Heavyweight Division Rankings

March 29, 2011

Every Tuesday we will be putting out our perspective of the top 10 fighters in every division. It will change weekly in terms of divisions and the first one we are starting off with is the Heavyweight division. It will go down from there with next week being Light Heavyweight then Middleweight and so on. By the time we get back to Heavyweight there should have been enough that happened to shake up the rankings, even slightly. So check back every Tuesday to get our opinion on who we think are the top 10 fighters of every division.

The recent happenings in the Heavyweight division have not been that exciting recently as there have not been any huge heavyweight fights in the past month. Although Brendan Schaub did KO Cro Cop, did that victory warrant him a spot in the top 10? Let's find out!

This is how each member of our team ranked the division and points were given to each fighter based on their ranking. First place received ten points, second place received nine, third place eight, and so on.

Manpreet Jhass

1) Cain Valesquez

2) Junior Dos Santos

3) Brock Lesnar

4) Fabricio Werdum

5) Shane Carwin

6) Antonio Silva

7) Alistair Overeem

8) Fedor Emelianenko

9) Frank Mir

10) Roy Nelson

Tony Kwatra

1) Cain Valesquez

2) Junior Dos Santos

3) Fabricio Werdum

4) Brock Lesnar

5) Shane Carwin

6) Frank Mir

7) Antonio Silva

8) Fedor Emelianenko

9) Alistair Overeem

10) Roy Nelson

Prab Jhass

1) Cain Valesquez

2) Junior Dos Santos

3) Fabricio Werdum

4) Brock Lesnar

5) Shane Carwin

6) Alistair Overeem

7) Antonio Silva

8) Fedor Emelianenko

9) Frank Mir

10) Brendan Schaub

1) Cain Valesquez - 30 Points

MMA Record: 9-0

Height: 6'1"

Reach: 77"

Fighting out of: San Jose, California

Promotion: UFC

Last Win: 

vs. Brock Lesnar - TKO (Strikes) - UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez - October 23, 2010

Last Loss:

N/A

Next Fight:

TBD

2)Juniour Dos Santos - 27 Points

MMA Record: 12-1

Height: 6'4"

Reach: 77"

Fighting out of: Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

Promotion: UFC

Last Win:

vs. Roy Nelson - Unanimous Decision - UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen - August 7, 2010

Last Loss:

vs. Joaquin Ferreira - Submission (Armbar) - MTL Final - November 10, 2007

Next Fight:

vs. Brock Lesnar - UFC 131 - June 11, 2011

3) Fabricio Werdum - 23 Points

MMA Record: 14-4-1

Height: 6'4"

Reach: 77"

Fighting out of: Porto Alegre, Brazil

Promotion: Strikeforce

Last Win:

vs. Fedor Emelianenko - Submission (Triangle/Armbar) - Strikeforce/M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum - June 26, 2010

Last Loss:

vs. Junior Dos Santos - KO (Punches) - UFC 90 - October 25, 2008

Next Fight:

vs. Alistair Overeem - Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum - June 18, 2011

4) Brock Lesnar - 22 Points

MMA Record: 5-2

Height: 6'3"

Reach: 81"

Fighting out of: Alexandria, Minnesota

Promotion: UFC

Last Win:

vs. Shane Carwin - Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) - UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin - July 3, 2010

Last Loss:

vs. Cain Valesquez - TKO (Strikes) - UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Valesquez - October 23, 2010

Next Fight:

vs. Junior Dos Santos - UFC 131 - June 11, 2011

5) Shane Carwin - 18 Points

MMA Record: 12-1

Height: 6'1"

Reach: 80"

Fighting out of: Denver, Colorado

Promotion: UFC

Last Win:

vs. Frank Mir - KO (Punches) - UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy - March 27, 2010

Last Loss:

vs. Brock Lesnar - Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) - UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin - July 3, 2010

Next Fight:

vs. Jon Olav Einemo - UFC 131 - June 11, 2011

6) Antonio Silva - 13 Points

MMA Record: 16-2

Height: 6'4"

Reach: 82"

Fighting out of: Campina Grande, Paraiba, Brazil

Promotion: Strikeforce

Last Win:

vs. Fedor Emelienanko - TKO (Doctor Stoppage) - Strikeforce/M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Silva - February 12, 2011

Last Loss:

vs. Fabricio Werdum - Unanimous Decision - Strikeforce/M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Rogers - November 7, 2009

Next Fight: 

TBD

7) Alistair Overeem - 11 Points

MMA Record: 34-11

Height: 6'5"

Reach: 81.5"

Fighting out of: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Promotion: Strikeforce

Last Win:

vs. Todd Duffee - KO (Punches) - Dynamite!! 2010 - December 31, 2010

Last Loss:

vs. Sergei Kharitonov - KO (Punch) - K1 Hero's Tournament Final - September 17, 2007

Next Fight:

vs. Fabricio Werdum - Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum - June 18, 2011

8) Fedor Emelianenko - 9 Points

MMA Record: 31-3

Height: 6'0"

Reach: 74"

Fighting out of: Stary Oskol, Belgorod, Russia

Promotion: Strikeforce

Last Win:

vs. Brett Rogers - TKO (Strikes) - Strikeforce/M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Rogers - November 7, 2009

Last Loss:

vs. Antonio Silva - TKO (Doctor Stoppage) - Strikeforce/M-1 Global - Fedor vs. Silva - February 12, 2011

Next Fight:

TBD

9) Frank Mir - 9 Points

MMA Record: 14-5

Height: 6'3"

Reach: 79"

Fighting out of: Las Vegas, Nevada

Promotion: UFC

Last Win:

vs. Mirko Filipovic - KO (Knee) - UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop - September 25, 2010

Last Loss:

vs. Shane Carwin - KO (Punches) - UFC 11: St. Pierre vs. Hardy - March 27, 2010

Next fight:

vs. Roy Nelson - UFC 130: Edgar vs. Maynard 3 - May 28, 2011

10) Roy Nelson - 2 Points

MMA Record: 15-5

Height: 6'0"

Reach: 74"

Fighting out of: Las Vegas, Nevada

Promotion: UFC

Last Win:

vs. Stefan Struve - TKO (Punches) - UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Gomi - March 31, 2010

Last Loss:

vs. Junior Dos Santos - Unanimous Decision - UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen - August 7, 2010

Next Fight:

vs. Frank Mir - UFC 130: Edgar vs. Maynard 3 - May 28, 2011

Honourable Mention: Brendan Schaub - 1 Point

There you go! Leave comments, suggestions, hate, whatever you so please and we will gladly respond to it on our next weeks rankings!

Radio: Fight Night 24 and Samer Kadi

Once again forgot to hit the Record button, but you did not miss much as the only thing was the first Jung/Garcia fight.

Sam Stout Interview

My first interview with a UFC Fighter, so I was a little nervous and had quite a lot going through my head. Believe with experience comes better quality, better questions and better overall interview. So this is the first of many and you guys can join me on my adventure to better my interviewing skills!

Anyway, ENJOY!

Pre-Fight Weigh In: UFC Fight Night: Seattle

Pre-Fight Weigh In

UFC Fight Night: Seattle

Seattle, Washington

March 26, 2011

Preliminary Card

Lightweight: Waylon Lowe vs. Nik Lentz

Manpreet Jhass: Nik Lentz

Tony Kwatra: Nik Lentz

Prab Jhass: Nik Lentz

Consensus: 3-0 Lentz

Middleweight: Mario Miranda vs. Aaron Simpson

Manpreet Jhass: Mario Miranda

Tony Kwatra: Mario Miranda

Prab Jhass: Aaron Simpson

Consensus: 2-1 Miranda

Welterweight: Johny Hendricks vs. TJ Waldburger

Manpreet Jhass: Johny Hendricks

Tony Kwatra: Johny Hendricks

Prab Jhass: Johny Hendricks

Consensus: 3-0 Hendricks

Facebook Preliminary Card

Heavyweight: Sean McCorkle vs. Christian Morecraft

Manpreet Jhass: Sean McCorkle

Tony Kwatra: Sean McCorkle

Prab Jhass: Sean McCorkle

Consensus: 3-0 McCorkle

Bantamweight: Michael McDonald vs. Edwin Figueroa

Manpreet Jhass: Michael McDonald

Tony Kwatra: Michael McDonald

Prab Jhass: Michael McDonald

Consensus: 3-0 McDonald

Welterweight: John Hathaway vs. Kris McCray

Manpreet Jhass: John Hathaway

Tony Kwatra: John Hathaway (Serious downgrade in opponents considering this guy beaet Diego Sanchez)

Prab Jhass: John Hathaway

Consensus: 3-0 Hathaway

Heavyweight: Jon Madsen vs. Mike Russow

Manpreet Jhass: Jon Madsen

Tony Kwatra: Jon Madsen

Prab Jhass: Jon Madsen

Consensus: 3-0 Madsen

Featherweight: Alex Caceres vs. Mackens Semerzier

Manpreet Jhass: Mackens Semerzier

Tony Kwatra: Alex Caceres

Prab Jhass: Alex Caceres

Conensus: 2-1 Caceres

Main Card

Featherweight: Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung

Manpreet Jhass: Who better to replace Nam Phan with another victim of a robbery courtesy of Mr. Garcia himself? Candidate of fight of the year last year on numerous media outlets, and really was the perfect way to put WEC into the eyes of MMA fans right before their merger with the UFC; Chan Sun Jung vs. Leonard Garcia. Their first encounter was really all you needed to show to someone who was not a fan of the sport to get them into the sport. For three straight rounds they just threw bombs at each other and we are looking for nothing less in this sequel. Could this be a possible fight of the year candidate once again? I would love to say yes, but I don’t think they will be as wild this time around as Jung, who in my opinion got robbed of his last fight with Garcia, may want to implement a game plan this time around instead of going balls out. As long as the judges are not in the “Sanchez scoring” state-of-mind, Jung should be able to take this.

Pick: Chan Sung Jung

Tony Kwatra: Like I said earlier, if they had to replace an injured Nam Phan with anyone, the Korean Zombie Chan Sung Jung was the perfect guy to replace him with.  I don’t expect this fight to be as exciting as the first one since Leonard Garcia seems to be alluding to becoming more technical rather than using his usual brawling style.   However, I still think this fight will be the fight of the night and what a way to open the show.   Chan Sung Jung needs a win after that brutal KO loss to George Roop and I expect him to come out and be as exciting as ever and edge out the win here.

Pick: Chan Sung Jung

Prab Jhass: I’m putting it out there right now. I’m imploring the State Athletic Commission to let us at The MMA Weigh In be ringside to judge this fight.  Garcia’s past six fights have all gone to decision, with the exception of his draw with George Roop.  Two of those decisions have been ridiculously bad, and that’s where the focus (sadly) lies with this fight against the Korean Zombie.  Rightfully so, as the last time these two faced off it was all systems go as far as their hands go.  They were swinging away like it’s batting practice and both of them had a fastball tattooed to their chin.  This time around, I expect both men to be a little less trigger happy when it comes to using their hands.  Jung has lost three of his past four, and a loss here may put him in jeopardy of staying on the roster.

Pick: Chan Sung Jung

Consensus: 3-0 Jung

Welterweight: Amir Sadollah vs. DaMarques Johnson 

Manpreet Jhass: Believe it or not, Amir Sadollah is still quite young in his MMA career. With a grand total of 6 MMA fights, Sadollah still has a lot to experience. His most recent set back was to a much more experience Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 114, but he managed to bounce back with a win over Peter Sobotta. On the flip side, Johnson is coming off a submission victory over veteran Mike Guymon. DaMarques has had 5 fights in the UFC, all which have been finishes whether it is him finishing or getting finished. I believe he has all the tools and a wealth of experience over Amir which will be the deciding factor in this fight. I know on the radio show I chose Amir, but looking more into this fight, I do not see Johnson letting this one slip from under him.

Pick: DaMarques Johnson

Tony Kwatra: So Amir Sadollah finally has an opponent who’s good to go after 2 replacements.  Amir is still learning as a mixed martial artist and he has good submissions and Muay Thai.  DaMarques Johnson isn’t the most impressive fighter and I don’t see Amir having many problems with him.

Pick: Amir Sadollah

Prab Jhass: This should be a great fight with possible FOTN all over it.  Sadollah is coming off of a much needed win against Peter Sobotta at UFC 122, while Johnson made Guymon submit at Fight for the Troops 2.  Johnson should  bring the fight to Sadollah and maybe try to keep it on the feet with Amir, as I feel Sadollah may be able to win this fight on the ground.  That being said, I expect Sadollah to get this fight to the mat, and grind out a win.

Pick: Amir Sadollah

Consensus: 2-1 Sadollah

Welterweight: Dan Hardy vs. Anthony Johnson

Manpreet Jhass: I was split on this fight, and I truly dislike when I am put in this position. I really like both fighters, especially in this instance where they are both in need of a win. On the radio show it literally came down to the word before “Dan Hardy” for me to pick who I wanted to win. It was just on the spot whatever came out of my mouth was going to be my choice and it was Dan Hardy. Hardy is coming off two consecutive losses, the first not being of much surprise and the second to Condit who not only defeated Hardy, but in impressive fashion. Anthony Johnson on the other hand has not fought since his controversial fight with Koscheck all the way back at UFC 106 which was in November of 2009. Coming off such a huge lay off, Johnson may have a wealth of rest, but ring rust has always paid a toll on fighters. The most recent being Shogun (who I still believe was not the fighter we saw fight at UFC 113, but again I take nothing away from Jones). I believe Dan Hardy may be the more technical striker in this stand up war and I see him knocking Anthony into the 13^th row of Key Arena.

Pick: Dan Hardy

Tony Kwatra: I am REALLY excited for this fight.  Hardy has a lot to prove and so does Johnson after such a long lay off since his last fight.  Both men are coming off losses in their last fights and need wins (although I don’t think either one gets cut with a loss here) to get their stock back up in the welterweight division.  Both men have expressed the desire to keep the fight standing so I expect nothing but a fun fight with a TKO/KO finish here.  Hardy seems to want to make a statement here and I believe he comes out too aggressive against the bigger Anthony Johnson, getting caught in the process and suffering his 3^rd straight loss.

Pick: Anthony Johnson

Prab Jhass: First off,  I can’t wait for this fight.  “Rumble” has been absent from the octagon since UFC 106 when he was choked out by Josh Koscheck.  I’ve seen some pictures of Johnson online, and I swear it looked as if he had eaten his former self.  He looked HUGE (not in a good way), and it seriously makes me question the type of condition he’ll be in there against a guy like Hardy.  He’ll have the reach on “The Outlaw”, but it doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll win the stand up battle.  Hardy seems to have screwed his head back on (literally) after Condit exploded on him, and I’m glad that he has this renewed focus back on title contention.  Dan needs to keep Johnson on the feet and avoid being put on his back, where Johnson is a great wrestler dating back to his college days.  A win here helps keep both relevant in the Welterweight division, and a loss sets them both back significantly.

Pick: Dan Hardy

Consensus: 2-1 Hardy

Light Heavyweight: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Phil Davis

Manpreet Jhass: The main event of this card turned from two fighters who were in a disappointing moment in their career to one being sidelined with an injury and replaced by another hungry up and comer. Many have put Phil Davis as the next big thing behind Jon Jones who has not even cracked his peak, and I think Phil will not have that hard of a time with Lil’ Nog. Nogueira has shown his weakness against wrestlers in his past fights against Ryan Bader and Jason Brilz. In my opinion Phil Davis is going to be too strong for Nogueira and will take this fight to the Brazilian. Not saying that Phil Davis should be the next one getting a title shot, but I hope they continue to build up him slowly as they did with Bones Jones as I still think that Phil is quite a raw specimen and still needs more work to be a better all around mixed martial artist. This would be a great win to put him on the map in the MMA community and for people to look out for him as he slowly rises.

Pick: Phil Davis

Tony Kwatra: As soon as Jon Jones won the title, Phil Davis popped into my head as a legit contender in the future.  I still think Davis will need 2-3 more impressive wins AFTER this fight with Lil Nog assuming he wins this Saturday.  Davis is a huge light heavyweight with a lot of power, awesome wrestling, and wicked submissions (behind the back kimura anyone?).  Lil Nog has had trouble in his last 2 fights with Bader and Brilz due to both of those fighters being wrestlers.  Phil Davis, in my estimation, is a better wrestler than both those fighters and so I don’t see Lil Nog winning this fight at all; it also doesn’t help that Davis much bigger and more powerful than him.  I see Davis dominating Lil Nog en route to a decision win using his wrestling.  After this fight, I’d like to see Davis get a bigger name like say, Rich Franklin or Forrest Griffin.

Pick: Phil Davis

Prab Jhass: Can we please see another Mr. Wonderful?  Then can we please have Bruce Buffer announce Davis as winner via “a Mr. Wonderful”?  Seriously, Davis is a beast.  I might be underestimating Lil Nog, but from what I’ve seen of his UFC run I’m not wrong in thinking so.  Nogueira is 2-1 in his past three in the UFC, however that “win” against Brilz could be debated until we’re hoarse.  Davis is 8-0 and just on a complete tear through his competition. I just can’t see an older Nogueira keeping up with Davis and I look for Mr. Wonderful to make quick work of Lil Nog.

Pick: Phil Davis 

Consensus: 3-0 Phil Davis

Prediction Statistics

1) Tony Kwatra: 10-2

2*) Manpreet Jhass: 9-3

2*)Prab Jhass: 9-3