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The Top 15 MMA Fighters in the World
July 18th, 2008 by Bobby Deren
It’s time to countdown the top 15 fighters in the sport of mixed martial arts. We grouped in the best fighters from all different divisions and all different organizations to compile the list of the top 15 fighters in the world. There will be some surprises and some guarantees as MMAcrunch brings you the latest list featuring the best of the best.
15. Lyoto Machida
Machida has yet to lose a professional fight and is coming off a unanimous victory over the legendary Tito Ortiz. He needs to snare a few more quality victories before he can rise through the ranks. Saturday night’s match-up against Thiago Silva is a good start. In the crowded light heavyweight division of the UFC, Machida has his work cut out for him.
14. Paulo Filho
No fighter has gone the distance with Filho in his last nine fights. He currently boasts a 16-0 record as the WEC Middleweight champion. Thus far in his career, Filho has steamrolled over the competition, although that competition will need to get better if he hopes to continue his rise. Filho’s next opponent is Chael Sonnen, not exactly a household name.
13. Mauricio Rua
All of the sudden, Rua’s previous loss to Forrest Griffin doesn’t seem so bad. Injury has currently sidelined Rua as it looks as though he won’t return to the octagon until December at best. Now, Rua’s past victory over Quinton Jackson seems like a distant memory. Coming back from injury, Rua will have to re-establish himself in the high competitive UFC light heavyweight division.
12. Miguel Torres
We can’t compile such a list without a Bantamweight fighter from the WEC. In that division, there is none better than Miguel Torres. Torres is the true definition of warrior and hasn’t lost a bout since 2003. His impressive 34-1 record compels him to rank among the very best in the sport of mixed martial arts. A Torres-Faber showdown would be huge for the WEC, if Torres decides to bump up in class in the future.
11. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
While Nogueira has dropped two out of his last four fights, he still remains a very dangerous fighter. The Brazilian Jiu-jitsu artist is capable of beating anyone on any given night. Nogueira will likely make Edwin Dewees his next victim at Affliction: Banned, And if he stays with Affliction, he could emerge as one of the organization’s top fighters.
10. Quinton Jackson
What a difference a couple of weeks makes. Jackson has gone from one of the top fighters in the UFC to a man struggling to maintain his sanity. While he is still a very formidable fighter, one has to question how the past week’s events will affect his future. Jackson will have more to overcome quite a bit on his way back to the top of the light heavyweight division.
9. Chuck Liddell
Liddell is now in the driver’s seat as far as getting a shot at the UFC light heavyweight championship. If he can get past Rashad Evans, he will likely earn the right to take on Forrest Griffin. Notwithstanding his troubles against Rampage Jackson, Liddell has pretty much had his way with the light heavyweight division. If Jackson is out of the picture for a bit, it could bode well for Liddell.
8. Jon Fitch
The opportunity to climb up to the top of the list awaits Fitch as a date with Georges St. Pierre is less than a month away. Fitch is quite a stranger to defeat, not having lost since 2003. He’ll bring in a string of 14 straight victories and an undefeated UFC record when he faces GSP. For Fitch, there won’t be a more golden opportunity to thrust his name atop of the UFC.
7. Urijah Faber
All Faber seems to do is dominate every opponent that faces him. He owns a 16-1 record and hasn’t really been challenged as of late. Jens Pulver did an adequate job of just being able to finish the fight. In that fight, Faber showed a more complete game and tattooed Pulver when the two were not on the mat. Faber’s reign has the potential to be long lived.
6. Forrest Griffin
There has been no fighter whose stock is rising more rapidly. Griffin validated his worth when he dismantled Rampage Jackson, giving him two very impressive victories in a row. Now, the light heavyweights must stand in line for the chance to test Griffin. However, they must bring everything they have as Griffin has proven he can not only dish out pain, but he can also take his lumps.
5. Randy Couture
The bad blood between Couture and the UFC is no secret. It has put his career into a standstill, however Couture still has to be recognized as a dangerous fighter. Until these squabbles can be resolved and until someone defeats the current UFC Heavyweight champion, he still has to be considered among the best in the sport, regardless of where he winds up fighting.
4. BJ Penn
At this point, Penn is arguably the best lightweight in the sport of mixed martial arts. He has settled in nicely and reeled off three straight quality wins over high caliber opponents. Avenging his last loss to Matt Hughes may not even be in the cards for Penn as of now. For the time being, he is the man to beat in the UFC lightweight division. Every top contender now seems to jockeying for the chance to square off against Penn.
3. Anderson Silva
Making the jump to the light heavyweight division could enable Silva to become the best fighter in the game. He has run through the ranks of the middleweight division but will have a stiffer challenge as the competition among the light heavys is ferocious. He’ll get his start this weekend while hoping to provide more evidence as to why he should be considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Anderson Silva Highlights:
2. Fedor Emelianenko
He still can’t speak English, but Fedor can sure fight. He’ll get the chance to show his dominance once more against Tim Sylvia at Affliction: Banned. Fedor hasn’t lost since the turn of the century and remains one of the most feared fighters in the sport. Yet, until he fights in the sport’s most elite organization, he still cannot be considered the best.
Fedor Emelianenko Highlights:
1. Georges St. Pierre
GSP is at the top of his game right now. His list of casualties keeps getting more impressive and he will hope to add Jon Fitch to that list next month. The UFC Welterweight champion has a complete, all-around game and his training has only intensified in recent months. For anyone to dethrone GSP, they will have to be at their absolute best. As of now, St.Pierre is the best of the best in the sport of mixed martial arts.
Georges St. Pierre Highlights:
July 20th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
You put Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at #11 and said he will be fighting at the Affliction show, but that is actually his brother (Antonio ROGERIO Nogueira) fighting at Affliction. So I’m not sure if you meant ROGERIO or RODRIGO. And if you did mean ROGERIO from Affliction, how could you not put RODRIGO in your top 15. He is the UFC heavyweight champ. In other words I think you’re thinking of the wrong Nogueira brother.
July 21st, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Adam - fixed.
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:31 am
its obvious the author doesn’t know about foreign fighters
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:31 am
No offense, but not having Big Nog in the list at all, while having his brother ranked speaks volumes of your MMA knowledge. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is the Interim UFC HW champ, was a long standing HW champ in Pride, has never been submitted or knocked out, and has only lost to 3 elite fighters, and only Fedor has a unanimous decision against him.
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:37 am
Bro GSP over Fedor are you crazy? And whats Bj.Penn doing at 4 the list should go as followed Fedor, Anderson, BJ, then GSP did you not see GSP get knocked out by Matt Serra or his controversial win against the prodigy and where is Kid? Not bad but false everybody knows Fedor > Everything.
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:40 am
Randy Couture is in his 40s and still has it. Couture vs Tim Silvia, what a fantastic fight! Randy is still wearing that belt as far as I’m concerned.
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:41 am
you say “Saturday night’s match-up against Thiago Silva is a good start.” Saturday three months from now you mean. Also you dont even have Gomi in there, but you have jon fitch?
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:42 am
Anderson Silva #3?! Are you kidding me? He owns the #1 spot. No other man in MMA has the spirit, the willpower, charisma, The class. He’s fluid with his strikes it’s like second nature to him. It’s like watching violent ballet. This top 15 is only based rank I believe. If this was about the fighters there would be no argument, silva would be #1. That is all.
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:49 am
You are obviously a casual, lightweight MMA fan. Not having Fedor #1 makes that pretty apparent. What, you’re going to put a guy who lost his first title defense against Matt Serra ABOVE a guy who has only lost once, and that being due to his eye being cut? Get serious. Any average forum poster on Sherdog.com knows about 10X more than you.
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:50 am
ughh yeah… dumb.
Fedor is #1. Then Anderson, BJ and GSP. Fedor only ever lost once because of a cut.. give me a break..
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:53 am
ufc fighters are class c fighters look up pride fights and then come back
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:59 am
shouldn’t Quintin be ahead of Lidell? he always beats up Lidell (not very important).
All of the MMA fighters are extremely talented so it really hard to rank them even when some of them should share the same rank.
Also doesn’t Frank Shamrock fight? Last i heard he was really good too, but he’s not on the list.
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:01 am
to put GSP at number 1 is ridiculous especially because anderson silva is widely known as the best pound for pound fighter in the world. Fedor also should rank higher. you should actually put time into researching the subject before writing next time.
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:12 am
That is correct Fedor > everybody. His loss isnt really even a loss as far as im concerned, anyone can get cut. Anderson and fedor are the two best IMO
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:13 am
everyone knows that fedor is the best .. just beat up tim silvia in 42 sec .. no one .. i mean no one can take out fedor at this moment !!!
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:15 am
Definitely some great fighters on the list. I don’t know if you meant for the ordering to represent their skills, I find it hard to compare fighters in different weight classes.
But as far as just the Top 15 (w/o ordering), it seems to be a very valid list.
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:29 am
Uhh… Yeah GSP lost to Matt Serra. Sure, he didn’t take him seriously, but that’s what separates GSP from Fedor. Fedor is a cyborg sent from God who destroys everything in his path even on a bad day. GSP is a Canadian who lost to a worthless kid from New England with a Napoleon complex. Think about it.
And oh yeah Anderson Silva wins every fight he fights convincingly. To illustrate the point:
When GSP fought BJ, GSP spent the night they fought in a hospital. Meanwhile BJ was out at bars partying. It was a win, a very close win, on the judge’s scorecards only.
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:53 am
wtf about Fedor not speaking english? what is that have to do with anything? learn russian…
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:55 am
Uhm, how is it that Big Nog isnt on this list? you do realize he probably has one of the best records in MMA right? you do realize the only reason he hasnt been ranked the #1 HW for the last several years is because of Fedor right? he should be above couture, for christs sake.
not to take anything away from lil Nog, but hes barely considered top 10 most of the time, sometimes not at all.
there are plenty of other things wrong with this list, but making that big of a mistake invalidates it entirely
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:56 am
Bruce Lee would put them all to shame. None of them are Martial Artists. They are fighters. Bruce was a martial Artists. The rest of these guys are the complete opposite of the Arts. They defy all that the Martial Arts is.
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:00 am
matt sierra vs #1 http://youtube.com/watch?v=ETa3k4-uoe4
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:13 am
Fedor should definitely be number one. At Affliction: Banned, he took out sylvia in thirty six seconds. hellllloooooo.
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:15 am
Without question Fedor Emelianenko number 1 due to the fact none of the fighters listed have dominated with such a presence and ease over time and where is rickson gracie? if not one of the most skilled fighters ever with a record to proove it.
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:21 am
This list sucks. Sorry.
1. Fedor/Silva
2. Fedor/Silva
3. GSP/Penn
4. GSP/Penn
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:35 am
Fedor Is a clear number one unlike everyone else on the list he has never lost, NEVER. He was forced to take a no contest in tournament because he was cut in the fight before just like eddie alvarez had to due last night in DREAM 5. GSP got knocked out by Matt Serra and submitted by matt hughes.
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:42 am
Wow, that is one messed up list..
July 22nd, 2008 at 3:20 am
Fedor #1 for sure, then silva. what kind of fantasy list is this? F. Shamrock? not any more dude.If you’d consider him, then you’d have to put in Kung lee too. just like boxing. only the top 3 or 4 make much sense. everyone else can be switched all over the place. Fedor has my vote 100%.
July 22nd, 2008 at 3:34 am
for the guy who through in bruce lee. sorry dude…. he was a pioneer, but what you saw was movie stunts. the light weight guys would take him out fast these days. martial arts have moved on. this new breed is way beyond the pioneers. even i know it and i’ve bee deep in the arts and contact side for almost 40 years. at my best, when i started kickboxing in 75′and went undefeated for years, this new breed would rip me up. sometimes we just have to admit the way things are and move on. these kids are excellent martial artists and in way better shape then most of their predecessors. are all the kicks and punches beautiful? no…. but extremely effective. drop the white night kung fu fantasies and move on. the arts have changed forever. no more BS masters. now it’s be real or shut your lying face. a lot of people spent a lot of money over the years on pretty weak martial arts classes and learned some great flips and jump kicks. got ripped off. these new guys are 100% real.
July 22nd, 2008 at 4:16 am
This list is actually decent, but I disagree on a few points. Here’s my list:
Best MMA Fighters, Pound for Pound
1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Fedor Emelianenko
3. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
4. Lyoto Machida
5. BJ Penn
6. Wanderlei Silva
7. Anderson Silva
8. Urijah Faber
9. Yoshihiro Akiyama
10. Quinton Jackson
I think it should look something like that, obviously things can be moved around, and a lot of people would disagree with Machida being so high, Anderson being a little low, and Akiyama?… but I think this list is fairly solid as to who you should be talking about in the p4p conversation. Forrest’s name should not be brought up, neither should Randy Couture’s. Besides those two, and the Rogerio pick, (was there some confusion?) this list looks pretty good to me, I especially agree with the top two.
July 22nd, 2008 at 6:00 am
no.1-fedor
no.2-randy
no.3-minotauro
no.4-wanderlei silva
no.5-crocop
after demolishing sylvia,maybe people would start understanding how good fedor really is…and any mma top fighters without crocop or wand is just a joke…
July 22nd, 2008 at 6:11 am
fedor should be number one and after that the cro-cop
July 22nd, 2008 at 6:26 am
um, maybe go back to watching WWE or WWF or whatever they call it nowadays
July 22nd, 2008 at 6:39 am
This list should get armbarred.
July 22nd, 2008 at 6:53 am
Mirko Cro Cop
:))
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:31 am
Forrest “dismantled” Rampage? That’s funny.
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:38 am
Cro Cop definitely deserves a place on this list
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:05 am
hahaha everyone is sad about the list!
Go GSP!!
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:10 am
1: Fedor
2-infinity: Everyone else.
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:48 am
That’s a pretty messed up list man.
J/K Lyoto Machida
Top 5 should be:
1 - Fedor
2 - Anderson Silva
3 - BJ Penn
4 - GSP
5 - Kimbo Slice….
You managed to mkae me laugh with some of your coments though, so thanks.
Forrest “dismantling” rampage. Fedor not speaking english and not fighting in the most “elite” organization, hahaha, he’d have any UFC fighter for breakfast and pick his teeth with the bones of the next challenger in line. Even though Randy is one of my favorite fighters, he’s way too high.
Nie try though.
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:20 am
Did you just start watching MMA last week? GSP at #1? Not a single Japanese fighter on the list? Sad man….just sad.
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:51 am
@NoobishReporting…
No doubt. I am sick of the warped unbalanced view of MMA here in the states. Where the falk is Kid? Falking Kimbo Slice has a better chance of making this list than anybody fighting in Dream or Affliction. Sadness.
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:15 am
Takanori Gomi? Did that name just slip through? Jon Fitch and Lyoto Machida don’t make the list, they have not beaten anyone worth a crap. To say that Fedor is not fighting in the most elite organization is a serious mistake. The UFC may be the greediest the most arrogant and the least liked organization by fighters but the most elite it is not. Fedor does not want to fight in the UFC because the contract he was offered was unacceptable for a fighter considered world wide as the best. If you want to see a truly elite organization watch Dream on HDNet. The list is as follows:
1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Randy Couture
3. Anderson Silva
4. Georges St. Pierre
5. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
6. Quinton Jackson
7. BJ Penn
8. Chuck Liddel
9. Forrest Griffin
10. Urijah Faber
11. Mauricio Rua
12. Frank Shamrock
13. Takanori Gomi
14. Hayato Sakurai
15a. Joachim Hansen
15b. Shinya Aoki
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:19 am
“Yet, until he fights in the sport’s most elite organization, he still cannot be considered the best.” You are a rookie. An ounce of familiarity with the sport would tell you that UFC’s heavyweight division is paper thin and it’s champion is a man Fedor destroyed convincingly TWICE! If it’s division is so elite, why did you omit Rodrigo Noguiera? Bobby Deren, I’m going to remember your name as someone who likes to state his opinion without regard to being informed.
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:21 am
Who ever said Cro Cop hasnt been watching mma for awhile now. Cro Cop never wins anymore.
i agree with what a lot of ppl have been saying.
1 Fedor/Silva
2 Fedor/Silva
3 Penn
4 GSP
who is this author? worst top 15 list i have ever seen.
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:39 am
Fedor is NOT #1, Couture would destroy him.
Anderson clearly proved he was the best pound for pound fighter on Saturday.
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Really? No one wants to mention Carlos Condit, the current Welterweight champ? Maybe it’s too early for him to be on the list, but his record is impressive, and if you watch this guy fight you’ll understand.
He’s a BEAST.
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:46 pm
I’m not goint to bash the list much because everyone always does that to lists. This list is some what right concerning north american fighters. But what about
1. Rashad Evans? He has 16 fights and and never lost one yet.
2. Randy Couture would beat Fedor
3. Even though I’m happy to see GSP at number 1 and even though he’s my favorite fighter of all time…Anderson Silva should be #1.
4. You guys talking about Mirco Krokop dont know anything. He as a wicked kick and is a stand up guy but he also has a glass jaw. Everytime he goes down, he goes down the same way.
5. Thank you for not putting Kimbo “The Tapper” Slice on this list.
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Kimbo did indeed tap…loser.
July 22nd, 2008 at 3:19 pm
All these guys saying that UFC figthers are second rate should take a look at all the drugs used in the asian leagues - wether its steroids, hormone therapies or HGH. It’s rampant and un-regulated - its why guys like Cro-Cop did so well in Pride and suffered so quickly after their rehab breaks prior to showing up to the ufc.
July 22nd, 2008 at 3:21 pm
AS big a fan as I am of GSP, his fall / and re-rise weren’t against fitting opponents (serra and hughes are has-beens). When he successfully defends the belt against a guy with the caliber of Fitch it will be a lock. Until then, questionable.
July 22nd, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Fedor is #1 in the world now. Rampage should be ahead of Chuck. Nogueira is too low, and Randy is too high. Fitch is also too high.
Sorry. The list is inaccurate.
July 22nd, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Fedor for sure is number 1 on the list. An like others said you def have the wrong Nog in there. Silva easily the second best, and if he fights a few more quality fighters he could even surpass Fedor eventually.
http://www.wiinjamod.com
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Fedor may not have fought in the world’s most famous organizations but he sure have beaten some of their most famous fighters. This should not prevent him from being dubbed the #1 MMA fighter.
July 23rd, 2008 at 6:18 pm
FEDOR
GSP
ANDERSON SILVA
BJ PENN
ENOUGH WIT THE DISCUSSION EVERYONE ELSE IS MOVABLE
July 27th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Fedor is the best MMA fighter of all time, you seem to think that UFC is the best organization , but this guy have beaten every champs except Couture who would have lost against him anyway. Only a powerful striker could beat him with a lucky punch, no grappling, no ground and pound could defeat him. Pride had the best heavyweight fighters. He beat them all.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:05 am
Oh, I forgot to mention Chuck Norris, just throw him in their somewhere.
August 10th, 2008 at 2:36 am
REGGIE WARREN JR IS NUMBER 1 IN MY EYES
August 11th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Fedor or Silva obviously should hold the #1 spot. Fedor is the most successful fighter the MMA world has ever seen, and Silva has evolved into the most methodical fighter in MMA history. To compare these two is extemely difficult. Fedor fans focus strictly on his unprecedented record, while Silva fans seem to only watch the UFC. Look at both fighters NOW. Silva and Fedor are in a league of their own, clearly. While Fedor has a much more impressive history, Silva has been much more impressive recently/currently when considering the higher level of competition he has torn apart. I truly could not even begin to compare these two NOW, and most that have are way too biased to do so with any objectivity.
August 15th, 2008 at 12:35 am
you are missing the best fighter of all time
BRUCE LEROY watch the last dragon
August 16th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Not having Rodrigo Nogueira on this list clearly indicates that the entire list was written by a clueless hack. He holds the best MMA record over the most top ten fighters in the world in any division. He has never been knocked out or submitted. He has never been ranked below #3 in his division. Why don’t u put sean gannon and kimbo slice in there as well?
August 19th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
This list is ridiculous. Most of these guys can’t even touch Royce Gracie
September 1st, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Ur fuckin crazy. Fedor # 1