Brock Lesnar, Fedor Emelianenko and the Top Seven Fighters Who Don't Suck

Mixed Martial Arts fans probably have the shortest memories of all sports fans.

In no other sport does a guy go from being the greatest fighter we've ever seen to a washed-up has-been in the minds off casual fans.

Shinya Aoki might be one of the better examples of this phenomenon.

One day he was ranked as perhaps the number 2 lightweight in the world, and the next day people were saying that he'd get his butt kicked by anybody in the UFC's lightweight division.

Now, there may be some truth to the idea that his lack of striking and mediocre wrestling do leave him vulnerable against certain types of fighters, but he's still beat a ton of quality fighters, and that's the only thing that really matters in MMA.

Hopefully his easy win over Lyle Beerbohm has made people realize that for as two-dimensional as he is, he doesn't suck, and is actually a really good fighter despite his vulnerabilities.

Here's a list of the top seven fighters who don't suck.

Matt Hughes

From the way people talk, you'd think Hughes was the worst fighter on the planet.

Recently I wrote an article where I suggested that Hughes might just be able to beat Nick Diaz, and the response I got from some people was one of anger and outrage.

"How dare you suggest that the great Nick Diaz could lose to an old man!"

News flash: Matt Hughes may have got knocked out by BJ Penn, but just last year he choked out Ricardo Almeida, a better credentialed grappler than Nick Diaz, with a Dave Shultz front headlock.

Hughes probably can't beat Jon Fitch or Josh Koscheck, but he's still a threat to anybody who can't stop his takedowns.

He may not be the same as he once was, but there are still a lot of guys he could beat.

Mauricio Rua

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LAS VEGAS, NV - DECEMBER 01: Mixed martial artist Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua (R) and his wife Renata Ribeiro arrive at the third annual Fighters Only World Mixed Martial Arts Awards 2010 at the Palms Casino Resort December 1, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Phot

Not only does Mauricio Rua have a hot wife, but he's also still a damned good fighter.

Sure, he lost to Jon Jones.

Yes, his conditioning didn't look great.

Yes, he tapped to strikes.

But the kind of beating he took from Jones would make anybody look tired, make anybody tap, if they still were able to cling to consciousness.

Losing to Jon Jones is going to happen to a lot of great fighters in the future. That doesn't mean they aren't great fighters.

Josh Koscheck

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MONTREAL- MAY 8: Josh Koscheck (L) holds on to Paul Daley in their welter weight bout at UFC 113 at Bell Centre on May 8, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)

Josh Koscheck couldn't get anything done against Georges St-Pierre, but he did better in the wrestling exchanges than anybody St-Pierre has fought over the past four years.

Sure, his striking needs improvement, but his skill set is still good enough to beat just about anybody at welterweight not named GSP.

Brock Lesnar

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LAS VEGAS - JULY 11: Brock Lesnar reacts after knocking out Frank Mir during their heavyweight title bout during UFC 100 on July 11, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

There's this ludicrous idea out there that Lesnar was "exposed" by Cain Velasquez.

If "getting exposed" means that he took a beating from a fighter who is perhaps the worst stylistic matchup possible, then yes, he "got exposed."

There are few fighters in the world who wouldn't "get exposed" by Velasquez.

Maybe Lesnar loses to Junior Dos Santos, but if he does, it will only be an indication of how good Dos Santos is.

But until that happens, Lesnar is a top 5 heavyweight at worst.

Phil Davis

Phil Davis didn't lose to Rogerio Nogueira, but from the reaction he seems to get now, you'd think he did.

I saw somebody interview him recently, and the guy kept on asking Davis to grade his own performance, as if the performance sucked.

Davis won all three rounds against a fighter who one year ago was the betting favorite against former champion Forrest Griffin.

Sure, he isn't progressing quite like Jon Jones, but Davis is still one of the best prospects in the sport, and probably a perennial top 10 light heavyweight in the future.

Lyoto Machida

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LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 24: UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida celebrates his victory over UFC Light Heavyweight challenger Mauricio Rua (not pictured) in their title fight at UFC 104 at Staples Center on October 24, 2009 in Los Angeles, Cali

Officially, Machida is on a two fight losing streak.

Unofficially, some people think he's on a three fight losing streak.

People now talk about the "Machida Era" as if it was the worst title reign in UFC history, and act like he was all hype and no substance.

Somehow, that hype managed to knock out Rashad Evans, Rich Franklin, and Thiago Silva, but maybe that never happened...

Nevermind the fact that a lot of people think he deserved the decision over Rampage Jackson.

Fedor Emelianenko

The longest winning streak in MMA history comes to an end, and people act like he needs to move down in weight class to stay competitive.

Yes, he may end up struggling against a few of the larger modern heavyweights, but he hardly sucks.

I'd still favor him over Fabricio Werdum in a rematch, and there aren't a lot of guys out there with the combination of size and skill possessed by Antonio Silva.

Fedor's best days might possibly be behind him, but he can still beat a lot of great fighters if he decides to keep fighting.