Yahoo! Sports top-10 fighters

Eurosport - Mon, 16 Mar 15:45:00 2009

With the top three on the sidelines last month, there were no changes at the top of the Yahoo! Sports top-10 pound-for-pound list.

Fedor Emelianenko Emelyanenko MIXED MARTIAL ARTS - 0

All 18 ballots were the same at the top in February as they were in January. WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko and UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva remained tied at the top with 163 points.

Emelianenko had seven first-place votes to Silva's six, but Silva made up the ground with more second-place votes. Georges St. Pierre again finished third with 160 points (five first-place votes).

Those ballots likely will stay the same until Anderson Silva defends his title against Thales Leites in the main event of UFC 97 on April 18. With Leites not considered the strongest foe Silva has faced, the onus is on the champ to put together a decisive win if he wants to keep his spot at the top.

Votes are tabulated with 10 points for a first-place vote, nine for a second-place vote, etc., down to one point for a 10th-place vote.

Fighters who have not fought for more than 12 months (like Japanese standout Norifumi Yamamoto) are ineligible until after their next match; fighters under suspension for performance-enhancing drugs or drugs of abuse are ineligible for the duration of their suspensions.

10. Urijah Faber

Points: 19

Affiliation: WEC

Weight class: Featherweight

Hometown: Sacramento, Calif.

Record: 22-2 (won last one)

Last month's ranking: 9

Most recent result: def. Jens Pulver, R1 TKO, Jan. 25

Analysis: Mike Brown, the man who beat Faber for the title in November, blitzed Leonard Garcia in his first title defense on March 1. But he still couldn't pass Faber in the rankings.

9. Shinya Aoki

Points: 22

Affiliation: DREAM

Weight class: Lightweight

Hometown: Shizuoka City, Japan

Record: 20-3, 1 no-contest (won last three)

Last month's ranking: 10

Recent results: def. David Gardner, R1 submission, March 8.

Analysis: Was fed an easy victory in Gardner.

8. Quinton Jackson

Points: 52

Affiliation: UFC

Weight class: Light heavyweight

Hometown: Memphis, Tenn.

Record: 30-7 (won last two)

Last month's ranking: 8

Most recent result: def. Keith Jardine, unanimous decision, March 7

Analysis: Rampage has won six of his past seven against a who's who of light heavyweights, and he'll be rested and healed by the time he finally fights for the light heavyweight title.

7. Lyoto Machida

Points: 69

Affiliation: UFC

Weight class: Light heavyweight

Hometown: Belem, Brazil

Record: 14-0

Last month's ranking: 7

Most recent results: def. Thiago Silva, R1 TKO, Jan. 31

Analysis: Will get his well-earned title shot against Rashad Evans on May 23.

6. Rashad Evans

Points:83

Affiliation: UFC

Weight class: Light heavyweight (UFC light heavyweight champion)

Hometown: Lansing, Mich.

Record: 13-0-1 (won past three)

Last month's ranking: 5 (tie)

Most recent result: def. Forrest Griffin, R3 TKO, Dec. 27

Analysis: With one of the most multifaceted games in the entire light heavyweight division, Evans' chance at solving the Machida puzzle seems better than most.

5. B.J. Penn

Points: 84

Affiliation: UFC

Weight class: Lightweight (UFC lightweight champion)

Hometown: Hilo, Hawaii

Record: 13-5-1 (lost past one)

Last month's ranking: 5 (tie)

Most recent result: lost to Georges St. Pierre, doctor stoppage after R4, Jan. 31

Analysis: Penn turned down a UFC 99 date against Kenny Florian and filed a protest against Georges St. Pierre, suggesting his mind isn't yet back on fighting.

4. Miguel Angel Torres

Points:122

Affiliation: WEC

Weight class: Bantamweight (WEC bantamweight champion)

Hometown: East Chicago, Ind.

Record: 35-1 (won past 16)

Last month's ranking: 4

Most recent result: def. Manny Tapia, TKO R2, Dec. 3

Analysis: Brian Bowles had to drop out of their April 5 match, so Torres will face Takeya Mizugaki, a Shooto and Cage Force vet who has been making short work of recent opponents.

3. Georges St. Pierre

Points: 160 (five first-place votes)

Affiliation: UFC

Weight class: Welterweight (UFC welterweight champion)

Hometown: Saint-Isidore, Quebec

Record: 18-2 (won past five)

Last month's ranking: 3

Most recent result: def. B.J. Penn, doctor stoppage after R4, Jan. 31

Analysis: With Greasegate all but put past him, St. Pierre is in some much-deserved downtime before preparing for Thiago Alves.

1 (tie). Anderson Silva

Points: 163 (6 first-place votes)

Affiliation: UFC

Weight class: Middleweight (UFC middleweight champion)

Hometown: Curitiba, Brazil

Record: 23-4 (won past nine)

Last month's ranking: 1 (tie)

Most recent result: def. Patrick Cote, R3 TKO, Oct. 25

Analysis: Needs a convincing win over Thales Leites if he's going to stay on top.

1 (tie). Fedor Emelianenko

Points: 163 (7 first-place votes)

Affiliation: Affliction/M-1 (WAMMA heavyweight champion)

Weight class: Heavyweight

Hometown: Stary Oskol, Russia

Record: 29-1, one no-contest (won past 10)

Last month's ranking: 1 (tie)

Most recent result: def. Andrei Arlovski, R1 KO, Jan. 24

Analysis: Now comes one of those long delays where we wait to find out who Fedor will face next, where, and in which promotion.

More

- Votes for others: Mike Brown 19; Thiago Alves 9; Dan Henderson, Brock Lesnar 6; Forrest Griffin, Andrei Arlovski 2.

- Upcoming matches for ranked fighters: No. 4 Miguel Torres vs. Takeya Mizugazi, April 5, Chicago; No. 1 (tie) Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites, April 19, Montreal.

- MMAWeekly.com's divisional rankings

- Last month's rankings

Dave Doyle, Yahoo! Sports US / Eurosport

Comment 1 - 2 of 2

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  1. How the hell is Mike Brown not ahead of Faber...he­ destroyed Faber in their fight

    From KidGomi, on Mon 30 Mar 11:56PM
  2. its always a popularity contest with these top­ 10s!!i'm not a fan of evans but he should be alot­ higher than 6???? frank mir subs brok and ko's­ minatoro ( fedor never did that) and doesnt make #10­ atleast.fedor is a great fighter but beating a bunch of­ ufc castoffs isn't deserving of a # 1 tie with­ silva.george should be # 1 with silva !!!

    From chrisdewoody, on Fri 27 Mar 9:11PM
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