As we launch our new Combat Blog here at StarTribune.com, Myron Medcalf, Tom Horgen and myself sat down and wrote out our list of the top 10 pound-for-pound fighters and then complied it into a unified list. Here are the results:
1) George St. Pierre (22-2) UFC Welterweight Champion
2) Anderson Silva (31-4) UFC Middleweight Champion
3) Jose Aldo (19-1) UFC Featherweight Champion
4) Jon Jones (13-1) UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
5) Cain Valesquez (9-0) UFC Heavyweight Champion
6) Dominick Cruz (18-1) UFC Bantamweight Champion
7) Frankie Edgar (13-1-1) UFC Lightweight Champion
8) Gray Maynard (10-0-1) Lightweight
9) Gilbert Melendez (19-2) Lightweight
10) Nick Diaz (25-7-1) Welterweight
Also getting votes: Jon Fitch (Welterweight) , Rashad Evans (Light Heavyweight) and Shogun Rua (Light Heavyweight)
Notes:
UFC champions dominate the top 10, most likely because they are seen as facing the toughest competition for every fight. Only two non-UFC fighters make this months top ten, Nick Diaz, who has been stripped of his Strikeforce title and is headed to UFC, and Gilbert Melendez. Three lightweights make the top 10, making it the most competitive weight class this month. Two light heavyweights just missed out on making the top 10, and a third welterweight is knocking on the door as well.
