so everyone you had on your list is in the final rankings, sweet. i like your list better, because fedor is at number 7. i guess it was easier putting torres in there after his last few fights.

although i know one user on this site would have liked to see kimbo at number one...

Underboss MMAfia

Head of the West Coast Family

I think with more and more of the top fighters fighting in this country and more and more MMA being televised it's getting easier for me to figure out who the top fighters are...

Something to note is that 8 out of the top 10 fighters are in Zuffa promotions (UFC and WEC) while two (Fedor and Randy) are not...

There are other good fighters out there like Gomi and Melendez and Aoki, I just think the ones listed are the best ones right now.

Kimbo was #11. One more dominating performance like the one he had last week will be enough for him to crack the top 10...

WTF Kimbo at #11? I would say top 5 easy I like your list but I would say Penn has to be above Faber.
EERS_1_Fan

Head of South East Tribe MMAFIA
Wrestle for 6 minutes then golf for an hour and see which one is harder.

i haven't seen aoki fight, melendez 1 or 2 times online and i think he lost his last fight, and i don't know who gomi has fought other than 2 losses to bj penn(i think) and diaz...

Underboss MMAfia

Head of the West Coast Family

maybe faber is at number 3 because he hasn't lost in a long time and penn is just starting to be the old bj penn again...that's a tough one but i would put penn at 3 and faber at 4...

Underboss MMAfia

Head of the West Coast Family

Eers, The comment about Kimbo was a joke...

About Faber & Penn, I go back and forth on that one but I think you're right -- Penn should actually be higher. I'll be flip-flopping the two next time around...

And when I said top 5 I was joking lol......I think anyone who wrestled in high school can beat him. As a matter of fact I'm pretty sure everyone on this site has said that all along....Brat said thats why Felice stopped coming because it "Ticked" her off. After looking at the Combatwire page and seeing who's face is plastered all over it I can see why lol.
EERS_1_Fan

Head of South East Tribe MMAFIA
Wrestle for 6 minutes then golf for an hour and see which one is harder.

Ahh. Ok. I got you...lol Kimbo in the top 5...I like it...

What ticked Felice off?

Bas Rutten must be one of her trainers or her hero or something? And we are always cutting on Kimbo on here 2+2=4 lol
EERS_1_Fan

Head of South East Tribe MMAFIA
Wrestle for 6 minutes then golf for an hour and see which one is harder.

I find it intresting that there are so many HW's on the pound for pound list. You would think that if they are the heaviest...then they would have to be extremely dominant in the HW class to make a list like this. And Nog? I know he is the champ but P4P he barly squeaked out a win of Heath Herring and some people on here think Heath is going to get destroyed by Brock Lesnar. If Heath does get destoryed by Brock and Herring all but finished Nog and Nog is 8th on this list...would Brock make the list? These lists are always funny. One loss can knock you from top 3 to right off the list...case in point Shogun.

SBRadial, you are a hard egg to crack. One minute you will be making a very valid point about P4P and the next minute you are rambling on about a mediocre Heath Herring?
Listen I am going to explain the Heath Vs, Brock match for you. When Heath Herring faced Jake O’Brien he was exposed big time, he sucks against a wrestling stud. But there is a huge difference between Jake and Brock and that difference is called Ground and Pound. Heath will be lucky for an early stoppage otherwise he will be eating some major blows before the fight ends.
Now on to the P4P I agree with what (I think) you was leading up to. Keep the P4P guys at a realist weight just as the lists have been done for years in combat sports.

EERS_1_Fan
I'm the Capo mess with me and I'll tell you where to go!

Just to explain my picks a bit: I look for athleticism, well-roundedness, and nice victories in creating this list.

If you've been following my rankings you'll notice that the heavyweights have been moving down the list while the lighter guys are actually moving up. I think the heavyweight division is the weakest class in MMA and maybe you're right, it might be overrepresented.

On the other hand, I think Couture, Nog, and Fedor fit my general criteria.

As for Nog, yes he could have easily lost to Herring but he also could have easily lost to Sylvia as well. He was knocked down in the first round of both fights. The fact that he was able to regroup, compose himself and come out victorious shows me a lot. Fedor-Sylvia will go a long way to determining whether Fedor stays on my list much longer. And, with Nog not fighting again until December and Couture not fighting for a long time either it might be time to move both off the list.

Thanks for the input. That's why I put my ballot up, so that it can be critiqued. It's easy to get tunnel-vision with these things and you're making me consider my picks in a new light...

Nog's last three wins have come against 2 former UFC HW champs who are also guys still in the top 5 HW in the world. Couture hasn't even won his last three fights... he lost to Chuck in convincing fashion for a second time... a guy who is not even on the p4p list. My vote would be to move him off of the p4p list... great all-time HW, but not current P4P ranked imo.

And about Herring, he beat former UFC HW Champ Mark Kerr who was even more dominating wrestler than Brock with more submissions experience and Herring was a US National Sambo Champ before going to MMA... I think Brock could be starting his career 0-2.

Randy did beat Gonzaga and Sylvia though. I can see Randy as he is a HW Champ (he never lost the belt) and he is probably the lightest HW in the division. being a top P4P guy if that is your argument. I still think Nog is massivly overrated for what he has done in the UFC but he beat the guys he needed to I guess though not as astounding as I would have liked. Fedor well...Fedor has had a big rep as "the man" for a long time now. He has done nothing to keep or lose that rep. By nothing I mean nothing. What would it take for Tim to take Fedor out of your P4P list? Obviously if Tim beats him. But if Tim takes him to a decision?

All very valid points SBRadial. I think this discussion points to how much this is an art and not a science. I think a case could be made for a number of fighters. Here's my question. Who would you put in the list in place of Nog, Couture, and/or Fedor?

As to your question about Fedor, I think any sort of loss to Sylvia would remove him from the list. Why? Because he hasn't fought a legit heavyweight in a over a year and a loss to a legit heavyweight not in the top 10 p4p his first fight back would not look good to me...

Does there have to be 10 in the top 10?? Haha! Couldnt the list be capped out at 10 but not necessarily have to include 10 if the field is too congested?

How about Sherk? He has losses to only GSP, BJ and Hughes 5 years ago in his prime. 32-3 is no joke. Wins against Nick Diaz, Karo, KenFlo and Franca.

And about Fedor, if he goes to decision with Tim (and Fedor wins), how is that any different than what Randy did that vaulted him to the top of the list? Also... didnt Gonzaga prove to be over-rated... he nailed Cro Cop (not unlike Serra nailing GSP) but then lost in convincing to Randy and also Werdum. The win over Gonzaga lost a little prestige seeing him against Werdum...

Sure, I agree that if Fedor wins (even by decision), he'll still be on the list...However, if he loses, he's off the list...And, I agree that Couture's win over Gonzaga is losing prestige with time. All three heavyweights have been sliding down my list.

My problem with Sherk is that he is one-dimensional and the steroid issue also hurts him. In the past year, he's beaten Franca, he's been inactive due to steroids suspension and he's lost to BJ Penn. I try to weigh the last year a bit more than the total resume, which is another factor hurting Fedor right now. His past year is not impressive. And, the longer Couture remains inactive his past year will look worse and worse too...