P4P Rankings: Is it time for a change?

[MFridley]

Following Anderson Silva’s second-consecutive stinker, Sherdog.com has been internally debating this week’s upcoming pound-for-pound rankings and the placement of its current top dog.

Let’s take a look at the current top four:
1. Anderson Silva
2. Georges St. Pierre
3. Fedor Emelianenko
4. Miguel Torres

I, for one, believe Fedor’s résumé and quality of recent violence against former UFC champions Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia overshadows the accomplishments of both Silva (back-to-back snoozers) and St. Pierre (loss to Matt Serra).

Quite simply, Fedor is GSP without the mistakes and Silva sans the recent boredom.

However, support still remains strong for “The Spider” with other rankings brass, as Jordan Breen swears by continuity and the string of victories Silva has pieced together in the Octagon.

“In the last three years, Silva is 10-0, with just Thales Leites making it to the final bell,” said Breen. “Five of those opponents are top-10 fighters within his division (Rich Franklin twice, Nate Marquardt, Dan Henderson and Leites).”

Breen continued, “Two of them were arguable pound-for-pound entrants (or at the very, very least, Top 15 guys in the pound-for-pound realm) when Silva housed them (Franklin the first time around and Henderson).”

The stubborn radio host prefers both Silva and St. Pierre over “The Last Emperor.”

“Emelianenko, for as brilliant as he is (see: very), has beat two top-10 fighters in three years in one of MMA's thinner weight classes,” declared the Halifax native. “Although it is not as simple as pure addition, pound-for-pound ranking reflect the sport's contemporarily most accomplished and meritorious fighters, and while Emelianenko may have it within him to destroy the whole of the heavyweight division, he has actually completed only a small fragment of it, albeit in brilliant fashion.”

Updated Sherdog.com pound-for-pound rankings will be released this week.

Where do you rank them?

[llperez22]

Obviously you could rank them in any order and have a valid argument. I like GSP just because he has been fighting the toughest competition for many years without losing very many rounds let alone fights. It really is just opinion though.

[jiujitsu13]

fedor #1 p4p
gsp # 2
anderson #3

[BayAreaGuy]

1. Fedor

2. GSP

3. Anderson

[Lincoln Hawk]

Silva and Fedor are 1 and 2 (either way) given their respective dominance. I have a hard time understanding a fighter's ranking being hurt by a win (unless we're talking a win like Leites over Marquardt).

GSP gets the third spot for dispatching some of the highest quality opponents in the deepest division of the three (though losing to Serra).

Torres gets fourth only because the quality of his competition is hard to measure. A really good case can be made that some of the best 135 lb. fighters are in Japan. If the WEC gets deeper and he keeps winning he'll have to move up.

[Zeicon]

1. Fedor
2. GSP
3. Anderson


Fedor as #1 is a no-brainer. Not only is his last two fights much, MUCH more impressive than Anderson's last two. His entire resume speaks for itself. He has a better record against UFC champions (7-0) than any other fighter, including UFC fighters. That's unheard of. He's virtually undefeated at 30-(1) while both Anderson and GSP have blemishes on their records. He usually fights guys that are bigger than himself and therefore constantly has to deal with weight and reach disadvantage. He's proven time and time again that he masters every facet of the game by beating top strikers (e.g. prime Cro Cop, Arlovski) and top grapplers (e.g. Big Nog, Arona) at their own games. Unlike Anderson, he doesn't ass around and unlike GSP, he'd never tap to strikes. What truly sets him apart is his mental game. He's a stoic machine. Brute effectiveness incarnated.

Someone needs to post that list of Fedor's accomplishments and merits because that really sums it up.

Fedor also keeps winning your P4P polls by considerable margins and yet the voice of the community is repeatedly undermined by a handful people (Sherdog staff).

[Ctrober4]

Just so I can be like everyone else

Fedor
GSP
Silva

[MrJack]

1. Fedor
2. GSP
3. Anderson

How the fuck you guys got suckered into the UFC hype is beyond me.

[XalexinchainsX]

anderson still won. why does he move behind gsp?

[Gravy_Gecko]

Fedor is GSP without the mistakes...

and except for the fact that they have almost nothing in common as fighters aside from dominating their respective weight classes. The same for Silva.