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Originally Posted by Zakuraba
You know what, I'll take your guys advice and not post LHW til last. Don't want the Shogun supporters or Chuck campaigners to destroy my thread.
MW:
1. Anderson Silva - Although there are a LOT of people who can make claims for this spot, I see Anderson Silva as the most logical candidate. He is the UFC MW champ, so that HAS to count for something. He destroyed Rich Franklin and has just beaten Travis Lutter impressively, so no matter what, he is definitely at least Top 3. The other people who could make claims for this spot are Dan Henderson, Paulo Filho, and to a lesser extent Matt Lindland. Henderson has lost recently, and Filho and Lindland do not hold belts.
2. Dan Henderson - Why do I have Henderson behind Silva? Because despite both of them being 185 champs in the two biggest organizations in the world, HENDERSON HAS LOST, to Misaki. This is the biggest reason for my placing Silva over him. Had he not lost to Misaki, I would rank him above Silva. Also, MANY PEOPLE consider Henderson # 1 SOLELY because he KO'ed Silva. Despite inclination, it does NOT make any sense to rank someone for a win in a DIFFERENT weight class, no matter HOW impressive it is. The duality of Henderson fighting at 2 weights causes people to lump his accomplishments together as a whole, instead of more logically taking them for what they are worth in their respective division. Even with the Misaki loss, I would not be against a ranking with Henderson above Silva.
3. Paulo Filho - Although he is ranked # 3, does not mean he could not BE # 1. Again, the ONLY reasons Silva and Henderson are above him are their titles. Filho actually has the more impressive wins, and I actually believe he would beat both Henderson and Silva. But until he does, or gets one of the belts, he's stuck at 3.
4. Matt Lindland - Another guy who is highly capable of being # 1 or 2, but isn't simply because of lack of opportunity to fight for the belts. Lindland has been on a tear at MW, beating guys like Weir, Lutter, Doerksen, Schembri, Horn, and Newton. I actually believe in terms of accomplishments, he and Filho are even, so I could understand him being in Filho's spot.
5. Frank Trigg - A lot of people might consider this too abrupt, but not when you analyze it. Trigg has two fights at MW, but already he has beaten two of the top fighters. He destroyed Mayhem Miller, and defeated Misaki. So who really could make a claim over him? He just beat Misaki, and by beating Misaki, he holds TWO WINS over TWO GUYS that beat Kang.
6. Kazuo Misaki - I'm going to get flack for this, but again THINK IT THROUGH, Mizaki holds a win over Kang, the only person that could concievably take his spot here. Now, understandably, Misaki just recently lost to Trigg and Filho, so that weakens his hold here. Really, it is a matter of preference. Kang overall has been more successful in his last fights, but Misaki holds the win over him. T
7. Denis Kang - Easily could be above Misaki, as I mentioned. Has more impressive wins at MW than Franlin.
8. Rich Franklin - A lot of people discredited Franklin after losing to Anderson Silva, but those people are idiots. Franklin is STILL one of the top fighters in the game, and showed that he is no Chris Leben or Ed Herman by destroying Jason MacDonald.
9. Nathan Marquardt - Ever since coming to the UFC, Marquardt has really solidified himself at MW. Defeated Ivan Salaverry, although umpressively, and beat the always game Joe Doerksen. Well see where he's at after he fights Anderson Silva. Although, if he beats Silva, it would just shift Henderson, Filho, and Lindland up, rather than place Marquardt at # 1.
10. Akihiro Gono - This is where the rankings get clouded. There are a lot of viable
contenders from here on out, and it is no where near as clear as the Top 9. However, Gono's got the most impressive overall record recently. He's only lost to Henderson and Kang, and has beaten tough, tough fighters like Lombard, Mousasi, Kondo, Crosley Gracie, Acacio, and McKenzie. His sheer number of wins against solid competition give him the edge over the others.
11. Amar Suloev - Suloev's only two losses recently are against the # 3 and # 6/7 guys. He's got the impressive wins over Lister, Okami, and Bustamante, as well.
12. Mike Swick - His win against Loiseau raised stock significantly, but looking back on it now, Loiseau has been on a horrible losing streak ever since the Franklin loss. Given the win however, with victories over decent competition such as Riggs and Vigneault.
13. Robbie Lawler - After that flying knee KO of Joey Villasenor, Robbie pretty much placed himself back into the MW picture. He's also KO'ed Vitale twice, and recently TKO'ed the credible Eduardo Pamplona.
14. Yushin Okami - Okami's been on quite a tear since coming to the UFC, and really, is about on par with Swick. His only disadvantage is he does not have a win over a big name like Swick does. Still, he's beaten solid competition in Starnes and most notably, Belcher.
15. Martin Kampmann - The guy is highly impressive. Defeated good competition like striker Crafton Wallace, then undefeated hot prospect Thales Leites, and hard hitting Drew McFedries. Has showed a fantastic all-around game, as well.
Other guys who could make a claim after the Top 9-10-ish spots are Ivan Salaverry, Melvin Manhoef, Phil Baroni, Mayhem Miller, Joey Villasenor, and Yoshihiro Akiyama. Horn would be able to contend too, if he weren't retired. Discuss.
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