Ranking The UFC's 100 Best Fighters (Including James Toney!)
This is not a pound of pound list, it is the product of five guys spending roughly two months debating over email. This list was designed to show who the best fighters in the UFC are based on wins and quality of opponents. Of course everyone has a different opinion on these things, so feel free to complain in the comments section, and I'll calmly read your comment and then tell you why you're wrong
100. James Toney (0-1) - The first spot on the list was to go to one of two men, Toney or Chuck Liddell. Either way, number 100 was going to be a washed up striker.
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99. Stephan Bonner (12-7) - A man who should probably be out of a job, Bonner is still living off of the fumes of his first fight with Forrest Griffin
98. Dan Miller (12-4) - The elder Spartan lost three straight to tough opponents, and the quality of Maia, Sonnan, and Bisping, but his sweet submission win at UFC 118 kept him on this list.
97. Amir Sadollah (3-2) - The winner of the weakest season of TUF barely makes the top 100. He needs a win to stay relevant, (and above .500)
96. Mike Pyle (20-7-1) - He’s set to fight welterweight prospect John Hathaway at UFC 120. Judging by his ranking, I’m guessing the panel considers his chances slim to none.
95. Luis Arthur Cane (10-3) - Cane was considered a top 10-15 LHW a few fights ago, but back-to-back knockout losses have him barely holding on to his job.
94. Todd Duffee (6-1) - The hype is gone after a humiliating loss to Mike Russow at UFC 114, and the UFC’s record holder for fastest knockout is looking to rebound against Jon Madsen at UFC 121.
93. Mike Russow (13-1) - After being utterly destroyed by Todd Duffee for two and a half rounds, Russow had one of the most shocking upsets of the year at UFC 114.
92. Nate Quarry (12-5) – Quarry looked awful against Jorge Rivera earlier this year, getting knocked down repeatedly, but showed the heart that has made him a fan favorite.
91. Gilbert Yvel (36-15-1) – Somehow Yvel has held onto a job after a knockout loss to contender Junior dos Santos and a boring decision against Ben Rothwell.
90. Travis Browne (10-0) – After only one fight in the UFC, Browne impressed enough against James McSweeny to earn a spot on the main card of UFC 120 against Cheick Kongo.
89. Brandon Vera (11-5) – Vera once said he would hold the title in both Heavyweight and Light heavyweight. His ranking shows how much confidence the panel has in him.
88. Matt Riddle (5-1) – Riddle looked impressive earlier this month, pounding out a TKO victory over TUF 9 finalist DaMarcus Johnson.
87. Pat Barry (5-2) – After showing a disgusting amount of respect for Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 115, Barry broke a hand and a foot before getting choked out by the Pride FC legend in the third round.
86. Jorge Rivera (18-7) – The Mark Dellagrotte trained veteran was scheduled to fight in his hometown of Boston later this month, but was forced off the card with an injury.
85. John Howard (14-5) – “Doomsday” saw his luck run out against Jake Ellenberger in an exciting fight earlier this month.
84. Kurt Pelligrino (17-5) – The man they call “Batman” was dominated by up and comer George Sotiropoulos at UFC 116, and has since decided he will fight again after considering retirement.
83. Alessio Sakara (15-7) – A great fighter, but his loss to Houston Alexander was too embarrassing for the voters to forget. Notice Keith Jardine is absent as well. (Yes, I know Jardine was cut.)
82. Tito Ortiz (16-7-1) – The former champion is trying to win his first fight in four years when he takes on Matt Hamill at UFC 121. (Vegas odds are 2-1 that he pulls out with an injury.)
81. Sam Stout (15-6-1) – The man with the nickname “Hands of Stone” had us wondering when he last finished a fight.
80. Ricardo Almedia (12-3) – He was originally ranked in the high 60’s, but the “stranglehold” that Matt Hughes has on Gracie ju-jitsu sent him tumbling down the rankings.
79. Mark Munoz (8-2) – Also rated almost twenty spots higher, until the Okami fight showed an NCAA champion wrestler who couldn’t score a takedown. After that display, we decided his ceiling probably wasn’t as high as we thought.
78. Marcus Davis (17-8) – A man who is weirdly loved overseas, not unlike David Hassellhoff, Davis has looked mediocre lately and it seems we will never get to see a rematch with Dan Hardy. We really wanted to see if Hardy could make that vein in his forehead blow up.
77. Joe Stevenson (33-11) – A former title contender who can’t get healthy and can’t seem to put together a few wins in a row. He’s the lightweight version of Tito Ortiz, if Tito ever wins another fight.
76. Anthony Johnson (8-3) – After missing weight and knocking out a few guys who aren’t even employed by the UFC anymore, Johnson was submitted by Josh Koscheck in his most recent fight, right after Koscheck accepted his Academy Award for Best Actor.
75. Johny Hendricks (9-0) – After knocking out Amir Sadollah at UFC 106, Hendricks has sadly been stuck on the prelims. Hopefully we’ll get to see this future contender get a main card spot soon.
74. Ben Rothwell (31-7) – Rothwell was destroyed by Cain Velasquez in his UFC debut and then resorted to using a Jon Fitch game plan against Gilbert Yvel. I’m bored just typing about this guy.
73. Gerald Harris (17-2) – Mr. ESPN made a lot of fans with his knockout slam on Dave Branch, and is quietly making a name for himself at 185.
72. Rory McDonald (10-1) – After he looked to have won the first two rounds against Carlos Condit at UFC 115, McDonald showed his lack of experience and was finished with just a few seconds left in the final round of the fight.
71. Vladimir Matyushenko (24-5) – Matyushenko was scheduled to fight Jon Jones earlier this month, but instead sent a punching bag into the octagon to take his place. Smart move Vladimir, smart move.
70. Matt Hamill (9-2) –The man who finally knocked Keith Jardine out of the UFC! Thank you Matt, and if you will just give Jon Jones his win back, we will let you go about your day.
69. Brendan Schaub (6-1) – He has knocked out his last two opponents in spectacular fashion, yet we can’t seem to forgive him for letting Roy Nelson win TUF 10.
68. Ross Pearson (11-3) – One of the few English fighters that seems to talk with his fists other than his mouth, Pearson has looked impressive inside the octagon so far and may be the best TUF winner since his coach Michael Bisping.
67. Stefan Struve (19-4) – This guy really needs a better nickname. Whoever comes up with the best nickname and posts it in the comments section will win a prize, if prize was spelled P-R-A-I-S-E.
66. Patrick Cote (13-6) – We slotted him here and then wondered aloud for twenty minutes how the Middleweight division was ever weak enough to the point where Joe Silva said “Screw it, lets let Cote get beat up!”
65. Nate Diaz (12-5) – I had notes written down that told me what to write here, but Diaz smoked them.
64. Jeremy Stephens (17-5) – Every MMA fan should be eagerly awaiting his fight with Melvin Guillard. Mike Goldberg might just pop a blood vessel screaming metaphors.
63. Jason Brilz (18-3-1) – Can we all just agree that he beat Lil’ Nog? It was a fluke, but he deserves credit for that one.
62. Mike Swick (14-4) – The UFC’s problem with AKA’s welterweights refusing to fight each other was made a lot easier when Swick lost back-to=back fights.
61. Tyson Griffin (14-4) – Interestingly enough, the panel still has a lot of faith in Griffin, and there was a lot of debate over where to place him, with votes ranging from 40th to 65th.
60. Cheick Kongo (15-6-1) – Kongo is the most dangerous Frenchman you will ever see. I realize that means nothing to most of you, but remember he did beat Paul Buentello by dead leg.
59. Jim Miller (17-2) – The younger Spartan is coming off of a CONTROVERSIAL decision against Mark Bocek at UFC 111, which actually hurt him in the rankings.
58. Diego Sanchez (21-4) – YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!
57. Phil Davis (7-0) – One of the most exciting prospects in the UFC today, Davis looks to be a title contender in a few years.
56. Takanori Gomi (31-6) – “The Fireball Kid” revamped his slowly dying career with a huge knockout over tough to finish Tyson Griffin at UFC on Versus 2. Sadly, he still looks like he could be a Youtube sensation if he sang along to the Backstreet Boys.
55. Gabriel Gonzaga (11-5) – He is the definition of a gatekeeper, and will look to slow down the momentum of Brendan Schaub at UFC 121.
54. Matt Serra (11-6) – Serra is finally laying off the pasta long enough to give us two fights this year. He fights Chris Lytle at UFC 119 at will get bonus points if he knocks out Joe Rogan for telling him to drop to 155 again.
53. Chris Lytle (29-17-5) – One of the few men who can compete with Forrest Griffin in a scar tissue contest, Lytle has looked impressive in his last few fights and was robbed of a Submission of the Night bonus at UFC 116.
52. Clay Guida (26-11) – One of the most exciting fighters in the UFC has left the panle wondering when he will replace the bunny as the mascot for Energizer.
51. Jake Ellenberger (22-5) – A hometown favorite of everyone who voted, Ellenberger has won three of his four UFC fights with his lone loss to Carlos Condit being a very close split decision.
50. Rich Franklin (28-5) – The only person on the planet who always won the infamous “I bet my math teacher could beat up your math teacher” debate.
49. Roy Nelson (15-4) – The man who has been dubbed “Big Country” “Huge Country” and “I Swear He Once Ate A Country” was soundly beaten by Junior dos Santos at UFC 117.
48. Rousimir Palhares (11-2) – For the safety of the writer’s limbs, all jokes will be postponed until we reach number 47 on the list.
47. Mirko Cro Cop (27-7) – For the safety of the writer’s skull, all jokes will be postponed until we reach number 46 on the list.
46. Dong Hyun Kim (13-0-1) – Kim had his one loss overturned when Karo Parisyan tested positive for illegal medication following their UFC 94 bout. Sadly, he has been injured often and has only posted two wins since.
45. Sean Sherk (32-4-1) – Sherk has disappeared since his loss to Frankie Edgar and recently pulled out of a fight against Clay Guida. Sherk will finally make his return to the octagon at UFC 119 against Evan Dunham. (Shockingly, I made it through that with no steroid jokes.)
44. Thiago Silva (14-2) – The Brazilian knockout artist recently dropped a decision to Rashad Evans at UFC 108 after knocking out Evans’ training partner Keith Jardine at UFC 102. For those keeping track, that was the third unprovoked shot at Jardine so far.
43. Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-2) – The man known as Sexyama lost a Fight of the Year candidate to Chris Leben at UFC 116, yet still finds himself in the main event of UFC 120 in England. The English fans are angry, but it’s okay, they aren’t known for overreacting.
42. John Hathaway (13-0) – An intriguing Welterweight prospect Hathaway, recently won a lopsided decision over Diego Sanchez at UFC 114. He’ll look to work his way into contender’s status against Mike Pyle at UFC 120.
41. Ryan Bader (11-0) – After making Keith Jardine do some sort of 80’s dance move at UFC 110, (that’s four Jardine shots.) Bader will look to improve his undefeated record against Lil’ Nog at UFC 119.
40. Alan Belcher (16-6) – Belcher called out Demian Maia, got the fight, and had to pull out due to an eye injury. Also, he really, REALLY, wants to fight Anderson Silva.
39. Randy Couture (18-10) – It looks weird seeing Couture so far away form the top 20, but recent wins against Brandon Vera, Mark Coleman, and James Toney got him as much love as Mel Gibson during Hanukah.
38. Demian Maia (12-2) – After a humiliating loss to Anderson Silva, Maia was forced to go to the back of the line, as Silva keeps defending his title.
37. Matt Hughes (44-7) – Hughes has won three straight (all over Gracie black belts) and is looking to put his name back into title contention. He submitted Ricardo Almedia with a good ol’ fashioned farm boy choke at UFC 117 (Yee Haw!)
36. Carlos Condit (25-5) – After two very hard fought wins over Jake Ellenberger and Rory McDonald, Condit is back in the title hunt and the former WEC champion will face Dan Hardy at UFC 120.
35. Forrest Griffin (17-6) – Forrest is one of the most loved, (and hated), fighters in the UFC, due to his self-deprecating personality and his hilarious melt downs after he loses a fight. He is the only fighter on this list who has written two books, and the only one who as read two books.
34. Chris Leben (17-6) – Leben has had a roller coaster ride of a career, sometimes becoming a contender and other times struggling to hold onto his job. However Leben seems to be moving in the right direction after winning two fights in three weeks against Aaron Simpson and Yoshihiro Akiyama respectively.
33. Evan Dunham (11-0) – A future star in the making, Dunham was forced to leave his Xtreme Couture fight camp in order to fight teammate Tyson Griffin. Apparently it didn’t affect him, as he cruised to a Unanimous Decision win and now awaits Sean Sherk in September.
32. Paulo Thiago (13-2) – Once thought to be the biggest test to Georges St. Pierre’s title by MMA Live’s Jon Anik, Thiago lost a fairly one sided decision to Martin Kampinn at UFC 115. Brazil’s favorite DEA officer will meet Diego Sanchez on the stacked UFC 121 main card.
31. Michael Bisping (19-3) – The second best trash talker from England is going after everyone but his opponent right now. After trading remarks with Patrick Cote in Fighter’s Only magazine earlier this month, Bisping then attacked recent number one contender Chael Sonnen after Sonnen lost his UFC 117 fight.
30. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria (32-6) – “Big Nog” kicks off the top 30! A former Pride FC legend, Nog has looked sluggish as of late and recently pulled out of a rematch against Frank Mir. The most shocking thing about “Minotauro”? He’s 35 with a 60 year olds face.
29. Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1) – “The Axe Murderer” looked excellent in his UFC 110 fight against Michael Bisping and scored his best win since his world famous “Rape Choke Knockout” against Keith Jardine. (Jardine Count: 5)
28. Frank Mir (13-5) – Mir has looked incredible against anyone who weighs less than 250lbs. If his opponents are any bigger than that, they throw him around like Paris Hilton at a frat party.
27. Yushin Okami (24-5) – The best fighter in the middleweight division to have never earned a title shot, Okami is one of only three people to defeat Anderson Silva. (By disqualification, but still)
26. George Sotiropoulos (13-2) – After exciting his hometown fans in Australia against Joe Stevenson, “G-Sots” inched closer to a title shot with his win over Kurt Pelligrino at UFC 116.
25. Kenny Florian (13-4) - A finalist on TUF 1, Ken-Flo has made it to the top of the mountain twice, only to get knocked back down by champions BJ Penn and Sean Sherk. Kenny is looking for his third title shot, but his recent loss to Gray Maynard at UFC 118 has thrown him out of title contention.
24. Jon Jones (10-1) – Jones has dominated everyone in his path during his UFC career and it seems like Joe Silva has no choice but to let him fight a contender. The brightest young star in MMA, Jones has fans insisting he could win the belt tomorrow if given the opportunity.
23. Dan Hardy (23-7) – Getting dominated by GSP has happened to plenty of fighters, but Hardy’s resiliency earned him an entire legion of fans. After getting caught in two very deep submissions, Hardy refused to tap and lasted all five rounds with the champion.
22. Shane Carwin (12-1) – Brock Lesnar looked to be in trouble in the first round of his UFC 116 title fight when Carwin hit him with an barrage of punches. However Lesnar managed to survive and Carwin went back to being an engineer and doing no cardio.
21. Nate Marquardt (29-9-2) – A member of Greg Jackson’s camp in New Mexico, Marquardt has come close to getting another shot at Anderson Silva’s belt twice now. He lost a decision to Thales Leites due to numerous illegal blows and then spent the majority of his number one contender’s bout against Chael Sonnen on his back.
20. Antonio Rogerio Nogueria (19-3) – Lil’Nog escaped a war with Jason Brilz at UFC 114 and will now fight Ryan Bader in the Co-Main Event at UFC 119 in September.
19. Thiago Alves (16-6) – One of the best in the world when he makes weight, the panel would like to formally request that he move up to 185 and stop kidding himself. The panel would also like to note that it is awesome seeing a Ninja Turtle fight in the UFC.
18. Martin Kampminn (17-3) – Kampminn is an elite kickboxer who once showed his ground skills by submitting Drew McFedries. So, he’s an elite kickboxer.
17. Chael Sonnen (25-10-1) – Sonnen has said so many stupid things it is hard to keep track of, but I’d like to throw in my personal favorite. “Everyone loves me, I ran for office in Oregon and got 97% of the vote.” Sonnen ran unopposed.
16. Rampage Jackson (30-8) – Rampage has spilt his time fighting in the Octagon and boxing against Rocky Balboa over the last 30 years.
15. Vitor Belfort (19-8) – Belfort is apparently good enough that the UFC decided to give him a title shot in a weight class that he has never fought at. He ended up having to pull out of the fight, but rumors say that it will eventually happen.
14. Gray Maynard (10-0) – Maynard is the only man to ever defeat UFC Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, and he’ll get a shot to do it again, this time for the title.
13. Jake Shields (25-4-1) – With a huge win over Dan Henderson in his last Strikeforce title defense, Shields decided to take a shot and move up to the big leagues. He’ll make his UFC debut against Martin Kampminn at UFC 121.
12. Junior dos Santos (11-1) – Junior has destroyed everyone he has met in the UFC with wins over big names like Struve, Cro Cop, Yvel, Gonzaga and Nelson. He has earned himself a shot at the belt against the winner of Cain Velasquez and Brock Lesnar.
11. Josh Koscheck (15-4) – A two-time winner of the coveted “Actor of the Night” award, Koscheck has proven he will do anything it takes to win. In his next bout, a Welterweight title fight against Georges St. Pierre, he plans on using a combination of illegal groin shots and a bag of marbles to win.
10. Cain Velasquez (8-0) – Cain will have his hands full when he attempts to dethrone Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar at UFC 121.
9. BJ Penn (15-7-1) – One of the most talented men to ever compete in MMA, BJ Penn has mixed incredible performances with lackluster ones throughout his career. Penn is a dangerous fight for anyone in the UFC, but has looked terrible his last two bouts. A fight with Clay Guida would be a solid test to see if his heart is still in it.
8. Lyoto Machida (16-1) – Karate wasn’t back for long. After defending his title once, Machida was brutally beaten by Shogun Rua at UFC 113. However, Machida is still one of the best in the world and will take on Rampage Jackson later this year.
7. Jon Fitch (22-3) – (Jon Fitch is brought to you by: Snuggie, The Blanket With Sleeves) Fitch has dominated everyone he has meet inside the UFC, other than GSP. Due to his somewhat “boring” style, Fitch will have to keep winning in order to win a title shot.
6. Rashad Evans (18-1-1) – Rashad only had his title for 5 months before Lyoto Machida knocked him out at UFC 98. Evans has since responded with wins over Thiago Silva and Rampage Jackson, both of whom defeated his training partner Keith Jardine. (Another Jardine joke, and alas, probably the last.
5. Frankie Edgar (13-1) – In a performance so good, he was nominated for an ESPY, Frankie Edgar shocked the world by beating then champion BJ Penn at UFC 112 in April. He followed up his performance by dominating Penn in their rematch at UFC 118, earning him his status as the top Lightweight in the world.
4. Brock Lesnar (5-1) – The biggest draw in MMA almost lost everything when Shane Carwin came within a few strikes of knocking him out at UFC 116. Luckily, Lesnar survived and submitted Carwin with a second round arm triangle choke to get the victory. Lesnar then revealed himself to be Carwin’s half brother and slammed him through the Spanish announce table.
3. Shogun Rua (19-4) – Shogun’s UFC career got off to a rocky start with a submission loss to Forrest Griffin and a disinterested decision over Mark Coleman. But Shogun followed up with a knockout over Chuck Liddell and lost the most argued about decision of all time against Lyoto Machida. When he got his second chance at the belt, Shogun didn’t let the judges play a part and won via first round KO.
2. Anderson Silva (27-4) – Once known as the most dangerous fighter alive, Silva has looked progressively worse in his last four title defenses. After toying with Patrick Cote and Thales Leites, Silva refused to engage with Demian Maia and was dominated for four and a half rounds by Chael Sonnen.
1. Georges St. Pierre (20-2) – The most complete fighter in the game today, GSP hasn’t lost a fight in over three years. He has dominated every fighter that has been put in his path and, most importantly, seems to have the style to beat the number two guy on this list Anderson Silva. The panel agrees that it will likely be the GSP era at 170 for a very long time.
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