Well were in the second week of our 3 week MMA binge and while we started off with a bang with Fedor getting the 2nd rd carcass KO of Rogers last night’s UFC 105 once again had a questionable decision in the Main Event of Couture vs. Vera.

Tuf 9 winner Ross Pearson looked good in his 2nd rd stoppage of Aaron Riley and Matt Brown showed some octagon savvy by getting out of a nice Kimura attemp by James Wilkes in RD 2 and got the stoppage in RD 3.

Michael Bisping made his Return to the ring from his own carcass KO by besting a demoralized Denis Kang. Bisping got the win but does it really mean anything? Kang has been on the way down for awhile now showing nothing of what he had in PRIDE. I don’t know if beating up on a guy that hasn’t fought worth a shit in awhile means that you get credibility when the last time you were in the ring you were on the wrong end of the KO of the year.

IMO a great fight for Bisping would be Wand. For both fighters they need something to really get going again. For Bisping a win over Wand would possibly say that he can be put in with a world class fighter again. For Wand a win over Bisping would be a good stepping stone to trying to put something together other than the view that the Fight Game has passed him by. Wand is my Favorite fighter but I do not want to see him used as a stepping stone by Dana White. He deserves more respect than that.

In the Co-main event of the evening Dan Hardy got the decision win over Mike Swick in the “#1 contender to get beat down by GSP” match. Hardy showed again his tuff as nails, constant pressure style that has earned him a 4-0 record so far in the UFC.

While I think GSP vs Hardy will be a good fight. I think we know what’s gonna happen. Hardy will most likely land some shots on GSP but GSP will get the Takedown(cause that’s what he does) and win the fight by some vicious GnP. The man is a beast when he’s going for your legs  honestly I don’t know if even Anderson Silva could stuff a takedown by GSP…..and I don’t even like GSP, Fucking Frenchie. The man is a great fighter though and you have to give him his credit.

This is one MMA Fan that actually would like to see GSP go and win a Medal in London. If he does he comes back and lends even more credibility  to the sport and brings it even more mainstream. Shit if he wins Gold it would really be something special. Who knows maybe we get to see MMA in the Olympics in 10, 15 years because GSP lays the ground work. If you think about it it’s a win-win if he win’s. If he goes out like a chode and fails to make it it will be interesting to see how mentally he will come back from that. Either way it’s something to watch for sure.

In the main even of the evening Randy “Age-defying-old-man-that-will-woop-your-ass” Couture got the questionable decision win over Brandon “The-Truth-is-I-haven’t-looked-as-good-as-rogan-says-i-have” Vera. The 3 rd snoozer saw some good strikes from Vera but once again Couture dictated and used his clinch game to wear Vera down. Vera landed some nice shots on Randy through the fight including a pretty vicious body kick that hand Randy hurt but Vera couldn’t put him away. IMO based upon Couture dictating the pace of the fight I agreed with the Decision but I don’t know if it was unanimous. I think if Vera would have been able to defend Randy’s clinch better, create space and land some shot’s he could of won the fight. However he seemed all but nullified by Randy’s game and the only time he landed was beginning of the Rounds and when they were separated.

For Randy Couture I beg him to retire. You have nothing left to prove Randy. You really have done it all. I love you Captain America but if you come in the way of the rematch between Machida/Rua I’ll hate you. While I think you might could cause problems for Machida Shogun will eat you alive. He will make you look like your 56 Cap. Start giving back to the next generation and bow out gracefully.

Well……I WOULD like to see you KO Chuck into retirement tho……if Chuck isn’t already been put there…..by Shogun.

For Brandon Vera I don’t even know what to say. He is a far cry from the brash young fighter that was beating on Frank Mir and calling out Chuck Liddell. Could this guy possibly the most over trained fighter right now? Maybe he just needs to get back to basics and simplify his training. After something like this his start may not burn out but go supernova.

In the end this is another prime example that the way MMA matches are judged needs to be drastically changed and to have MMA judges judging MMA matches. Boxing judges have not the first fucking clue how to judge an MMA match. One could gather that with the slew of bad decisions in MMA as of late that these douche bag boxing judges are conspiring to pollute MMA with questionable decisions that leave that fan base with a bad taste in there mouth and will hurt it in the long run.

The consensus in MMA is that there was a clear winner of the main event title fight at UFC 104, and that the fighter holding the title today was not that man.

Last October 24th, we were treated to one of the best mix martial arts performances in the history of the sport when Mauricio “Shogun” Rua stepped in the UFC cage and appeared to have solved the riddle that was the UFC light heavyweight champion, Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida.

Shogun proved to be every bit the equal of Machida early on, and by the end of five rounds, had appeared to be his superior. Shogun executed a game plan many thought he didn’t have the capacity to execute, he showed a patience many didn’t think he possessed and he exhibited the skills many thought the 27-year-old fighter had lost.

Rua has seen some a hard luck ever since he won the Pride 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix final in Saitama, Japan. After his tournament victory, Shogun suffered from injuries inside and outside the ring/cage, a loss, and a bad performance that lead many to believe Shogun was done before he turned 30. Even a victory against a downtrodden Chuck Liddell did nothing to dissuade those opinions.

Shogun became the next in line to face the champion, not because he had torn through the division, but because the 31-year-old Machida needed of a challenger. With Machida’s two next likely opponents, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evens, mired in the taping of the worse season of TUF ever, Shogun stepped up.

This fight read like the title of a Japanese folktale, “The Shogun vs The Dragon”. Shogun had been the number one fighter in the world and a tournament champion before, but this was the first opportunity he’s had to hold a championship belt in major MMA organization. And after facing down injury and adversity, he now faced an unbeatable opponent.

While many who watched the fight, myself included, thought Shogun had beaten Machida, three California State Athletic Commission judges, Cecil Peoples (48-47), Nelson Hamilton (48-47) and Marcos Rosales (48-47), saw otherwise and awarded the fight to Machida in what is considered by many to be one of the worse decisions in MMA history.

In the minds of many fighters, fans, promoters and journalists, Shogun was robbed. But we were all robbed. We were robbed of seeing this man, this fighter, be rewarded for his hard work and dedication to the sport. Shogun deserved to be the winner. He had overcome injury, bad luck, doubt and the best fighter in the weight class. We were robbed of witnessing great chapter in the career of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. We may have even been robbed of seeing a great opening chapter in a budding series of fights between Rua and Machida.

But the judges have to go by what the see in the fight. But I can’t help wonder if these judges were watching the movie The Last Dragon instead of this fight, because that’s the last time I can remember seeing  a Dragon beating a Shogun.

We were robbed!

Sho’nuff.

Heavyweight

1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Brock Lesnar
3. Frank Mir
4. Antonio Nogueira
5. Brett Rogers
6. Shane Carwin
7. Junior Dos Santos
8. Andrei Arlovski
9. Fabricio Werdum
10. Alistair Overeem

Notables: *Josh Barnett, Cain Velasquez, Randy Couture, Gabriel Gonzaga

The top 3 hasn’t changed but we saw the outcome of the highly entertaining Geezer Bowl or Nogueira/Couture. Nogueira looked closer to the age of his actual years (33) than that of his face (83) and Couture looked as good as you could in a losing effort. So while Nogueira’s spot in the top ten remains, Couture has been moved to LHW and removed from the top ten. At 5 and 6 sit Brett Rogers and Shane Carwin, both of whom have huge match-ups on the horizon (Rogers/Fedor and Carwin/Brock) so we’ll get to see if the undefeated records will remain unscathed. Overeem barely remains in the top ten, he hasn’t fought since November of last year but he does have an upcoming bout with K-1 veteran Siala “Mighty Mo”Siliga coming up on October 17th. It doesn’t do much for his ranking but at least he’s actually going to fight. Jeff Monson drops off the top ten with his recent loss to Pedro Rizzo. AA goes to 8. He hasn’t fought since getting brutally knocked out by Brett Rogers in June but he will star in the next Universal Soldier movie with Jean Claude Van Damme and will likely drop off the top ten.
Junior Dos Santos defeat of Mirko Cro Cop and now getting 4 straight wins in the UFC is no small feat, his victory places him under Shane Carwin. Werdum found a new home in Strikeforce and looked pretty impressive in his debut he moves back into the top ten. Notables include, Cain Velasquez who is still in prospect mode, Gabriel Gonzaga’s losses only come from top opponents and of course Randy Couture should he return to Heavyweight at a later date.

Light Heavy Weight

1. Lyoto Machida
2. Quinton Jackson
3. Rashad Evans
4. Anderson Silva
5. Forrest Griffin
6. Mauricio Rua
7. Gegard Mousasi
8. Luiz Cane
9. Antonio Noguiera
10. Thiago Silva

Notables: Keith Jardine, Renato Sobral

We’ll get to see #1 Lyoto Machida take on #6 Mauricio Rua October 24 at UFC 104. A top shape Shogun matches up very well with Machida and this should make for a great fight.

 We’ll have to wait quite awhile to see #2 Quinton Jackson and #3 Rashad Evans get it on, while Rampage portrays BA Baracus in the upcoming A team film.

Thiago’s impressive KO of Keith Jardine both moved him into the top ten and moved out Keith Jardine, who hasn’t looked impressive since knocking out a faded Chuck Liddell. Thiago may end up fighting Rashad Evans, we will wait and see.

Gegard Mousasi moves up one spot after his 1 minute drubbing of the former Strikeforce LW champ Renato Sobral. That, combined with his,’ Im about to fall asleep prefight face’ or ‘I cant wait to eat my victory cake in the back look’ indicates he will be a force in the LHW division for Strikeforce. Too bad he doesn’t have anyone else to fight.

Notables:  The Belfort/Franklin fight at UFC 103 on Sept. 19 put Belfort just outside the top ten but he will be placed rightfully at MW where he will be competing.

Middleweight

1. Anderson Silva
2. Nate Marquardt
3. Dan Henderson
4. Vitor Belfort
5. Jorge Santiago
6. Yushin Okami
7. Jake Shields
8. Robbie Lawler
9. Yoshihiro Akiyama
10. Damien Maia

Notables: Chael Sonnen, Paulo Filho, Kazuo Misaki

Vitor Belfort impressive defeat of Rich Franklin moves him up the ladder, he will be next to face the #2 pound for pound champ, Anderson Silva at middleweight at UFC 108. Expect a quick finish when it happens either way so dont blink on this main event.

Chael Sonnen faces Yushin Okami at UFC 104. Okami’s toughest challenge since his loss to Franklin and an opportunity for Sonnen to really improve his position towards holding the belt.

Welterwight

1. Georges Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Thiago Alves
4. Jake Shields
5. Matt Hughes
6. Karo Parisyan
7. Paulo Thiago
8. Josh Koscheck
9. Marius Zaromski
10. Hayato Sakurai

Notables: Mike Swick, Nick Diaz

Expect Mike Swick to battle Dan Hardy for next in line to face Georges Saint Pierre at UFC 105.  Lack of quality opponents makes the Welterweight crown less compelling as GSP has arguable cleaned out the division after this defense.

Light Weight

1. BJ Penn
2. Shinya Aoki
3. Eddie Alvarez
4. Tatsuya Kawajiri
5. Kenny Florian
6. Joachim Hansen
7. Gesias Calvancanti
8. Mizuto Hirota
9. Gray Maynard
10. Frank Edgar

Notables: Sean Sherk, Diego Sanchez, Saturu Kitioka,

Gray Maynards victory over Roger Huerta moves him up one spot and replaces Sean Sherk who hasnt performed to his peak recently. Aoki rematches Hansen at Dream 11. A win here for Tobukan Judan solidifies his position at the top of the Lightweight rankings.

We can say Randy “The Natural” Couture and Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira are fighting to stay relevant in the UFC heavyweight division’s title picture, but a little more than that is on the line in their fight. With both fighters coming off title loses, they will face each other for the title of second greatest heavyweight of all time at UFC 102 next August 29th in Portland, OR.

Let’s face it: Fedor Emelianenko is the best, most dominant heavyweight the sport of MMA has seen to date. Fedor is #1. Nogueira and Couture are two of the greatest, must successful MMA fighters in history. They rank one and two respectively on many all-time greatest heavyweights’ lists and this fight will decide their place in the all-time MMA heavyweight rankings in the minds of many fans, even at this stage in their careers.

Second best is something Nogueira has been considered since his 2003 loss to Emelianenko at Pride 25. That night, 6 years ago, Nogueira was the favorite. He was expected continue building on what everyone in the sport thought would be the greatest career any fighter could have. On March 15th 2003, no one thought there could be a greater heavyweight than Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira—until Fedor came along the next evening and pounded his to a dominating decision victory that changed the course of Nogueira’s career.

If not for Fedor, Nogueira would be the greatest ever— that is the lament of many long-time fans of Nogueira who watched their fighter twice lose to MMA’s heavyweight emperor.

Couture has never faced Fedor, and since a match between the two to decide the all-time #1 is more likely to happen in EA Sports’ MMA video game than in a ring or cage, two vs. three for the second spot is the next best thing.

We all know people really don’t remember those who come in second place. Dale Earnhardt once said: “second place is just the first place loser”. That quote may be true, but MMA is a sport where athletes give a lot of themselves in one-on-one combat. And when those men have accomplished as much as Nogueira and Couture have, second best is something that has to be recognized and appreciated.

Featherweight

1. Mike Brown 22-4
2. Uriah Faber 22-3
3. Jose Aldo 15-1
4. Hatsu Hioki 20-3
5. Waggney Fabiano 12-1
6. Takeshi Inoue 16-3
7. Rafael Assuncao 13-1
8. Leonard Garcia 12-4
9. Dokonjonosuke Mishima 19-6
10. Marlon Sandro 14-1
Notables: Josh Grispi , Joe Warren, Norifumi Yamamoto

With Mike Brown rocking a 10 fight winning streak and beating #2 fighter twice in 7 months, it’s pretty easy get the #1 spot. Faber fought a smarter fight during his rematch with Brown yet he still lost. He’s still #2 for willing himself to a decision after injuring both of his hands during the fight. Jose Aldo has one loss on his record and will get his shot at the WEC FW title in November. Hioki gets the nod over Fabiano due to having 3 wins this year compared to the 1 for Fabiano. Assuncao has a chance to move up over Inoue, who notched his last win in May over limited competition at WEC 43.Leonard Garcia grinded out a win over Jameel Massouh but doesn’t move because the fighter previously lost to the man in front of him, Assuncao. Marlon Sandro moves down due to his official loss to Michihiro Omigawa but many think he deserved the nod so he doesn’t drop out of the top ten.

Notables- Joe Warren should climb up the charts once he gets some more fights under his belt. Same goes for Joe Grispi, whose win over a faded Jens Pulver gets him mentioned here. Kid Yamamoto will need a win to stay relevant to the Ninjashoes top ten.

Bantamweight

1. Brian Bowles 7-0
2. Miguel Torres 37-1
3. Masakatsu Ueda 10-0
4. Takeya Mizugaki 11-3
5. Akitoshi Tamura 14-7
6. Dominic Cruz 14-1
7. Will Ribeiro 10-2
8. Joseph Benevidaz 10-1 
9. Rani Yahya 14-4
10. Damacio Page 11-4
Notables: Koetsu Okazaki, Marcos Galvao, Manny Tapia

Brian Bowles shocked the world with his first round ko of Miguel Torres to claim the WEC BW championship so he takes over the #1 spot. Torres, a winner of 17 straight fights beforehand, should have a chance to reclaim his belt and with it, the #1 spot. Also on the same night, Rank #10, Dominic Cruz moves up to #6 after breaking the undefeated streak of Joseph Benevidaz, at WEC 42.

Lightweight
1. BJ Penn 14-5
2. Shinya Aoki 21-4
3. Eddie Alvarez 18-2
4. Tatsuya Kawajiri 24-5
5. Kenny Florian 13-4
6. Joachim Hansen 19-7
7. Frank Edgar 10-1
8. Gesias Calvancanti 14-3
9. Sean Sherk 37-4
10. Grey Maynard 7-0
Notables: Mizuto Hirota, Satoru Kitaoka, Diego Sanchez

BJ Penn reclaims his top 10 crown at LW here at NS with a solid performance against KenFlo. Shinya Aoki will face Joachim Hansen at Dream 11 in October and will need a pretty dominating performance to take back the #1. Both Alvarez and Kawajiri are both coming off wins and are still plotting their next move.

Ken Flo maintains his spot at #5 due to a solid, albeit losing, effort against LW champ BJ Penn. Frank Edgar is coming off of 2 decision wins against solid opponents in Sean Sherk and Hermes Franca. Edgar needs a couple more big wins to break the top 5.

And while Gesias Calvancanti hasn’t won a fight since winning the K-1 Hero Grand Prix in 2007, his losses have been to Kawajiri and Aoki. He needs will need a win soon to keep his spot. Sherk lost 2 of his last 3 fights. One is understandable (BJ Penn) the other one, not so much (Frankie Edgar.) as it looked like Sherk was out of his comfort zone the entire time. The Muscle Shark next fights in on UFC 104 in October against Gleison Tibau, will need a win in order to stay in ten.

Gray Maynard is undefeated faces a huge test next month on UFC Fight Night against former Roger Huerta. Maynard cracks the top ten due to Kitaoka losing to Mizuto Hirota by having a knee parade on his face.

Notables-Diego Sanchez is likely to take on BJ Penn next for the belt. A solid showing should put The Nightmare into the top ten while Hirota gains mention by winning the Sengoku LW championship by the aforementioned knee parade.

Welterweight
1. Georges Pierre 19-2
2. Jon Fitch 23-3
3. Thiago Alves 22-5
4. Jake Shields 23-4
5. Matt Hughes 44-7
6. Martin Kampmann 15-2
7. Karo Parisyan 26-5
8. Carlos Condit 22-4
9. Mike Swick 14-2
10. Marius Zaromski 11-2
Notables: Hayato Sakurai, Paulo Thiago, Josh Koscheck
Not a lot of action at 170 since our last rankings.  Nick Diaz was supposed to take on Jay Hieron but that has since been canceled due to Nick Diaz puffing the magic dragon and not being able to get his fighting license. Jess Taylor will instead fight Jay in yet another disappointing card shuffle on the Carano/Cyborg headlined card.

Marius Zaromski, cracks the top ten winning the 2009 Welterweight Grand Prix. Putting impressive performances and beating Hayato Sakurai fresh off his defeat of Shinya Aoki.

UFC 103 could bring some changes as it features Koscheck/Trigg and Swick/Kampmann on the card.

Middle Weight
1. Anderson Silva 25-4
2. Nate Marquardt 30-8
3. Dan Henderson 25-7
4. Jorge Santiago 21-7
5. Yushin Okami 24-4
6. Demian Maia 11-0
7. Robbie Lawler 16-5
8. Yoshihiro Akiyama 13-1
9. Chael Sonnen 23-10
10. Paulo Filho 17-1
Notables: Kazuo Misaki, Vitor Belfort, Matt Lindland

Anderson Silva’s win, even though it was at a different weight class, only solidifies his spot based on the dominance he displayed over another top ten fighter. We’re still waiting for Marquardt/Maia on the 29th. Dan Henderson is still sending stars for Michael Bisping to count after his last performance. Jorge Santiago is taking a busy fight against Moise Rimbon after getting robbed of a his chance at Belfort. Yushin Okami falls on the list due to inactivity. We won’t see him fight until October against #9 on the list Chael Sonnen has fought twice (1-1) since the last time Okami stepped in the octagon. Robbie Lawler is still trying to figure out how Jake Shields got the best of him while Sexyama hangs around based on his razor thin decision over Belcher. Paulo Filh’s wins over Chael Sonnen and Melvin Manhoef, hold him by a slim margin in the top ten.

Notables- It looks like Belfort has left 185 in the rearview after signing with the UFC. If Kazuo Misaki can get a strong win against a tough opponent, we may see him back in the top ten soon.

Light Heavy Weight

1. Lyoto Machida 15-0
2. Quinton Jackson 30-7
3. Rashad Evans 18-1
4. Anderson Silva 25-4
5. Forrest Griffin 16-6
6. Mauricio Rua 18-3
7. Keith Jardine 14-6
8. Gegard Mousasi 26-2
9. Luiz Cane 11-1
10. Antonio Noguiera 17-3

Notables: Renato Sobral, Vitor Belfort, Rich Franklin,

We probably won’t see any movement amongst the top three until October 24th when Machida and Shogun Rua face off. And, most likely not even after that until December 12th when Jackson and Evan’s square off. After #3 is where it gets interesting Anderson Silva scored a shocking KO against Forrest, taking his spot in the top ten, despite being a natural ww. Had Silva’s when not been so dominating, he probably wouldn’t have peaked so high. He knocks Henderson out of the top ten. Or shall we say, sub’d him out of the top ten?

Keith Jardine will face Thiago Silva at UFC 102 in a fight where both combatants will try to avoid scoring 2 loses in a row. Luis Cane and Antonio Noguiera both are on the rise. Little Nog just needing a strong win over a top fighter and Luiz Cane’s next fight could very well move him up the rankings.

Notables-Belfort/Franklin at UFC 103 in September will be a chance for either fighter to make it back into the top ten.

Heavy Weight
1. Fedor Emelianenko 30-1
2. Brock Lesnar 4-1
3. Frank Mir 12-4
4. Antonio Nogueira 31-5
5. Randy Couture 16-9
6. Brett Rogers 10-0
7. Shane Carwin 11-0
8. Alistair Overeem 29-11
9. Jeff Monson 31-8
10. Andrei Arlovski 14-7

Notables: Josh Barnett, Junior Dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum

Fedor and Brock are 1 and 2. After Brock’s deforming of Mir’s face, it’s hard to argue with the placement of the UFC champ. Mir is on a holding pattern until he figures out what to do next and will most likely get passed once we have a winner of the Geezer Bowl, or the UFC 102 main event of Couture/Nogueira.

Brett Rogers and Shane Carwin both scored huge wins earlier this year over AA and GG, but Brett’s 22 second KO of Arlovski is by far more impressive. Carwin has a chance to move up if he can score a win against up and comer Cain Velasquez.

Alistair Overeem’s last fight was 9 months ago. Had things gone according to Strikeforce’s plan, he’d have a title defense coming up this Saturday. Jeff Monsoon gets the nod over AA due to activity although it’s against questionable talent. He’s going to have two fights that could possibly move him past Overeem if he wins. And they are both before Junior Dos Santo’s next scheduled fight. If Dos Santo’s wins his fight against Cro Cop though, Jeff won’t be moving anywhere.

Notables-Josh Barnett is here based on his name. He’ll soon fade away into the deep dark night based on fighting rehearsed fights and non-rehearsed fights against B level talent. Unless he doesn’t of course.