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Around SBN: Bracketology 2012: Duke Finally Steps Up To The No. 1 Line

Compiling the rankings of twenty top mixed martial arts web sites, the USA TODAY / MMA Nation Consensus MMA Rankings present the top 25 fighters in MMA for the seven major weight classes. These world MMA rankings are the most accurate reflection of how the top fighters in MMA across all promotions like UFC, Strikeforce and ProElite are viewed by the experts who cover the sport.

Lightweight MMA

Consensus Rankings posted July 30, 2009

Rank Fighter % Promotion Last Rank
1 B.J. Penn 97 UFC 1
2 Kenny Florian 91 UFC 2
3 Shinya Aoki 90 DREAM 4
4 Eddie Alvarez 86 Bellator 3
5 Joachim Hansen 75 DREAM 5
6 Frank Edgar 69 UFC 7
7 Tatsuya Kawajiri 69 DREAM 6
8 Diego Sanchez 63 UFC 12
9 Gray Maynard 53 UFC 10
10 Satoru Kitaoka 50 WVR 9
11 Sean Sherk 48 UFC 8
12 Josh Thomson 39 Strikeforce 11
13 Gesias Cavalcante 33 DREAM 13
14 Tyson Griffin 21 UFC 14
15 Eiji Mitsuoka 21 WVR 18
16 Takanori Gomi 20 WVR 15
17 Joe Stevenson 20 UFC 26
18 Gilbert Melendez 20 Strikeforce 20
19 Clay Guida 19 UFC 19
20 Spencer Fisher 19 UFC 17
21 Jamie Varner 18 WEC 15
22 Vitor Ribeiro 15 DREAM 21
23 Roger Huerta 15 UFC 22
24 Mitsuhiro Ishida 14 DREAM 24
25 Joe Lauzon 13 UFC 25
25 Nate Diaz 13 UFC 23
26

Analysis by Kid Nate

August promises to be a big month for fans of lightweight MMA. #1 B.J. Penn will defend his lightweight belt for the first time this year against #2 Kenny Florian at UFC 101. Penn's reputation has suffered a bit from his loss to #1 welterweight Georges St. Pierre at UFC 94. More damage was inflicted by his post-fight conduct and litany of complaints over GSP's greasing.

Disagree? Read more & discuss at Bloody Elbow »

About the Rankings

compiled by Kid Nate and Richard Wade of Bloody Elbow

Bloody ElbowBased on the premise that all MMA rankings are subjective but that it’s still useful and informative to know who the online MMA community as a whole ranks as the best fighters in MMA, we collect and average the rankings of the top MMA websites to produce our consensus rankings. Show more »

Sources

Jeremy Botter, Heavy MMA
Fight Matrix
Jordan Breen, Sherdog
Jim Genia, Full Contact Fighter
Jesse Holland, MMA Mania
Kevin Iole, Yahoo!
Eric Kamander, MMA Ratings
MMA Playground
MMA Weekly
Leland Roling, Bloody Elbow
Matthew Roth, Head Kick Legend
Wojslaw Rysiewski, MMA Rocks
Michael David Smith, MMA Fighting
Derek Suboticki, Fightlinker
Luke Thomas, SB Nation