MMA Top 10 Pound-for-Pound: Cain Velasquez Belongs

Filed under: UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, Rankings, OverallWhen it comes to pound-for-pound rankings, the biggest question is always how to deal with heavyweights. Some people think a pound-for-pound list should never include any heavyweight champions at all…

Filed under: , , , ,

When it comes to pound-for-pound rankings, the biggest question is always how to deal with heavyweights. Some people think a pound-for-pound list should never include any heavyweight champions at all. Others say if you’re the heavyweight champ, you belong in the Top 10, just as the champions at bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight and light heavyweight belong.

When Fedor Emelianenko was the heavyweight king, I always had him on my pound-for-pound list. But when Brock Lesnar took Fedor’s place as the sport’s top heavyweight, I didn’t list Lesnar. My feeling was that Lesnar’s greatness was much more about size and strength than skill, and therefore Lesnar wasn’t really suited to being in the pound-for-pound Top 10.

Now that Cain Velasquez is the heavyweight champion of the world, I’m back to having a heavyweight in my Top 10. Find out where and why below.