Top Ten Pound-for-Pound Mixed Martial Arts Fighters

I know there's going to be some disagreement here, but this is my personal list of who I believe to be the top ten pound-for-pound MMA fighters in the world. Certainly there's more consensus for some guys who didn't make my list, but I like any true MMA fan, should be judging talent based on my own two eyes rather than analytical consensus. With the MMA's growing presence and legitimacy in the sports realm, and the caliber of established and prospective talent across the three major MMA associations (UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce), there's an immensely bright future for the sport. Their wilingness to  gather talent and continuously put the best fighters up against the best fighters has legitimized MMA as a mainstay of Pay-Per-View excitement. I'd even go as far as to say that MMA could eventually become one of the top 4 most popular sports in the country, if it's not already. 

Honorable Mention: Carlos Condit

Ground and Pound. That's what comes to mind for me with me when talking about interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit. Like many of the top fighters in the lighter weight classes Condit is a great striker, but he's certainly not beholden to it. While his striking is dangerous, Condit likes to use long kicks and more ranged attacks in order daze his opponent to the mat, where he just absolutely destroys people. He may be one of the best ground and pound fighters in the sport, and seldom leaves  opponents any breathing room on the mat. His ability to get guys down and switch from striking to grappling in a heartbeat has him on the verge of my top ten list. If he wants to stay there though, he's gonna have to prove he can avoid being completely dismantled by the former champ George St. Pierre. I know, MMA fans are screaming "Gilbert Melendez!!". Still a bit too soon for me on that one, but Condit is proven.

10. Cain Velasquez

Okay this is where I'm going to be seriously hated by dedicated MMA fans. How did a guy who lost a title fight on network television in just over a minute make my top ten pound-for-pound list? It's because Junior Dos Santos has a way of making just about anybody look really really bad. That said, the rematch is inevitable and I won't be the least bit surprised if Velasquez takes his Heavyweight title back the second time around. Despite Dos Santos giving Velasquez a one shot dropper, Velasquez has a strong chin, brutal striking ability, and a spectacular ground game. If he didn't lose so badly to Dos Santos though, I don't think there would be any question that he was a top ten guy, because as far as I can tell Velasquez has no real weakness anywhere. That's pretty scary for a guy with that much size and power. Between Velasquez and Dos Santos. I think it'd probably be best for everybody else in the heavyweight division to stay on the other side of the playground until that fight is over, or the bell for the end of recess sounds.

9. Dan "Hendo" Henderson

I don't think anybody wouldn't say that Dan Henderson isn't the second best light heavyweight in MMA. Equally as certain, I don't think you'll find many people who believe he will ever become the best light heavyweight either while Jon Jones is around. That shouldn't be a knock on the guy though,as he is still one of the most versatile power guys around. His massive striking power often leaves little room for him to show people everything he can do. When he is forced to use all his skills opponents quickly realize that he's much more than a power striker, but that generally happens much too late. Even if you have a solid plan to counter his slugging strength he's probably going to catch you with it anyway.

8. Frankie "The Answer" Edgar

While losing to Benson Henderson by unanimous decision his last go, Frankie Edgar has all the tools to return to championship gold. His versatility is his best quality, and he's proved it with wins against quality competition like BJ Penn and Gray Maynard. It's only fair that he get his rematch with Ben Henderson after continuously proving why he was a title holder. I don't think he'll beat Henderson in the rematch just because Henderson is so incredibly gifted athletically, but the lightweight division is dripping with talent, and you've got to give anybody who holds that lightweight title a lot of credit.

7. Dominick "The Dominator" Cruz

It's really incredible to me how Dominick Cruz doesn't get hit more than he does, because he hardly gets hit at all. He's so quick he can bob and weave so well it can make good fighters feel look like idiots. That said, he has a tendency to rely on long range hooks that can often miss the target. For most fighters that would be a great recipe to leave yourself defenseless but somehow he manages to avoid overcommitting on any them, and can maintain his balance to keep his guard up. He makes himself even harder to counter by following those hooks with great combination sequences that can carry some force. If there's one guy who has been able to get at his chin, it's Urijah Faber, unfortunately Cruz tore his ACL in preparation for their July 7th tiebreaker at UFC 148, so we might have to wait a while to see him back in action.

6. Benson "Smooth" Henderson

Ben Henderson is a guy who has so many tools you can't go into a fight worried about any one thing that he does well. That's why he's one of the most aggressive fighters on this list, he can afford to be. They might call him "Smooth" but that doesn't mean he doesn't come with a whole lot of violence. You can't face him up and strike with him but he's even more deadly on the ground, because he loves pounding people into the mat, and he's one of the most deadly submission artists in the sport. My favorite thing about him is he mixes raw athleticism with incredible technical ability. Even face up standing and striking he can catch you slipping and trap you in a debilitating submission. Now that is what you call technical skill. You're gonna want to make sure you watch his upcoming rematch with Frankie Edgar on August 11th at UFC 150.

5. Junior  "Cigano" Dos Santos

I'm sorry, I just can't have any respect for any top ten pound-for-pound list that doesn't have Junior Dos Santos on it. Cigano is on another stratosphere from any other heavyweight not named Cain Velasquez, certainly not until Alistair Overeem can prove that he can still be a great fighter when he doesn't have 10 times the normal level of testosterone in his body. He might be the most versatile heavyweight to ever grace the sport. When a guy that athletic has no technical weaknesses to speak of, you know you got a freak of a fighter. His boxing skills are as polished as anybody in MMA, but he forces you to deal with it because his takedown defense is impeccable. You're not going get Dos Santos on the ground often, but if you do, it'll likely be after one of his powerful yet precise punches smash your face and he goes to the mat to finish you off. 

4. Jose "Junior" Aldo 

If there's a reason that Jose Aldo is on this list it's because of his striking ability. Simply put he's one the best strikers in the sport. Even Anderson Silva reportedly joked that if Aldo moved up to 185 that he'd retire. Shogun Rua calls him the Anderson Silva of the lightweight division. I call him possibly the best striker in the sport. Knuckles, knees, elbows, name just about any sharp joint and he'll put it in your face. Best featherweight in the biz and there's not even a question about it. When it comes to skills, the guy they call "Scarface" has all kinds of little friends and there's no Sosa in this version of the movie.

3. George "Rush" St. Pierre

I should be very clear about this: the only reason I don't have GSP higher right now is because there's no telling whether or not he's going to come back as the same guy after ripping up his ACL. It won't be any picnic either, he's got a very formidable opponent in Carlos Condit waiting for him when he gets back. I fully expect GSP to tear out Condit's heart and feed it to him, but until I see it happen, I'll have to reserve my judgement. GSP may be my favorite fighter of all time, but in recent fights he has been criticized for not being able to finish his opponents off. I'm not going there. GSP is way too precise for me to question the guy's knockout ability. In my opinion St. Pierre is the most precise fighter in the history of MMA, and I don't care who you want to put up there against him. It's not limited to just his striking ability either, he always knows the right move for the particular situation and his execution is virtually flawless. When he wants a takedown, he's going to get one, and when he gets one fighters usually end up in more trouble than they can handle.

2. Jon "Bones" Jones

Might be the best young talent in MMA history, and quite possibly the most athletically gifted fighter in the sport today. The guy's so good it's hard at this point to tell if he even has all the tools that the most versatile fighters in the business have because he hasn't been forced to use them yet. Few people can instinctively strike with the type of vicious, unpredictability that Jones displays, but his game clearly goes farther than just being able to beat a guy senseless. He's just too fast, too strong, and most importantly too damn creative to be stopped right now. Powerful enough to pick up the big boys and slam them yet quick enough to barrage them with combination uppercuts and knees, Jon Jones could make the prime of Roy Jones Jr's career look like one of those movie prequels where the protagonist is still trying to find himself. Don't be the least bit shocked if Jones becomes the consensus pound-for-pound fighter the second Anderson Silva calls it a career, or Chael Sonnen beats Silva in a rematch.

1. Anderson "The Spider" Silva

You won't find more agreement on a best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport than you will for Anderson Silva. The Brazilian has defended his title for over 2,000 days and counting. Admittedly, I question Silva's chin a bit, because he rarely takes a great deal of punishment, and when he does he doesn't fair as well. That said, the guy's been simply dominant, and despite being 37, Silva still looks like he's got a few years left in him. His reach gives opponents so many problems that you might as well immediately write of anybody who isn't at least comparatively close in wingspan, because they're going to have to worry about too many other factors. There isn't anybody in his class who can stand up and strike with him but that's the only place you're going to find any level of comfort against him. On the mat Silva won't necessarily pound you to death, he's more likely to choke you out until you're really really close to it. Most of the fighters on this list would probably agree, Silva is the world's best. Given his track record, it's hard to imagine what else you'd have to do to earn the title "best pound for pound fighter in the world".