File Photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
Georges St. Pierre was thorough in his dominance of Dan Hardy. It was the fourth lopsided defense for St. Pierre since he gained his winning the full version of the UFC welterweight crown from Matt Serra in April 2008. However, the dominance of “Rush” isn’t pleasing everybody, and St. Pierre has taken on a growing numbers of critics for the lack of finishes in this throne defenses.
A former St. Pierre challenger, Jon Fitch now faces similar criticisms. The MMA fanbase was excited for his scheduled rematch with Thiago Alves at UFC 111, but when abnormalities in Alves' pre-fight MRI nixed the bout, Fitch took on Ben Saunders instead. It was a familiar workmanlike decision for Fitch, which did nothing to bolster excitement about a future title rematch for the AKA standout.
The month of April will see one full half of this list in action, as Anderson Silva and B.J. Penn defend their crowns at UFC 112, Shinya Aoki looks to make a strong impression in his stateside debut for Strikeforce on April 17, and Jose Aldo and Mike Thomas Brown are in high stakes featherweight affairs at WEC 48.
1. Anderson Silva (25-4)
As Zuffa knows all too well, booking the pound-for-pound king of the sport is difficult. Silva may be the toughest man for whom to find challenges in MMA, and it’s often reflected by fans and journalists alike writing off his opponents months before they ever set foot in the cage with “The Spider.” On the flipside, it ensures that even when disaster strikes, we get an elite-level replacement. With Vitor Belfort going down to a shoulder injury, Silva’s next title defense at UFC 112 on April 10 in Abu Dhabi will now come against fellow Brazilian Demian Maia, who steps in for “The Phenom.” It is a seamless transition from top 10 opponent to top 10 opponent and will provide Silva yet another opportunity to build on his hefty list of victims.
2. Georges St. Pierre (20-2)
It is the kind of nitpicking that can only result when a fighter is as dominant as Georges St. Pierre: after another complete domination at UFC 111 with his UFC welterweight title up for grabs, one would anticipate that GSP's crushing of Dan Hardy would have impressed onlookers. Instead, in spite of particularly vicious armbar and kimura attempts that contorted the arm of “The Outlaw,” the welterweight king of MMA has been disparaged as a safety-first top position wrestler, content to do just enough to win fights. Critiques aside, the constant stream of elite challengers won't stop for St. Pierre, whether they come from the ever-deep 170-pound division, or courtesy of a move to 185 pounds.
3. Fedor Emelianenko (31-1, 1 NC)
Emelianenko was supposed to embark on his next conquest for Strikeforce in April, after he wiped out Brett Rogers in thrilling fashion in the promotion’s November CBS debut. However, a contract impasse between Strikeforce and M-1, Emelianenko’s representation, put the breaks on his appearance, which now looks more likely for June or July. In some ways, the delay may be a blessing in disguise. It will not buy Strikeforce a world of time, but if Emelianenko had fought and knocked off Fabricio Werdum as anticipated in April, it would have left the Russian with one last obvious foil -- Alistair Overeem -- as we entered the summer. Now, the obvious end of Strikeforce’s short heavyweight gallery is further off.
4. Lyoto Machida (16-0)
After ripping through Thiago Silva and Rashad Evans in consecutive bouts in 2009, Machida had already ignited complaints about the inability of other light heavyweights to challenge him before he had even defended the UFC title. His October bout with Mauricio Rua vividly showed once again the folly of proclaiming any MMA fighter unbeatable, as Machida’s unanimous decision victory became the most debated and unpopular decision of the year. With the Rua rematch slated for May 8 at UFC 113 and a growing number of highly gifted 205-pound prospects in MMA, Machida’s road to dominating the light heavyweight division has quickly become a much taller task than previously anticipated for the proud karateka.
5. B.J. Penn (15-5-1)
For the first six years of his MMA career, fans simply wanted to see Penn focus his attention on being the dominating lightweight he could be, instead of pursuing challenges up and down the scale. Over the last three years -- one detour against Georges St. Pierre aside -- he has, blowing out the likes of Joe Stevenson, Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez. Quickly, even those who wanted to see Penn lord over the lightweights have started to question if there are any challenges to be had for Penn. At UFC 112 on April 10 in Abu Dhabi, Penn will enter his next UFC title defense against Frankie Edgar as a prohibitive favorite. After the bout, it is likely the drum-beating for Penn at 170 pounds will only increase in volume.
6. Jose Aldo (16-1)
Since his World Extreme Cagefighting debut in June 2008, Aldo is 6-0 with six stoppages, including four in 2009 alone. It is little wonder that the hottest thing out of the Amazon jungle was Sherdog.com’s “Fighter of the Year” for ’09. However, Aldo’s brilliant campaign last year leads to a harder road from here on out. Aldo will now be tasked with defending his title against the top featherweight challengers the WEC has to offer, fight in and fight out. It starts with former champion Urijah Faber at WEC 48 on April 24 in front of a highly partisan Sacramento crowd that will want him to lose and lose badly. If Aldo is truly set to become MMA’s first featherweight superstar, we will find out shortly.
7. Jon Fitch (22-3, 1 NC)
Even though Jon Fitch didn't get his high stakes showdown with Thiago Alves at UFC 111, he still got a victory. For three rounds, Fitch chipped away on Ben Saunders, taking a straightforward 30-27 decision. However, the issue remains the same for Fitch: in a sport obsessed with dynamism and finishes, the former Purdue wrestler has been to a decision in his last seven fights. The ramifications are beginning to play out politically. Despite a staggering 12-1 record in the UFC in one of MMA’s greatest divisions, Dana White put Fitch on the spot at the UFC 111 post-fight press conference to fight teammate Josh Koscheck in order to gain another title shot.
8. Mike Thomas Brown (22-5)
The world has fallen so deeply in love with Aldo that the featherweight reign of Brown seems like five years ago, not five months ago. While it will be the man Brown conquered twice in his biggest wins, Faber, who next challenges Aldo for the 145-pound throne, Brown will find a home on the same WEC 48 card -- the promotion’s first on pay-per-view. In order to rise back up the ladder for a chance to regain the WEC crown, Brown will have to deal with fellow UFC veteran Manny Gamburyan, who is 2-0 since dropping the more physically appropriate 145-pound division.
9. Thiago Alves (16-6)
UFC 111 was supposed to be Alves' big chance to avenge his June 2006 loss to Fitch. Instead, it turned nightmarish for the 26-year-old Fortaleza native when his pre-fight MRI revealed irregularities in his brain. Fortunately, a successful angiogram was able to rectify the situation, and Alves shouldn't be out of the gym for more than three or four weeks. The major issue for Alves now is simply going to be activity: with just one fight in 2009, Alves will now have to wait until the summer once again until he can sneak onto a card due to the UFC's massively crowded event schedule.
10. Shinya Aoki (23-4, 1 NC)
In the last three years, Aoki has fought 15 times. In those bouts, he has picked up wins over the likes of Akira Kikuchi, Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante, Caol Uno, Eddie Alvarez, Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro, Joachim Hansen and Mizuto Hirota. Yet, despite one of MMA’s deepest dockets and a staggering highlight reel of submissions, Aoki remains one of the sport’s most polarizing fighters, largely due to his over-the-top and often petulant persona. However, the 26-year-old grappling ace will have the chance to silence doubters on April 17, when he challenges Gilbert Melendez for Strikeforce’s lightweight crown in his stateside debut.
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