MMA Pound-for-Pound Rankings

Jon Jones is shining like Leroy Green from "The Last Dragon."

The reigning UFC light heavyweight champion capped off an already historic year with a submission victory over former champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 141.

With the win, Jones now finds himself in the middle of a pound-for-pound debate, which also includes all-time greats Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre.

In 2011 alone, Jones has defeated three former world champions and MMA legends in Shogun, Machida, and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

The light heavyweight division, which was once considered the most stacked weight class in the entire sport, is now running on fumes thanks to Jones' dominance.

Has the young lion done enough to overtake the pound-for-pound rankings?

Also, the pound-for-pound list will never be the same again as it welcomes its first ever female addition to the rankings.

10) Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos

"You don't know how hard a woman can hit, until you've been hit by Cyborg."

Pat Miletich's one-liner echoes the otherworldly abilities of Strikeforce women's featherweight champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos.

There has never been a woman in combat sports that instills the sort of fear in opponents that Cyborg does.

After every fight, Strikeforce is forced to scour the globe for an opponent willing to step into the cage with the same Amazon who rag dolls grown men in training.

9) Junior Dos Santos

Junior dos Santos was seen as the underdog by most analysts, but at UFC on Fox, "Cigano" made his country and fans proud by defeating undefeated heavyweight Cain Velasquez to claim the UFC title.

There won't be much time to celebrate.

Dos Santos will be keeping a close eye on the main event at UFC141, which features the No. 1 contender's bout between Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem.

8) Dan Henderson

When it comes to Dan Henderson, age really is just a number.

The former Pride and Strikeforce champion has reemerged into the pound-for-pound spotlight as of late with signature wins over Fedor Emelianenko, Mauricio Rua and Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante.

Depending on the outcome of Rashad Evans and Phil Davis' bout in January in UFC's return on Fox, Henderson could be gearing up for a showdown with Jon Jones.

7) Jon Fitch

Jon Fitch may be one of the most under-appreciated fighters in all of MMA.

Minus a decision loss to Georges St-Pierre and a draw with B.J. Penn, Fitch has taken on and defeated all comers in at welterweight

In a world without St-Pierre, it's always interesting to ponder where Fitch's career would be.

6) Dominick Cruz

Dominick Cruz is steadily creeping into some elite territory.

Since winning the WEC/UFC bantamweight title in March 2010, Cruz has successfully defended his title four consecutive times.

Make no mistake: Cruz is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world and most likely a future UFC Hall of Famer.

5) Frankie Edgar

Frankie Edgar is the real life Rocky.

People seem to count him out time and time again, but he always finds a way to rise to the occasion and shock the world.

At UFC 136, he rebounded from another near-catastrophic first round against Gray Maynard and picked up the fourth-round knockout.

After the fight, UFC President Dana White listed Edgar as the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

It's tough to argue with the boss, but Edgar takes No. 5 in these rankings.

4) Jose Aldo

After a rough UFC debut against Mark Hominick, Jose Aldo picked former two-time lightweight title contender Kenny Florian to pieces at UFC 136.

The featherweight division is stacked with world-class talent, but Aldo's continued dominance has seemingly left the weight class in ruins.

Thankfully, there are a plethora of potential contenders in the division.

Aldo's next challenge could be his biggest.

He's set to take on Chad "Money" Mendes in the UFC 142 main event.

3) Jon Jones

If he stays on track, Jon Jones could go down as the greatest fighter in MMA history.

After such an exceptional 2011, fans are already clamoring for his inclusion as the top pound-for-pounder, but seriously, what's the rush?

Anderson Silva and GSP have been defending their UFC titles and dominating world-class opposition for years.

Jones' win over Machida was the second successful title defense of his career.

2) Georges St-Pierre

When forced to choose, it's pretty much impossible to pick a clear-cut No. 1 candidate between Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva.

Both fighters are deserving of the top spot.

It's like choosing between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in the NFL.

At UFC 129, St-Pierre may have finally lost a round, but he coasted to another workmanlike decision over former Strikeforce middleweight champ Jake Shields.

Some criticize St-Pierre for not finishing opponents, but it all comes down to what a person considers more dominant––netting a quick and nasty finish, or masterfully picking a world-class opponent apart for 25 minutes?

1) Anderson Silva

Silva and GSP are basically playing tag with the top spot at this point.

Overlooking Yushin Okami's questionable game plan, Silva continued his dominant ways at UFC 134, picking up a second-round TKO stoppage over the top middleweight contender.

With the win, "The Spider" extends his UFC records for most consecutive wins (14) and title defenses (nine).

What's next for the champ?

He's currently nursing an injured shoulder that will keep him sidelined until June 2012, but there are ongoing talks about possible rematches with Chael Sonnen or Dan Henderson.