Top fighters in the UFC
Posted 11-30-2007 at 07:34 PM by GMW
This isn't a rankings or p4p list, it's just who I think are the most skilled fighters in the UFC at the moment.
*This isn't in order and because it's only five people it isn't necessarily THE best five, ie liddell but no rampage?
1. George St. Pierre - Solid ground game, great ground and pound, great take downs accompanied by an amazing take down defense with good striking makes him the top Welterweight in the world at the moment. In addition to his fighting ability, he is also one of the best athletes in the world, easily going three or five rounds.He also towers above almost all of the WW division besides Fitch.
GSP is easily one of the top five most talented and well rounded fighters in the world.
Note able wins: Matt hughes, Karo Parisyan, Jason Miller and Sean Sherk.
2. LYOTO! (Machida)
Seriously, best striker in the lightheavy weight division. I see him as the more technical version of Chuck Liddell, without the knockout power and a better ground game. He's great at picking his shots and not getting hit. I see this guy going far in his career but because he usually goes the full duration of a fight he will likely get put out at some point. If he fights Rameau, Rampage, wanderlei, liddell, shogun, etc chances are in one of those fights he will get hit clean so for him to maintain his record, he needs more power, but he will go far, no doubt at all.
Note able wins: Stephan Bonnar, Rich franklin, Nakamura.
*Bj Penn is a LW, that don't count.
3. Mauricio Shogun Rua
Shogun has some of the best ground work in the LHW division, a remarkable recovery time and amazing muay thai, but his biggest attribute is the pace he's able to impose on his opponents. If he gets his cardio back (and works on his hands), he will definitely be a force in the division (but not like he was in Pride). The only person I don't see him beating is Lyoto but Lyoto has never fought anyone like Shogun yet so I don't really know.
Despite putting him in the top five, I don't know how the transition to the UFC will affect him. He'll adapt I'm hoping, but the chance he won't is always there.
Note able wins: Wow, where to start, Allistair overeem, lil nog, Arona, quinton jackson and Kevin Randleman.
4. Anderson Silva
A blackbelt under Big nog he has a solid ground game, and compared to Liddell or GSP, a nonexistent take down defense. His striking is top of the line; fast, accurate and powerful (How many noses has he broken now?). I honestly think he's the number one middleweight in the world, but he really hasn't been tested. Rich Franklin is awesome but theres no way Franklin can win this one, and he was the only serious threat to him imo (I know Damone disagrees and thinks Marquardt was his biggest threat). Under the circumstances Lutter wasn't going to beat him and Leben is too sloppy to KO him. The UFC, when able too, really needs to bring at least one of the following; Lindland, kang, akiyama, shamrock and Filho. I'd also say the next title shot needs to go to Okami.
Anyways, Anderson is definitely one of the top fighters in the UFC but he needs someone to really test him is my point.
Note able wins: Rich Franklin, Nate Marquardt, Jeremy horn and Carlos Newton.
5. Chuck Liddell
Great takedown defense, great chin/recovery time and some amazing KO power (he has kicks but there underused now). Primarily a counter puncher he has knocked out some of the UFC's top LHW's securing him a spot as one of the best currently in the UFC. He'll lose this spot quickly though if he ever comes out like he did against Jardine, again. He's become too comfortable with the single punch knock out and needs to start utilizing his kicks and combinations again, if he expects to beat the top of the division.
Noteable wins: Allistair Overeem, Tito Ortiz, Randy couture, Sobral and Belfort.
Purposefully Left out: Nogueira, Wanderlei, Rameau, Couture and Sherk. I don't know if I would of added any of them otherwise but I don't fully consider Nog a UFC fighter yet. Sherk is mia. Couture retired. Wanderlei and Rameau are only signed atm.
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Top fighters in the UFC
