colintimberlake.comTell her it wasn’t you…

As some of you know, I am a longtime contributor to the MMA fighter rankings panel at MMAValor, a site which I have enjoyed watching develop and grow at an astronomical pace.

It has been a few months since I issued my last contribution to the panel, and several UFC events and fight nights have come to pass, though the rankings have not been shaken up in a massive way. I am only asked for the top five in each class at the time, though in some cases, the sixth place man commands a nod of respect.

HEAVYWEIGHT

1. Brock Lesnar
2. Fedor Emelianenko
3. Shane Carwin
4. Fabricio Werdum
5. Cain Velasquez
((6. Junior Dos Santos))

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

1. Shogun Rua
2. Lyoto Machida
3. Rashad Evans
4. Rampage Jackson
5. King Mo

MIDDLEWEIGHT

1. Anderson Silva
2. Chael Sonnen
3. Jake Shields
4. Nate Marquardt
5. Vitor Belfort

WELTERWEIGHT

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Thiago Alves
4. Josh Koscheck
5. Matt Hughes
((6. Nick Diaz))

LIGHTWEIGHT

1. BJ Penn
2. Frank Edgar
3. Gilbert Melendez
4. Eddie Alvarez
5. Kenny Florian (aka Kenny Florini)
((6. Shinya Aoki))

FEATHERWEIGHT

1. Jose Aldo
2. Mike Brown
3. Manny Gamburyan
4. Urijah Faber
5. Bibiano Fernandes

BANTAMWEIGHT

1. Dominick Cruz
2. Brian Bowles
3. Joseph Benavidez
4. Miguel Torres
5. Scott Jorgensen

You know that if I hadn’t already used Fabricio Werdum as a training inspiration, he’d be on deck for tomorrow.

I’m going to leave the play by play to the professionals. Oh wait, that means Frank Shamrock, Gus Johnson and company, doesn’t it? Never mind.

Regardless, we just witnessed pretty much the closest thing MMA has to Mike Tyson / Buster Douglas.

Mega-underdog (and that says something about Fedor’s stature given that Werdum is a Top-10 Heavyweight) just submitted Fedor Emelianenko one minute into the first round in their Strikeforce matchup tonight.

Fedor was 31-1, with his only loss due to a fluke cut eyelid (doctor stoppage) early in the first round of a fight almost a decade ago.

Now he’s actually lost a fight, and to a man most expected him to walk through.

And I don’t want to sing my own praises too much, but I did tell you in the Vegasbeater picks not to take Fedor in this matchup with those odds. Now, I’m not saying I went so far as to predict a Werdum victory, just that he his chance of winning was being underestimated…

Congratulations Fabricio Werdum. And respect to Fedor as well for taking his defeat with class.

In his post-fight interview, Fedor provided the quote of the night. He who never falls, never stands up.

As many of you know, I am a longtime contributor to the MMA fighter rankings panel at MMAValor, a site which I have enjoyed watching develop and grow at a very impressive rate.

Despite a fair bit of activity since the last rankings, there hasn’t been a lot of change in the top five in the heavier weight classes. Alistair Overeem (HW) completely demolished Brett Rogers at Strikeforce: St. Louis, but that just nudged him to around 7th or so for me, and as a result it isn’t revealed in a top-five list.

Similarly, Josh Koscheck (WW) beat Paul Daley, which is a notable accomplishment. It made him a stronger #4 in the top five, pushing him closer toward the #3 spot…but didn’t ultimately change his ranking.

I am asked only for the top five in each weight class, and the top three on my P4P list. The rankings I submitted are as follows…

HEAVYWEIGHT

1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Shane Carwin
3. Brock Lesnar
4. Cain Velasquez
5. Junior Dos Santos
41,243. Emmanuel Yarbrough

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

1. Shogun Rua
2. Lyoto Machida
3. Rampage Jackson
4. Rashad Evans
5. Anderson Silva
2,133. Jason Guida

MIDDLEWEIGHT

1. Anderson Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Vitor Belfort
4. Chael Sonnen
5. Nate Marquardt
4,181. Tait Fletcher

WELTERWEIGHT

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Thiago Alves
4. Josh Koscheck
5. Paulo Thiago
12,934,181. Craig Rehage

LIGHTWEIGHT

1. BJ Penn
2. Gilbert Melendez
3. Frank Edgar
4. Eddie Alvarez
5. Kenny Florian (aka Kenny Florini)
3,144. Junie Browning

FEATHERWEIGHT

1. Jose Aldo
2. Mike Brown
3. Urijah Faber
4. Manny Gamburyan
5. Raphael Assuncao

BANTAMWEIGHT

1. Dominick Cruz
2. Brian Bowles
3. Joseph Benavidez
4. Miguel Torres
5. Scott Jorgensen

POUND FOR POUND

1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Georges St. Pierre
3. Anderson Silva
81,487. Vince Guzman

You may now begin viciously criticizing my submission.

As many of you know, I am a longtime contributor to the MMA fighter rankings panel at MMAValor, a site I have enjoyed watching develop and grow at a very impressive rate.

I am only asked for the top five in each weight class, and the top three on my P4P list. The rankings I submitted (after UFC 112 and Strikeforce Nashville) are as follows…

HEAVYWEIGHT

1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Shane Carwin
3. Brock Lesnar
4. Cain Velasquez
5. Junior Dos Santos
61,144. Teila Tuli

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

1. Lyoto Machida
2. Shogun Rua
3. Rampage Jackson
4. Rashad Evans
5. Anderson Silva
4,019. Wes Albritton

MIDDLEWEIGHT

1. Anderson Silva
2. Jake Shields
3. Vitor Belfort
4. Chael Sonnen
5. Nate Marquardt
3,011. Mike Nickels

WELTERWEIGHT

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Thiago Alves
4. Josh Koscheck
5. Paulo Thiago
21,442. Craig Rehage

LIGHTWEIGHT

1. BJ Penn
2. Gilbert Melendez
3. Frank Edgar
4. Eddie Alvarez
5. Kenny Florian (aka Kenny Florini)
11,265. Monstah Lobstah

FEATHERWEIGHT

1. Jose Aldo
2. Mike Brown
3. Urijah Faber
4. Raphael Assuncao
5. Hatsu Hioki

BANTAMWEIGHT

1. Dominick Cruz
2. Brian Bowles
3. Joseph Benavidez
4. Miguel Torres
5. Masakatsu Ueda

POUND FOR POUND

1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Georges St. Pierre
3. Anderson Silva
117,213. Giant Silva

You may now begin viciously criticizing my submission.

I have previously thrown a bit of respect out to some of the grassroots MMA writers and analysts who aren’t getting paid the big bucks to be a Zuffa hack or who aren’t bound by the constant threat of the UFC revoking their press credentials if they dare mention the name “Fedor.”

Anyway, ChokeWho (who writes for The Pain Palace) has released his always trustworthy set of predictions for UFC 112. He can be counted on, event in and event out, to give a knowledgeable analysis of the upcoming bouts and perhaps the biggest compliment that can be paid to the man: I rarely disagree with his picks.

To recap, in the five main fights, the picks are Anderson Silva, BJ Penn, Matt Hughes, Kendall Grove and Terry Etim.

It is worth noting that the man runs short on tape as he gets into the analysis of the Terry Etim match. Like Chokewho, I am pulling for Etim.

I see Terry Etim as one of the relatively few credible threats to challenge for the lightweight title a few fights down the road. On a good run of victories, he has overcome mid-fight broken noses among other obstacles and has already shown the type of determination in the Octagon that will be but one of the ingredients necessary to give BJ Penn a run for his money at 155 pounds.

Etim is also one of the strong role models in MMA that is helping pave the way for the British fighters of the future.

My only criticism of the video: I told Chokewho to do his predictions in a Dos Caras Jr. mask and he never did it…

There’s a lot of people out there making videos before, during and after UFC and other MMA events. Granted, there’s a good handful of people in the know – people in the trenches and the gyms who know wayyyyy more than most of the well-known TV analysts who are paid handsomely to cover the sport.

An example you usually can’t go wrong with is the pre-fight predictions from ChokeWho who Tweets regularly on MMA and contributes to ThePainPalace.com, one of my favorite grassroots MMA sites (by fans in the know for fans of all types). The sites also features staff writers like PJ Harrison, DaSilvaMMA, BigRon and XTinaZ, all of whom are among the most vocal and knowledgeable “fanalysts” in the MMA internet community and Twittersphere.

Click here for the ChokeWho YouTube Channel and its library of fight picks and analysis.

Anyway, WorldTravelerMan (also of YouTube) provides the following analysis of UFC 111 in the immediate aftermath of the Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin interim heavyweight title match.

He is a YouTube personality worth following, as the video below features some cerebral insight into the strategies employed in the match. Where most of the drunken fratboys will simply exclaim, “Whooooaaa! Carwin beatdown!” (in a Keanu Reeves voice of course), here we get a more methodical approach to the brutal but methodical destruction that occurred in the Octagon.

As many of you know, I am a longtime contributor to the MMA fighter rankings panel at MMAValor, a site which I have enjoyed watching develop and grow at a very impressive rate.

The panel includes some fine MMA minds, such as Josh Wood, PJ Harrison, HellnBackMMA, Mike Mazzacre and several others, and while you will have to go to MMAValor.com if you want to see the compiled rankings of the entire panel, here were my submissions, post UFC 111 and Florian vs. Gomi fight night.

I am only asked for the top five in each weight class, and the top three on my P4P list. The rankings I submitted are as follows…

HEAVYWEIGHT

1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Shane Carwin
3. Brock Lesnar
4. Cain Velasquez
5. Junior Dos Santos
41,211. Zuluzinho

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

1. Lyoto Machida
2. Shogun Rua
3. Rampage Jackson
4. Rashad Evans
5. Anderson Silva
2,133. Jason Guida

MIDDLEWEIGHT

1. Anderson Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Vitor Belfort
4. Chael Sonnen
5. Nate Marquardt
4,181. Tait Fletcher

WELTERWEIGHT

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Thiago Alves
4. Josh Koscheck
5. Paulo Thiago
34,181. Wayne Weems

LIGHTWEIGHT

1. BJ Penn
2. Shinya Aoki
3. Eddie Alvarez
4. Tatsuya Kawajiri
5. Kenny Florian (aka Kenny Florini)
24,181. Andy Wang

FEATHERWEIGHT

1. Jose Aldo
2. Mike Brown
3. Urijah Faber
4. Raphael Assuncao
5. Hatsu Hioki

BANTAMWEIGHT

1. Dominick Cruz
2. Brian Bowles
3. Joseph Benavidez
4. Miguel Torres
5. Masakatsu Ueda

POUND FOR POUND

1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Georges St. Pierre
3. Anderson Silva
131,218. Ranger Stott

You may now begin viciously criticizing my submission.

There have been some funny MMA moments over the years, from the involuntary near-sterilization of Joe Son to most of Tom Lawlor’s UFC entrances…

But has any fight from start to finish ever had the comedic payoff of Robin Phoenix vs. Vince Guzman?

Judge for yourselves…

CECIL PEOPLES: MMA Judge and P4P Rankings Guru

Everyone knows Cecil Peoples as one of the foremost judges at major MMA events, and a contributor to some of the most talked about decisions in the sport. Well, he arranged his contribution to the Yahoo! P4P MMA rankings but accidentally sent the list to me instead of the powers-that-be at Yahoo. So I figured I would publish them and give you a sneak peek…

20. TANK ABBOTT

Cecil Peoples: He showed great cardio in his last fight and I fully expect him to make some waves in the heavyweight division. If he takes on some serious heavyweight contenders like Fedor, Brock Lesnar or Warpath Villareal, he could skyrocket up this list.

19. MONSTAH LOBSTAH

Cecil Peoples: He is only about 25th on my P4P rankings as a fighter but he is P4P one of the best fight instigators in the sport. I expect big things from him in the future.

18. HERSCHEL WALKER

Cecil Peoples: The man is undefeated in his mixed martial arts career. That’s all there is to say on the matter.

17. KEITH HACKNEY

Cecil Peoples: He would be higher up on my rankings but groin strikes don’t end fights.

16. AFRO PUFF

Cecil Peoples: He did much better against Kimbo than The Bouncer.

15. KIMBO SLICE

Cecil Peoples: He beat Afro Puff.

14. MATT MITRIONE

Cecil Peoples: The man has a strong mental game. I hear voices in my head when I judge fights so I understand how this can work to his advantage in the cage.

13. ANDY WANG

Cecil Peoples: Game planner extraordinaire, plus he can take a punch.

12. JOSE CANSECO

Cecil Peoples: He gave up something like 70 pounds to Hong Man Choi and still won the fight. If you divide 70 pounds by 300 career home runs and multiply that by the number of punches he threw in celebrity boxing, you get 12, which is where I put him on my rankings.

11. KIMO LEOPOLDO

Cecil Peoples: He dropped from 11th to 14th on my rankings when I thought he was dead after that nasty internet rumor, but with confirmation that he is still alive, he retains his original position.

10. SEAN SALMON

Cecil Peoples: If that aerial kick had connected against Rashad Evans, he would be top five. I still gave him the win in that fight.

9. TEILA TULI

Cecil Peoples: It has not yet been proven that Sumo Wrestling is not dominant over all other martial arts in a head-to-head matchup. I expect it to hold up quite well against kickboxing, for example.

8. DMX

Cecil Peoples: Y’all gonna make me lose my mind, up in here, up in here!
CT: DMX? Has he even made his pro debut yet?
Cecil Peoples: 30-26 DMX.
CT: For what fight?
Cecil Peoples: 31-24 DMX.
CT: You can’t score 31 points in a three-round match.
Cecil Peoples: 30-25 DMX.

7. TIM SYLVIA

Cecil Peoples: We need to recognize the reality that both referees and judges often make mistakes in mixed martial arts. The official record shows that Tim Sylvia has performed poorly as of late but I gave him a clear decision victory over both Fedor Emelianenko and Ray Mercer. Tim Sylvia is riding an 11-fight winning streak that began with his victory over Frank Mir.

6. EMMANUEL YARBOROUGH

Cecil Peoples: His victory over Keith Hackney was nothing to sneeze at.
CT: Did Emmanuel win that fight?
Cecil Peoples: 30-29 Joe Son.

5. ZULUZINHO

Cecil Peoples: He knocked out Fedor in what, 30 seconds?

4. GIANT SILVA

Cecil Peoples: He won every fight I saw him in, then retired undefeated, and the inactivity period for the rankings list has not set in yet.

3. JOEY SCAROLA

Cecil Peoples: He can’t be bargained with. He can’t be reasoned with. He doesn’t feel pity or remorse or fear. And he absolutely will not stop – ever – until you are dead.

2. VIACHESLAV DATSIK

Cecil Peoples: (snoring)
CT: Cecil? Cecil?
Cecil Peoples: (snoring)
CT: Mr. Peoples?
Cecil Peoples: (snoring)

1. BUTTERBEAN

Cecil Peoples: He was pound for pound the greatest boxer of all time and is now dominating mixed martial arts. His victory over a much heavier Genki Sudo is a testament to his well-rounded MMA game.

A NOTE ON THE VERACITY OF THIS INTERVIEW

If you think any of this interview or the above mentioned events actually occurred, then you sound like you are qualified to judge an MMA event.

Please address any questions about Mr. Peoples’ rankings to Dana White’s twitter account at @danawhiteufc.

This is just a quick note to let everyone know that I’ve been invited to contribute to an MMA rankings panel over at MMAvalor.com.

I was happy to oblige, given that I periodically give some thought to who is the best in each weight class and who should be challenging for the titles, and what I would be lining up if I had UFC matchmaker Joe Silva’s job.

Anyway, I have decided not to post my contributions to the overall ranking pool until he has posted the final results, combining my input with several other panel members. I don’t want to be stealing anyone’s thunder!

However, upon MMAvalor’s release of the final product, I’ll put up the contribution I personally made, indicating my first-through-fifth (as requested) in every MMA weight class from bantamweight to heavyweight, regardless of organization or affiliation.