st.

5. Quinton Jackson (29-6)
Jackson rose in the Pride 205-lb ranks rapidly as a young man in the early part of the decade but his ascension was twice stopped brutally by then champion Wanderlei Silva in title bouts. Jackson appeared to slow slightly after those losses but he's rebounded with new coaching from Juanito Ibarra, a new organization in the UFC and given fans reason to believe that perhaps we haven't really even seen anything yet from "Rampage". Since debuting in the UFC last February Jackson has yet to produce one of his trademark fight ending slams but he has slammed the door closed on all competition in the light heavyweight division including former champion Chuck Liddell. Jackson KO'd Liddell in May to beat him for the second time in their careers (they faced one another once before in a 2003 Pride tournament) and in September Jackson essentially won the linear Pride championship that he had wanted for so many years when he edged out Dan Henderson. Jackson looks poised to get the attention he deserves, but it won't be easy as there is no shortage of new challenges in the division. Next up will be Forrest Griffin who is coming off of a submission win over Murilo "Shogun" Rua. Jackson and Griffin will coach opposite one another on the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter and then fight one another for the title afterwards. Last: A unanimous decision win over Dan Henderson at UFC 75.. Next: A title defense against Forrest Griffin after TUF 7. A specific date has not yet been announced by the UFC.

6. Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto (17-1)
Detractors say that "Kid" does not face tough competition consistently enough, that he routinely gets matched up with fighters he should easily roll over. But with only one loss in six years of MMA competition and an insane penchant for finishing fights, Yamamoto makes our list without much hesitation. Even if you feel "Kid", a super star in Japan's K-1 Hero's promotion, doesn't get tested regularly enough, you cannot deny that his skill set makes him a nightmare for just about any 145-lb fighter in the world. He's an international competition level wrestler with knockout power. Yamamoto is stronger, faster, harder hitting and more able to control the pace of a fight than anyone he fights. If it came down to it, doubtless even his critics would have a hard time betting against "Kid" opposite anyone in his weight class. And with stoppage wins over Genki Sudo and Caol Uno, Yamamoto has proven himself against the very best. "Kid" got busy again in late 2007 , fighting and beating Bibiano Fernandes in September and KO'ing highly regarded Rani Yahya on New Year's eve.
Last: A KO win over Yahya on 12/31/07. Next: TBA

7. Georges St. Pierre (15-2)
Georges St. Pierre was tired of just being "the next big thing" and in November of 2006, he beat Matt Hughes to win the UFC welterweight title. After beating the likes of Sherk, Trigg, Penn and then Hughes, there seemed no stopping the young Canadian. But in just his first title defense he let the belt go to Matt Serra in April of '07. The loss was shocking and everything from St. Pierre's mental fortitude to skills was questioned. St. Pierre just put his nose back to the grindstone and worked his way back to title contention. First he dominated Josh Koscheck for three rounds in August to get back on the winning track and secure a title shot. It appeared, however, that he would have to wait for the winner of Serra vs. Hughes in December. But when Serra was forced to pull out of the fight with barely a month to go, St. Pierre offered his services and filled in. A fiver round interim title fight between St. Pierre and Hughes was set but "Rush" only needed two rounds to beat Hughes for the second time and reclaim a piece of the welterweight title. He may get his chance to prove this spring if Serra is healthy that their last fight was an aberration. If he does, his place in the pound for pound list will likely become more solid. Last: A second round submission win over Matt Hughes at UFC 79. Next: According to Matt Serra as told to NBC Sports recently, an April title fight with Serra.

8. BJ Penn (11-4-1)
B.J. Penn is the embodiment of pound-for-pound greatness in mixed martial arts. Name one other top fighter that has competed at 155, 170, 185 pounds and heavyweight? Exactly. In fact, he stood at the cusp of overtaking Fedor Emelianenko at the top spot with a spectacular win over Georges St. Pierre at UFC 58 in March of 2006. Unfortunately for the Hilo, Hawaii native, it wasn't to be. Penn lost a split decision in a fight where he undoubtedly caused more damage, but found himself on the receiving end of too many takedowns. Penn seemed poised to return to the lightweight division but got the call on short notice to replace an injured St. Pierre against then champion Matt Hughes at UFC 63 in September of '06. Round one saw Penn score easily with his hands on Hughes while rebuffing his takedown attempts. Round two saw Hughes jump from the pot to the fire when he finally got Penn to the ground. Hughes barely survived the round as he was saved by the round-ending bell from Penn's myriad of ground attacks including triangle chokes, arm bars and rear chokes. Unfortunately for Penn, he also suffered serious rib injuries in those moments (though the details of his injuries would not be revealed until after post-fight doctor examinations revealed a rib separation) and came out flat in the third round. Hughes was quick to capitalize with crisp punches, a takedown and eventually a brutal elbow strike sequence to Penn's head, which caused the referee stop the bout. Penn returned to the lightweight division and the winner's circle in June with a submission win over Jens Pulver that avenged his earlier 2002 title fight loss to the former champion. Apparently that win over Pulver reignited Penn's interest in the lightweight division and he's scheduled to take on Joe Stevenson for the UFC 155-lb belt January 19th. UFC President Dana White has said that the winner of that bout will then take on Sean Sherk, who was the UFC lightweight champion but was stripped after being suspended by the California State Athletic Commission for testing positive for a banned steroid. It's Penn's third chance at the 155-lb belt and if he finally captures it, the former welterweight champion will become only the second fighter in MMA history to win two major world championships in two different weight classes. The other is Randy Couture.Last:Second round submission win over Jens Pulver in June.Next:UFC lightweight title fight against Joe Stevenson at UFC 80 in Newcastle, England on January 19th.


9. Matt Lindland (20-5)
Ahh the rankings dilemmas that free spirited top fighters such as Lindland pose. Over the years Lindland has established himself as one of the absolute best 185-lb fighters in the world. Many consider him to be the best right now. The problem is that recently Lindland has floated around from organization to organization, none of them named the UFC or Pride, taking on presumably well-paying challenges as they came. And he's also jumped around in weight class. The point is this; Lindland should not be ranked as a middleweight because he has not been fighting as a middleweight. But where his recent fights have hurt him in the middleweight rankings, they have helped him in the pound for pound ones. In fighting the likes of light heavyweight Quinton Jackson and heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, while also turning down the opportunity to compete for a UFC middleweight title shot on the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter, Lindland willingly turned away from the 185-lb division, if only temporarily. But he also turned in the direction of that rare breed of fighter that has both the guts and freedom to seek out ridiculous challenges and good pay days as a free agent. Lindland may be a hard man to peg in any one weight division, but it's easy to see that he's one of the best fighters in the world, pound for pound. Lindland has always had world class wrestling skills, but what is perhaps even more amazing is how he seems to still be improving. Nine of his last ten wins have come by way of submission, KO or TKO and its clear that Lindland is a better fighter now than ever before. Last: A first round submission loss to Fedor Emelianenko in April. Next: TBA.






10. Sean Sherk (32-2-1)
Sherk was one of the best 170-lb fighters in the world for many years, and in 2006 he made the transition to 155-lbs (lightweight). The result? Sherk immediately became one of the best lightweights in the world by capturing the vacant UFC lightweight title in October with a hard fought decision win over Kenny Florian. Sherk brings his strength and power down with him to the lightweight division, and is showing well-developed jiu-jitsu skills. Sherk looked impressive after an 8 month lay off due to shoulder surgery in his first UFC lightweight title defense July 7th. With the exception of eating some near KO-quality knees on the way in, Sherk mostly dominated number one contender Hermes Franca with takedowns, positional control and submission attempts on his way to a five round unanimous decision. Unfortunately after the fight it was revealed that both Franca and Sherk tested positive for banned substances in pre-fight tests. Sherk is denying ever using banned substances and appealed the test results to the California Athletic Commission. His suspension was reduced by half but the "guilty" tag remained and he was stripped by the UFC of his championship status. He's eligible to fight once again and UFC President Dana White says that Sherk will automatically challenge for the title against the winner of BJ Penn vs. Joe Stevenson for the 155-lb title. Time will tell what the future holds for Sherk as he battles to keep his name clean and regain his championship. Last: A five round decision over Hermes Franca in July. Next: Apparently, the winner of Penn vs. Stevenson.