Meet the 15 Members of My 2011 MMA All-Star Team

As the name implies, mixed martial arts has always been a sport in which fighters of various backgrounds come together to settle the debate of who truly is the best. While no specific style can be guaranteed as a guaranteed winner, we have seen aspects of numerous fighting styles dictate where fights happen and how they finish.

In this countdown, we will be taking a closer look at who the best of the best are in various skills used in mixed martial arts. If we were building the perfect super-fighter, these would be many of the attributes that he would possess.

So without further ado, it’s time to unveil the 15 members of my 2011 MMA All-Star team!

Most Technical Boxer

All-Star: Junior dos Santos

UFC 131 main eventer Junior dos Santos is the first inductee to this year’s all-star team.

As perhaps the most technically efficient boxer in the heavyweight division, dos Santos has cleaned house in the UFC on his way to a 6-0 record in the organization. Though he doesn’t have many one-punch knockouts, he has destroyed numerous opponents with his quick combinations and pinpoint precision.

There are rumors that he has an excellent ground skills in addition to his standup expertise, but we haven’t seen much of that aspect of his game. Dos Santos generally keeps fights on their feet, where he has earned two Knockout of the Night bonuses in his short UFC career.

Best One-Punch Power

All-Star: Dan Henderson

It’s not often that a fighter with the wrestling pedigree of Dan Henderson becomes known for being one of the world’s hardest-hitting fighters as well, but I suppose that’s what has made him into such a legend in the sport.

As the only man to hold two titles in a major MMA promotion at one time when he did so in Pride, Henderson has a long track record of smashing his opponents with his trademark “H-Bomb.”

Perhaps the most memorable knockout in Hendo’s career came when he fought Michael Bisping at UFC 100. The two men were coaches on Season 9 of The Ultimate Fighter but had their own showdown that night. After a competitive first round, Henderson absolutely destroyed Bisping with a violent right hook to the jaw that stiffened the Brit’s entire body up, before dropping a second punishing shot squarely to the face.

When asked about the second shot in a post-fight interview, Henderson arose controversy by admitting that it may have not just been in the heat of the moment.

“Normally I'm not that way in fights. I know if the guy's out, I tend to stop,” he said. “I knew I hit him out and I think that one was just to shut him up a little bit."

Best Takedowns

All-Star: Georges St-Pierre

Georges St-Pierre could realistically have been considered for numerous of the spots on this list, but in order to make things a bit more entertaining, I decided to keep each fighter to just one skill. After having seen how easily St-Pierre has taken care of some of the best wrestlers in the welterweight division, naming him for the best takedowns seemed obvious.

With 77.3 percent of his takedowns being successful according to FightMetric, St-Pierre is far and away the best in the business at getting his opponent to the ground. Once they’re there, it’s time for GSP to unleash his smothering and sometimes punishing top game, which has included TKO victories over some of the best the sport has to offer, including the historically tough-to-finish BJ Penn.

Best Takedown Defense

All-Star: Lyoto Machida

Known as one of the most difficult to prepare for fighters in the UFC, Lyoto Machida has taken his core discipline of karate and turned it into an surprisingly effective skill set. Machida uses his rarely seen techniques to catch his opponents off guard with frustratingly effective striking.

But one of the biggest reasons that he has been able to implement this game plan is because he has been so effective at keeping his fights on the feet.

According to FightMetric, Machida is fourth all-time in the UFC when it comes to takedown defense, keeping his opponents to just a 15 percent success rate when they try to bring him to the ground.

Most Punishing Knees

All-Star: Anderson Silva

If you’ve seen his fights against Rich Frankin, this one should almost go without saying.

Muay Thai knee strikes seem to be a lost art form in many MMA events in this the day of the wrestler, but UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is certainly one of the names that comes to mind when discussing the best knees in the sport.

Silva has used knees in other fights, but the way he used them to completely wreck former champion Rich Franklin’s face is as memorable as it is terrifying.

Most Powerful Kicks

All-Star: Pat Barry

UFC heavyweight fighter Pat Barry has been back and forth when it comes to wins and losses since joining the world’s top mixed martial arts company in December 2008, but there is one thing that he has become known for in that time.

Leg kicks.

Prior to joining the UFC, Barry had put together an undefeated 4-0 record. Perhaps most surprisingly was the way he was winning the fights, with three wins coming by way of TKOs due to leg kicks.

Barry put his ridiculous kicking power on display again at UFC: Fight for the Troops 2 in January, when he fought to a unanimous decision victory over Joey “The Mexicutioner” Beltran. The fight was competitive, but things looked grim for Beltran in the third round when he was limping around the cage, taking leg kick after hellacious leg kick from Barry until he finally collapsed to the ground after the bell sounded to end the fight.

Taking Barry’s kicks and continuing actually made Beltran a candidate for our next all-star team position...

Toughest Fighter

All-Star: Nick Diaz

Love him or hate him, you have to respect the toughness of the bad boy from Stockton, Calif. Nick Diaz is one of MMA’s most polarizing figures, but his willingness to stand and bang with anyone in the sport has made him into an icon.

In 32 professional fights, Diaz has only been finished twice. Once by way of cuts against KJ Noons (whom he later dismantled in a rematch) and once nearly nine years ago against Jeremy Jackson (whom he proceeded to defeat twice within the following year).

It was Diaz’s performance against Paul Daley back in April that made him the top candidate for Toughest Fighter, though. While there is no question that Diaz would have the advantage if the fight went to the ground, he decided to show off his toughness by standing against one of the welterweight division’s biggest punchers.

Daley rocked Diaz on two separate occasions during the fight, but was unable to finish the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu student. It would cost him as Diaz recovered and knocked Daley out right before the end of the first round.

Best Jiu-Jitsu

All-Star: Roger Gracie

Are you really surprised to see a Gracie on the list under Best Jiu-Jitsu?

The surname Gracie is synonymous with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Roger Gracie has carried that tradition into the 21st century as he had put together an unbelievable 65-7 submission grappling record in addition to his undefeated 4-0 record in mixed martial arts.

Gracie has won each of his four MMA contests by way of submission, but will face by far the stiffest competition of his MMA career when he fights “King Mo” Lawal in July.

Best Appearance/Look

All-Star: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson

This one doesn’t particularly affect a fighter’s abilities in the cage, but it certainly helps with marketability. And there’s no doubt that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has that.

Jackson’s appearance is awesome in many different ways. The dark skin and muscular frame, the chain around his neck like the old WWF wrestler The Junkyard Dog, and his trademark scowl make him one of the sport’s most easily recognizable athletes.

At first glance, Jackson looks like the hero in a video game whose only job is to kick ass and take names. But a lot of that is for show, as Rampage is truly one of the funniest and most unique personalities in the sport.

Strongest Fighter

All-Star: Mariusz Pudzianowski

For those who are unfamiliar with this freak of nature, Mariusz Pudzianowski is a former record-holding five-time World’s Strongest Man winner. Yes, the guys that pull buses and toss around kegs of beer like they are nothing.

Though his skills from those competitions don’t directly transfer over into mixed martial arts, it just feels wrong putting someone else down as the strongest fighter when there is a man competing who could literally be considered one of the strongest human beings ever to live.

Best Personality

All-Star: Jason “Mayhem” Miller

Like his nemesis Nick Diaz, Jason “Mayhem” Miller is a highly controversial figure in the sport of mixed martial arts. His outrageous antics make him an interesting source of entertainment, but seem to rub some fans the wrong way.

As seen by a simple search on YouTube, Miller’s choreographed entrances for fights are some of the most ridiculous and hilarious that have ever been performed.

But his personality in interviews is what made him crack this list. Despite being one of the most famous fighters in the world, Miller seems to be very down to earth and seems to really enjoy every aspect of his job—even if it means interacting with the media, which many fighters hate doing.

Best Conditioned

All-Star: Frankie Edgar

Though he may not be the first name that comes to your mind when you think of great cardio, the statistics show that current UFC lightweight champion may actually be the fighter with the most energy currently fighting today.

While fighters like Georges St-Pierre and Jon Fitch have taken quite a bit of heat for their inability to finish fights and their insistence on grinding out decisions, it is actually Frankie Edgar who holds the UFC record for longest average fight time at 16:14. This number is nearly a minute longer than the man with the second-longest average fight time, former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk.

The crazy thing about Edgar is that he doesn’t seem to lose any steam from the pace he sets in the first round until the final bell hits at the end of the fifth round in title fights. He’s a machine unlike many other fighters.

Best Game-Planner

All-Star: Cain Velasquez

This should perhaps be titled, “Best Ability to Stick to Game Plans,” but that doesn’t sound quite as good.

In prior years, Randy Couture would’ve been the obvious choice for the best game-planner in MMA. Unfortunately, his run as the best in that area came to an end when he retired following his loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 129.

But current UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is a suitable heir apparent to Couture’s crown. With his crazy skill level, Velasquez always has the ability to stray from his game plan to attack and finish fights, but it has been his dedication to the game-planning created by his trainers that has made him a champion.

This was most apparent in his fight with Cheick Kongo when he diligently stuck to the game plan and outstruck him by a huge number on his way winning an obvious unanimous decision.

Most Inventive Fighter

All-Star: Jon Jones

He’s only 23 years old, but Jon Jones is already making his case as being one of the greatest light heavyweight fighters the sport has ever seen.

It’s not just that Jones is winning his fights, it’s how he’s winning his fights. In addition to the fact that he has completely dominated every opponent he has faced, Jones is throwing out strikes that we have never (or rarely ever) seen before.

Not only that, but he’s doing them and connecting. So many fighters attempt crazy strikes but are almost never successful with them. Every time Jones tries something, it seems like it just lands right on the money.

Of course, it helps that he has the longest reach in UFC history.

Most Entertaining Fighter

All-Star: Clay Guida

There are a number of fighters who could have been up for this one. Jon Jones, Diego Sanchez, Urijah Faber, Jose Aldo and Anthony Pettis all come to mind as some of the most entertaining fighters. But it is Pettis’ opponent this Saturday night, Clay “The Carpenter” Guida, who comes out on top as the most entertaining fighter in MMA today.

With non-stop aggression and ridiculous pace, Guida’s fights are never boring. He may not always come out on top, but there are numerous times in every one of his fights where fans rise up out of their chairs with smiles on their faces, admiring the unbelievable action that’s going on in the cage.

We should be in for a treat at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale as Clay Guida faces Anthony “Showtime” Pettis in the main event in what is sure to be a Fight of the Year candidate.