[WSKUNGFUCLUB]

1. gomi--still the best, but barely.
2. kawajiri--has not lost to ANYONE not named gomi since 2002. and he avenged THAT lost to shaolin.
3. vitor shaolin--would love to see him fight kawajiri again or gomi. he just might be the best in the world right now but he has to prove it. since his most recent loss was to kawajiri, he sits at #3.
4. mach--as a lightweight he is just SICK.
5. joachim--just behind sakurai because he lost to him.
6. kid--record speaks for itself--recent wins over uno and genki. has never lost an MMA fight except because of a CUT. still, i just don't see him beating naturally bigger fighters like gomi, mach, or joachim.
7. ishida--only loss in last 10 is to shaolin
8. genki sudo--was on a tear before losing to kid
9. jens pulver--still the guy to beat in the ufc. last two losses were to mach and gomi...you'd lose too.
10. aurelio--he only just MAKES this list because he has a consistently decent record and beat gomi. but after being dominated by ishida, he can't rest on those laurels for long. one fight does not a fighter make.

just miss: spencer fisher. he's the real deal and very well rounded. the most impressive ufc LW on the rise. plus he's a huge LW who has just recently moved down.
hermes franca and caol uno are on my just miss list because i think they are a little over the hill and want to see a more recent string of consistency against quality competition. they are still very good and i couldn't argue with either of them cracking the top ten.

it was tough to leave off 3 fighters who i think are really up there and have been coming up in KOTC and shooto: tyson griffin, uriah faber, and gilbert melendez. once these guys break into the big leagues, watch out. these are the REAL DEAL young guns. i really wouldn't argue with any of these guys cracking the top ten.

other honorable mentions: bang ludwig, josh thompson, joe stevenson, luiz azeredo, yves edwards (but damnit has this guy fallen from grace)

sean sherk is not included because he has not fought a single fight at lightweight. bj penn is not included because he is NO LONGER a lightweight.

quality fighters who i think have been flavors of the month with a lot to prove: kenflo (hasn't fought a LW who an grapple. he cut chris leben whoopdeedo!), hominick (lackluster performance against gurgel, win over yves wasn't as impressive as we once thought), melvin guillard

[nathan22]

This is a thread. Congratulations. Others please take note.

[Slampage]

Genki shouldn't be on there.

[WSKUNGFUCLUB]

Originally Posted by Slampage

Genki shouldn't be on there.

your reasoning is....?

[Cameron]

thats a good list but i dont think that genki should be there. i think franca isnt over the hill hes been on more of a tear than genki was. genki i think need to beat some one in his own weight class of some tallent. but that just imo.

[Slampage]

He doesn't have any good wins in the weight class. I would put Hominick in the top ten before Genki. K-1 has been feeding him featherweights and kickboxers, and when he stepped up he got smacked.

[manchoman]

Originally Posted by WSKUNGFUCLUB

your reasoning is....?

who has he beat? while i admit, his skills are mad... he has to prove on paper that he deserves to be there, rather than just let us assume.

[kcp_ko]

very nice list. i think kid has the potential to beat any fighter

[zeroeight]

fucking great post
well done

[WSKUNGFUCLUB]

Originally Posted by Slampage

He doesn't have any good wins in the weight class. I would put Hominick in the top ten before Genki. K-1 has been feeding him featherweights and kickboxers, and when he stepped up he got smacked.

thanks for the response. ok on genki. but there is no way hominick is top ten. absolutely no way. a win over yves is impressive but i'm still skeptical about that fight. and yves really is no longer a top ten LW. jorge gurgel is not very good (i'm not going to say the three letter word but you feel me) IMO. and he just lost at TKO. although he has a very good TKO record overall, that's not exactly elite competition.