Sports Illustrated Top 10 MMA fighters of the last decade

[David Mack]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/magazine/specials/2000s/12/16/top.mma.fighters/index.html?eref=shareDigg

1 Fedor Emelianenko
Having fought the totality of his mixed martial arts career in the 2000s, Emelianenko (31-1, 1 NC overall and in 2000s) fittingly ranks as the decade's top fighter. He debuted May 21, 2000, and competed five times that year, finishing with the lone blemish (a dismissed cut stoppage he brutally avenged) on his outstanding ledger. Emelianenko is 26-0 (with one No Contest) since, and seems perpetually linked to the No. 1 ranking at heavyweight after defeating Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in 2003 to capture the Pride belt. The 33-year-old Russian has used his speed, power and smarts to stay at or near the top of MMA's pound-for-pound rankings for the same length of time.

2 Anderson Silva
"The Spider" (25-4 overall and in 2000s) began his professional MMA career six days after Emelianenko. Though he fell short in his debut, Silva, now 34, rebounded within five fights to capture the highly regarded Shooto Championship at 167 pounds. Over the next nine years, the Brazilian had his share of missteps (bad losses marred '03 and '04), but in the latter half of the decade, the lanky, accurate striker with matching ground skills turned dominant. The reigning UFC middleweight champion holds records for longest active win streak in the UFC and longest win streak in the promotion's history at 10.

3 Matt Hughes 
The two-time UFC welterweight champion may have slowed in recent years, but his body of work prior to surrendering his 170-pound title is worth highlighting. Born in Hillsboro, Ill., Hughes (43-7 overall; 30-6 in 2000s) defended the belt a record seven times inside the Octagon, owns a 9-3 record in championship fights and tallied 15 UFC wins in the 2000s -- tops for the decade. A protégé of Pat Miletich, MMA's first great welterweight, Hughes mixed submissions with powerful wrestling to become one of the sport?s first dominant fighters.

4 Dan Henderson 
Starting the decade off right by winning three fights in one night to capture the prestigious RINGS King of Kings tournament, Henderson (25-7 overall; 19-7 in 2000s) would go on to become the first and only fighter to hold major titles (Pride) at the same time in separate weight divisions (183 and 205 pounds). He eventually matriculated to the UFC, where he competed for but fell short on attempts to win titles at 185 and 205. A long-time favorite on pound-for-pound lists because of his propensity to take on all comers and regularly cross weight divisions, Henderson, from Temecula, Calif., is still fighting at 39, and just made news by leaving the UFC for Strikeforce.

5 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 
Were it not for Emelianenko, "Minotauro" (32-5-1, 1 NC overall; 28-5-1, 1 NC in 2000s) would easily rank atop this list. Despite surrendering his position as the world's best heavyweight in 2003, Nogueira continued to use expert submission skills to befuddle, neutralize and defeat heavyweight opposition, compiling a 17-3 record in Japan. After moving to the UFC following the collapse of Pride in 2007, the 33-year-old from Rio de Janeiro became the only fighter to hold belts in both organizations. Famous for his ability to endure punishment, Nogueira will be thought of as one of the decade?s great warriors.

6 Wanderlei Silva
 In an extremely violent sport, "The Axe Murderer" (32-10-1, 1 NC overall; 22-8-1, 1 NC in 2000s) will go down as one of its most vicious. While the 33-year-old Brazilian is immediately thought of for his iconic Pride fights, where he reigned as champion from 2001-07, a bout against Tito Ortiz for the UFC light heavyweight title in April 2000 could have changed the trajectory of his career. Instead, the decision loss propelled him back to Japan, where he won 18 straight fights, excluding a No Contest and draw, through 2004. Despite losing five of six over the past three years, Silva belongs on the list.

7 Chuck Liddell
Closely associated with the rise of the UFC and mixed martial arts in the U.S., the former UFC light heavyweight champion from San Luis Obispo, Calif., did most of his damage in the middle of the decade. Though the 40-year-old (21-7 overall; 17-6 in 2000s) fought several major fights in Japan, including a war against Quinton Jackson in 2003, he was at his best in America from 2004-06 when he went 7-0 and defended the UFC title four times. His trilogy with Randy Couture and two wins over Tito Ortiz stand out among many highlights for the knockout-loving "Iceman."

8 Georges St. Pierre 
The current UFC welterweight champion, from Montreal, Quebec, is regarded as one of three best pound-for-pound fighters in the world going into 2010. While St. Pierre (19-2 overall and in 2000s) clocks in at No. 8 on this list, his talent, work ethic and intelligence suggest he could attain his goal of being regarded as the greatest of all time. St. Pierre's only two losses ? a submission defeat against a prime Matt Hughes in 2004, and a technical knockout at the hands of Matt Serra in 2007 ? were both avenged, the former for the UFC title. Though the losses keep him out of the top five this decade, "Rush," 28, stands alone in an area crucial to the sport's continued growth: He's the first North American fighter to land major endorsement deals outside of MMA.

9 Randy Couture 
The 47-year-old from Las Vegas is the king of big fights. Couture's win-loss tally (17-10 overall; 13-8 in 2000s) might not indicate "The Natural" is one of the best of the decade (or all time), but his ability to deliver when it counts, combined with capturing the UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight championships twice each in the 2000s, gives his performances weight. Wars against many of MMA's biggest names, as well as an 18-month standoff with the UFC over his contract, define his effort this decade.

10 BJ Penn 
There weren't many fighters over the past 10 years who earned the distinction of making their professional fighting debut in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Penn (15-5-1 overall, same in 2000s) did in 2001. And in just his fourth fight, the Hawaiian headlined an event for the lightweight title -- the first time a bout at 155 carried a UFC card. Penn, 31, was no stranger to distractions (an obsession with fighting up in weight), setbacks (poor training) or controversy (the infamous "Grease-gate" in 2009 following a loss to St. Pierre, and his decision to relinquish a championship belt and leave the UFC for a year). Yet, as shown with his final bout of the decade, a fifth-round TKO of Diego Sanchez, few were better than "The Prodigy" when his focus was fighting.

[K-MACC]

george st pierre was number 1, not that russian bum the spider is the number 1 fighter

[OchoCinco]

hughes is way too high, he just dominated when ufc was weak shit.

[Shallow]

Dana White won't like Fedor at #1. But fuck Dana White.

[David Mack]

george st pierre was number 1, not that russian bum the spider is the number 1 fighter

Shadup GSP is a great fighter but he ain't close to Numba 1 yet. Fedor is numba 1 without a shadow of a doubt. U must be Dana Whites biggest Groupie.

[K-MACC]

george st pierre was number 1, not that russian bum the spider is the number 1 fighter

Shadup GSP is a great fighter but he ain't close to Numba 1 yet. Fedor is numba 1 without a shadow of a doubt. U must be Dana Whites biggest Groupie.

what the fuck u talking about i watched it & fedor wasnt number 1 are we talking bout the same show with that guy ronallo with the baldhead or is this your own list the spider would fuck up trhat russian bum

[Shallow]

george st pierre was number 1, not that russian bum the spider is the number 1 fighter

Shadup GSP is a great fighter but he ain't close to Numba 1 yet. Fedor is numba 1 without a shadow of a doubt. U must be Dana Whites biggest Groupie.

what the fuck u talking about i watched it & fedor wasnt number 1 are we talking bout the same show with that guy ronallo with the baldhead or is this your own list the spider would fuck up trhat russian bum

Fedor would eat GSP alive.

[K-MACC]

^anderson the spider silva would dance around your russian superhero, as for gsp im not saying hes number 1, but thats where he was placed he was on the show co-hosting did it change & fedor got number 1

[David Mack]

^anderson the spider silva would dance around your russian superhero, as for gsp im not saying hes number 1, but thats where he was placed he was on the show co-hosting did it change & fedor got number 1

LMAO @ this kid. U mustve started watchin MMA probably 2 years ago. Where da fuck was GSP from 2000-2005. He only started to shine in the last recent years. Same with Anderson Silva he was losing to bums like Ryo Chonan and Takase back in 04. I don't hate Anderson Silva or GSP they fuckin Gs and Anderson Silva is #1 P4P fighter at this very moment but for the last 10 years Fedor is #1 no doubts. Stop listening to that bald ugly bastard Dana and judge shit fo yo self G. Jus cuz fedor ain't in the UFC don't mean he some scrub.

Fedor would take Anderson Down and submit his ass or ground n pound. The spider is too small for Fedor.

[Shallow]

Fedor would take Anderson Down and submit his ass or ground n pound. The spider is too small for Fedor.

Exactly. Though knowing Fedor he may want to stand up wit the guy and beat him down, like he did with Cro Cop.

[Sikotic™]

Dana White's bitch ass should be begging Fedor to join UFC.

[K-MACC]

^anderson the spider silva would dance around your russian superhero, as for gsp im not saying hes number 1, but thats where he was placed he was on the show co-hosting did it change & fedor got number 1

LMAO @ this kid. U mustve started watchin MMA probably 2 years ago. Where da fuck was GSP from 2000-2005. He only started to shine in the last recent years. Same with Anderson Silva he was losing to bums like Ryo Chonan and Takase back in 04. I don't hate Anderson Silva or GSP they fuckin Gs and Anderson Silva is #1 P4P fighter at this very moment but for the last 10 years Fedor is #1 no doubts. Stop listening to that bald ugly bastard Dana and judge shit fo yo self G. Jus cuz fedor ain't in the UFC don't mean he some scrub.

Fedor would take Anderson Down and submit his ass or ground n pound. The spider is too small for Fedor.

ha ha ha ive been watching it since it first started. as for fedor i dont know if hes all that & if hes such a bad ass why doesnt he sign with ufc instead of washedupforce anderson would make this russian look stupid despite his past, today who could fuck with him fedor got lucky in his last fight if buddy was anygood he could have finished his old ass.

[Shallow]

^anderson the spider silva would dance around your russian superhero, as for gsp im not saying hes number 1, but thats where he was placed he was on the show co-hosting did it change & fedor got number 1

LMAO @ this kid. U mustve started watchin MMA probably 2 years ago. Where da fuck was GSP from 2000-2005. He only started to shine in the last recent years. Same with Anderson Silva he was losing to bums like Ryo Chonan and Takase back in 04. I don't hate Anderson Silva or GSP they fuckin Gs and Anderson Silva is #1 P4P fighter at this very moment but for the last 10 years Fedor is #1 no doubts. Stop listening to that bald ugly bastard Dana and judge shit fo yo self G. Jus cuz fedor ain't in the UFC don't mean he some scrub.

Fedor would take Anderson Down and submit his ass or ground n pound. The spider is too small for Fedor.

ha ha ha ive been watching it since it first started. as for fedor i dont know if hes all that & if hes such a bad ass why doesnt he sign with ufc instead of washedupforce anderson would make this russian look stupid despite his past, today who could fuck with him fedor got lucky in his last fight if buddy was anygood he could have finished his old ass.

He offered Dana White a 1 fight deal. If he's so shit. White would have taken it had him get beat and then sent him packing. Dana White wanted a 6 fight deal with all the power going to White. That means Fedor could lose up to 3 years of his career bound to Dan White. Is Fedor unbeatable? No one is. But he has the ability to beat every top UFC guy and Dana White doesn't want to risk him comign in making his top guy look silly and then leaving.

[OchoCinco]

hey shallow, i also heard that it has to do with Fedor owning his own promotion company or something and if he sign to UFC Dana wont let him use it or something so that also factored in to it. Not sure if thats true but im pretty sure thats what my buddy was tellin me.

[David Mack]

^anderson the spider silva would dance around your russian superhero, as for gsp im not saying hes number 1, but thats where he was placed he was on the show co-hosting did it change & fedor got number 1

LMAO @ this kid. U mustve started watchin MMA probably 2 years ago. Where da fuck was GSP from 2000-2005. He only started to shine in the last recent years. Same with Anderson Silva he was losing to bums like Ryo Chonan and Takase back in 04. I don't hate Anderson Silva or GSP they fuckin Gs and Anderson Silva is #1 P4P fighter at this very moment but for the last 10 years Fedor is #1 no doubts. Stop listening to that bald ugly bastard Dana and judge shit fo yo self G. Jus cuz fedor ain't in the UFC don't mean he some scrub.


Fedor would take Anderson Down and submit his ass or ground n pound. The spider is too small for Fedor.

ha ha ha ive been watching it since it first started. as for fedor i dont know if hes all that & if hes such a bad ass why doesnt he sign with ufc instead of washedupforce anderson would make this russian look stupid despite his past, today who could fuck with him fedor got lucky in his last fight if buddy was anygood he could have finished his old ass.

Ur just in Denial Rookie. Yeah Fedor jus gets lucky, dats why dat mahfucka is 31-1 and has beatin da shit outta 6 former UFC champs. Like I said, Anderson is P4P #1 rite now and I have nothin against him but against Fedor would smash em. he's bigger, stronger and more skilled on tha ground. if this fight ever happens, i'll be bettin the house on Fedor ya dig?