UFC 130: Power Ranking the Chins of the 10 Main Card Fighters

UFC 130 is stacked with exciting matchups, but with so many exceptionally tough bad-asses on the main card, will be be treated to any spectacular knockouts?

In the heat of battle, whose chin is most likely to withstand the firepower?

Some of these guys have never been knocked out, but there is a first time for everything, especially when fighting other opponents of this caliber.

From No.10 all the down to No.1, these are the toughest and most durable chins on the main card at UFC 130 this Saturday.

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10. Jorge Santiago

Jorge Santiago is considered by many respected publications as a legitimate top 10 middleweight.

That does not mean that he does not have the most suspect chin on this list. He can no doubt hold his own in all out wars, but when his opponents are able to find their timing, it can sometimes be lights out for Mr. Santiago.

He has five career losses by way of KO/TKO, including against a much smaller fighter in current featherweight Manvel Gamburyan.

9. Stefan Struve

Stefan Struve is a super tough dude who does not have a weak chin so much as he allows himself to get punched in it a lot and very hard.

Some people have suspected his chin in early first round TKO losses to Roy Nelson and Junior Dos Santos, but it is more of Struve allowing himself to be put in bad situations. Also, Nelson and Dos Santos are some of the best knockout artists in the division.

If Struve can get past the onslaught that the undefeated knockout artist Browne will be bringing, People might have to acknowledge that he really can take as good a punch as anybody.

8. Frank Mir

Frank Mir might have a more suspect chin than Struve, but since he has faced tougher competition throughout his career, I will give him the benefit of the doubt here.

When Mir is allowed to negotiate his range properly, he can trade strikes with any heavyweight in the world.

With all five of his career losses coming by way of KO/TKO, however, he will definitely have to try and avoid the big punches of Roy "Big Country" Nelson.

7. Brian Stann

Having moved down from the light heavyweight division relatively recently, Brian Stann is a tank of a middleweight.

Stann loves to exchange strikes with slightly controlled abandon and just wait to see who falls first. With that risky strategy, he has only lost once by way of TKO.

That one loss was to respected kickboxer Steve Cantwell, but Cantwell has shown to struggle against other UFC caliber fighters strikers.

6. Roy Nelson

Roy Nelson has only been finished with strikes once.

It was a somewhat controversial bout, and it came at the hands of the devastating puncher Andrei Arlovski.

The controversy stemmed from a premature stand-up, which was clearly for Arlovski's benefit, and then the stoppage when Nelson got dropped, but was not necessarily out of the fight.

In his last bout Nelson took a number of strikes from arguably the best boxer in the UFC heavyweight division, Junior Dos Santos, and was still going pretty strong until the final bell.

5. Thiago Alves

In 25 professional fights, Thiago Alves has only lost once by KO/TKO. That was when he caught a particularly nasty upkick from Jon Fitch, and Fitch still had to finish up with a barrage of strikes to ensure the stoppage.

Other than catching that upkick, Alves hardly ever gets hurt from strikes.

4. Travis Browne

Travis Browne is pretty new to the big stage, but all signs indicate that he has a fabulous chin.

He won his first 10 fights with only one making it to a decision, and his last fight was a draw against devastating striker Cheick Kongo.

Struve should be his most difficult matchup to date, and it might tell us a lot more about his chin.

3. Quinton Jackson

How tough are the guys at UFC 130?

Quinton Jackson has one of the best chins in the history of the sport, but I feel obligated to put him No. 3 on this list.

Jackson has been knocked out a couple of times before, but you have to hit him with practically everything, including the kitchen sink, to even hurt him.

Jackson can throw down with anybody and have his chin hold up.

2. Rick Story

Rick Story has already defeated two of the biggest punchers in the entire welterweight division in Johnny Hendricks and Jake Ellenberger.

No doubt Story has a phenomenal chin, but he has never faced a technical striker at the level of UFC 130 opponent Thiago Alves.

Story has reason to have all kinds of faith in his chin, but only time will tell if it is good enough to carry him past arguably the division's best striker.

1. Matt Hamill

Matt Hamill has one TKO loss, but it was due to a body kick and is not indicative of any weakness of his chin.

He has traded big blows with Tim Boetsch and came out on top, but the best display of the strength of his chin was when he was matched up against current champion Jon Jones.

Hamill dislocated his shoulder and was getting completely dominated on the ground. Despite having his face being smashed in, Hamill never really seemed in danger of losing consciousness.

He might have one of the best chins in all of MMA, but we will not really find out until he faces his biggest puncher he has ever faced in Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.