How the heck is ANDERSON SILVA ranked higher than JOHNY HENDRICKS, ANOTHONY PETTIS, and RONDA ROUSEY ?

Question

How? How? How? Just How??? ...... Not only he is not champion, he is totally done with MMA he fell off since his 2nd fight with Sonnen that's when he shouldv'e retired. He is old, slow, and just sucks watch his last 4 fights.. He beat Sonnen in a fluke because Sonnen slipped, Bonnar is a nobody who is an amateur basically, and Weidman destroyed Silva twice and is way better than him in every MMA aspect.............. It's so f*****g rediculous how he is ranked higher than Johny Hendricks who just battered and beat up the WW goat GSP and Anthony Pettis who is the future of the lightweight division Someone explain to me this nonsense please???

Answer 1

I would have to say that ranking is based more on his previous record and how long he dominated his division than the events of the past two years and his more recent losses. A person could make a similar argument the other way for those that you mention who have a less lengthy history and record in the UFC, most of them with some losses, but not having fought the caliber of opponents that Silva has but yet have not recently lost and today are champions in their divisions.



I will also add that the book is not yet closed on any of this by any means for three reasons. First I think a lot in the end will depend on if Silva can come back and fight and win as to how highly he might be regarded and remembered in the future. We will just have to wait and see about that. Secondly is how close Hendrix lost to GSP and then beat Lawler. The margins for both those fights and losing and winning was very, very close. Lastly we have not seen Rousey fight Cyborg and until she does and beats her then I do think that her rating is a little inflated. Arguments over this are one of the things that make who wins and who loses and who fights who more interesting for the fans and also material for discussion over a beer or drink at watering holes so don't get too bent out of shape over it. Bartender-I'll have another please.

Answer 2

No one has even come close to Anderson 'The Spider' Silva's 7-year undefeated winning streak, so there's a reason he is called 'The Greatest.' No other fighter has ever held a title as long as Silva has either, or has even come close. Anderson Silva is the kind of fighter who comes along once in a lifetime. Chris Weidman is not going to be the Middleweight Champion anywhere near as long as Anderson Silva was. While Silva's best days as a fighter are behind him, his accomplishments in the Octagon are unparalleled.

Answer 3

Old, yeah. Slow, hardly. Sucks? WTF are you watching? The dude only had one loss (a DQ loss at that) in an an eight-year span. He had a 17-fight win streak that included ten UFC MW title defenses. He had an incredible finish rate, and beat BJJ black belts, Olympic wrestlers (guys who were on the Olympic teams), and MMA champs in the UFC and other organizations. He's got more wins than everyone else in the UFC MW division, he was the first guy to beat Sakurai, and held titles in Shooto and Cage Rage. I don't understand how anyone can look at that, can see arguably the best striker in the history of MMA, and say that he "sucks".



Nor is he "totally done with MMA". His two losses in the UFC were to the same guy, which might just mean than Weidman, who has yet to taste defeat, simply has his number.



So how is he ranked higher? It depends on which ranking you're looking at. Fight Matrix has Hendrix at 8, Pettis at 9, and Anderson at 13:

http://www.fightmatrix.com/mma-ranks/pound-for-pound/



Bloody Elbow has Anderson and Pettis ties at #7:

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2014/5/7/5691504/sb-nation-mma-rankings-pound-for-pound



Sherdog is similar, having Pettis, Silva, and Hendrix at 7, 8, and 9 respectively:



http://www.sherdog.com/news/rankings/Sherdogcoms-PoundforPound-Top-10-65261



Of course, MMA Junkie and the UFC have Silva ranked above them:

http://mmajunkie.com/rankings



http://www.ufc.com/rankings



So what does it all mean?



Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The "pound for pound" ranking don't affect title shots, who earns more money, who has titles, etc. They're entirely the product of imagination: who is the best fighter, overall, if everyone were the same size?



I can only speculate why someone would consider Anderson a better fighter than Pettis and Hendrix. Hendrix is very limited in his skills (great TD's and a hard left hand, but that's it) compared to Silva, and doesn't have nearly as many top-10 wins. Similarly, Pettis hasn't had the number of top-10 wins that Silva has had. Neither one of them appear overwhelmingly dominant compared to Silva, and it's very possible that they'll both lose their titles before they make it to 10 defenses. As well, during his UFC run, Silva moved UP in weight three times, even defeating a former LHW champ. Rousey, compared to Silva, may not have the quality of opposition that Silva has had; her last opponent was practically a rookie, as was her defense against Liz Carmouche. She hasn't yet had even ten fights, much less ten title defenses.



I could make arguments against Silva as well, just like you have. But you're asking why someone might rank him above those you listed. So there you go.

Answer 4

Anderson silva? Who is he? oh, u mean that old *** fool who got beat up twice by that whiteboy?

Answer 5

he was the longest champ in UFC history.. he actually lost the last time because his shine bone broke .. most the other people are new... when your champ for 8 or so years your kind of got to be ranked higher the newer people.. he should still should be second in till he stops..