With his submission loss to Nick Diaz ruled a "no-decision," Gomi gets to retain his spot at the top. A vengeful win over Marcus Aurelio (the last man to officially beat him), a knock out over Mitsuhiro Ishida, and a lengthy, impressive fight history cement his place as number 1.
2. Gesias "JZ" Calvancanti
I believe Calvancanti belongs ahead of the rest not only because of who he has wins over, but the way in which he's finished the fights. Along the way to his 14-1-1 record he has won the last two K-1 Heroes Grand Prix titles.
3. Gilbert "El Nino" Melendez
Moving up in weight to beat the likes of Tatsuya Kawajiri proves Melendez as a top-notch lightweight. Because his last few fights have gone to decision (including an incredibly close fight with the aforementioned Kawajiri), and because he has been relatively inactive, I've placed him just below Calvancanti in the pecking order.
4. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro
Ribeiro slips ahead of Tatsuya Kawajiri, despite his recent loss to him, for a couple reasons. First, the loss was almost three years ago and, it was the second of a pair of matches the two have split between them. Secondly, Ribeiro has remained more active than Kawajiri who is, unfortunately, stuck in the post-PRIDE limbo.
5. Tatsuya "Crusher" Kawajiri
Kawajiri definitely has one of the sweetest nicknames in the business. It's very classic without being a total cliche (as in "the Pitbull" and "the Assassin") and yet remains descriptive without being too ridiculous or peculiar (like "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" or "Shaolin") and also threatening, without going overboard (as in "The Axe Murderer" or "Fedor Emelianenko").
6. Sean "Muscle Shark" Sherk
Sherk gets to stay in the rankings, despite allegations of steroid abuse, because the appeals process hasn't been resolved yet. Wins over Kenny Florian and Hermes Franca (in combination with certain key lightweights' inactivity) help his case. "Muscle Shark" is another pretty good nickname. It originates with the Japanese fans, who couldn't pronounce his last name, hence the slight non-sequiter-like quality to it. Of course, "Muscle Sherk" doesn't make a lot of sense either.
7. Mitsuhiro Ishida
Ishida beat Marcus Aurelio when a lot of people thought Aurelio was number one in the world (for submitting Gomi). He hasn't fought in a long time, so he's dropped pretty far down the ranks. I'm not sure what Ishida's nickname is. Sherdog called him "The Endless Fighter," which is pretty amazing. That's pretty ambitious. Here's a picture from a Marx Brothers movie where they went to Japan and tossed banana peels all over a boxing ring:
What a beautiful dancer he is.
8. Joe "Daddy" Stevenson
Joe Stevenson is called "Daddy" because he is a father. This is not a very good nickname. Anyway, if he's going to go for plainly descriptive, he should call himself "Impinging Hairline" or "Ol' Hairy Forehead." This is because his head of hair starts at his eyebrows.
9. Tyson Griffin
Griffin gets on the list for a string of impressive wins, including Clay Guida and Thiago Tavares. His win over Guida was a close call, but I think he deserved the nod for landing the stronger, more significant strikes in the fight.
10. Clay "The Carpenter" Guida
Guida gets awarded a spot at 10 for a dominant performance over Aurelio. I feel really bad about not mentioning that Gomi's nickname "The Fireball Kid" is pretty good. I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but after thinking it over for a while, I've concluded that I like it, and that it deserves mention on this list. I'm deeply sorry for not saying this sooner.
11. Joachim Hansen
Hansen drops out of the illustrious upper 2/3 of this list for his recent loss to the unheralded Eiji Mitsuoka, and for the fact that the last big name he beat was this asshole:
If I saw this guy on the street, I would not say anything to his face, because I would recognize him from when I noted his fight record and saved his picture. But I would think to myself "You looked like an asshole in that one picture of you."
12. Roger "El Matador" Huerta
I put Huerta on the list for his excellent record against fair competition. "El Matador" is kind of a strange, contradictory nickname for an aggressive fighter. They should call him "Mexican Wet Dream" because one, he's handsome, and two...I forget what two is.
13. Frank "The Answer" Edgar
This is kind of a weird addition to the list, but following such a strong win over Tyson Griffin, I thought I'd include him. However, his experience is pretty slight compared to the last few guys preceding him, so he gets put below Griffin.
14. BJ "The Prodigy" Penn
Normally, when some sentimental guys get together and get drunk, they cry over their mothers, or the fate of their homelands. When my friend and I drink, we tear our hair out over BJ Penn. Potentially speaking, I believe BJ Penn is the greatest pound for pound fighter there is, and is in the running for greatest of all time generally. If he were firing on all cylinders, I think he could be lightweight and welterweight champion, and have a decent shot at the middleweight title, too. His notoriously lax training regimen (which, since his win over Jens Pulver, he swears he's given up) and his occasional lack of focus or interest have continually proved to be his downfall, and caused my heart to explode in fury and anguish. If only he could fulfill his potential, and make my wildest dreams come true...the one where he crushes Matt Hughes' skull and Jesus Christ high-fives Penn for doing him a real favor, and then he rides a horse to my house, and whisks me away to a magical place where he, my girlfriend, and I can all get married because I love you, BJ Penn but I love my girlfriend, too, and I just wish I didn't have to choose between the two of you.
15. Marcus "Maximus" Aurelio
Aurelio beat Gomi convincingly only to lose the rematch. Because he lost by a pretty questionable judges' decision, his submission win over Gomi still has some significance. And yet, because he lost his last two fights (one to the previously unranked Clay Guida) Aurelio falls to 15.
Notably missing from this list is Hayato "Mach" Sakurai. He hasn't fought at lightweight in a year. His fight against Mac Danzig in February of this year might have kept him in the running, but the fight was suspiciously changed at the last minute to welterweight (Sakurai, at the weigh-ins shortly after, came in heavy). I used to think "Mach" was a really cool nickname, and that it referred to how he moved really fast. But then I heard it pronounced "Ma-ha" and now I don't know what the hell it means.
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