[calimart]

This thread only counts official UFC sanctioned contests. Make what you want of it. You can clearly see in a few divisions - a few "quality" fighters are still a few fights away from a title even if they continue to win.

Heavy:

Tim Sylvia - 1 win
Antonio Nogueira - 1 win
Andrei Arlovski - 2 wins
Cheik Kongo - 2 wins
Frank Mir - 1 win
Eddie Sanchez - 2 wins
Christian Wellisch - 2 wins
Jake O'Brien - 3 wins

Light Heavy:

Stephan Bonnar - 2 wins
Rashad Evans - 1 win (undefeated in 7 UFC bouts)
Wilson Gouveia - 3 wins
Forrest Griffin - 2 wins
Quinton Rampage Jackson - 3 wins
Keith Jardine - 1 win
Chuck Liddell - 1 win
Jason Lambert - 1 win
Lyoto Machida - 4 wins
Thiago Silva - 3 wins

Middle:

Alan Belcher - 2 wins
Patrick Cote - 2 wins
Martin Kampmann - 3 wins
Chris Leben - 1 win
Thales Leites - 3 wins
Dean Lister - 1 win
Drew McFredies - 1 win
Yushin Okami - 1 win
Nate Quarry - 1 win
Anderson The Spider Silva - 5 wins

Welter:

Thiago Alves - 4 wins
Josh Burkman - 1 win
Roan Carneiro - 1 win
Luke Commo - 2 wins
Marcus Davis - 5 wins
Jon Fitch - 7 wins
Akihiro Gono - 1 win
Jonathan Goulet - 1 win
Dustin Hazelett - 3 wins
Jess Liaudin - 2 wins
Karo Parisyan - 3 wins
Matt Serra - 2 wins
Georges Rush St. Pierre - 2 wins

Light:

Marcus Aurelio - 1 win
Rich Clementi - 2 wins
Nate Diaz - 2 wins
Frank Edgar - 3 wins
Kenny Florian - 3 wins
Manny Gamburyan - 1 win
Tyson Griffin - 2 wins
Roger Huerta - 6 wins
Joe Lauzon - 3 wins (losses on TUF don't count)
BJ Penn - 1 win
Sean Sherk - 3 wins
Joe Stevenson - 4 wins
Gleison Tibau - 3 wins

My predictions for #1 contender if they win their next fight are:

Heavy: Arlovski

It really matters who Arlovski fights and the outcomes of Gonzaga/Werdum, Mir/Lesnar. Personally I'd be happy if it was Gonzaga vs. Interim belt holder too, so long as he beats Werdum.

Light Heavy: Machida

If Chuck, T. Silva or Jardine serve notice in their next fight - they are that much closer, but if Machida beats one guy in the top 10, it should be him. Unfortunately if he fights Tito, does that qualify as a top 10 opponent?

Middle: With Kampmann on the shelf, now Thales... it's Okami.

The no. 1 contender in this division if Anderson Silva loses to Hendo is... still Anderson though.

Welter: Jon Fitch, clearly.

Light: Sherk already, but I'd say Frank Edgar. Huerta needs one more quality win too.

[calimart]

ttt

[Dexerion]

Nice info to see all on one page. MMA can be so unpredictable any string of wins over 5 is pretty impressive.

Fitch deserves a title shot ASAP and with 1 quality win Huerta and Davis should get title shots.

[Polish Punisher]

There are guys on this list who are not contenders.

Like Eddie Sanchez.

[Koulatich FS]

Good points. Thanks.

Win streaks aren't necessarily what makes a contender though. I think if fighter A beats 3 or 4 tough guys, then loses to fighter B, then fighter B loses to the champ, that still leaves fighter A in line, despite a recent loss.

I don't mean anyone in particular, just a potential scenario where someone with a recent loss could still be top contender.

[Lorenz]

Its interesting to see the numbers in that way, but unfortunately it fails to take in to account the "Strength of Opponent", and therefore is definetely not the greatest way to figure out actual contenders.

[UFCrules]

nice list

[Riffmeister11]

Unfortunately if he fights Tito, does that qualify as a top 10 opponent?

Yes, that would be a quality win for Machida IMO. His win against Tito would actually be better than his win against Sokoudjou.

Plus, considering Tito's drawing power.. a win could very well be a great exposure for Lyoto.

Either way, I think it would suck to see this match considering that I'm a big fan of both those guys.

EDIT

Great list.

[Bravo-Four]

Off topic of the original posting, but can someone refresh me on Fedor's win streak? I know its twenty something I think lol

[-MagicMan-]

I love that the TS put "Rush" in GSP's name.