UFC 136: Ranking Frankie Edgar and the 7 UFC Champions

Following an emphatic victory over the only man to beat him in Gray Maynard, UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar silenced the critics in successfully defending his title for the third time last night.

During the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White called Edgar the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport with No. 1 being UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

Of all the UFC champions, Edgar is doing what no one else really is and that's fighting outside of the weight class where he should probably be. It's an impressive feat that has seen the New Jersey fighter defend his title successfully in the most stacked division in MMA.

Other UFC champions include Georges St-Pierre, Dominick Cruz, Jon Jones, Cain Velasquez and Jose Aldo.

This is how they all stack up and where Edgar sits in the rankings.

No. 7: Cain Velasquez

UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is the only current UFC champion to have not defended his title, but that will finally happen on Nov. 12 when he takes on No. 1 contender Junior dos Santos.

Velasquez won the title in 2010 when he defeated Brock Lesnar in the very first round of their fight. It extended his record to 9-0, including eight of those coming by knockout.

What makes Velasquez unique is his athleticism, cardio and size. He is able to to utilize his smaller body to out-speed and out-work much larger opponents. That was the clear advantage in fights with Lesnar and Ben Rothwell where many gave size "advantages" to his bigger opponents.

As he continues to develop his overall skills, many expect to see a new and improved fighter each and every time he fights. That has yet to be proven false.

No. 6: Dominick Cruz

Dominick Cruz is the former WEC bantamweight champion and the current UFC bantamweight title holder.

At 19-1. Cruz has defeated every opponent he has ever faced, including getting revenge for his only loss against Urijah Faber in his first UFC title defense.

Of all the contenders in the 135 pound division, Cruz is the only man to have beaten many of them. Contenders Joseph Benavidez, Brian Bowles and Demetrious Johnson have a combined 34-5 record with four of those five losses coming against Cruz.

He also stopped a five-fight win streak against top contender Scott Jorgensen.

The 25-year-old is often criticized for not finishing his fights, but the results have been decisive. Each of his last four fights were scored 50-45 on at least one scorecard.

No. 5: Jose Aldo

Also featured on UFC 136 was a UFC featherweight title bout between champion Jose Aldo and No. 1 contender Kenny Florian.

Aldo defeated the former lightweight title challenger after five rounds to defend his 145 pound title for the second time. His first defense came against Mark Hominick in one of 2011's best fights.

The Brazilian holds a 20-1 record with victories over Manvel Gamburyan, Urijah faber, Mike Brown and Cub Swanson. His standout performances came against Brown and Gamburyan, both of whom he knocked out.

No. 4: Jon Jones

In a division where many of the biggest names in the sport fight at, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones made his way onto the MMA scene in 2008 and won his UFC title three years later when he defeated Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 128.

With the victory, Jones became the youngest UFC champion at the age of 23.

He followed up on that victory with a win over former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. He submitted the former Pride fighter in the fourth round to defend his title for the very first time.

His next fight will come against another former champion in Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida. If he defeats Machida, it may go down as the single greatest year that an MMA fighter has ever had.

No. 3: Frankie Edgar

UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar defended his title successfully after defeating Gray Maynard at UFC 136. Over four championship bouts, Edgar has only fought two fighters but has proven to be the better one each time out.

There are a couple things that make Edgar stand out from the rest of the UFC champions.

First, he is having continued success in the most stacked division in the sport. From the top 20 and down, the list of lightweight contenders is backed up, and many of them have a hard time making it to the top without having a setback or two.

Edgar has defeated every opponent he has faced, and that includes two wins over B.J. Penn and a dominant win over Sean Sherk. He avenged his only career loss to Maynard by knocking him out in the fourth round of their rubber match.

Also, the 29-year-old is fighting in a weight class where is he continually undersized. Many fighters do everything they can to drop as much weigh as possible while giving themselves a size advantage over many of their opponents. Edgar relies on his superior technique and skill to prove that size doesn't matter. If it does, it's the opposite of what people usually associate it with. This deserves high praise.

No. 2: Georges St-Pierre

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is one of the leading superstars in MMA, and his record proves he is one of the best fighters in the world and of all-time.

His recent victory over Jake Shields extended his win streak to nine with six of those being title defenses. His other wins include those over Josh Koscheck, Dan Hardy, Thiago Alves, B.J. Penn and Jon Fitch. Many of them still remain some of the elite welterweight fighters in the division.

To go along with his accomplishments inside the cage, St-Pierre was also considered fighter of the year in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

No. 1: Anderson Silva

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is the No.1 fighter in the world, and there isn't really a way to prove he isn't.

Without having ever lost inside the Octagon, the Brazilian muay-thai expert and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has gone undefeated in 14 bouts in the UFC.

Silva won the title when he defeated Rich Franklin in 2006. Nine consecutive title defenses followed, including victories over Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson, Yushin Okami, Vitor Belfort, Nate Marquardt, Demian Maia, Patrick Cote and Thales Leites.

On top of that, he has also ventured into the light heavyweight division where he has beaten Forrest Griffin and James Irvin by first-round knockout.

Many would like to see him face St-Pierre in arguably the biggest superfight in MMA history, but his future goals may come in the heavier divisions, including light heavyweight and possibly heavyweight.