UFC 146 Fight Card: Power Ranking the Main Card Fighters
On Saturday night, the UFC's first ever main card comprised solely of heavyweights will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Ten of the baddest dudes on the planet will square off, culminating in a heavyweight title fight featuring Junior dos Santos against Frank Mir.
The fighters on the main card range from prospects to veterans to champions and former champions. Let's take a look at a power ranking of the 10 heavyweights on the main card.
No. 10: Stipe Miocic
1 of 10Kicking off our list is the unbeaten—8-0—Stipe Miocic. Miocic has finished his opponents in seven of his fights, and four of those finishes have been in the first round.
He is 2-0 in the UFC so far, with a unanimous decision over Joey Beltran and a 43-second knockout over Phil de Fries.
Miocic will face off against Shane del Rosario to see which heavyweight prospect is the real deal.
No. 9: Dave Herman
2 of 10Coming in at No. 9 is Dave "Pee-Wee" Herman.
Herman is 1-1 in the Octagon so far, and has an overall MMA record of 21-3. Unfortunately, after his last performance, it was unsure if he would even get another shot in the Octagon.
However, Dana White decided to give Herman another chance, and he'll face Roy Nelson in the third fight on PPV.
No. 8: Lavar Johnson
3 of 10Next up is Lavar Johnson, and with Johnson's recent performances, many may have expected him to be higher.
However, what some may not know is that Johnson was beaten by submission by Shane del Rosario during their tenures in Strikeforce.
Therefore, Lavar remains down low on the list, even in light of his impressive performances over Pat Barry and Joey Beltran.
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No. 7: Shane Del Rosario
4 of 10Shane del Rosario will be making his return to fighting after more than a year-long layoff due to a car accident that put his career in jeopardy.
However, he is now fully ready to return, and he will do so looking to remain unbeaten with an 11-0 record.
He will face Stipe Miocic in the second fight on PPV.
No. 6: Antonio Silva
5 of 10Antonio Silva is a former competitor in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, and is known as one of four men to ever defeat Fedor Emelianenko.
Saturday night will mark Silva's debut in the UFC, after suffering a knockout loss to Daniel Cormier in Strikeforce.
Silva will face Cain Velasquez in the co-main event of UFC 146.
No. 5: Stefan Struve
6 of 10Stefan Struve checks in at No. 5 on this list, and his losses to the other fighters on this list keep him from advancing farther up it.
Struve has faced off against Roy Nelson and Junior dos Santos, losing by knockout both times.
He will face off against Lavar Johnson in the first fight on PPV.
No. 4: Roy Nelson
7 of 10Roy Nelson may have fallen on some tough times in the UFC, but that doesn't mean he isn't still a formidable opponent at heavyweight.
Nelson has several big wins in his career, and has fought against three people who are also on the main card of UFC 146.
He will face Dave Herman in the third fight on the main card.
No. 3: Frank Mir
8 of 10Frank Mir is undoubtedly one of the best heavyweights in the world, and is a unanimous top-five heavyweight as well.
Mir was originally going to face Cain Velasquez in a No. 1 contender match, but after the Alistair Overeem dilemma, Mir was promoted to the main event and the title fight against Junior dos Santos.
No. 2: Cain Velasquez
9 of 10Disregarding Alistair Overeem, almost every major MMA source has Cain Velasquez ranked as the second-best heavyweight in the world.
Therefore, his placement as second-best on the card makes a whole lot of sense.
He faces Antonio Silva in the co-main event.
No. 1: Junior Dos Santos
10 of 10Obviously, the heavyweight champion is the top dog on a card full of heavyweights. This should be no surprise.
Junior dos Santos faces Frank Mir in the main event.
Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow him on Twitter @TimMcTiernan.
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