Not quite ready to join the Dirty Dozen, here are 10 fighters, ranked in no particular order, that are a win or two away:
Andrei Arlovski (Pictures) (9-3-0) — P4P skills. On-the-outside-looking-in opposition.
Randy Couture (Pictures) (14-7-0) — A venerable former member, but age (43) has caught up to him. The Liddell KO bumped him from list. If he should somehow manage to defeat the Iceman in February, he’ll be right back on it.
Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) (11-1-0) — Hands down the hottest fighter on the planet, a possible FOY candidate. Domination of Jason Miller and destruction of Frank Trigg (Pictures) and Sean Sherk (Pictures) have him on the verge of entry onto the list. But remember it was just a year ago that Matt Hughes (Pictures) armbarred him in the first round. A win away from making it … two from being in the top 3.
Yves Edwards (Pictures) (28-9-1) — Solid all-around performer, but failure in big fights has to this point kept him off the list.
Vitor Ribeiro (Pictures) (13-1-0) — Shaolin’s part of an incredibly solid group of lightweights. Split with Kawajiri, but lost the recent bout.
Joachim Hansen (Pictures) (13-3-0) — Beauty of a KO over Caol Uno (Pictures) started his 2005 campaign, but he beat limited opposition until meeting Edwards in Sept. Had a war with Sakurai and lost by decision. Great fighter. Just gets lost in shuffle.
Hayato Sakurai (Pictures) (27-6-2) — Returned from a rough patch to find himself in GP finals versus Gomi. Wins over Pulver and Hansen surprised, but he looked great in victory. If he beats Gomi he jumps into the top half of the list.
Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures) (15-3-2) — Gave Shoalin the only loss of his career after falling to him earlier in his career. The Gomi loss was an eye opener, as he really didn’t have an answer for the Fireball kid. A bout with Hansen in SHOOTO looms, and it will be one to watch.
Norifumi Yamamoto (Pictures) (12-1-0) — Wins over Royler Gracie (Pictures) and Caol Uno (Pictures) highlight a career featuring less than stellar competition. His skills, however, are what people talk about. Explosive hands and top-notch wrestling plus a mean streak have many saying “Kid” deserves to be right in the middle of any P4P list. A win over Genki Sudo (Pictures) on NYE would help.
Alexandre Franca Nogueira (Pictures) (12-3-2) — Was always a member of this list but a loss to Tokoro and inconsistent performances leaves him out of the Dirty Dozen. He’s best at 145 but has been pushed into a higher weight class with entry into Hero’s. Needs to fight at bantamweight against “Kid” to answer questions.