The past few months have been quiet ones for the world’s most elite
fighters, with some of the UFC’s top talents sidelined due to
injury, looking toward upcoming fights, or both.
Even with the lack of activity, there has been movement at the top.
Renan
Barao, who previously occupied the No. 6 spot on this list, was
shockingly ousted from the ranks of the pound-for-pounders by
unheralded challenger
T.J.
Dillashaw at
UFC
173. The former bantamweight king had no answer for the speed
and accuracy of Dillashaw, who kept the pressure on the Brazilian
for five rounds to become the UFC’s new 135-pound ruler. Dillashaw
remains some wins away from pound-for-pound discussion, but if his
performance on May 24 in Las Vegas was any indication, the Team
Alpha Male fighter could appear on this page before long.
Barao’s exit from the top 10 makes room for
Gilbert
Melendez, a man who many fans and pundits believe won the UFC
lightweight title in April 2013 in a hard-fought split decision
loss to
Benson
Henderson. “El Nino” went on to defeat the notoriously tough
Diego
Sanchez in October, putting him in line for a shot at new champ
Anthony
Pettis. That match will take place later this year, after
Melendez and Pettis coach opposite one another on the 20th season
of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
As the weather heats up, so will the big-name fights and
pound-for-pound activity. June 7 will see Henderson take on surging
Russian
Rustam
Khabilov in a pivotal 155-pound showdown, followed one week
later by flyweight ace
Demetrious
Johnson’s defense against
Ali
Bagautinov at
UFC 174.
For the second time in as many fights, “Bones” needed all five
rounds to defend his UFC light heavyweight title. Jones’ victory
over Glover Teixeira at UFC 172 was far different from his win
against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165, however, as the
Jackson-Wink MMA product routed his hard-hitting Brazilian
challenger for all 25 minutes of their encounter in Baltimore. The
win continued Jones’ streak as the winningest 205-pound champion in
company history -- now with seven consecutive defenses -- and
further cemented his place as the top athlete operating in mixed
martial arts today. Up next for the 26-year old seems to be an Aug.
30 rematch with Gustafsson at UFC 177, though the bout is not yet
official.
Aldo’s featherweight title defense at UFC 169 was far from
dramatic, which is a testament to his dominance as champion. The
Nova Uniao standout had his way with
Ricardo
Lamas for four rounds, landing multiple punching and kicking
combinations, as well as a pair of late takedowns. A final salvo
from Lamas in round five was not nearly enough as Aldo had his hand
raised for the 17th consecutive time -- including six successful
UFC title defenses. After the win, “Scarface” seemed eager for a
super fight against lightweight champion Anthony Pettis; but Pettis
is now tied up with Gilbert Melendez. For now, the Brazilian will
focus on a UFC 176 rematch with Chad Mendes, who has not lost since
the two squared off in January 2012.
Velasquez removed any doubt relating to the identity of the best
heavyweight in the world by administering a brutal beating to
Junior dos
Santos at UFC 166. The final bout of the trilogy was never
really in doubt, as the American Kickboxing Academy ace dominated
in the clinch and rarely allowed his opponent any space to unleash
his formidable boxing. Velasquez dropped his opponent in the third
round and earned the stoppage late in the fifth, where dos Santos
finally wilted after hitting his head on the canvas following a
failed guillotine attempt. Brazilian submission specialist
Fabricio
Werdum will get his long-awaited shot at Velasquez this fall
when they meet at UFC 180 after coaching on “The Ultimate Fighter:
Latin America.”
Weidman cemented his spot atop the middleweight division with a
second consecutive triumph over Anderson Silva in the UFC 168 main
event. After nearly finishing “The Spider” in the opening frame,
the Serra-Longo Fight Team standout checked a kick that resulted in
a gruesomely fractured leg for Silva, ending the bout 1:16 into the
second round. Unbeaten in seven Octagon appearances, Weidman will
make his second title defense at UFC 175 against former light
heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, who stepped in to replace
original challenger Vitor Belfort.
There is “Mighty Mouse,” and then there is the rest of the
flyweight division -- that much remains clear. When Johnson bested
Joseph
Benavidez at UFC 152 for the promotion’s inaugural flyweight
strap, it was a closely contested split decision in favor of
“Mighty Mouse.” In their rematch at UFC on Fox 9, Johnson affirmed
his place as the division’s undisputed king with a first-round
knockout victory. Since he first captured 125-pound gold in
September 2012, Johnson has defended his title three times in
increasingly impressive fashion. As it stands, the AMC Pankration
representative has bested the two men directly below him in the
flyweight division: Benavidez and
John Dodson.
At UFC 174, Johnson will defend against Dagestani “Puncher” Ali
Bagautinov, who has notched wins in all three of his Octagon
appearances.
Pettis needed five rounds and the remarkable “Showtime” kick to
snatch the WEC belt from Benson Henderson in 2010, but he required
far less time to earn his second victory over “Smooth” and become
the new UFC lightweight king. In the UFC 164 headliner, Pettis
softened his opponent with a series of brutal body kicks and then
locked in a fight-ending armbar with 29 seconds left in round one.
About the only thing that went wrong for Pettis was a knee injury
he suffered while checking a kick. Currently on the mend from
surgery, Pettis will film a new season of “The Ultimate Fighter”
opposite rival coach Gilbert Melendez in May, with the two expected
to face off later this year.
Nobody wanted to see Silva’s night end the way it did at UFC 168,
as the longtime pound-for-pound king suffered a broken left leg
when Chris Weidman checked a kick during the second round of their
headlining matchup. The Brazilian underwent emergency surgery
following the bout and is expected to make a full recovery.
According to UFC President Dana White, “The Spider” could climb
back in the cage before the end of the year. Silva, who turns 39 in
April, was victorious in his first 17 UFC appearances before
falling to Weidman in consecutive bouts.
Hendricks fell short in his bid for the UFC welterweight title when
he faced Georges St. Pierre in November, but the “Bigg Rigg” made
his second opportunity count. By finishing strong in the five-round
main event of UFC 171, the 30-year old Oklahoman outlasted and
outpointed fellow bruiser Robbie Lawler, claiming the belt vacated
by GSP in December. Lawler is just the latest in a series of major
scalps for Hendricks, who has picked off big-name 170-pounders from
Jon Fitch to Carlos Condit on his way to the throne. There will be
no shortage of opposition for Hendricks in the suddenly shaking
welterweight ranks, with fellow UFC 171 winners Tyron Woodley and
Hector Lombard already chasing title shots.
In case anyone forgot, the former lightweight champion is a master
of the high-wire act. Henderson proved it once again, taking a
hotly contested -- and controversial -- split verdict over Josh
Thomson in the UFC on Fox 10 headliner. “Smooth” is now 3-0 in UFC
bouts that result in split decisions, with triumphs over Thomson,
Gilbert Melendez and
Frankie
Edgar to his credit. Such efforts may not win him new fans, but
he remains a fixture near the top of the 155-pound weight class.
However, the lack of an emphatic victory over Thomson -- plus two
defeats against reigning lightweight champion Anthony Pettis --
makes for a tough road back to the top for the MMA Lab
representative.
One bout removed from a narrow and controversial loss to
then-lightweight champion Benson Henderson, “El Nino” teamed with
Diego Sanchez to produce one of 2013’s most memorable fights at UFC
166. Melendez recently flirted with a move to Bellator before
re-signing with the UFC. He will coach opposite lightweight
champion Anthony Pettis on Season 20 of “The Ultimate Fighter”
before challenging “Showtime” for his title later this year.
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