MMA Pound for Pound Rankings

By E. Spencer Kyte
Love of Sports Correspondent

Turning of the calendar page means another installment of TLOS Pound for Pound MMA Rankings.

Before we get there, though, some insight onto the methods behind my madness, not that anyone in particular was asking how I come to the conclusions I do.

The easiest way for me to explain things is this:

1. Much like the BCS, strength of schedule counts. While Anderson Silva made like The Governator and kicked the bejesus out of “The Predator,” he still stands behind Georges St. Pierre, whose performance against Jon Fitch was far more impressive than “The Spider” showed against Patrick Cote.

2. You don’t fight, you don’t get ranked, simple as that. Randy Couture’s undoubtedly one of the best pound for pound practitioners in the business when he’s inside The Octagon. Problem is, he hasn’t set foot inside The Octagon since August 2007. Same rules apply to Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto.

3. After those other two, it all comes down to personal preferences.

On with the show!

MMA Pound for Pound Rankings

1. Georges St. Pierre

“Rush” still stands at the top of the heap, primarily for the reason already mentioned above. The secondary reason would fall to #3 – he’s Canadian, I’m Canadian.

2. Anderson Silva

What else is there for this man to do? Regardless of how uninspiring his win at UFC 90 may have been, he’s still won eight fights in a row and doesn’t have a challenger at 185. Maybe Dana White should stop being critical of him and give him the dream fight against Chuck Liddell he’s been asking for.

3. Fedor Emelianenko

The more I think about “The Last Emperor” and his destruction of Tim Sylvia at “Affliction: Banned,” the more I think he deserves top billing on this list. As the fine folks at Fighter! magazine so intelligently said it, Emelianenko did to Sylvia in 36 seconds what it took Randy Couture five rounds to accomplish.

4. B.J. Penn

Personally, I really would’ve liked to see “The Prodigy” take another fight in between waiting for GSP in early-ish 2009. Kenny Florian was willing and waiting, but that’s just the fight fan in me complaining. A win over GSP would not only avenge an earlier loss, but also send Penn to the top of this chart.

5. Urijah Faber

Hurricane Ike could only delay Michael Thomas Brown’s destiny to be added to the roll call of challengers disposed of by “The California Kid.” Words can’t explain how much I’d love to see Faber tack on five or 10 pounds, move up to lightweight and really show if he’s as good as we think he is or simply the big fish in a shallow featherweight pool.

6. Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera

As much as I love watching “The Ultimate Fighter,” I can’t wait for this season to end. Why? Because the finale will feature “Minotauro” running through Frank Mir like a hot knife through butter and position him for a title unification bout next year.

7. Miguel Torres

Anyone who questions how talented Torres is will get their answer in December when he takes on the undefeated Manny “The Mangler” Tapia. A win cements his standing in these rankings.

8. Forrest Griffin

The 205 level’s arguably the best class in MMA. The talent’s unquestionable. Griffin’s the top dog of the top division in MMA. That’s all you need to know.

9. Takanori Gomi

Like I said the first time around, you need to see “The Fireball Kid” to appreciate him. That being said, I could really appreciate seeing Gomi in a rematch with Nick Diaz, whose scored an upset victory over him in February ’07 that was declared a no contest after Diaz tested positive for marijuana.

10. Thiago Alves

St. Pierre better have been paying attention to UFC 90, because his next challenger for the welterweight title absolutely annihilated Josh Koscheck, a talented fighter in his own regard. Alves is the complete package, and if his making weight issues are behind him, the future’s ridiculously bright for the American Top Team student.