October MMA Rankings: Heavyweight

After one of the most dominant heavyweight performances in the history of mixed martial arts, there is no doubt that Cain Velasquez rules the world of MMA’s heavyweight fighters.

Velasquez takes over the number one position from the man he defeated at UFC 121, Brock Lesnar. Heavy MMA will be counting down the top ten fighters in each division and invite you all to let us know how right (or…wrong) we are. Today, the heavyweights.

Note: HeavyMMA.com’s fighter rankings are based off how good we think the fighter in question is, not MMA math. Rankings current as of October 26, 2010.

1. Cain Velasquez

Matt Brown: Simply the best. There’s no doubt that Cain Velasquez earned the top spot after dominating Brock Lesnar at UFC 121. The path doesn’t get any easier as Dana White has already given Junior Dos Santos the next shot at the newly crowned champ.

Jeremy Botter: Velasquez started drawing comparisons to Fedor Emelianenko back in 2006. They weren’t accurate then, but they might be now. He made the massive Brock Lesnar look like the rookie he truly is, and I suspect Junior dos Santos won’t offer up much more competition. This belt could be his for awhile.

2. Fedor Emelianenko

Matt Brown: One freak loss doesn’t take away from what Fedor Emelianenko has done in his mixed martial arts career. Be honest, if they fought tomorrow, would you pick any other heavyweight in the world to beat Fedor other than the guy at the #1 spot? Didn’t think so.

Jeremy Botter: I don’t agree with putting Emelianenko over Werdum, but it’s difficult to pretend that he’s not still one of the two best heavyweights in the world.

3. Fabricio Werdum

Matt Brown: You get the number 3 spot for beating the greatest heavyweight fighter of all time. He’s also got big wins over Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, Brandon Vera, Gabe Gonzaga and Alistair Overeem throughout the course of his nine-year career.

Jeremy Botter: Werdum probably deserves a higher spot and might be able to cement it if the proposed rematch with Emelianenko ever comes to fruition.