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| After successfully defending his title against Keith Jardine, Luke Rockhold jumps to #3 in our rankings. |
In 2011, fighters out of Northern California experienced great highs and some memorable lows. When the calendar turned to 2012, fans expected more of the same. With Strikeforce and the UFC each having held events to open the New Year, some of Nor Cal’s finest were in action. The results had some effect on the first pound-for-pound poll of 2012.
Here are the results:
1) Gilbert Melendez (20-2-0, 11 TKOs; Strikeforce Lightweight Champion): “El Nino” holds onto the top spot after a five-round unanimous decision victory over Jorge Masvidal at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal on December 17. The rumored jump to UFC is looking less likely, but the level of competition needs to be risen for Melendez to be considered one of the best in the world.
-Next scheduled fight: TBD
2) Nick Diaz (26-7-0, 13 TKOs, 8 submissions): Nick stays put at number two on this list, but could take the top spot next month after his bout on February 4 in Las Vegas. Originally scheduled as a welterweight battle against
Georges St. Pierre
for the welterweight title, Diaz will now face Carlos Condit for an interim title and the chance to combine titles when GSP is back.
-Next scheduled fight: Feb. 4 vs. Carlos Condit at UFC 143 for interim welterweight title.
3) Luke Rockhold (9-1-0, 1 TKO, 6 submissions; Strikeforce Middleweight Champion): Rockhold jumps six spots from the number nine spot to number three after a dominating performance against Keith Jardine, which the champ defended his title. He’s in the same predicament as Melendez, in that Strikeforce needs to find more competition to keep their champions active.
-Next scheduled fight: TBD
4) Urijah Faber (26-5-0, 7 TKOs, 14 submissions): “The California Kid” goes up two spots without even stepping foot inside the cage. Primarily due to others falling, Faber will look to earn a higher ranking later this year. Before that he must focus on coaching during the 15th season of The Ultimate Fighter.
5) Mark Munoz (12-2-0, 6 TKOs): Munoz stays put at number five, but he will likely fall in next month’s rankings. He was scheduled to fight Chael Sonnen in a No. 1 contender’s match on UFC on FOX 2, but an elbow injury has sidelined the rising middleweight contender. Several bone pieces were removed from Munoz’s arm, thus sidelining him for quite a while. The future is still bright, but the present is pretty dim.
-Next scheduled bout: TBD
6) Cain Velasquez (9-1-0, 8 TKOs): The former UFC champion is still waiting to get back on the track to title glory. The future is unknown for the former champion, but there are several rumors about who is next opponent might be. For now, Cain and his fans must play the waiting game.
-Next scheduled fight: TBD
7) Daniel Cormier (9-0-0, 4 TKOs, 3 submissions): Cormier’s broken hand is said to be fully healed now and a date for his Grand Prix final against Josh Barnett is still being discussed. Chances are the fight will happen before summer, but there is no word on an actual date.
-Next scheduled fight: date undetermined vs. Barnett.
8) Nate Diaz (15-7-0, 3 TKOs, 10 submissions): The younger Diaz makes his debut on the top-10 after an impressive win over highly-touted Donald Cerrone at UFC 141 to end 2011. Two-straight wins have propelled Nate into top-10 status, but how much further can he rise? There are holes in his game, but his boxing and BJJ skills cover them quite well.
-Next scheduled fight: May 5 vs. Jim Miller at UFC on FOX 3.
9) Joseph Benavidez (15-2-0, 3 TKOs, 8 submissions): Benavidez makes his long-awaited debut into the Nor Cal rankings as the MMA community awaits the debut of the flyweight division into the UFC, which Benavidez will be a part of. He currently sits at nine, but a rise is on the way if he wins the flyweight division tournament.
-Next scheduled fight: March 3 vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani at UFC on FX 2.
10) Josh Koscheck (16-5-0, 5 TKOs, 5 submissions): Kos seems to have become the forgotten man at No. 10 on our list. The polarizing UFC welterweight is always willing to fight, even on short notice, but he has a chance to move up the rankings next month at UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit. A win could move him up our rankings, but also UFC welterweight rankings.
-Next scheduled fight: Feb. 4 vs. Mike Pierce at UFC 143.
Less than two months ago fighters like Jon Fitch, Chad Mendes, Jake Shields and Danny Castillo were either on ranked in our top-10 or close behind. After some losses and the rise of several fighters, things have drastically changed.
Do you, the fans, agree with our rankings? Who do you believe earns the top spot? Let us know by commenting down below.
Follow me on Twitter at @NiteshDutt.
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