There is only one way to determine the best fighter in the world, and it doesn’t involve a top-10 list voted on by nerds like me.
The sacred pound-for-pound list in MMA has long persevered as a work of fiction, dividing fans and torturing writers. You think you’re having a bad day? Try compiling a rankings list of hypotheticals and personal opinion and putting it out there for the rest of the world’s viewing displeasure.
For many, it can be a displeasure at times simply because we all don’t think the same. Pound-for-pound rankings are ultimately works of fiction created by any and everybody.
UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez is never going to fight UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo. Jon Jones is never going to fight Demetrious Johnson. But we still bicker endlessly about the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
That ends today.
This is a shoutout to every MMA fan inhabiting this beautiful, spherical planet. It is time to shun the old ways and let your voices be heard. Bleacher Report has compiled an 8-man fantasy tournament featuring every male champion on the UFC’s roster.
Who would win a fight between Jones and T.J. Dillashaw? What about Johnson and Anthony Pettis? It’s time to find out.
Of course, UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey has been excluded from this list since we don’t condone a man fighting a woman and vice versa. Seeing as weight won’t be taken into consideration, we’ll just smile and pretend like serious size discrepancies don’t exist in these matchups. The seeding was created by random drawing.
Be sure to sound off in the comment section below with your seeding and your ultimate winner in this fantasy tournament pitting UFC champion against UFC champion.