Jeremy Botter: The past month has been a very fortunate one for Aldo. He notched another dominant win over Manny Gamburyan and then he becomes the first UFC featherweight champion overnight. Big things are in store for Aldo.
Spencer Kyte: The UFC featherweight champion has looked like Anderson Silva circa 2007, finishing each and every opponent put before him since debuting with the soon-to-be-defunct WEC. What makes him so impressive is that just about everyone agrees that Aldo could step up to lightweight and leave the same trail of destruction.
Matt Brown: We all know that nobody in MMA is unstoppable. That being said, Jose Aldo has looked about as unstoppable as any fighter in recent memory. His speed/size combo is going to present problems for every single fighter he faces at 145 pounds.
2. Georges St. Pierre
Jeremy Botter: The way I see it, St. Pierre really has two interesting fights remaining at welterweight, and one of them happens in December against Josh Koscheck. After that, he faces Jake Shields. Two dominant wins should equal a move to middleweight if St. Pierre truly wants to keep challenging himself.
Spencer Kyte: No fighter has been more consistently dominant against high-level competition than the UFC welterweight champion. With each impressive performance, his stunning loss to Matt Serra becomes less and less relevant.
Matt Brown: A dominant win over Josh Koscheck and St. Pierre could find himself right back in the number one spot on this list. The shocking loss to Matt Serra seems like forever ago and since, St. Pierre’s popularity has skyrocketed. With Gatorade and Under Armour sponsorships under his belt, his star will only get brighter.
3. Anderson Silva
Jeremy Botter: The St. Pierre philosophy goes for The Spider. Yes, he nearly lost to Chael Sonnen, and some might even say he was exposed. But he still earned the victory and still reigns as the most dominant middleweight in the sport. A move to light heavyweight would be much more interesting than going through the division a second time.
Spencer Kyte: It is amazing that two fighters can be considered better than the UFC middleweight champion. Silva has rattled off 13 consecutive victories, with two of those wins coming in the light heavyweight division.
Matt Brown: If you were ranking these fighters solely based on owning their division, then Silva would be head and shoulders above the rest. He hasn’t lost since 2006, but Chael Sonnen certainly showed that the UFC middleweight champ might be vulnerable after all.
Jeremy Botter: Edgar’s 2010 was as strong as anybody in the sport, and he’s only been in the cage with B.J. Penn. A dominant win over Gray Maynard at the end of the year should seal his candidacy for Fighter of the Year, but that’s far from a foregone conclusion.
Spencer Kyte: Edgar is essentially the reverse Aldo, in that everyone agrees the UFC lightweight champion could earn gold down a division. For now, he doesn’t need to go anywhere, as the New Jersey native is the best 155-pound fighter on the planet.
Matt Brown: What an amazing run for Edgar. He went from everyone calling for a move to the WEC to twice dominating a man many considered to be the best lightweight in the world in BJ Penn. He’ll have a chance to truly quiet his critics with a victory over Gray Maynard, the only fighter to ever defeat him.
5. Jon Fitch
Jeremy Botter: Fitch was, for lack of a better term, “Fitched” by the UFC. The guy just keeps winning, but he’s held out of title shots due to his boring style. But guess what? The UFC isn’t going to change their ways. If you want a title shot, you’re going to need to do something about it.
Spencer Kyte: Say what you will about Fitch’s fighting style and lack of finishes; the guy has lost once since 2003, and that came against the man who sits second on this list. The former Purdue Boilermaker would be a dominant champion if not for some guy named St. Pierre.
Matt Brown: There’s no doubt that everyone wants to hold a title at some point in their careers. In Jon Fitch’s case, it might have to come at 185 pounds. Despite beating, and for the most part dominating, every opponent other than Georges St. Pierre, it looks like Fitch is at least 8-10 months away from being considered for a shot at the welterweight belt.
6. Mauricio Rua
Jeremy Botter: Rua is on the shelf until February. Or May, depending on who you believe. Either way, he’s got a date with an apparently-disgruntled Rashad Evans waiting when he comes back.
Spencer Kyte: “Shogun” looked amazing ending Lyoto Machida’s championship run atop the light heavyweight division, reminding everyone why he was considered the top 205-pound fighter in the world before coming to the UFC. The only concern is that Rua went under the knife again after his win, and it took about two years for him to come all the back after his last procedure.
Matt Brown: We’ll have to see how Shogun responds to this surgery. Last time around, he gave a lackluster performance against Mark Coleman and got choked out by Forrest Griffin. Rashad Evans, who will have had several months to prepare and gameplan for the fight, will greet him in the cage when he is able to make his return.
Jeremy Botter: Shields was beyond terrible in his UFC debut, yet still managed to beat a very game Martin Kampmann. That says something about his skillset, and I’m still of the mindset that Shields will present a unique challenge for St. Pierre when the two meet in 2011.
Spencer Kyte: Don’t judge Shields on his UFC debut; the former Strikeforce middleweight champion managed to eek out a win over a tough Martin Kampmann, despite looking exhausted in the early going. We’ll see why he’s on this list and the reason the UFC was so quick to snare him as a free agent when he meets the winner of the UFC 124 main event.
Matt Brown: Jake Shields is better than the Jake Shields we saw versus Martin Kampmann. He’ll make sure he doesn’t have to cut nearly 20 pounds to make weight and he’ll be ready for the winner of Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck. This is still the guy that dominated Mayhem Miller and Dan Henderson.
8. Dominick Cruz
Jeremy Botter: Cruz has a chance to become the first-ever UFC bantamweight champ, but he’ll have to get by Scott Jorgensen to claim the crown. After that? A date with Urijah Faber is likely in the offing, considering Faber’s impressive win over Takeya MIzugaki this week.
Spencer Kyte: The UFC bantamweight champ hasn’t lost at 135. In fact, he’s barely been tested since dropping to the division more than two years ago. If he comes away with a win against Scott Jorgensen in December, a chance to avenge the only loss of his career opposite Urijah Faber could be on the horizon.
Matt Brown: When you talk about someone who has really stepped up and made a name for himself in the last 12 months, Dominick Cruz really comes to mind. His footwork and head movement are truly a thing of beauty – and a rarity in MMA. It looks like he’ll get Urijah Faber if he makes it past the tough Scott Jorgensen.
9. Lyoto Machida
Jeremy Botter: Machida faces off against Rampage Jackson this week in Detroit. It should be an ugly style matchup for Jackson and a fight that Machida can easily win by decision. It may not be the prettiest thing in the world, but it will be effective, and then Jackson will complain about being in a boring fight when, in reality, he should be focused on winning the fight.
Spencer Kyte: When the only loss of your career comes to someone ranked ahead of you on this list in a championship bout, that says something about your skill set. Before being defeated by “Shogun” Rua, people were proclaiming Machida an unbeatable talent at 205. While he has already been beaten, Machida remains a remarkable talent with just a single tick in the loss column.
Matt Brown: Machida will likely bounce back from defeat with a convincing win against Rampage Jackson at UFC 123 this Saturday. When looking at the pecking order in the light heavyweight division, it may not be too long before we see Machida getting a shot to regain the title.
Spencer Kyte: Melendez isn’t here to keep the UFC from holding every place on the rankings as some people will surely argue. The Strikeforce lightweight champion is here because he dominated Shinya Aoki and holds wins over Josh Thomson and Tatsuya Kawajiri as well. If he was in the UFC, no one would argue this ranking.
Matt Brown: The big matchups for Melendez are few and far between. Most of the best lightweights in the world reside in the UFC or Japan so getting something exciting going for him will take some doing. His good friend Jake Shields has moved to the UFC and one can only wonder how long it will take for Gilbert to do the same.
