TontoandFriends.com

By Tonto Balboa tontobalboa@hotmail.com Comment on this article HERE. As a former heavyweight boxer who learned his trade in fisticuffs from the hailed halls of the "old school," I've been reticent about expousing myself as an MMA fan. But hey, desperate times call for desperate measures. With Vans covering film, Stephany covering sports, and the rest of the staff doing their own thing, I figured it was time for me to cover what I know best: the fight game! With three major events this past weekend, Affliction: Banned, Dream 5, and UFC Fight Night 14, what better time than now, right? As a former heavyweight contender, I know a thing or ten about top ten rankings. I know what goes into creating traditional rankings: bribes, organized crime, and who can sell tickets. But not here at Tontoandfriends.com. To make a long story short, our rankings are based on recent achievements, quality of competition, and plenty of intangibles that can be summed up basically as my own damn opinion. Rankings current as of 7/22/08. Feel free to comment on our rankings HERE. Heavyweight 1. Fedor Emilianenko (28-1, 1 NC) - After dismantling Tim Sylvia in :36, there's no doubt he's the top dog 2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1, 1 NC) 3. Randy Couture (16-8) 4. Andrei Arlovski (13-5) 5. Josh Barnett (26-5) 6. Fabricio Werdum (11-3-1) 7. Tim Sylvia (26-6) 8. Gabriel Gonzaga (9-3) 9. Cheick Kongo (11-4-1) 10. Mirko Filipovic (23-6-2) Light Heavyweight 1. Forrest Griffin (22-4) - When you own the undisputed title, you're #1 2. Quinton Jackson (28-7) 3. Lyoto Machida (13-0) 4. Chuck Liddell (21-5) 5. Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1, 1 NC) 6. Mauricio Rua (16-3) 7. Dan Henderson (22-7) 8. Rameau Sokoudjou (5-2) 9. Keith Jardine (13-4-1) 10. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (14-3) Middleweight 1. Anderson Silva (22-4) - Is there any doubt?! 2. Paulo Filho (16-0) 3. Rich Franklin (23-3, 1 NC) 4. Dan Henderson (22-7) 5. Robbie Lawler (16-4, 1 NC) 6. Thales Leites (13-1) 7. Yushin Okami (22-4) 8. Nathan Marquardt (26-8-2) 9. Yoshihiro Akiyama (11-1, 2 NC) 10. Melvin Manhoef (22-4-1) Welterweight 1. Georges St. Pierre (16-2) - See Anderson Silva 2. Jon Fitch (16-2, 1 NC) 3. Thiago Alves (15-3) 4. Jake Shields (20-4-1) 5. Josh Koscheck ((11-2) 6. Diego Sanchez (19-2) 7. Matt Hughes (42-7) 8. Carlos Condit (22-4) 9. Matt Serra (9-5) 10. Karo Parisyan (18-5) Lightweight 1. BJ Penn (13-4-1) 2. Takanori Gomi (28-3, 1 NC) 3. Eddie Alvarez (15-1) 4. Joachim Hansen (19-7-1) 5. Shinya Aoki (17-3, 1 NC) 6. Gesias Calvancanti (14-2-1, 1 NC) 7. Josh Thomson (15-2, 1 NC) 8. Sean Sherk (32-3-1) 9. Gilbert Melendez (14-2-0) 10. Kenny Florian (9-3) - Tonto Balboa, real name unknown, is a former prizefighter with a record of 48-10. He is best known for getting his ass royally whupped by Larry Holmes in Madison Square Garden. Since then, Balboa has toured the country as a salesman, attempting to cash in on his 1/64th Native American heritage, by selling Indian artifacts. He is currently the editor and chief (after all, he Native American) of Tonto and Friends. NOTE: If you liked this article, check out our sports archive, our film archives, or our ask a pirate archives!!!