The Pound For Pound Debate

One of the most common discussion points among Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA, fans is regarding ranking the top fighter across all weight classes. The term within MMA circles, is know as the Pound For Pound debate. Without belaboring the same points that are made ad nauseam by other MMA discussion sites and articles. My goal is to make an informative case for a fighter that in my eyes is not getting his due. My goal is that I will be able to produce an article or discussion piece that will be able to be enjoyed by fans at all levels of MMA understanding. Hopefully you will be able to use this knowledge to make yourself look good the next time a friend of your starts crowing about Anderson Silver or Fedor Emelianenko. This should lead to some fun discussions, and trash talking from passionate MMA followers. That being said, here are my thoughts related to the always controversial, pound for pound discussion.

When I really look into the pound for pound rankings that are out there, I find some inconsistencies. The number 1 fighter almost always listed is Anderson Silva, with Fedor Emelianenko second and either Georges St. Pierre or BJ Penn coming in third and fourth respectively. Yahoo Rankings then have in order listed Urijah, Nogueira, Torres, Griffin, Couture, and Jackson. I am here to say that these rankings do not ring true with me. If you really want to list the top ten pound for pound fighters, how can you not have Miguel Angel Torres ranked number one? Before you scoff, think that I have been struck with a heavy object, or jump to the conclusion that I am inebriated in some way; consider that his record is 34-1. That’s right, in 35 fights, he has lost only once! He is on a 15 match winning streak, and has not lost in 5 years. The one loss he had was at a higher weight, and it occurred after he won his first 19 fights, many of which were at much higher weights as well. When you compare Torre’s record to Anderson Silva’s record, who is the consensus number one ranked fighter pound for pound, it compares very favorably. Silva has a record of 21-4, one loss was by a disqualification, so if you take that out of the mix. That leaves Anderson with 2 submission losses, compared to zero from Torres. That is right, Torres has never been finished. Also, Silva has lost as recently as 2 years ago, and Torres has not had a loss since 2003. I can accept that perhaps Silva has fought the better competition over his career, and that he fights at a “sexier” weight class than Bantamweight, where Torres is the champ. However that should not diminish the fact that Torres has only one loss over an 8 year career, and carries the gaudiest record in MMA that I am aware of.

Anderson Silva is a talented and stunningly explosive fighter. However, I just can not help but be impressed with Torres inside and out of the cage. He is thought of as a top trainer in his hometown of East Chicago, Indiana. When interviewed, he is articulate and confident without being unlikable and arrogant. What impresses me most though, and why I think he should be number one is he just never losses. How can you not rank the fighter number one that has been at the top of his game the longest?