February 2011 MMA Fighter Rankings: Lightweights

The Lightweights are a nasty bunch with the UFC Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar leading the charge. Edgar’s draw against Gray Maynard was a great start to the New Year and a rematch between the two fighters is highly anticipated from fans and media alike. Anthony Pettis will have to wait just a bit longer for his title shot, but a win against Clay Guida all but guarantees he fights for the title next. This list was put together by our friends over at RantMMA.com. Feel free to let us know what you think in the comments section.

10. Anthony Pettis (“Showtime”)
Pettis beat Ben Henderson and gave audiences an unforgettable highlight. It looks like he will not be waiting for the winner of the Edgar-Maynard rematch, as he wants to remain active.

9. Jim Miller
Miller makes an appearance in the top 10 after going 8-1 in the UFC, with his only defeat coming at the hands of Gray Maynard.

8. George Sotiropoulos
Riding an 8 fight win streak with his last loss as a result of a disqualification against Shinya Aoki, G-Sot has established himself as a top rising star in the UFC.

7. Kenny Florian (“Kenflo”)
Recovering from injury, Florian will make a transition to the Featherweight division, but until that actually happens he sits in the 7th position.

6. Tatsuya Kawajiri (“Crusher”)
Crusher has beaten many great lightweights, but his losses to Shinya Aoki and Eddie Alvarez drop him out of the truly elite of the division.

5. Eddie Alvarez
Alvarez thrashed SI cover boy Roger Huerta at Bellator 34. With his only recent loss coming to Shinya Aoki, Alvarez is worthy of a top 5 spot at 155.

4. BJ Penn (“The Prodigy”)
With Penn perhaps pulling double duty at both 155 and 170, he may enter the rankings at both divisions. Penn had 3 title defences before dropping the belt to current #1, Frankie Edgar.

3. Gilbert Melendez (“El Nino”)
Melendez handled Shinya Aoki, a man who some people felt was the top lightweight in the world. With wins over Aoki, Josh Thomson, and Mitsuhiro Ishida, Melendez has proven himself at an elite level.

2. Gray Maynard (“The Bully”)
Maynard came close to solving the Edgar puzzle, but came out empty handed. He’ll get another chance this summer.

1. Frankie Edgar (“The Answer”)
Edgar is now 0-1-1 against Gray Maynard, but seeing how he retains the belt with a draw, you can’t really drop him from the #1 spot.

**Note:
Aoki dropped from the top 10 after losing to Yuichiro Nagashima in the MMA round of their mixed rules right.

February 2011 MMA Fighter Rankings: Welterweights

Similar to Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre has done nothing but dominate the Welterweight division by absolutely destroying any challenger the UFC threw his way. GSP will have the toughest fight of his career when he takes on Jake Shields at UFC 129 in Toronto. Should GSP win the fight, he will relinquish his Welterweight title and move up to Middleweight to challenge Silva in a super fight for the title. This list was put together by our friends over at RantMMA.com. Feel free to let us know what you think in the comments section.

10. Dan Hardy (“The Outlaw”)
Hardy drops to the 10 spot after getting knocked out on his home turf by Carlos Condit.

9. Paul Daley
The heavy handed Daley was on the path to UFC title contention before being controlled by Josh Koscheck and losing his temper after the bell, leading to his release from the UFC. Daley has done well since, and another win will likely get him a shot at Nick Diaz.

8. Nick Diaz
The bad boy from Stockton racked up another title defence against Evangelista Santos.

7. Carlos Condit (“The Natural Born Killer”)
The last WEC welterweight champion hadn’t looked too good in the UFC, losing a close decision to Martin Kampmann, than nearly losing to Rory Macdonald before finding his offence and getting a somewhat controversial stoppage. Condit firmly enters the top 10 with a knockout over Dan Hardy.

6. Martin Kampmann (“The Hitman”)
Kampmann drops 1 place after losing to Jake Shields in a very close decision.

5. Jake Shields
Shields returned to the welterweight division and won a controversial split decision against Martin Kampmann. With his 15 fight win streak, we put Shields in at the 5 spot in the division. He gets a shot at GSP this April.

4. Josh Koscheck
Koscheck was beat up by GSP in his title shot, and will be out for several months.

3. Thiago Alves (“Pitbull”)
In a battle of the #2 and #3 guys, Alves lost a decision to Jon Fitch. He got back on the winning track and seems to have solved his weight cutting issues in last December’s win over John Howard.

2. Jon Fitch
Fitch may go down in history as the best fighter to never win a title. He’s 13-1 in the UFC and often listed on top 10 pound for pound rankings.

1. Georges St. Pierre (“Rush”)
GSP has now pitched shutouts in 5 consecutive title defences against the best of the welterweight division.

February 2011 MMA Fighter Rankings: Middleweights

UFC Middleweight champ Anderson Silva remains atop the Middleweight division with a stunning KO victory over Vitor Belfort. With Georges St-Pierre possibly getting the next shot at Silva (GSP will have to defeat Jake Shields first), the rest of the Middleweights will have to wait before getting a crack at the champ. This list was put together by our friends over at RantMMA.com. Feel free to let us know what you think in the comments section.

10. Brian Stann (“The All American”)
Stann enters the top 10 with a strong win over Chris Leben.

9. Robbie Lawler (“Ruthless”)
Lawler couldn’t win the title against Jacare, but his incredible KO win over Matt Lindland is still fresh in the minds of MMA fans everywhere.

8. Michael Bisping (“The Count”)
Bisping enters the top 10 with a win over Yoshihiro Akiyama. His next fight is scheduled for UFC 127 on February 27, where he’ll take on Jorge Rivera.

7. Jorge Santiago
The Sengoku champion won a wildly entertaining battle against Kazuo Misaki in his 2nd title defence. He’s also recently avenged a loss against Mamed Khalidov.

6. Ronaldo Souza (“Jacare”)
Jacare successfully defended his title against middleweight mainstay Robbie Lawler. He continues to show development in all aspects of MMA with each fight.

5. Demian Maia
The submission specialist holds his top 5 status, remaining in the hunt by beating Mario Miranda. He’ll be in action again at the TUF finale against Kendall Grove.

4. Nate Marquardt (“The Great”)
Marquardt struggled again in his latest #1 contender match against Yushin Okami.

3. Yushin Okami (“Thunder”)
Okami moved into the #1 contender position with a win over Nate Marquardt. Originally slated to face the winner of Anderson Silva-VItor Belfort, he may be stuck waiting again for the Silva-Georges St. Pierre superfight.

2. Chael Sonnen
After a reduced suspension for drug use and a guilty plea in a money laundering case, the only man to have Anderson Silva on the ropes hopefully will be getting back in the cage sooner rather than later.

1. Anderson Silva (“The Spider”)
Silva now has 8 title defences, with his most recent victim being fellow Brazilian Vitor Belfort.

**Notes:
Chris Leben drops from the top 10 after losing to Brian Stann.
Dan Henderson unranked due to focusing on 205.

February 2011 MMA Fighter Rankings: Light Heavyweights

The injury Rashad Evans sustained to his knee allowed teammate John Jones to move into the number one contender spot and challenge Shogun Rua for the UFC ‘s Light Heavyweight title. This is a huge shot for Jones, and one that he will not take lightly. Expect Jones to come out ready to throw everything in his arsenal at Shogun. Phil Davis also has a huge fight on his hands, as he replaces Tito Ortiz in a fight against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. A win for Davis definitely propels him into the top 10. This list was put together by our friends over at RantMMA.com . Feel free to let us know what you think in the comments section.

10. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (“Minotoro”)
Nogueira falls a few places after being controlled by Ryan Bader and not looking impressive in a controversial win over Jason Brilz. He’s scheduled to fight Tito Ortiz next in what could turn out to be a loser leaves town match regardless of who wins.

9. Muhammad Lawal (“King Mo”)
Lawal drops a place or 2 after losing in his 1st title defence.

8. Rafael Cavalcante (“Feijao”)
Feijao enters the top 10 with a one sided thrashing of former Strikeforce champion King Mo.

7. Ryan Bader
Bader jumped into the top 10 with a strong performance over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, but lost to Jon Jones.

6. Jon Jones (“Bones”)
Jones defeated Ryan Bader in a clash of 2 of the UFC’s best young fighters. Then the surprise announcement was made that Jones would face Shogun in 5 weeks for the title due to Rashad’s injury.

5. Forrest Griffin
Griffin returned from a long period of inactivity with a unanimous decision win over Rich Franklin.

4. Quinton Jackson (“Rampage”)
In his fights after filming the A-Team, Rampage was controlled by Rashad Evans and won a very close split decision over Lyoto Machida. Not enough to push him into the top 3.

3. Lyoto Machida
Machida has now lost 2 (some would say 3) in a row. However, he’s still a handful for anyone, and his loss to Rampage balances out his karmic gain from the controversial win over Shogun. Couture…

2. Rashad Evans
Evans finished his TUF obligations by beating Quinton Jackson in the most popular event that did not feature a title match. Unfortunately, it was revealed at UFC 126 that Evans is injured and won’t be able to fight in the scheduled title fight.

1. Mauricio Rua (“Shogun”)
Shogun Rua left no doubt in his rematch with Lyoto Machida, knocking Machida out in the 1st round to become the UFC LHW champion. After an injury to Rashad Evans, Shogun will now face Jon Jones for title defence 1.

February 2011 MMA Fighter Rankings: Heavyweights

With the Strikeforce : Heavyweight Grand Prix under way and the lack of UFC heavyweights in action, the heavyweight rankings are sure to open up. With a win over the heavily favoured Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio Silva moves up the rankings a bit and puts a huge question mark on the GOAT career of Emelianenko. Fabricio Werdum remains at the top, but a loss to Overeem in the next leg of the Strikeforce tournament will move him down the rankings. This list was put together by our friends over at RantMMA.com . Feel free to let us know what you think in the comments section.

10. Roy Nelson
Nelson enters the list as the UFC’s top heavyweight outside the big 5.

9. Fedor Emelianenko
Fedor seems closer to retiring than ever, suffering a devastating loss to Antonio Silva. With 2 losses in less than a year compared to 1 (illegitimate loss) in nearly 10 years, Fedor continues to hint at retiring.

8. Frank Mir
Many were not impressed with Mir’s recent battle with Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic. However, Mir remains one of the top UFC heavyweights with his only losses coming to those ranked above him.

7. Alistair Overeem (“Demolition Man”)
Overeem now holds 3 world titles and is one of the favourites in the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament. If he wins it all, it will go a long way to settling whether he is overrated.

6. Shane Carwin
Carwin remains on the shelf and is slated to return this summer.

5. Junior dos Santos (“Cigano”)
Instead of waiting for Cain to recover, JDS is coaching TUF and fighting Brock at the end.

4. Brock Lesnar
After getting handled by Cain Velasquez, Lesnar drops out of the top 3. After many rumours about his status, Lesnar will fight Junior dos Santos after filming TUF.

3. Antonio Silva (“Bigfoot”)
Silva put the legendary Fedor Ememlianenko closer to retirement with a doctor stoppage in Strikeforce’s heavyweight tournament.

2. Cain Velasquez
A dominating win over Brock Lesnar puts Velasquez into the #2 spot. Unfortunately, an injury puts him on the shelf for quite some time.

1. Fabricio Werdum (“Vai Cavalo”)
To be the man, you have to beat the man. And Werdum beat the man, handing Fedor Emelianenko his first legitimate loss of the Russian’s MMA career. He’ll take on Alistair Overeem in the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament quarterfinals later this year.

**Note:
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira drops from the top 10 due to inactivity.

Gina Carano Is Ready To Make A Comeback

After a very long hiatus from the fight game, the face of the female MMA fight world Gina Carano, is ready to make a long awaited return. Carano has not fought since her title loss to Cris “Cyborg” Santos in August of 2009, but is back in training and ready for her next opponent in Strikeforce.

Carano was off exploring a different career path in acting during her time off and her film, “Haywire”, is scheduled for release sometime in 2011. For the time being, check out these photos of the hottest fighter on the planet.

The End Of Fedor

The Strikeforce : Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament kicked off with a bang last night, seeing Fedor Emelianenko suffering a second straight loss. This loss came at the hands of Antonio “Big Foot” Silva by TKO due to doctor stoppage at the end of the second round. Not long after the fight, Fedor questioned retirement from MMA , saying it is probably time for him to move on from the sport.

Whether Fedor is serious about retirement or not is still up in the air, but one thing is for sure, he is a bonafide hall of famer in MMA, having accomplished so much by defeating some of the toughest guys MMA has produced. MMA has evolved tremendously since Fedor’s days, but he will always be considered one of the best to ever step into MMA. Check out Fedor’s loss to Silva below:

Strikeforce: Heavyweight Grand Prix Preview

The first leg of the Strikeforce : Heavyweight Grand Prix is a couple of short days away and what better way to prepare you for the highly anticipated event then to show you some preview videos of the event.

Watch Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Betting Odds on RawVegas.tv

Strikeforce Heavyweights Doing Promo In New York

The Strikeforce Heavyweights were in New York today doing a bit of promotional work hyping up the first leg of their Heavyweight tournament. Even though Saturday’s MMA event will only feature four of the eight competitors in the tournament, all were present to the delight of the many fans in attendance. Saturday’s first leg of the tournament will feature Fedor Emelianenko against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in the main event with Andrei Arlovski taking on Sergei Kharitonov in the co-main event. The other first rounders will take place in April. Here’s some raw footage of the event with a huge ovation for Fedor Emilanenko.

Steven Seagal: Master Of The Front Kick

After Anderson Silva credited Steven Seagal with teaching him the front kick, Mr. Seagal has been absolutely milking it for all it’s worth. Seagal will tell anyone willing to listen, the whole entire back story of the front kick and how he learned it 40, 35 or 30 years ago (he just can’t seem to make up his mind on when he actually learned it himself) and spent a whole chunk of time “perfecting” it. It’s pretty funny actually, and if you watch Ariel Helwani’s interview with Seagal, he seriously looks like he’s about to front kick those chef’s creeping up on him (bad memories from “ Under Siege ” I suppose).

And if you have some time, here’s Seagal teaching Silva some moves

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