The Rankings: Pound for Pound: Nov 17, 2012
The Rankings are just that - The MMA Manifesto's rankings of the best fighters in mixed martial arts today. Check back every Monday and Friday for our rankings of a different weight class. Next up: Pound for Pound.
Voting Panel: Jeff Fox - The MMA Manifesto and FIGHT! magazine, speeds - Sports Two MMA Forum, Dave Kelsey - 2011 MMA Manifesto Pick 'Em Contest Champion, Sanford & Son - old school MMA head and Slavoj Žižek zealot, and MMA journalist (FIGHT!, UFC.com, Keyboard Kimura) E. Spencer Kyte.
*stipulations: 1) any fighter currently suspended or 2) inactive for at least 12 months (without an upcoming fight scheduled) are excluded from the rankings
*CLICK ON FIGHTER'S NAME FOR EXTENSIVE SCOUTING REPORT*
1) (tied) (1) Jon Jones - #1 Ranked Light Heavyweight - UFC - 47 points (out of 50)
Record: 17-1
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 0-0
Next Fight: vs Chael Sonnen - TBA
He said he wouldn't let it happen, but Chael Sonnen was able to badger Jon Jones into given him a title shot. Sigh.
1) (tied) (1) Anderson Silva - #1 Ranked Middleweight - UFC - 47 points
Record: 33-4
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 1-0 (W-D. Henderson)
Next Fight: TBA
The Spider showed Stephan Bonnar exactly why he is the G.O.A.T.
3) (3) Georges St-Pierre - #1 Ranked Welterweight - UFC - 40 points
Record: 22-2
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 0-0
Next Fight: vs Carlos Condit - UFC 154 - Nov 17th
How GSP does in his comeback match versus Carlos Condit tomorrow will go a long way in determining his place on the next edition of our Pound for Pound list.
4) (4) Jose Aldo - #1 Ranked Featherweight - UFC - 36 points
Record: 21-1
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 0-0
Next Fight: vs #8 Frankie Edgar - UFC 156 - Feb 2nd
Jose Aldo vs Frankie Edgar will be headlining a stacked Super Bowl weekend UFC 156 card.
5) (5) Dominick Cruz - #1 Ranked Bantamweight - UFC - 28 points
Record: 19-1
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 0-0
Next Fight: TBA
Sadly, the MMA world has lost another great (temporarily) - a damaged knee will keep Dominick Cruz on the shelf for awhile.
6) (tied) (6) Benson Henderson - #1 Ranked Lightweight - UFC - 17 points
Record: 17-2
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 2-0 (W-Edgar, W-Edgar)
Next Fight: vs Nate Diaz - UFC on Fox 5 - Dec 8th
Benson Henderson's domination of the lightweight division continues - but just barely.
6) (tied) (6) Junior dos Santos - #1 Ranked Heavyweight - UFC - 17 points
Record: 15-1
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 0-0
Next Fight: vs Cain Velasquez - UFC 155 - Dec 29th
One successful title defense in the books for Junior dos Santos.
8) (8) Frankie Edgar - #2 Ranked Featherweight - UFC - 9 points
Record: 14-3-1
Last Five Fights: 2-2-1
Record vs Top 10: 0-2 (L- Henderson, L-Henderson)
Next Fight: vs #4 Frankie Edgar - UFC 156 - Feb 2nd
Frankie Edgar should consider Jose Aldo's injury a blessing in disguise - now he'll have proper time to prepare for the champ.
9) (tied) (9) Dan Henderson - #3 Ranked Light Heavyweight- 8 points
Record: 29-8
Last Five Fights: 4-1
Record vs Top 10: 0-1 (L-Silva)
Next Fight: vs Lyoto Machida - UFC 156 - Feb 2nd (rumoured)
Dan Henderson blew his knee out, and subsequently perhaps lost his last chance at UFC gold.
9) (tied) (9) Renan Barao - #2 Ranked Bantamweight - 8 points
Record: 29-1 (1 No Contest)
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 0-0
Next Fight: TBA
It wasn't pretty, but Renan Barao got past Urijah Faber and now has UFC gold around his waist (kinda sorta).
Bubbling under: Cain Velasquez, Rashad Evans, Gilbert Melendez, Rory MacDonald, Demetrious Johnson, Carlos Condit
Rankings:
Heavyweights
Light Heavyweights
Middleweights
Welterweights
Lightweights
Featherweights
Bantamweights
Check back on Monday for our Heavyweight rankings
