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October 2009 MMA Rankings: ‘Shogun’ Rua Turns Back Clock
By Ariel Helwani
October 29, 2009
Welcome to Versus.com’s official MMA rankings for October 2009.
In August, we wrote about Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira being “back.” In September, it was Vitor Belfort who looked like his old dominant self. And this month it’s all about Mauricio “Shogun” Rua performance following oh-so-close unanimous decision loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 104.
Let’s take a look at where everyone currently stands:
HEAVYWEIGHT
1. Fedor Emelianenko (29-1, 1 NC) – With Lesnar pulling out of his UFC 106 bout, Fedor vs. Rogers has now become the most important heavyweight bout remaining on the 2009 calendar.
2. Brock Lesnar (4-1) – Very sad the Shane Carwin bout isn’t happening next month. Hopefully he gets well soon, and we can see it at 108.
3. Josh Barnett (24-5) – Still third, but needs a strong showing in his next fight to remain in top 5.
4. Frank Mir (12-4) – I like Mir against Cheick Kongo in December.
5. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1, 1 NC) – Looks like he may have to fight again before facing the winner of Carwin-Lesnar. Unless, of course, he doesn’t mind waiting a long time.
6. Randy Couture (16-10) – A bad loss to Brandon Vera could very well end Couture’s career.
7. Alistair Overeem (31-11, 1 NC) – Bold prediction: Strikeforce won’t wait around much longer for Overeem and will strip him of the title in 2010.
8. Brett Rogers (10-0) – See #1.
9. Shane Carwin (11-0) – Carwin has been dealing with this situation very, very well.
10. Cain Velasquez (7-0) – Velasquez continues to impress every time he fights. Great showing against Ben Rothwell.
Honorable mention: Junior dos Santos, Aleksander Emelianenko, Jeff Monson, Mirko Cro Cop, Cheick Kongo, Ben Rothwell.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
1. Lyoto Machida (16-0) – The aura of invincibility is gone. He’s still undefeated, though. Hopefully we’ll get a rematch in the first quarter of 2010.
2. Quinton Jackson (30-7) – I bet we will see Jackson fight in the UFC again before next summer.
3. Rashad Evans (13-1-1) – Looks like Thiago Silva is next. Kind of got a raw deal due to Jackson’s “retirement.”
4. Mauricio Rua (18-4) – Thankfully, we can stop talking about “the old Shogun,” because Rua is clearly back.
5. Anderson Silva (25-4) – If it weren’t for his relationship with Machida, I would say Silva could easily become the first man to hold two UFC titles in two different weight classes.
6. Forrest Griffin (16-6) – Griffin has a chance to erase everything that happened at 101 with a solid win at 106 against Tito Ortiz.
7. Dan Henderson (25-7) – Has Henderson fought for the last time in the UFC?
8. Gegard Mousasi (26-2-1) – I’m thinking he could be in the top 3 come this time next year. Won’t have any problems with Sokoudjou next week.
9. Thiago Silva (14-1) – Incredible performance against Jardine at 102. Tough match-up for Evans.
10. Rich Franklin (25-5) – Franklin vs. Chuck Liddell next? I doubt it.
Honorable Mention: Luis Arthur Cane, Vladimir Matyushenko, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Jon Jones.
MIDDLEWEIGHT
1. Anderson Silva (25-4) – The Lesnar-Carwin postponement should give Silva more time to heal his surgically repaired elbow.
2. Nate Marquardt (30-8-2) – If Henderson doesn’t re-sign, would the UFC really match him up against Chael Sonnen next?
3. Dan Henderson (25-7) – If I had to guess, I would say Henderson will fight again in the UFC.
4. Jake Shields (23-4-1) – Shields will face Jason “Mayhem” Miller for the middleweight title in November. I like Shields.
5. Robbie Lawler (16-5, 1 NC) – Looks like he’ll fight again in December.
6. Vitor Belfort (19-8) – Great win over Franklin at 103. Excited at the possibility of seeing him fight Silva, but I think Silva is the better fighter right now.
7. Jorge Santiago (21-7) – Hopefully he gets in the UFC sooner rather than later.
8. Matt Lindland (21-6) – A fight against “Jacare” would be a tough one to return to.
9. Chael Sonnen (24-10-1) – One of the most underrated middleweights in the world pulled off a great performance at 104.
10. Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-1) – “Sexyama” will face Wanderlei Silva in February.
Honorable Mention: Michael Bisping, Kazuo Misaki, Demian Maia Chael Sonnen,
WELTERWEIGHT
1. Georges St-Pierre (19-2) – Looks like GSP will face the winner of Mike Swick vs. Dan Hardy next. I like his chances against both.
2. Jon Fitch (19-3, 1 NC) – Fitch will now face Thiago Alves in December after Ricardo Almeida had to pull out of their bout. Fitch beat him once in 2006, and I expect him to do the same again.
3. Jake Shields (23-4-1) – Shields will be facing “Mayhem” Miller for the interim middleweight title later this year. I like Shields.
4. Thiago Alves (16-4) – See # 2.
5. Matt Hughes (43-7) – No news on his next fight yet.
6. Mike Swick (13-2) – Swick faces Dan Hardy at UFC 105 on Nov. 14.
7. Josh Koscheck (13-4) – Looks like Koscheck will be facing Anthony Johnson at UFC 106. Should be a fun fight.
8. Martin Kampmann (15-3) – Incredibly disappointing loss to Paul Daley.
9. Carlos Condit (24-5) – A loss to Jake Ellenberger would have been devastating. Condit showed a lot of heart in the victory, but has yet to regain his WEC form yet. Looks like Daley is next.
10. Matt Serra (9-6) – Could Frank Trigg be next?
Honorable Mention: Dan Hardy, Dustin Hazelett, Karo Parisyan, Jay Hieron, Hayato Sakurai, Nick Diaz, Paul Daley.
LIGHTWEIGHT
1. BJ Penn (14-5-1) – Penn at 155 pounds is one of the best fighters in the world. Just ask Kenny Florian. Diego Sanchez is next.
2. Shinya Aoki (22-4) – Nice buzzer beater win over Joachim Hansen at DREAM.11. Looks like he’ll be defending his lightweight title against Tatsuya Kawajiri on New Year’s Eve.
3. Eddie Alvarez (19-2) – Made quick work of DEEP champion Katsunori Kikuno at DREAM.12.
4. Diego Sanchez (20-2) –Sanchez will finally get a title shot in December against Penn. I like Penn.
5. Kenny Florian (11-4) – Clay Guida is next. I like “KenFlo.”
6. Joachim Hansen (19-8-1) – See # 2.
7. Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2) – Defeated Melchor Manibusan at DREAM.11.
8. Gray Maynard (8-0, 1 NC) – Nice win over Huerta this month. Would love to see him finish his next opponent. Could teammate Tyson Griffin be next?
9. Frankie Edgar (10-1) – The battle of New Jersey: Edgar vs. Kurt Pellegrino will take place in December. I like Edgar.
10. Sean Sherk (33-4-1) – Sherk recently pulled out of his UFC 104 bout against Gleison Tibau.
Honorable Mention: Josh Thomson, Tyson Griffin, “JZ” Cavalcante, Clay Guida, Mizuto Hirota, Eiji Mitsuoka, Jamie Varner, Gilbert Melendez.
FEATHERWEIGHT
1. Mike Brown (22-4) – The undisputed king of the featherweights. Right now, I’m picking Brown against Jose Aldo.
2. Urijah Faber (22-3) – Shooting for an early 2010 return.
3. Hatsu Hioki (20-3-2) – Will face Michihiro Omigawa at Sengoku 11 on Nov. 7.
4. Jose Aldo (15-1) – See #1.
5. Leonard Garcia (13-4) – I like him against Manny Gamburyan at WEC 44 in November.
6. Raphael Assuncao (14-1) – Stock continues to rise after win over Yves Jabouin at WEC 43.
7. Takeshi Inoue (16-3) – Inoue recently successfully defended his Shooto 143-pound title against veteran Rumina Sato.
8. Wagnney Fabiano (12-2) – Bad loss to Mackens Semerzier at WEC 43. Very bad.
9. Josh Grispi (13-1) – No news on what’s next for him yet. A bout against Faber would be nice.
10. Bibiano Fernandes (7-2) – Say hello to DREAM’s first featherweight champion.
Honorable Mention: Antonio Carvalho, Masakazu Imanari, Joe Soto, Marlon Sandro, Masanori Kanehara.
BANTAMWEIGHT
1. Brian Bowles (8-0) – The new champ will only return in early 2010. Dominick Cruz is next.
2. Miguel Torres (36-2) – Won’t be fighting again in 2009.
3. Masakatsu Ueda (10-0-2) – Defended his Shooto 132-pound title against Eduardo Dantas on July 19.
4. Takeya Mizugaki (12-3-2) – Exciting fight against Damacio Page on the horizon.
5. Dominick Cruz (14-1) – Will get the first shot at Bowles in early 2010.
6. Joseph Benavidez (10-1) – He’ll be back. Perhaps a fight against Rani Yahya next?
7. Akitoshi Tamura (14-7-2) – Forced to withdraw from WEC 43 bout due to an injury.
8. Rani Yahya (15-4) – Definitely in the mix for a future 135-pound title shot in WEC.
9. Damacio Page (11-4) – Easy win over Will Campuzano at WEC 43. Mizugaki is next.
10. Eddie Wineland (15-6-1) – Big win over Manny Tapia at WEC 43.
Honrable Mention: Antonio Banuelos, Manny Tapia, Scott Jorgensen.
MALE POUND-FOR-POUND:
1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Anderson Silva
3. Georges St-Pierre
4. BJ Penn
5. Lyoto Machida
6. Mike Brown
7. Quinton Jackson
8. Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera
9. Jon Fitch
10. Rashad Evans
FEMALE POUND-FOR-POUND:
1. Megumi Fuji
2. Tara LaRosa
3. Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos
4. Sarah Kaufman
5. Gina Carano
6. Roxanne Modafferi
7. Takayo Hashi
8. Rosi Sexton
9. Carina Damm
10. Erin Toughill
