The Cage Doctors » Pound for Pound

The Interns MMA Pound for Pound Rankings: May 2011

Dr. T — Mon, 09 May 2011 13:00:44 +0000

Anderson Silva

May 9, 2011 – Jason Munch

This is the Interns first ever Pound for Pound list. Since this is the beginning, there are no falling has-beens on the list, without a previous list I have no reason to justify leaving out someone like Shogun Rua. This allowed me to ignore fighters such as Rampage, BJ Penn and Brock Lesnar that in the last two years have slowly made the fall from devastating to pedestrian. One heavyweight makes the list despite the popular belief that heavyweights have no business in pound for pound rankings.

Jake Ellenberger

10. Jake Ellenberger
Since his UFC debut loss to Carlos Condit, a loss that had some wondering how the ref allowed Condit to get to the second round, Ellenberger has won his last four fights, including wins over Mike Pyle and John Howard. His last win was his most impressive, as he showed the world just how out of his league Sean Pierson was in the UFC. Knocking him out at 2:42 of the first round, Ellenberger let the rest of the division know that he is coming, and in full force.

Gray Maynard

9. Gray Maynard
Maynard is the only man to beat lightweight champ Frankie Edgar and the first round during their second fight was one of the greatest rounds in recent memory that did not end in a stoppage of some sort. During that fight he made it clear that he is not happy with his reputation as being the guy that goes the distance no matter what. The problem was once he smelled blood he followed up by throwing nothing but haymakers and emptied his tank, a big problem in a five round championship fight.

Frankie Edgar

8. Frankie Edgar
It was very hard to choose between Edgar and Gray Maynard after the New Years Day bought between the two. The edge has to be given to Edgar. After he was beaten beyond belief in a one sided first round, Edgar found the heart and courage to come back and out point Maynard the rest of the way to earn the draw and keep his belt. The biggest surprise of the bout was Edgar’s takedowns of elite wrestler Maynard, while Maynard could not take the smaller Edgar down. While Maynard showed signs of life throughout the fight, it wasn’t enough as Edgar continued to press forward and force the action.

Dominick Cruz

7. Dominick Cruz
Facing the only man that has ever beat him at UFC 132, a Cruz win will cement him as the man in the UFC’s smallest division. Looking to avenge his only loss, four years ago to Urijah Faber, a win will prove Cruz is one of the elite pound for pound fighters. Look for this rematch to be one of the most exciting fights of the year.

Nick Diaz

6. Nick Diaz
Nick Diaz surprised everyone when he decided to come out and bang with Paul Daley, one of the hardest hitters in the game. But bang he did, and after 4:57 seconds of pure excitement it was Daley on the ground while Nick continued to celebrate his dominance over the Strikeforce welterweight division. Often knocked for his questionable head and a lack of solid competition, Diaz is exactly the kind of fighter that could give GSP a hard time. Look for Dana to find a way to match this natural villain up against GSP in the near future, possibly the last and hardest obstacle for GSP before he has no choice but to move on from Welterweight.

Jose Aldo

5. Jose Aldo
Through four rounds on April 30 Aldo showed why many people have him in the top three Pound for Pound fighter lists. Then the fifth round came, and the previously superhuman Aldo came crashing down to earth. In fact, if Hominick had been able to pass guard, Aldo might have been the victim of the greatest upset since Matt Serra shocked GSP. A possible meeting with Kenny Florian down the road should further test Aldos tank, and allow us to find out if it really was sickness that emptied that gas tank. However, Aldo’s next challenge may very well be Chad Mendes.

Jon Jones

4. Jon Jones
Yes, he is young. Yes, he has only one or maybe two wins against elite level talent. He may even have been a little gassed at the end of the Shogun fight. But while others have been able to beat Shogun in recent years, Jones made him look like an amateur. That’s an amazing feat when you consider Shogun has beaten a who’s who of Pride heavyweights in his career, and is still only 29 years old. On top of that, Jones is finishing everyone Joe Silva puts in front of him. With Jones’ recent injury it may be quite a few months before he gets back to action.

Cain Velasquez

3. Cain Velasquez
While he has been on the shelf for a while now, he is still the man that made a human out of the mighty Brock Lesnar and proved that heavyweights need to be as well rounded as every other division. A possible upcoming bout with Junior Dos Santos could provide a stand up war that could go down in history. A rematch with Brock however will most likely yield the same result: a smaller MMA fighter with a legitimate background taking care of a hulk of a man that cowers as soon as he is punched in the face.

Georges St. Pierre

2. Georges St Pierre
Easily handled Jake Shields, despite only one good eye. Although the fight was one of the least interesting of the night during the Toronto extravaganza, Rush was never in trouble. Critics who complain that he doesn’t finish fights should talk to Josh Koshcheck. While Kos may have made the final bell, he did so completely on heart and his orbital bone was so badly broken he will miss at least a full year of competition. Nick Diaz must be given a shot before GSP has truly cleaned out the division.

Anderson Silva

1. Anderson Silva
He destroyed Vitor Belfort in 3:25, and the length of the Chael Sonnen fight is better understood after watching ‘Like Water’ and seeing the Spider tell the camera that he was going to submit him. A fighter confident enough to take a beating for four rounds because he knew he could catch his opponent and defend his trainers name as well as his entire camp is a fighter with no real peers. If he gets past Okami it will certainly be time to test his abilities elsewhere; GSP or a move up will be necessary.

MMA Pound For Pound Rankings

Matt — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 16:02:58 +0000

January 16, 2010 – Dr. Americana

The Cage Doctors present their top 10 pound for pound fighter rankings for January.

Fedor Emelianenko

Once again the discussion for the best mixed martial artist in the world starts and ends with “The Last Emperor”. Fight fans are jonesing to see what’s next for Fedor, likely an April bout to be televised on CBS.

Georges St. Pierre

Next up for GSP: Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy at UFC 111. Hardy may pose the biggest threat yet to GSP. As we said in our last rankings, Hardy arguably has more power than anyone GSP has fought to date.

Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva hasn’t lost since 2005 and he is 10-0 since coming to the UFC. The UFC middleweight champion will defend his title against Vitor Belfort at UFC 112 on April 10th in Abu Dhabi.

B.J. Penn

BJ proved once again that no one can touch him in the lightweight division. He’s gone unbeaten at 155 for nearly 8 years. Next up for Penn is Frankie Edgar.

Lyoto Machida

Arguably, Machida may have been gifted a win by the judges in his fight with Shogun Rua, but the man’s still the champ and he is still undefeated at 16-0. Next up: expected to defend title at UFC 113 against Shogun Rua.

Jose Aldo

Aldo beat Mike Brown to win the WEC Featherweight title and hasn’t lost in about 4 years. He has an amazing combination of speed, power and creativity. Next up: Aldo gets to face a rejuvenated and healthy Urijah Faber in his first title defense.

Shogun Rua

Rua reclaimed his stake in the pound for pound rankings with his brilliant performance against Lyoto Machida. Clearly Rua is the #2 LHW fighter in the world, and some will make the case that he is the #1. Next up: expected to headline UFC 113 at the Bell Centre against Machida.

Brock Lesnar

Word is that Lesnar will returning to the cage sooner than expected, likely to face the winner of Mir/Carwin. An announcement is expected shortly and it we wish the champ well. It’s good to hear he is almost back.

Vitor Belfort

“The Phenom” last lost all the wayback at Pride 32. His destruction of Rich Franklin and his upcoming title fight vault him into the P4P top 10. Next up: a shot at the middleweight title against Anderson “The Spider” Silva at UFC 112 on April 10th in Abu Dhabi.

Gegard Mousasi

Mousasi disrpatched Gary Goodridge at Dynamite 2009 and is now rumored to be fighting Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal at Strikeforce’s next CBS event, likely in April. He remains the Strikeforce LHW champion.

Rounding out the top 25, in random order: Dan Henderson, Shinya Aoki, Shane Carwin, Brian Bowles, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Alistair Overeem, Nate Marquardt, Josh Koscheck, Mike Brown, Cain Velasquez, Urijah Faber, Frank Mir, Miguel Torres, Junior Dos Santos, Jon Fitch.

Pound For Pound MMA Fighter Rankings

Matt — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:20:53 +0000

November 23, 2009 – Dr. Americana

The Cage Doctors present their top 10 pound for pound fighter rankings for November.

Fedor Emelianenko

The discussion for the best mixed martial artist in the world starts and ends with “The Last Emperor”. Fedor added another “giant slaying” to his book with the TKO of Brett Rogers at Strikeforce in Chicago. Fight fans can’t wait to see what’s next for Fedor.

Georges St. Pierre

GSP takes all comers. His last 6 fights (also wins): Alves, Penn, Fitch, Serra, Hughes, Koscheck. Next up for GSP: Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy. Hardy may pose the biggest threat yet to GSP. Arguably, Hardy has more power than anyone GSP has fought to date.

Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva hasn’t lost since 2005 and he is 10-0 since coming to the UFC. Silva is expected to take on Vitor Belfort at UFC 109 in February, but his recovery from elbow surgery hasn’t gone according to plan.

B.J. Penn

BJ may not be able to beat GSP, but no one can touch him in the lightweight division. He’s gone unbeaten at 155 for nearly 8 years. Will that change on December 12th when he fights Diego Sanchez? We’ll see.

Lyoto Machida

Machida may have been gifted a win by the judges in his fight with Shogun Rua, but the man’s still the champ and he is still undefeated at 16-0.

Jose Aldo

Aldo just beat Mike Brown to win the WEC Featherweight title and hasn’t lost in about 4 years. He has an amazing combination of speed, power and creativity in his arsenal. Don’t be surprised if Aldo keeps moving up this list all the way to the top.

Shogun Rua

Brock Lesnar

Lesnar is battling illness instead of other heavyweights, but he is still the UFC heavyweight champ and deserving of inclusion on the list. The only things he has working against him is inactivity and his small number of fights in his pro career.

Cain Velasquez

Cain Velasquez made Ben Rothwell look like an easy mark in their UFC 104 fight. His complete destruction of the respected vet moved Velasquez to 7-0 and if you didn’t know it then you know it now: Velasquez is for real. And he’s only getting better.

Gegard Mousasi

Mousasi had a bit more trouble with Sokodjou than many expected, but he still got the TKO via punches in round 2. He dominated his way through DREAM and is 2-0 in Strikeforce. He’s also a seasoned vet with 30 fights on his resume.

The next 10, in random order: Shane Carwin, Brian Bowles, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Alistair Overeem, Nate Marquardt, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Diego Sanchez, Mike Brown, Vitor Belfort