Countdown to MMA's Greatest: The Top Ten

#10 Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman(6'1 245 pounds)
Do not let his record fool you (15-8) because Coleman has always been known to fight against the best fighters in the world. He has notable wins over Don Frye (2 times), Gary Goodridge, Dan Severn, Igor Vovchanychn and Mauricio Rua. His losses have all come against, arguably the top fighters of all time (Fedor Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Nogueira). Coleman did have a brief period where he suffered a four fight losing streak against some fighters he should have won against (Takada, Pete Williams, Maurice Smith and Pedro Rizzo). By the way Coleman is a UFC Hall of Famer.
Coleman was due to fight Brock Lesnar in Minnesota at UFC 87, but had to pull out of the event due to a knee injury. The 43 year old can still fight, but the question remains for how much longer.

#9 B.J. ‘The Prodigy’ Penn (5'9 155 pounds)
Th 29 year old Penn is the current UFC Lightweight Champion. He has noteworthy wins over Renzo Gracie, Matt Hughes, Sean Sherk, Jens Pulver and Matt Serra. His overall record of 14-4-1. He is known for his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills.
Penn recently defeated Sean Sherk at UFC 84 and it is rumored that he will have a rematch against Georges St. Pierre sometime later this year.

#8 Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture (6'1 225)
The 45 year old Couture is a UFC Hall of Famer with a 16-8 overall record. Surprisingly, Couture still is near the top of his game.
He has notable wins over Jeremy Horn, Chuck Lidell, Kevin Randleman, Vitor Belfort, Tim Sylvia and Tito Ortiz. He operates an elite training facility for fighters called Xtreme Couture. He has held the UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight titles.

A lesser known fact about Couture is that his wife, Kim, will be making her mma debut against Kim Rose in Las Vegas this weekend. The event is the first ever combined mma/boxing event.

As for her husband, Randy, who knows when he will fight again. Couture is supposedly starring in the Scorpion King 2, which will bypass theaters and go straight to DVD.

#7 Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson (6'1 205 pounds)
The 30 year old Jackson (28-6) exudes confidence inside and outside the ring. He made a name for himself in Pride, although he never was able to become the top dog in their light heavyweight division. Jackson, actually lost 5 times during his career in Pride. Surprisingly he has made a smooth transition into the Octagon becoming the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Jackson has one of the most memorable knockouts in mma history, which occurred when he slammed Ricardo Arona to the ground
Two years ago, Jackson probably would not have even have cracked a Top 25 list now he is in the Top Ten.
Jackson had been vying to play Mr. T in the A-Team movie but the rumor is the role could be going to ICE Cube, which is a terrible choice in my opinion.
Jackson will be fighting Forrest Griffin at UFC 86.


#6 Georges St. Pierre (5'10 169 pounds)
The 27 year old St. Pierre has compiled a 16-2 record. He has noteworthy wins over Matt Hughes, BJ Penn and Sean Sherk
St. Pierre is the current UFC welterweight champion and is scheduled to fight Jon Fitch at UFC 87.





#5 Chuck ‘The Iceman’ Lidell (6'2 205 pounds)
Lidell is one of the most feared striker in the Light Heavyweight division. Lidell, who has a 21-5 record, has noteworthy wins over Kevin Randleman, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, Randy Couture, Jeremy Horn and Tito Ortiz.
Lidell is a future UFC Hall of Famer, who is still near the top of his game despite being 39 years old. .
An intriguing matchup which MMA fans are surely looking forward to is Lidell vs. Anderson Silva if Silva does indeed move up to the light heavyweight division.

#4 Anderson Silva (6'2 185 pounds)
Silva is a long lanky fighter at 6'2 185 pounds that dominates fights with his striking skills. He is currently a 7-fight win streak and has absolutely obliterated the competition in the UFC’s middleweight division. Rumors are circulating that Silva will move up to the UFC’s Light Heavyweight division in July.
The 33 year old has noteworthy wins over Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson, Jeremy Horn and Carlos Newton.
Silva has seen more success when fighting in the caged octagon as opposed to fighting in boxing style ring, like Pride. Two of Silva’s losses have come against less heralded Japanese fighters in Pride (Ryo Chonan and Daijui Takase.

#3 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (6'3 231 pounds)
An excellent fighter on the ground known for his submission skills (he has won 19 fights via submission). Nogueira has fought mainly in Japan, in Rings and Pride, during his illustrious career where he has compiled a 31-4 record. He has noteworthy wins over Josh Barnett, Mirko Cro Cop, Mark Coleman, Tim Sylvia and Dan Henderson.
The 32 year old is the current UFC interm Heavyweight Champion.

#2 Royce Gracie (6'0 176 pounds)

The 42 year old UFC Hall of Famer who is synonymous with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He infatuated early MMA fans by defeating opponents much larger than himself (6'0 176 pounds). He has notable wins over Dan Severn, Ken Shamrock and Kazushi Sakuraba.


Gracie’s reputation was tarnished May when he tested positive for the steroid Nandrolone Metabolite. Overall it is difficult to rank Gracie because of his overwhelming influence in the sport.

The problem with making a list like this is whether or not Gracie in his prime would be able to compete against today’s mma fighters, whom are better all-around then the competition back in Gracie’s heyday.

#1 Fedor Emelianenko (6’0 233 pounds)
This was a no doubter as Fedor has dominated the heavyweight division for years. The problem is could he dominate the UFC heavyweight division? My answer is yes.

The former Pride Heavyweight champion has won an astounding 24 fights in a row and he has an overall record of 27-1. He has noteworthy wins over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (2 times), Mark Coleman, Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filopovic, Mark Hunt and Semmy Schilt. Emelianenko will square off against Tim Sylvia on July 19th on the Affliction Banned card.

It could be argued that 31 year old Emelianenko is the greatest heavyweight of all time. Rumors have been circulating in the mma community about a potential matchup against Randy Couture, who is also ranked in the Top Ten.