SteelSkins UFC Power Rankings

It’s been two months since our last Power Rankings. Let’s see how things have changed.

Heavyweights

The big question here is, will estranged HW Champion Randy Couture agree to come back to the UFC to finish his contract (he has two fights remaining over the next nine months)? UFC President Dana White is sitting down with Couture on Tuesday, November 20, to discuss the terms of their arrangement and an upcoming fight with “Minotauro” Nogueira on Super Bowl weekend, February 2, 2008.

Otherwise—if Couture walks—Nogueira will face former champ Tim Sylvia for the vacant belt. This makes some sense, as Andrei Arlovski’s future is still stalled in a contract dispute (plus, Sylvia has beaten the Belarussian twice), and the only other HW contender coming off a win is Cheick Kongo, who we believe is still one win away from a title shot. Regardless, we hope there’s an Arlovski/Gonzaga fight somewhere in the near future.

This week, we dropped Arlovski three places due to inactivity (since April) associated with his contract dispute; Sylvia gains one with a win over Vera (via unanimous decision), dropping “The Truth” two spots; Jeff Monson, who is no longer under UFC contract and hasn’t fought in the organization in more than a year drops off, as does Marcio Cruz; and Brock Lesnar and Tom Murphy make their first Top 15 appearances (Note: Murphy also hasn’t fought in more than a year—since March 2006—but is supposed to be fighting in the UFC soon).

Upcoming Heavyweight fights currently scheduled and/or rumored include Eddie Sanchez vs. #19 UFC newcomer Soa “The Hulk” Palalei at UFC 79 (Dec. 29); Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Fabricio Werdum at UFC 80 (Jan. 19); #17 Antoni Hardonk vs. #21 Colin Robinson at UFC 80; Nogueira vs. either Couture or Sylvia at UFC 81 (Feb. 2); and former champ Frank Mir vs. UFC newcomer and former big-time wrestling star Brock Lesnar at UFC 81. Your Top 15 Contenders are:

Light Heavyweights

The Light Heavyweight Division saw its own share of shuffling over the past two months, including:

• It was just announced that Dan Henderson will be dropping back down to Middleweight to challenge Champion Anderson Silva for the belt. Sticking with SteelSkins’ tradition of ranking a fighter in just one weight class at a time, we have removed him from this month’s LHW Power Rankings.
• Tito Ortiz’s prolonged contract dispute has cut into any momentum he might have once had, pushing him down a few spots.
• Renalto “Babalu” Sobral’s choking stunt against David Heath at UFC 74 earned him the boot from the organization, so he’s dropped off the map.
• TUF2 winner Rashad Evans outlasted TUF3 winner Michael Bisping to win via split decision at UFC78.
• Also at UFC 78, Thiago Silva stopped Houston Alexander’s “meteoric rise” up the LHW rankings, earning him four spots (TKO due to strikes).
• Then-#16 Stephan Bonnar defeated then- #22 Eric Schafer at UFC 77 (TKO due to strikes), which re-introduces the “American Psycho” into the Top 15.
• Jason Lambert continues to get no mention from anyone anywhere, pushing him even further down the ranks (he was once ranked #4 in the SteelSkins Power Rankings due to his win over Babalu—before the recent influx of PRIDE talent).
• And the UFC recently announced the signing of free-agent Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, a widely considered top 10 contender who holds notable wins over Ricardo Arona and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (“Little Nog”).

Upcoming LHW bouts include Wanderlei Silva making his Octagon return vs. Chuck Liddell at UFC 79 (Dec. 29), both of whom are coming off rare back-to-back losses; Ryoto Machida will introduce Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou to the Octagon at UFC 79; and #24 Alessio Sakara will take on #25 UFC newcomer James Lee at UFC 80 (Jan. 19). Your Top 15 Contenders are:

Middleweights

The thin Middleweight division saw the introduction of Champion Anderson Silva’s biggest threat to date: PRIDE’s MW Champion Dan Henderson. The two Champions are scheduled to meet in a unification bout at UFC 82 in March in Columbus, OH.

Another addition to the MW division is a PRIDE and UFC veteran and MW King of Pancrase, Ricardo Almeida, who last fought in the UFC at UFC 35, back in 2002. Now signed to a six-fight contract, Almeida hasn't fought professionally in more than three years, although he's riding a six-fight win streak, including wins over Nate Marquardt and WW Ryo Chonan.

Fights over the past two months included:

• MW Champion Anderson Silva defeated former Champ Rich Franklin (TKO due to strikes) for the second time at UFC 77.
• Yushin Okami defeated Jason MacDonald via unanimous decision (UFC 77).
• #19 Alan Belcher defeated #24 Kalib Starnes via TKO (doctor stoppage due to cut) at UFC 77.
• UFC newcomer #17 Demian Maia defeated #33 Ryan Jensen via rear naked choke in the first round (UFC 77).
• And Ed Herman earned sweet redemption over a past lost to Joe Doerksen at UFC 78. The win (via KO in round 3) earned him $55,000 in “KO of the Night” money and his first appearance in the SteelSkins Top 15 Power Rankings.

Upcoming fights include #18 Dean Lister vs. #34 Jordan Radev at UFC 79 (Dec. 29); Kendall Grove vs. #23 Jorge Rivera at UFC 80 (Jan. 19); Nate Marquardt vs. Thales Leites at UFC 81 (Feb. 2); #22 Patrick Cote vs. TBD at UFC 81; and Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson at UFC 82 (Mar. 1). Your Top 15 Contenders are:

Welterweights

Normally one of the more busy divisions, the Welterweights saw little action over the last two months. Along with knocking Drew Fickett down two pegs due to inactivity (he hasn’t fought in the UFC since April, but has gone 1-0 in other organizations), the SteelSkins Top 15 saw the following activity:

• Josh Burkman defeated #26 Forrest Petz via unanimous decision (UFC 77).
• Karo Parisyan defeated UFC newcomer Ryo Chonan via unanimous decision (UFC 78).
• Thiago Alves defeated Chris Lytle via TKO (doctor stoppage due to cuts) at UFC 78.
• And UFC newcomer #20 Akihiro Gono defeated #22 Tamdan “The Barn Cat” McCrory via arm bar (UFC 78).

Despite the slow couple of months, the TUF 6 Finale on December 8 will include a plethora of WW action—likely 6 or 7 matchups, along with the LW headliner detailed below. Other upcoming fights include Champion Matt Serra vs. former Champ Matt Hughes (UFC 79); #19 Tony DeSouza vs. #22 Roan Carniero (UFC 79); Marcus Davis vs. #24 Jess Liaudin (UFC 80); #23 Paul Taylor vs. #29 Paul Kelly at UFC 80; and Mike Swick making his WW debut vs. TBD (Fight Night 12). Your Top 15 Contenders are:

Lightweights

Sean Sherk’s steroid appeal has been postponed for a third time, and will now take place on December 4. Barring a miracle, Sherk will be stripped of his title and removed from the SteelSkins Power Rankings until his suspension is served (likely on July 5, 2008, when both he and former #1 Contender Hermes Franca will return to action).

In the meantime, the UFC announced a match up for the “Interim LW Belt” between #1 Contender B.J. Penn and #2 Contender Joe “Daddy” Stevenson. The winner will likely fight Sherk, upon his return, to unify the belts.

The last two months saw moderate action, including:

• #25 Alvin Robinson spoiled hometown favorite #21 Jorge Gurgel’s Cincinnati debut (via unanimous decision) at UFC 77.
• #42 Matt Grice upset #23 Jason Black to win via split decision at UFC 77.
• Frankie Edgar impressed against Spencer Fisher to win via unanimous decision at UFC 78.
• Joe Lauzon defeated then-undefeated #40 Jason Reinhardt via rear naked choke at UFC 78.
• And Marcus Aurelio defeated #54 Luke Caudillo via TKO (strikes) at UFC 78.

Upcoming fights include Roger Huerta vs. Clay Guida (TUF 6 Finale); Melvin Guillard vs. #31 Rich Clementi (UFC 79); TUF 5 Runner-Up #26 Manny Gamburyan vs. #42 Nate Mohr (UFC 79); #30 Doug Evans vs. #44 Mark Bocek (UFC 79); B.J. Penn vs. Joe Stevenson (UFC 80); #18 Sam Stout vs. #33 Terry Etim (UFC 80); The long-awaited premier of 6’6” lightweight #39 Corey Hill vs. TBD (Fight Night 12); and Tyson Griffin vs. Gleison Tibau (UFC 81). Your Top 15 Contenders are: