FightMania August Rankings

There were plenty of top five fighters on display over the last month in MMA, including three “1 vs. 2″ fights in different divisions over that period, which is pretty astounding. While some divisions didn’t see a lot of action in August, there have been a few changes, including a new pound-for-pound number one fighter in the world!

BANTAMWEIGHT DIVISION (135 LBS.)
1. Dominick Cruz
2. Joseph Benavidez
3. Brian Bowles
4. Miguel Torres
5. Urijah Faber
6. Scott Jorgensen
7. Takeya Mizugaki
8. Damacio Page
9. Shuichiro Katsumura
10. Masakatsu Ueda

No changes this month in the division, even though three fighters were in action. Dominick Cruz again defeated Benavidez, but I still believe Benavidez has a good grip on the number 2 spot. Jorgensen took a unanimous decision against Brad Pickett at WEC 50, although I am hesitant to move him up just yet. Depending on how Urijah Faber fares against Mizugaki or how Torres fares next month, that could change. Speaking of Torres, he will face Charlie Valencia at WEC 51 on Sept. 30. Meanwhile, the Faber-Mizugaki fight won’t happen until October or November. Katsumura will face Darren Uyenoyama on Sept. 23rd in Tokyo.

FEATHERWEIGHT DIVISION (145 LBS.)
1. Jose Aldo
2. Manny Gamburyan
3. Mike Brown
4. Bibiano Fernandes
5. Michihiro Omigawa
6. Marlon Sandro
7. Josh Grispi
8. L.C. Davis
9. Diego Nunes
10. Hatsu Hioki

No changes here, either, with only Hatsu Hioki seeing action since our July rankings. Hioki steamrolled Jeff Lawson at SRC 14, as he rightfully should have, but it wasn’t enough for me to bump him up just yet. Next month, Aldo will defend against Gamburyan at WEC 51, Sept. 30.

LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION (155 LBS.)
1. Frankie Edgar
2. B.J. Penn
3. Gilbert Melendez
4. Gray Maynard (6)
5. Kenny Florian (4)
6. Shinya Aoki (5)
7. Eddie Alvarez
8. Evan Dunham
9. Ben Henderson
10. Josh Thomson

There were a few changes to the lightweight rankings, thanks to the events of UFC 118. Edgar has definitely solidified his spot as the top lightweight in the world, but I think Penn is still a solid number two in the division. Meanwhile, Maynard beat Florian in a fight where Florian showed poor takedown defense and hesitation to pull the trigger. UFC president Dana White said he “chokes” in big fights. Ouch. He drops a spot, while Maynard leapfrogs Florian and Aoki to take the four spot. I kept Florian ahead of Aoki because of Aoki’s holes in his striking and takedown defense. Plus, I think Florian would beat him.

WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION (170 LBS.)
1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Thiago Alves
4. Josh Koscheck
5. Jake Shields
6. Nick Diaz
7. Martin Kampmann
8. Dan Hardy
9. Paulo Thiago
10. Paul Daley

No changes in the welterweight division this month. Fitch defeated Alves in the only fight between top ten fighters this month, at UFC 117. To me, the fight just shows that they are fine right where they are at the second and third position, respectively. Don’t expect much change next month, as Paul Daley will face Jorge Masvidal at Shark Fights 13, September 13th as the only top ten fighter in action.

MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION (185 LBS.)
1. Anderson Silva
2. Chael Sonnen
3. Nate Marquardt
4. Dan Henderson
5. Demian Maia
6. Vitor Belfort
7. Yushin Okami
8. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza
9. Alan Belcher
10. Jorge Santiago

Surprise! No changes here. In action was of course Silva, who defeated Sonnen at UFC 117. Sonnen really impressed me and definitely stays at number 2 in the division while he awaits his rematch. Maia defeated Mario Miranda at UFC 118, but certainly not impressively. I was tempted to drop him, but not in favor of Vitor Belfort, so he stays put for now. Okami defeated Mark Munoz at UFC on Versus 2, which was the expected result. Santiago beat Misaki at SRC 14, but stays at the tenth spot because of the trouble Misaki gave him throughout. It’s tough…do you reward Santiago for the heart he showed or dock him for being knocked down and almost finished earlier in the fight? Jacare defeated Tim Kennedy at Strikeforce: Houston, but I wasn’t happy with his performance and decision not to attempt to get it to the ground more. I think Jacare is still better than Belcher, Santiago, and all the unranked middleweights, though. Marquardt will face Rousimar Palhares at UFC Fight Night 22 on September 15.

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (205 LBS.)
1. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
2. Lyoto Machida
3. Rashad Evans
4. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
5. Forrest Griffin (6)
6. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (7)
7. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (5)
8. Gegard Mousasi
9. Rich Franklin
10. Thiago Silva

In action: King Mo lost his title to Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante, and drops to the seventh spot in what just may be a little market correction for the talented, but still green fighter. Griffin and Nogueira just move up a spot to accomodate the change. Nogueira will face Ryan Bader at UFC 119 Sept. 25 in a fight that could propel Bader into the top ten. I don’t know why Bader gets ignored while Jon Jones gets all the hype, honestly.

HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (up to 265 LBS.)
1. Brock Lesnar
2. Fabricio Werdum
3. Fedor Emelianenko
4. Shane Carwin
5. Cain Velasquez
6. Frank Mir
7. Junior dos Santos
8. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
9. Alistair Overeem
10. Josh Barnett

Dos Santos defeated Roy Nelson at UFC 117, but I can’t in good conscience move him up just for that. It was an important win for dos Santos, though, as it gave him the experience of fighting a tough opponent who simply would not stay down.. Mir will face Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at UFC 119 on Sept. 25.

POUND FOR POUND (No Limit)
1. Georges St. Pierre (2)
2. Anderson Silva (1)
3. Jose Aldo
4. Frankie Edgar (5)
5. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (4)
6. Dominick Cruz
7. Lyoto Machida (8)
8. Jon Fitch (9)
9. BJ Penn (7)
10. Chael Sonnen (NR)

Now, here are some changes! I did what many have done and dropped Silva to number two and put GSP in the top spot after Silva was dominated for 23 minutes before pulling off a clutch submission to retain his title against Sonnen. Meanwhile, I moved Frankie Edgar to fourth, as he is now the best lightweight in the world without any doubts. Shogun drops to fifth to accomodate the change. I begrudgingly dropped Penn to seventh, which just feels wrong, but what can you do? Machida has lost one career fight and Fitch is on his second huge winning streak…no one at welterweight can seem to beat him, except GSP. Meanwhile, Penn has lost twice in a row, to the same guy. I decided on a whim to put Chael Sonnen on the back end of the top ten for being two minutes away from giving Anderson Silva his first UFC loss. Joseph Benavidez is a good fighter, but he drops off the list with his second loss to Dominick Cruz.

E-Mail Jon Hartley