Top 10 MMA Pound-for-Pound Fighter Ranking Shifts after Huge Weekend

After a weekend that featured three pound-for-pound standouts, not to mention UFC 100 and Affliction's demise, the vaunted pound-for-pound rankings have most definitely shifted.

Some fighters have solidified their spots while others have slid, changes that are sure to cause debate.

I expect a heated debate from all of you, but please, let's keep it civil, people. Now, onto my rankings of the best pound-for-pound fighters in MMA, updated to reflect this last weekend's action.

Best of the Rest

15. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (18-3): The former top five pound-for-pound fighter is still falling on hard times, but he is slowly climbing out of his hole. A dynamic showing against Lyoto could move him up further.

14. Shinya Aok (21-4): Otherworldly grappler, very average in stand up. A fantastic lightweight, but I hesitate to put him higher because he just tried to move up to welterweight and got crushed in 27 seconds flat.

13. Rashad Evans (13-1-1): Still one of the most dangerous LHWs out there, with amazing speed and knockout power in both hands. He has forgotten how to wrestle recently, but could vault his name up the list with a win over Rampage.

12. Gegard Mousasi (25-2-1): A young, well-rounded fighter that can fight at middleweight, LHW or heavyweight. Fantastic judo skills, great kickboxing and physical talents that could put him at the top of this list one day.

11. Thiago Alves (16-4): A miniature Chuck Liddell. His striking is excellent, his sprawl is awesome, and he gets back to his feet with ease. GSP dominated him, but it was still a respectable showing for Alves. Look for Thiago Alves to move off this slide to one of the top 10 slides after his next fight.

10. Dan Henderson (25-7)

Dan Henderson has been very underrated for some time. Despite losing both his PRIDE FC titles to Anderson Silva and Rampage Jackson when he first came over to the UFC, both were fantastic fights in which Henderson was in the fight until the very end.

Henderson can fight very well at either 185 lbs. and 205 lbs., his wrestling is world class, he has serious KO power (just ask Bisping), and one of the best chins in the game; he has never been knocked out.

He is getting a rematch with Anderson Silva and if Silva is too pleased with his win over Griffin and looks past Henderson, he will be in a world of trouble.

9. Jon Fitch (16-4)

Since his loss to GSP, Jon Fitch has toiled in the preliminary fights of two pay-per-views. As a result, fans seem to have largely forgotten the utterly amazing skills Fitch brings to the octagon.

He has a black belt in Dave Camarillo's guerrilla jiu-jitsu on top of being an All-American wrestler at Purdue. As a result, he is one of the most dangerous fighters in the world on the ground. The only fighter to ever pass his guard is GSP.

Fitch has won bouts with Akihiro Gono and Paulo Thiago since his loss to GSP, so look for him to return to main card action with whoever he faces next.

8. Miguel Torres (36-2)

Despite getting his face rearranged in his most recent match against Brian Bowles, I am willing to leave Miguel in my top 10 on the condition that it was his first loss in 18 fights. You can have one bad fight out 18 and still stay in the top 10.

If he had won, he would have likely cracked my top four, but Bowles is now the Bantamweight Champion of the world, and Torres slides down the list. Miguel has a take-on-all-comers attitude and will never shy away from a fight.

Miguel has outstanding jiu-jitsu and stand up, and loves to take on larger fighters. While he is set back by this loss, look for him to come back more focused and more determined to win back his belt.

7. Quinton 'Rampge' Jackson (31-7)

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has gone from a physical beast who overcame lack of skill with superhuman strength to one of the most skillful strikers in the game. Jackson throws crisp and quick hooks and uppercuts, but it is his defense that sets him apart.

Jackson suffered several KO defeats while in PRIDE and when he began working with Juanito Ibarra, they focused on his defense. Today, Jackson is likely the best fighter at parrying punches and using the opening it creates.

Watch the Jardine or Wandereli Silva fights to see a seminar on using your arms to absorb punches.

He has good head movement, good footwork, an excellent ground game, a great sense of humor, and still plenty room between him and his ceiling. Jackson is one of the most dangerous fighters in MMA.

6. Mike Thomas Brown (20-4)

Mike Thomas Brown has made the entire WEC forget about that...that California guy, what's-his-name?

This American Top Team product has beaten Urijah Faber—that's it—twice. Given that both of those victories were a little fluky—one with a spinning elbow the other with a broken hand—doesn't change the fact that two wins is a serious trend.

Brown also defended his title against another very impressive fighter, Lennard Garcia, who has pro boxing experience and a brown belt in jiu-jitsu. Brown's next match could be his most difficult against another pound-for-pound contender, Jose Aldo.

Brown's skills are excellent, his stock is rising, and if the WEC is merged with the UFC, he could be a serious star.

5. B.J. Penn (13-5-1)

The B.J. Penn that fought at UFC 101 is the B.J. Penn the MMA world has waited for and dreaded since seeing him enter the sport.

Penn took Florian apart with well-timed aggression, pacing, and sheer force of will. Penn finally went into a fight armed with training rather than just talent, and the result was scary.

Penn needs to focus on his weight class and put GSP behind him for a time. Beating Diego Sanchez and Gary Maynard would certainly move Baby Jay up this list.

4. Fedor Emelianenko (30-1)

I understand that there will be people unhappy with this ranking, so please read what I have to say. Fedor is a bad man, easily one of the baddest in the sport. To put him No. 4 is in no way saying he sucks.

I have issues with heavyweights being on pound-for-pound lists in the first place because the discussion was brought about to give the smaller fighters props, and size is often such a big part of what heavyweights do (which is why Brock Lensar will never make my list).

Fedor makes this list because his skills are so out-of-this-world good on the ground and his stand up, while loopy, has finished off many a top fighter.

The reason he isn't higher is that it has been a long time since we've seen Fedor fight a top guy still at the peak of his career. Not since the Cro Cop fight in 2005 has Fedor stepped in with a guy who had a real legit chance to beat him.

When Fedor refused to join the UFC, we were assured of seeing more of the same in the sense that Fedor will be fighting guys who are at best on the level of a guy like Cheick Kongo in the UFC.

So, the other problem with Fedor is even if he keeps winning, they won't be the statement type wins needed to move up this list. He can only really move down with a loss.

That said, his skills will likely keep him a top five guy till he quits and I really hope we see him in the UFC one day.

3. Lyoto Machida (15-0)

A year ago, most fight fans had either not heard of Machida or considered him a dull, win-by-decision fighter. Today, UFC fans are considering the ground he walks on as blessed.

Amazingly elusive, powerful striking, and a mystical aura around his karate upbringing, "The Dragon" has terrorized and puzzled the LHW division.

His ground game is somewhat untested, rumors abound that his jiu-jitsu is as good as his standup, and if his takedown defense is any indicator, maybe you better take your chances standing.

It will be interesting to see where Machida goes from here. When he faces Shogun Rua in October, it will be no small task to put away the reinvented and energized PRIDE legend.

2. Georges St-Pierre (19-2)

It has been two years and six fights since that fateful night that a Matt Serra hook shocked the world and sent GSP stumbling back to the drawing board.

Some thought the era of Rush St-Pierre had ended on that night, but it was only the beginning.

The welterweights of the UFC have been treated to Michael Jordan-like performances since then from the man known simply as GSP. In his wrestling, striking, and jiu-jitsu, this fighter is just about better than everyone else.

His utter destruction of Thiago Alves firmly plants him among the top two fighters in the world.

1. Anderson Silva (25-4)

Anderson Silva holds the record for most UFC wins in a row (11) and the most successful title defenses (six, not counting Lutter), holds the middleweight title, and is now a top contender for the LHW belt also.

Silva made Forrest Griffin, a very good fighter, look like a total joke, and I think has rendered the possible fight with GSP moot because nobody wants to see GSP have to go through a fight with Silva.

Silva has been the number one fighter in the world for some time and there he shall remain, likely until he retires.