Top 25 Pound-for-Pound Fighters in MMA

After what felt like forever, the UFC is back and running shows on a weekly basis. With April over and one of the most anticipated title fights in the promotion's history now in the books, it's time to take a look at the top 25 pound for pound fighters in MMA. 

Some names may surprise you while others will be viewed as the obvious choices. What I can tell you is that the pound for pound rankings remain as one of the most volatile and ever changing aspects of MMA and one that will constantly cause debate amongst fans. 

Without any further ado, let's take a look at the top 25 pound for pound fighters in MMA...

25. Martin Kampmann

Martin Kampmann? Yes. Martin Kampmann. He's been successful as a small middleweight and a big welterweight. He may have the cleanest striking in the welterweight division, though he doesn't have the best striking defense. He's also been able to develop a vastly underrated submission game that has won many fights for him. 

The huge issue with Martin Kampmann is that the judges just seem not to like him. He's dropped many decisions that he deserved to win because of shoddy judges. His record should be way better in the UFC, but those decision losses have dropped him in the divisional standings. 

He's expected to face Jake Ellenberger at the Ultimate Fighter Finale. That fight should be for the No. 1 contender whenever Georges St. Pierre returns and faces Carlos Condit. 

24. Ronda Rousey

A female fighter in the pound-for-pound list? Say whaaaaaaaaaat?!

Yes, Ronda Rousey is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in MMA. While Rickson Gracie will always have our hearts for his ability to finish fights with the arm bar, it's Rousey who is single-handedly making us care about women's mixed martial arts. 

Her performance against Miesha Tate was awesome. From the build where she built the bantamweight title fight up to be a must-see event to the finish, she's been snapping arms and taking names in MMA since she made her debut. 

She's scheduled to defend her belt against Sarah Kaufman. If I'm making an early prediction, I'd put my money on Rousey by arm bar. 

23. Hatsu Hioki

Hatsu Hioki is probably one of the most deserved people on any pound-for-pound list. He's one of the best featherweights in the world and for good reason. He's been able to completely style on opponents when he gets the fight to the ground and has above-average boxing. These make him one of the most dangerous opponents in the division. 

His UFC career got off to an awkward start as he almost dropped his debut fight against George Roop. In fact, I personally scored the fight for Roop, as Hioki didn't do anything but change position on the ground multiple times. Fortunately, that could be attributed to Octagon jitters as he dominated Bart Palaszewski at UFC 142. 

He's was offered a shot at Jose Aldo's belt at UFC 147 but turned down the fight. 

22. Alistair Overeem

What an odd choice for pound-for-pound after the ridiculousness that was the NSAC hearing, right? Wrong. Though he's currently under scrutiny for elevated levels of testosterone, he's been successful in two weight classes.

As a light heavyweight fighter in PRIDE, he never became an elite fighter because of the difficult weight cuts. However, once he decided to commit to heavyweight, he's been decimating everyone that's stood before him.

Overeem has the best kickboxing in the heavyweight division and one of the meanest guillotine chokes in the sport. He's also the only person in MMA who has won the K-1 World Grand Prix, making him a two-sport athlete. 

He's going to be on vacation for nine months before he can reapply for his license in Nevada. I wouldn't be surprised if he's booked for the UFC's end-of-year card in Las Vegas. 

21. Gilbert Melendez

Gilbert Melendez should be in the UFC. That he isn't is probably one of the biggest travesties in the sport. Instead, he's fighting random guys in Strikeforce which is such a shame.

It's not the fault of Dana White and the UFC, either. They would love to have him in the organization. The problem is that his deal with Strikeforce prevents him from ever making the jump over. 

Gilbert has dominated in PRIDE where many felt that he would have been the man to dethrone Takanori Gomi when he ruled the lightweight division. The two fighters never met, and their career trajectories have headed in opposite directions.

Melendez has incredibly heavy hands and solid grappling, which makes him a dangerous fighter no matter where the fight takes place. 

He will defend the Strikeforce lightweight title on May 19 against Josh Thomson.

20. Mauricio Rua

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua was the heir apparent to Wanderlei Silva at the Chute Boxe Academy. In fact, for almost six years, he was considered the most talented fighter in the light heavyweight division because of his ability to meld his aggressive striking with a dynamic submission game that was based on half-guard sweeps. 

Unfortunately, we may never really know how great Shogun could have been since his biggest weakness is his inability to stay healthy. With knees worse than Willis Reed, Shogun is a fighter who has lost a step because of his body failing him.

Shogun was expected to face Quinton Jackson, but that fight seems to have fallen through as Jackson needs surgery on his knees. 

19. Lyoto Machida

The Dragon is back!

Sorry, we never really got to see the Machida era as he lost to Mauricio Rua in a rematch of their controversial first fight.

What we do know is that Lyoto Machida is one of the most technical fighters in MMA and one of the few that has been able to make karate work inside the octagon. With a style that's based solely on remaining elusive, he's able to control distance better than anyone. 

He's the only fighter to finish Rashad Evans and holds key victories over Rich Franklin and Thiago Silva. Oh, and he's the guy who retired Randy Couture after landing a ridiculous crane kick that knocked Couture's tooth out of his mouth. 

He doesn't have any fights planned, but I'd expect him to get the call soon. 

18. Daniel Cormier

Daniel Cormier can be called many things. Olympian. Underdog. The Black Fedor. The funny thing is that none of those titles are incorrect.

The former US men's Olympic Team captain saw his gold medal dreams fall apart when his kidneys failed him. Realizing that cutting weight was taking too much of a toll on his body, he has become one of the top heavyweights in the sport. 

Due to his wrestling pedigree, his opponents have been unable to get Cormier to the ground, no matter how hard they try. But he's no one-trick pony. Cormier also has some of the heaviest hands in the entire division. 

He'll be fighting Josh Barnett in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finals. Win or lose, expect Cormier to make an impact in the UFC in the future. 

17. Chael Sonnen

In Chael Sonnen's mind, there is no better fighter on the planet. His delusion is only matched by his ability to take a fight to the ground.

He's the clear No. 2 fighter in the middleweight division and has run through everyone that the UFC has placed before him save for Anderson Silva. His wrestling is the best in the division, and his boxing isn't too shabby, either. 

If a pound-for-pound list took a fighter's ability to cut a promo into consideration, then Sonnen would be the clear No. 1. He's done work with "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, CM Punk, and Stone Cold Steve Austin to work develop his microphone skills and has paid tribute to "Superstar" Billy Graham in post-fight interviews. 

He's going to be challenging for the middleweight belt against Anderson Silva at UFC 148 on July 7th. It is no longer a retirement match, but it's still possible they make it a ladder match. 

16. Joseph Benavidez

Was there ever any question that Joseph Benavidez would be on the top 25 pound-for-pound list? If there was, there shouldn't have been. As one of the best fighters out of Team Alpha Male, Benavidez has been successful in multiple weight classes.

As an undersized bantamweight, Benavidez was unanimously considered the No. 2 fighter in the division.

However, with the creation of the flyweight division, Benavidez is expected to become the top fighter in the division. WIth his grappling skills and ridiculously heavy hands, it's hard to see anyone that will truly test the Alpha Male. 

He's expected to face the winner of Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall for the first UFC flyweight title. 

15. Cain Velasquez

The former heavyweight champion was once viewed as the heir apparent to Fedor Emelianenko. At least, that's what the people at American Kickboxing Academy were saying.

When the former ASU Sun Devil entered the UFC, there were some big expectations placed on him placed on him as the future of the heavyweight division. He passed every test that was placed before him and joined Frank Mir as one of the only people to ever stop Big Nog. 

His ability to meld his wrestling and boxing make him a threat where the fight goes and his grappling skills allow him to fight his fight. There are some questions about his chin but getting rocked by Cheick Kongo and stopped by Junior Dos Santos aren't really that big of a deal considering the source.

The only thing that holds Velasquez back is that he's injury-prone. 

He was supposed to face Frank Mir at UFC 146 but is now scheduled to face Antonio Silva. 

14. Nick Diaz

Nick Diaz is another fighter who has had success in multiple weight classes. After leaving the UFC, he dropped down to lightweight before fighting as heavy as middleweight.

He's the former Strikeforce welterweight champion and was thought to be the man to finally beat Georges St. Pierre. Unfortunately, those plans fell through and Diaz' career is now up in the air. 

Nick Diaz has some of the best jiu jitsu at welterweight but lately has decided to fight mostly on the feet where he is a high-volume boxer. While his striking defense is a concern, he's demonstrated one of the best chins in MMA. That, added to his almost unlimited gas tank, make him a threat to anyone. 

Following his UFC 143 loss to Carlos Condit, Diaz retired from MMA but there is now hope that he'll return after news broke that he is suing the NSAC for not giving him a hearing within 45 days of a suspension. 

13. Frankie Edgar

Following UFC 136, UFC President Dana White was ready to crown Frankie Edgar as the pound-for-pound king. And if you think about it, it kinda made sense.

Edgar is not a big lightweight and would likely be more suited for featherweight where he wouldn't give up a ton of weight. However, Edgar chooses to fight bigger guys and use his speed to his biggest advantage.

If there was a list of toughest fighters in MMA, Edgar would surely be at the very top as he has an almost superhuman ability to absorb punishment. His boxing is very crisp and is reliant on his wrestling to keep the fight standing.

However, his ability to take a fight to the ground has taken veterans such as BJ Penn and Gray Maynard off their games.

He lost a close decision to Benson Henderson at UFC 144. The UFC has decided that he deserves a chance to redeem himself and the two are expected to fight again sometime this summer. 

12. Urijah Faber

Urijah Faber was long considered the top featherweight in MMA. As the face of the WEC, fans were dazzled by his über-agressive style, which saw him put his body on the line to entertain the audience.

He has fought as high as lightweight but due to his lack of size, never found success in that division. Following the loss to Jose Aldo, Faber moved down to a more natural weight class at bantamweight. 

Faber started his career as an almost-pure wrestler but lately has been the very definition of "mixed martial artist" with his ever improving stand-up skills. That's not to say that he doesn't go back to his wrestling when the opportunity presents itself.

He's currently coaching opposite of Dominick Cruz and the two will have their rubber match in July. 

11. Rashad Evans

Rashad Evans is one of the most successful fighters in the history of the light heavyweight division, and since making his UFC debut in 2005, he's become one of the most well-rounded fighters in the promotion.

Evans faced Jon Jones in Atlanta at UFC 145. It was a fight a year in the making and lived up to the hype as Evans was able to hurt Jones in the first round with an incredibly stiff punch. The tide turned in the second when Jones landed a standing inside elbow and Evans just wasn't able to regroup afterwards. 

There's no word on what's next for Rashad, but people have tossed around the idea of him dropping down to middleweight and challenging Anderson Silva. I love that idea and as a fan of the sport, I hope that's what he chooses to do. 

10. Jake Shields

Jake Shields' UFC career may be a bit disappointing but that doesn't change that fact that he's one of the most elite fighters in MMA.

Going undefeated for 14 fights before joining the UFC roster, Shields was considered the best welterweight fighter outside of the promotion. He's the former Strikeforce middleweight champion and holds wins over Dan Henderson and Carlos Condit. 

Unfortunately, Shields is a bit of a one-trick pony. He's a smothering grappler, which has caused some people to criticize him for having a "safe" style. However, based on his performance against Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 144, Shields now has some decent boxing that he can fall back on should his wrestling fail him. 

While he doesn't have a fight coming up, he will be making his return to middleweight sometime this summer.

9. Carlos Condit

Carlos Condit had to enter the UFC with fans saying that the WEC fighters didn't belong and couldn't compete. It seems like Condit never got that memo. After losing a hard-fought decision to Martin Kampmann in his UFC debut, Condit has been on an absolute tear through the welterweight division. 

Along the way, Condit has picked up some key wins over some top competition and was awarded a shot at the interim welterweight belt against Nick Diaz, with champion Georges St-Pierre sidelined with a knee injury.

For five rounds, Condit fought an intelligent fight and kept Diaz confused with an elusive game plan. 

He's sitting on the sidelines while GSP heals up and should be fighting the champ sometime in the fall. A win will solidify Condit's place in pound-for-pound discussions.

8. Dan Henderson

There is no other fighter in MMA who has had success in so many different weight classes. As the former PRIDE middleweight and light heavyweight champion, Dan Henderson has dominated every weight class he's competed in. 

He scored perhaps the biggest win of his career when he became the first and only man to knock out Fedor Emelianenko. That win earned him another shot at the UFC and Henderson took full advantage, beating Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in what is considered one of the best fights of all time. 

Henderson is expected to face Jon Jones sometime this summer. No official date has been announced. 

7. Benson Henderson

Benson Henderson is a beast. After dropping the WEC lightweight championship to Anthony Pettis, many wondered how Benson would do in the UFC. He answered that question by running over every opponent Joe Silva has lined up in front of him. 

He captured the lightweight belt with a fantastic performance against Frankie Edgar at UFC 144 in Japan. Henderson has some of the most violent ground-and-pound in the entire sport and his ability to scramble is second to none.

He's expected to rematch Frankie Edgar sometime this summer. If he can once again defeat Edgar, there really aren't many fighters in the division that I can see as a challenge for Henderson. Expect Henderson to reign for years to come. 

6. Dominick Cruz

As with Georges St-Pierre, Cruz' inability to finish opponents has hurt his standing in pound-for-pound discussions. There's no question that he's an incredibly dominant champ, as he has an elusive style that consistently leaves bewildered opponents grasping or striking at air.

Over his UFC career, he's avoided over 75 percent of all strikes and has stuffed over 80 percent of all takedown attempts. 

Cruz has also all but cleared out the bantamweight division. A rematch with Urijah Faber this summer will complete the trilogy between the two fighters. If Cruz can get by Faber, the only interesting fights left for him in the bantamweight division are against Renan Barao and Miguel Torres. 

The fight with Urijah Faber takes place over the 4th of July weekend in Las Vegas at UFC 148. 

5. Junior Dos Santos

Based on the literal meaning of "pound-for-pound," Junior Dos Santos should not be ranked in the top five.

However, his skills and wins speak for themselves. Possessing perhaps the most devastating hands in MMA, the UFC heavyweight champ is a wrecking machine.

There isn't an aspect of MMA that he doesn't excel at, as the devastating strike has also demonstrated both offensive and defensive wrestling. The only skill UFC fans haven't seen is how he works off his back, but that's obviously because no opponent has successfully put him in that position.

His matchup with Alistair Overeem is up in the air right now as Overeem failed a surprise drug test. The champ is now expected to face Frank Mir at UFC 146. 

4. Georges St. Pierre

Georges St. Pierre has long been considered the best welterweight in the sport. In fact, at this point I think most would be comfortable with him being known as the best welterweight of all time.

Unfortunately, injuries and a boring style of fighting has begun to affect the way that people view "Rush." He's dominated everyone who has stood before him, but the fact that he hasn't finished an opponent since BJ Penn is very telling. 

He's likely the most talented fighter in the UFC but his inability to finish opponents has many viewing him as a "safe" fighter. It doesn't help that lesser fighters have been able to finish his past opponents.

He's now trying to rehab a knee injury and is expected to fight Carlos Condit upon his return. Knee injuries are tricky, and you can count on Condit targeting the rehabilitated knee when the two meet. Expect the fight to take place in Montreal. 

3. Jose Aldo

It's likely that I'm being unfair by dropping Jose Aldo in the rankings because of Jones' performance against Rashad Evans. There are two factors in my reasoning.

The first is that just by sheer talent, Jones has beaten the better fighters. The other factor is that there is much more depth at light heavyweight than featherweight. 

That isn't to say that Jose Aldo doesn't possess the skills to pay the proverbial bills. He's young, and every indication points to him moving up to lightweight sometime in the future. If he can find success at lightweight, there won't be any question about where he stands in the rankings. 

He's was supposed to headline the card the UFC is promoting in Calgary, but now it looks like he'll be fighting on UFC 147 against Erik Koch. 

2. Jon Jones

Following UFC on Fuel 2, I had Jon Jones ranked No. 3 on my pound for pound list. I was waiting to see how he performed against Rashad Evans at UFC 145 before I crowned him as arguably the best fighter in the world.

The wait is over. He proved that he is without peer in the light heavyweight division. 

He's supposed to fight Dan Henderson next and honestly, I don't see a way for Hendo to win outside of landing a huge overhand. And to do that he's going to have to close the distance against a fighter who has the reach of Dhalsim. 

1. Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva is considered by everyone to be the best fighter on the planet. It's possible that he's even the best fighter of all time, though that's arguable. What we do know is that he's the best middleweight fighter and the longest reigning champion in UFC history. 

In his nine title defenses, he's only shown vulnerability once and even then, he found it in himself to come from behind and win with a beautiful triangle-choke submission. 

He gets to prove that victory wasn't a fluke when he faces Chael Sonnen again this summer. Though it is scheduled to take place in Brazil, there is a possibility it could be moved elsewhere due to the United Nations conference.