Next UFC title contenders?

So this thread is about which guys are closest to a fight for a UFC title. Im kind of making them like Bens rankings but this is just about contenders. For example, Alves and Fitch are ranked higher than Kampmann and Swick (IMO anyway) but the latter two are closer to a shot at GSP.

HW Champion: Brock Lesner
Number one contender: Carwin
2.Big Nog
3.Velasquez
4.Dos Santos
*.Cro Cop
6.Mir
7.Randy
8.Kongo
9.Herring
10.Rothwell

Maybe a few missing, not sure. Thats pretty much how I see it.

LHW Champion: Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida
Number one contender:Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
2.Rampage
*.Rashad
4.Franklin
5.Lil Nog
6.Griffin
7.T Silva
8.Cane
9.Tito
*Coleman
11.Jones
12.Bader
13.Jardine
14.Vera
15.Hammil

I forgot Vera and Hammil.

Im pretty sure im missing a few hear, take it easy lads!

MW Champion: Anderson "The Spider" Silva
1.Nate Maurquardt
*Henderson
3.Belfort
4.Okami
5.Maia
6.Sexyama
7.Belcher
8.Cote (he is injured so im putting him quite low)
9.Sonnen
10.Bitchping
11.Dan Miller
12.Jake Rosholt

Missing a few?

WW Champion: George "Rush" St Pierre
1.Kampmann
*.Swick
3.Fitch
4.Alves
5.Almedia
6.Hughes
7.Koshcheck
8.Thiago
9.A Johnson
10.Hardy
11.Serra
12.Yoshida
13.Chris Lythle
14.Davis
15.Matt Riddle
16.Ben Saunders

Missing a few?

LW Champion: BJ "The Prodigy" Penn
1.Sanchez
2.Maynard
3.Edgar
4.Griffin
5.Sherk
6.Guida
*Ken Flo
8.Joe Stevenson
9.Spencer Fisher
10.Miller
11.Cal Uno
12.Nate Diaz
13.Pellingrino
14.Guillard


Id love to hear your take on this, Am i missing a few? Would you change the order? Thoughts please.

Jesus thats a pretty thorough list, very accurate as well.. What I dont get is that Carwin said he heard that the Valesquez vs Rothwell winner gets next shot... Ok fair enough if Cain wins but Imagine Rothwell winning and getting a shot over Nog or Crocop/Dos Santos!!!

I dont see Belfort behind Okami, I know Okami was due one but there both fighting on the next two cards and if they Both win Belfort is surely ahead (seeing as he would have beat Rich) As well as that Dana talked about him as a potential opponent for Silva

At Lhw I would put Rich above Lil Nog... Reason is that Rich could be 2 fights off a shot. I dont Imagine they will let Nog walk into a shot so easily as his 1st fight is surely going to be against a can... not a total can but I think outside the top 10.

But really good lists I think that looks pretty much spot on. Only thing with UFC we all know shots arent always diserved.

"What I dont get is that Carwin said he heard that the Valesquez vs Rothwell winner gets next shot... Ok fair enough if Cain wins but Imagine Rothwell winning and getting a shot over Nog or Crocop/Dos Santos!!!"

Jesus that would be a disaster, I don't even think Velasquez or Dos Santos should take the fight if they both win, both still need more expereince and we know how keen the UFC are on rematches. About as much as resigning Ken Shamrock!

"I dont see Belfort behind Okami, I know Okami was due one but there both fighting on the next two cards and if they Both win Belfort is surely ahead (seeing as he would have beat Rich) As well as that Dana talked about him as a potential opponent for Silva"

Dear god I hope so because i have little intrest in seeing Okhami fight Silva, he is boring. I suppose that one was wrong, because I feel like the UFC could hype up a better fight with Silva-Belfort. Ye il change that.


At Lhw I would put Rich above Lil Nog... Reason is that Rich could be 2 fights off a shot. I dont Imagine they will let Nog walk into a shot so easily as his 1st fight is surely going to be against a can... not a total can but I think outside the top 10.

Haha, the reason I put Franklin low was because I didn't want people to think I was showing favouritism towards "Ace". I do think a win over Belfort would put him quite high on the list of contenders, maybe only another 1 or 2 wins away. Im just hoping that if Rich does win the LHW belt (which I know is unlikely ), that A Silva stays where he is!

But really good lists I think that looks pretty much spot on. Only thing with UFC we all know shots arent always diserved.

Cheers mate, appreciate it.

Nah if think Rich is above Nog, doesnt seem Bios. I prefer Lil Nog to Rich and id agree on that! I dont know why im not more of a fan of Rich his fights are always entertaining.. Deffo a win puts him high on the contenders list.. Rampage/Evans winner gets 1st shot at the Machida vs Shogun winner but Who after them? I dont think one of the loosers of those, and Rich with a win over Belfort (Which I dont see happening ) Puts him over Forrest with Back to back losses.. Nog is the only guy over him in some rankings and I dont see him getting a shot after 1 fight in the UFC (I think Cain or T.Silva are likely options Maby Hamill)... Rich could be the next in line sooner than you think Belfort would be a massive win, People were talking him up as an opponent for Anderson and he was a Lhw champ in UFC.

Id bet my neft Nut that Ben Rothwell doesnt get a shot if he beats Cain. I think its one of those ones were it only applies to one fighter.

Okami is over rated IMO, I see lots of sites rank him as number 2 but dont see it. He is good but Lister, MacDonald and Tanner arent the best wins after the Franklin loss. I think he would have had a shot if he was more entertaining but he is dull to watch, I saw him in Belfast and he even made a fight.. well lets just say not the best to watch!

I really cant wait to see who Wandy fights next, I wonder if he will really be a Middelweight, Id love to see him fight someone Sexyama. he said he really wanted to fight Wanderlei and he would make a real good show of it. I think they will throw him in at the deep end though. Wandy will want the biggest fight Possible and I think that could be a Rubbermatch with Hendo or Maby Marquardt (Whoever looses if they fight or whoever doesnt get a shot) I think Nate vs Wandy would also be great to watch.

Nah if think Rich is above Nog, doesnt seem Bios. I prefer Lil Nog to Rich and id agree on that! I dont know why im not more of a fan of Rich his fights are always entertaining.. Deffo a win puts him high on the contenders list.. Rampage/Evans winner gets 1st shot at the Machida vs Shogun winner but Who after them? I dont think one of the loosers of those, and Rich with a win over Belfort (Which I dont see happening ) Puts him over Forrest with Back to back losses.. Nog is the only guy over him in some rankings and I dont see him getting a shot after 1 fight in the UFC (I think Cain or T.Silva are likely options Maby Hamill)... Rich could be the next in line sooner than you think Belfort would be a massive win, People were talking him up as an opponent for Anderson and he was a Lhw champ in UFC.


Some times you just get a connection with a fighter, ever since i became a fan of MMA, i've alway been a Franklin fan. Lets say Franklin beats Belfort (which he will ) he would be very high up. So the winner of Rampage-Evans gets a shot at Machida-Shogun. He might fight the loser of Machida-Shogun, otherwise he will be out of action for ages. Lil Nog should have an easy fight at first so he gets used to the octagon and the fans take to him. Guys like Cane and Silva will be tough and dangerous first fights, Hammil as well maybe Krystof or even Cantwell. Both those guys were simply out classed in there last fights againt well..bette opponents. This Franklin-Belfort fight i huge for both guys ambitions.



Okami is over rated IMO, I see lots of sites rank him as number 2 but dont see it. He is good but Lister, MacDonald and Tanner arent the best wins after the Franklin loss. I think he would have had a shot if he was more entertaining but he is dull to watch, I saw him in Belfast and he even made a fight.. well lets just say not the best to watch!


Ye I don't like him too much, he is quite boring. People give Bisping shit for fighting Mediocre fighters (as well they should ) but his competition isn't the greatest either. He UD a very young Alan Belcher, beat Kalib Starnes (I like him a bit better for that ) Rory Singer and Swick. Swick is the only good win and he is a WW. Franklin was the first big fighter he fought and he lost. he then beat gatekeeper Macdonald (I like him TBH) who is very beatable, An old Tanner (RIP) and a boring win over Lister who is an excellent grappler but an average MMA fighter. If Silva relinquishes the belt, Okhami would be in the tourument but I doubt he would win. How can anyone put him ahead of Nate and Hendo?

Me too, I really like Wandy he is a guy who goes out there and puts it all on the line. I really think he should take an easier fight nowadays, just one to get back to winning ways, im amazaed at his last 8 fights. I suggested Bisping, but thats a big stepodown and Bisping is occupied as well. Him vs Cote would be a war but obviously Cote is injured. i think him vs Sexyama would make a lot of sense, great fight. Imagine if they had that match in Japan, since Wandy is huge over there. I look foward to seeing him fight soon, he is one of Dana's favourites.

BTW, did you see Wandy in Maia's corner? I think he looked great, looks in better shape and a lot of the scars have been removed with the surgey. He rushed out quickly after Maia went down, unlucky Maia, first time ever for him.

Yeah saw him straight in the ring, glad to see Wandys face looking a bit more normal! I saw him in coutures Video blog as well... he was joking with Randy about what his secret is to keep fighting at 46... Wandys face is looking more normal now, I saw there was an interview with him and he said he didnt want to answer questions about his face!!! lol! he must have gotten a lot of shit about looking weird!! Poor guy! The surgery will stop cuts and he has his nose fixed so he can breathe propperly as Cardio looked an issue against Rich... which was strange considering the shape he is in! It must have been his problems breathing throught his nose. I think taking the rest of the year off will help him recover. Id like him to get a slightly easier fight when he returns. I think and hope it will be at 185 because he looks quite small walking about. Cote would be a good one, Wandy isnt back till 2010 so It could happen

Ye I think he looked a lot better. I think il give his conditioning the benifit of the doubt against Franklin for a few reasons. One because o hs nose, two he might have been a bit jet lagged since it was in Germany and becuase it was against Rich Franklin who is one of the best conditioned guys in MMA. Credit to Wandy though, he was still banging at the end of the third round.

Not sure thats the best fight for Cote, his first fight in almost two years against Wandy! I think if that fight were to happen Wandy's best route would be to sub Cote who has struggled against subs in the past. I know its not in Wandy's style, he likes to stand and bang but Cote has an excellent chin and very hard hands. I would prefer Wandy to take someone else, someone else, maybe some one like Sonnen. A one dimensional wrestler that Silva could KO or sub.

I forgot a few fighters at WW, i forgot guys like Serra and Hardy They have been added.

Id stick Hardy over Serra maby? Hardy is top 10ish Serra is lower... Just my though on it, Im sure there are guys ahead of Serra who is quite inactive... I hope they put the Serra vs Baroni fight togeather.

Ye I suppose Serra has been inactive and has lost his last two fights. They were against GSP and Hughes but Hardy has been on a tear recently, KOing Markham and in my opinon rightfully beating Davis. Fair point, chage made. That Serra-Baroni fight should be made in New York IMO, the fans would love both of them.