Rankings in 5 years time.

In five years time, after the Anderson Silva's and BJ Penn's of this world have all retired, what do you think the world rankings will look like? Will they be much the same or will the new breed of fighters coming into the sport dominate the top 10 and knock the old boys off their perch?

People i see retiring and therefore dropping off the rankings in 5 years time are: Fedor, Mir? Nog, Barnett, Sylvia, CC, Couture, Hendo, Wand, Chuck, Rampage? Franklin, Griffin?, Babalu, Belfort, Hughes, Aoki? and probably more, but they're the ranked fighters i see hanging up the gloves.

Now my question is after you remove them from the rankings, that leaves a bloody lot of room, so my question is who do you think will occupy the spaces left by these fighters? Bones Jones, Davis, Hathaway, or another newcomer we are yet to see or hear about yet? Will be interesting to hear your thoughts.

5 yrs is such a long time to try and predict who will be the new up and comer. The future stars in 5 yrs time probably havent even compete in MMA yet as of now.

For example Cole Konrad a 2 time NCAA wrestling champ, has only just started to compete in MMA in 2010, and is already 5-0 and into the semi's of Bellator tournament. If he wins that tourney, his next stop could probably be to join his buddy Brock in the UFC. And will have a whole lot of hype around him.

(Although he doesnt exactly have the most entertaining fighting style)


So who know's ?
But i think for sure Bones , JDS and Cain will be in the rankings for a good while yet

crossing off the people i cant see lasting 5 more years in the rankings

1. Brock Lesnar
2. Fabricio Werdum
3. Fedor Emelianenko
4. Junior Dos Santos
5. Shane Carwin
6. Cain Velasquez
7. Frank Mir
8. Antonio Nogueira
9. Alistair Overeem
10. Josh Barnett
11. Antonio Silva
12. Brett Rogers
13. Mirko Crocop
14. Gabriel Gonzaga
15. Tim Sylvia


Light heavyweight: 186-205lbs
1. Mauricio Shogun
2. Lyoto Machida
3. Rashad Evans
4. Rampage Jackson
5. Minotoro Nogueira
6. Forrest Griffin
7. Randy Couture
8. Rich Franklin
9. King Mo
10. Gegard Mousasi
11. Jon Jones
12. Thiago Silva
13. Renato Sobral
14. Ryan Bader
15. Jason Brilz


Middleweight: 171-185lbs
1. Anderson Silva
2. Chael Sonnen
3. Vitor Belfort
4. Dan Henderson
5. Nate Marquadt
6. Ronaldo Jacare
7. Damien Maia
8. Robbie Lawler
9. Hector Lombard
10. Jorge Santiago
11. Yushin Okami
12. Wanderlei Silva
13. Rousimar Palhares
14. Chris Leben
15. Alan Belcher


Welterweight: 156-170lbs
1. George St. Pierre
2. John Fitch
3. Jake Shields
4. Nick Diaz
5. Josh Koscheck
6. Thaigo Alves
7. Martin Kampmann
8. Dan Hardy
9. Paulo Thiago
10. Paul Daley
11. John Hathaway
12. Carlos Condit
13. Matt Hughes
14. Mike Swick
15. Diego Sanchez


Lightweight: 146-155lbs
1. Frankie Edgar
2. Bj Penn
3. Gilbert Melendez
4. Shinya Aoki
5. Kenny Florian
6. Eddie Alverez
7. Gray Maynard
8. Tatsuya Kawajiri
9. Ben Henderson
10. Evan Dunham
11. George Sotiropoulos
12. Josh Thomson
13. Takanori Gomi
14. KJ Noons
15. JZ Calvancante


of course its total guess work!! lol

redmeanie77 wrote:5 yrs is such a long time to try and predict who will be the new up and comer. The future stars in 5 yrs time probably havent even compete in MMA yet as of now.

For example Cole Konrad a 2 time NCAA wrestling champ, has only just started to compete in MMA in 2010, and is already 5-0 and into the semi's of Bellator tournament. If he wins that tourney, his next stop could probably be to join his buddy Brock in the UFC. And will have a whole lot of hype around him.

(Although he doesnt exactly have the most entertaining fighting style)


So who know's ?
But i think for sure Bones , JDS and Cain will be in the rankings for a good while yet

I see what your saying but 1/2 years isn't really that long in MMA terms so i just went for five. You think Konrad will be top 10 HW in 5 years then?

Still need to see more from him, but it wouldnt suprise me at all.

Chestie you think a lot of people will retire, i'd be interested to read why you think Brock, Rashad, Machida and Hardy will pack it in?

The_Axe_Emperor wrote:You think Konrad will be top 10 HW in 5 years then?

I hope not. From what I've seen he looks quite one dimensional and he's also dull to watch (plus his moobs are worse than Roy Nelson's).

Chesty, curious as to why Machida, Evans, Kos, Palhares and Maynard won't be ranked??

axe emporer im not picking them to retire, but i dont expect them to still be high ranked in 5 years.

Anfield, i think Machida and Evans are relying too much on speed and reactions. this is fine for now though.
I think Koschecks chin will catch up to him badly...just a hunch.
i think Palhares is really talented but without too much striking skills there will easily be 15 middleweights better than him in 5 years.
Maynard i just do not really rate at all, also combined with the fact he is huge for the weight, (which is why i took out Noons.)

Ah i see. What do you see happening to Brock then?

manschesthair_utd wrote:axe emporer im not picking them to retire, but i dont expect them to still be high ranked in 5 years.

Anfield, i think Machida and Evans are relying too much on speed and reactions. this is fine for now though.
I think Koschecks chin will catch up to him badly...just a hunch.
i think Palhares is really talented but without too much striking skills there will easily be 15 middleweights better than him in 5 years.
Maynard i just do not really rate at all, also combined with the fact he is huge for the weight, (which is why i took out Noons.)

maynard has the best wresling at 155, great cardio, decent hands and a good chin. he also holds a win over edgar. I can't see how he won't be top 5 or 6 in 5 years.

MW is a weak division filled with older fighters, i think Palhares is a cert to be top 10 in 5 years.

Kos's chin, it's a decent chin. If he keeps with his wrestling it should preserve it.

Machida will only drop from the top 5 when he quits. Most talented fighter in the weight class. it's more about skill and technique than anything.

You could be right on Evans but with his wrestling skils and good hands, i think he's a safe bet for top 15.

Judging by wrestlers in the past,they seem to be the guys that have the longest careers,like Coleman,Randy,Hendo etc,(not only do there bodies seem to last the test of time but just competing seems to be a drug they can't give up)so since guys like Kos,Maynard and Rashad would only be around 36 - 37 at the time,I'd expect them to still be there or there abouts,fighting at a descent level.

Barnett is struggling to hold on to his ranking now,so surely unless he starts fighting in a respectable Org,he can't hang on to a top 15 ranking for another 5 years,fighting the guys he has been for the last few years.

Bones will be competing with JDS,Cain and a couple more newbies for the HW Title and Mr Wonderful will be the LHW champ after he dethrones Bader.

Jose Aldo will be the UFC LW champ,Anderson will turn to law enforcement,partnering up with steven Seagal,cleaning up crime in America once and for all,Brock will have retired with a big fat bank balance and disapear into the wilderness,tracking down the legendary Mythical creature the Timmehmungo Sylviasqauch,more commenly known as BIG GUT, to never to be seen again,Machida will have to retire due to Kidney problems,linked to the constant use of tainted drinking water,Randy will become a full time actor and go on to win an Oscar with his performance in the Scorpion King 6 and I'll still be (hopefully) giving Japanese MMA some shit

take Lesnar, he is what? 33? he will be 38 in 5 years then.

he has already shown that he doesnt know how to take a punch, he has probably the worst striking of anyone in our rankings or JMO list in any division...in techniques if not power.

talking about Maynard...i had him edging his last 2 fights, but they could have gone the other way and then he would be absolutley nowhere.
these are against Nate Diaz (handily dismantled by Joe Stevenson) and Huerta (beaten by Pat something in Bellator).
i simply dont rate him that highly, and thats if he is still managing to make weight in 5 years.
which even if he is, will be having a tremendous effect on his performance, he has already been KOd and subbed in his carreer, i dont know why you think he will be top 5 in 5 years to be honest.


Evans has been badly hurt in his last 3 fights, this is in his athletic peak, its only downhill from here. if he sticks to his wrestling though he has a chance.

I am assuming Barnett does start fighting in a legit org soon. in which case his high class skills will keep him relevant.

Chesty, thought i'd give you the oppurtunity to retract your comments about Maynard.

And also to explain your claims that Maynard has been KO'd in his career. He got subbed by Diaz because he made a mistake in a fight he was dominating, but he's never been KO'd. I do hope you're not trying to claim his NC as a KO because he practically KO'd himself, even still he should have got the win as his opponent tapped before the ref realized he was out.


Gray Maynard - next UFC LW champ.

Oh, and the thoughts that Gomi will be top 15 in 5 years are based on pure biased. I know you're a huge Gomi fan, but there's simply no way he'll be top 15 in 5 years. I'd be surprised if he's still fighting then but he's barely top 15 now and he's on the slide.