Dana White was campaigning for Frankie Edgar after UFC 136, claiming that the Lightweight champion should be considered ranked second in the MMA pound-for-pound debate. After the performance Edgar delivered, it is hard to argue.
It is well-known that Edgar is an undersized lightweight. Edgar cuts minimal weight to make the 155 pound limit, while some of his peers are cutting upwards of 15 to 20 pounds. For those who cut in order to make weight, the advantage is clear – size and strength. However, for Edgar the advantages are speed and stamina. He uses impressive head movement and footwork through the duration of his fights. For the bigger men in the division, that sort of activity level is hard to emulate and even harder to keep up with. While Edgar is the smaller man in the cage, it is not a disadvantage for him.
But how does he compare to the other elite fighters in MMA? To Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre, Jon Jones, Jose Aldo, Dominick Cruz, and Cain Velasquez? They are all champions in the world’s premier MMA organization. They are all fighting the best the sport has to offer in their respective weight classes. But what makes a Pound-for-Pound king?
It all depends what lense you’re looking through.
#1 – Anderson Silva. Regarded as the concensus number one pick and for good reason. Years ago, Silva fougth at Welterweight. For the last five years, he has been the Middleweight champion. He even ventured up to Light Heavyweight twice during his UFC tenure to demolish James Irvin and former champion, Forest Griffin. Competing – and winning – in multiple weight classes is important in the debate, but so is the quality of wins. Leading us to…
#2 – Georges St. Pierre. While he has only competed at Welterweight, St. Pierre has been truly dominant. He rarely loses a round. He’s avenged both career losses and is on a nine fight win streak. He gets a lot of heat for not demolishing opponents in the spectacular ways Silva does, but the kind of beatings he delivers change his opponents’ careers. He performs at the highest level and never needs a come-from-behind victory, because he has consistently outclassed the opposition. Plus he has a fight in two weeks, don’t write him off just yet.
#3 – Frankie Edgar. He could fight at Featherweight. But why? He’s winning. He’s never been finished. He’s beaten BJ Penn twice. He knocked out Gray Maynard. And he has wins over Jim Miller, Tyson Griffin, Mark Bocek, Spencer Fisher, Hermes Franca and Sean Sherk. If he moves to Featherweight and brings home a few W’s then the debate gets a little murky. But as it stands, the guy deserves all the respect in the world for the mettle he showed in Houston.
#4 – Jose Aldo. He’s being marketed as a total killer, but both UFC performances have ended in decisions favoring the champ. Could it be the “Octagon Jitters” or is the competition simply getting better? Either way, don’t get it twisted – Aldo is a bad man. Wins over Florian, Hominick, Gamburyan, Faber and Brown anchor his resume. Winning a decision on the same night as Edgar’s signature victory hurt his ranking but the road is long. He is a big Featherweight, so moving up to 155 seems destined to happen. If he goes up and keeps winning at this pace, Silva might have to watch his back.
#5 – Jon Jones. The 24 year old is a beast. However, his wins lack the same level of star power as those ahead of him. His destruction of Shogun is his signature win at this point, but Rua was coming off a layoff after knee surgery. The win of Jackson doesn’t have as much relevance as it would have in 2007. Wins over Bader, Matyushenko and Vera highlight his resume. A win over Machida might improve his standing. Then there’s the rest of the 205 pound division which is filled with top-notch competition. The possibility of moving to Heavyweight later in his career is something to consider as well.
#6 – Dominick Cruz. Bantamweights don’t get enough love. He’s avenged his only career loss to Urijah Faber. He’s beaten the very best the division has to offer – Johnson, Faber, Jorgensen, Benavidez (twice), and Bowles (due to a broken hand). A rematch with Bowles or rubber-match with Faber seem likely and definitive wins over either man would cement is place on this list. The division simply doesn’t have the depth of the larger classes and that is a shame because this guy is a stud.
#7 – Dan Henderson. He has fought a “Who’s Who” in his fourteenyear career. He holds notable wins over Carlos Newton, Big Nog, Babalu, Bustamante, Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, Franklin, Bisping, Feijao and Fedor. He’s won the UFC 17 Middleweight tournament, Rings King of Kings 1999 tournament, Pride Welterweight championship, Pride Middleweight championship, and Strikeforce Light Heavyweight championship. With one more UFC run coming up, Hendo has an opportunity to cement his legacy in the sport’s history with a win over Shogun. And hopefully earn another shot at top dog, Anderson Silva.
#8 – Cain Velasquez. It’s difficult to rank Cain based on his short career. Nine fights in, he is undefeated with eight finishes. His performances against Big Nog and Brock were stellar, but will he produce similar results against his biggest threat yet – Junior Dos Santos. He is one the smaller side of the Heavyweight division and has shown no weaknesses whatsoever. His position will be put to the test against JDS on November 12.
#9 – Rashad Evans. While injuries have been a problem recently, Evans will get back into competition before his highly-anticipated clash with Jon Jones. He made his way into the UFC as a Heavyweight on TUF. Now at Light Heavyweight he holds wins over Bisping, Liddell, Griffin, Jackson and Ortiz – along with a Light Heavyweight strap he was unable to defend. A win in his next bout is a must if “Suga” expects to meet Jones. Though inactivity can affect a fighter’s standing (see: Jon Fitch) the way he dispatched Ortiz makes it seem like the time off was worth it.
#10 – Junior Dos Santos. At (13-1) with eleven finishes to his credit, Dos Santos is a serious threat to Cain’s title. He’s knocked out Werdum, Cro Cop, Yvel and Gonzaga. On top of that he put a serious beatdown on the once-seemingly-invincible Shane Carwin in his last performance. His upcoming bout with Velasquez could very likely be Fight of the Year with the way these two compete. November 12 should be a very interesting evening.