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[azur_dog]

Okay Ive only been a fan of MMA for about 2 1/2 years (started regular PPV buys jul 06), but to truly be fair Ive only really followed the UFC. So today when I was on the Yahoo sports page and saw MMAweekly.com's rankings I was confused. They have 7 guys ranked ahead of BJ Penn at LW. Besides Gomi could someone tell me who these people are and why they would be ahead of the UFC LW Champ?
1. Takanori Gomi
2. Tatsuya Kawajiri
3. Shinya Aoki
4. Gesias "JZ" Calvancante
5. Mitsuhiro Ishida
6. Gilbert Melendez
7. B.J. Penn
8. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro
9. Joe Stevenson
10. Joachim Hansen

Im not trying to disrespect any fighters I just honestly dont know anything about these guys.

[Submissionist]

Here is my top 3 anyway

BJ
Gomi
JZ

I think before BJ's last couple of fights he wans't even ranked due to inactivity but now I'm not sure what they are thinking.

[jesusatemyhotdog]

Originally Posted by azur_dog

Okay Ive only been a fan of MMA for about 2 1/2 years (started regular PPV buys jul 06), but to truly be fair Ive only really followed the UFC. So today when I was on the Yahoo sports page and saw MMAweekly.com's rankings I was confused. They have 7 guys ranked ahead of BJ Penn at LW. Besides Gomi could someone tell me who these people are and why they would be ahead of the UFC LW Champ?
1. Takanori Gomi
2. Tatsuya Kawajiri
3. Shinya Aoki
4. Gesias "JZ" Calvancante
5. Mitsuhiro Ishida
6. Gilbert Melendez
7. B.J. Penn
8. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro
9. Joe Stevenson
10. Joachim Hansen

Im not trying to disrespect any fighters I just honestly dont know anything about these guys.

2. Tatsuya Kawajiri - former Shooto champ and Pride competitor. Known for his clinch control and strong ground and pound. Able to finish fighters with punches from guard.

3. Shinya Aoki - BJ Penn notwithstanding, has perhaps the best flexibility and ground submission game in MMA. One of very few fighters to ever win by gogoplata. Also has very good standing clinch skills and a solid Judo background. Very, very dangerous from his guard.

4. Gesias "JZ" Calvancante - one of the strongest and most well rounded fighters in the weight class. Can finish from anywhere - standing, on top, from the ground by any method. He is a beast and a very tough man to beat for any LW. He is scheduled to face Aoki in March in K-1 Hero's.

5. Mitsuhiro Ishida - Good wrestler with a good gas tank who controls the pace and location of a fight. Comparable to Sherk, but not as strong or as explosive. Wins most of his fights by grinding out decisions and controlling his opponent. Not flashy, but effective.

6. Gilbert Melendez - From the Cesar Gracie camp with Jake Shields, Nick and Nate Diaz and others. His fight style is similar to the aforementioned guys. Has great Jiu Jitsu, heavy hands, especially when in top control and an incredible work rate. Only loss in his career is to Ishida.


BJ can beat everyone ahead of him, but has had only two LW fights in the past 3-4 years.

Pulver is a natural featherweight and likely past his prime and Stevenson hasn't established himself against any top ranked LWs. If BJ beats Sherk, I imagine that he will catapult close to the top of the division. Perhaps some day he will kick the ever loving shit out of Gomi again.

[Ramma]

Originally Posted by azur_dog

Okay Ive only been a fan of MMA for about 2 1/2 years (started regular PPV buys jul 06), but to truly be fair Ive only really followed the UFC. So today when I was on the Yahoo sports page and saw MMAweekly.com's rankings I was confused. They have 7 guys ranked ahead of BJ Penn at LW. Besides Gomi could someone tell me who these people are and why they would be ahead of the UFC LW Champ?
1. Takanori Gomi
2. Tatsuya Kawajiri
3. Shinya Aoki
4. Gesias "JZ" Calvancante
5. Mitsuhiro Ishida
6. Gilbert Melendez
7. B.J. Penn
8. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro
9. Joe Stevenson
10. Joachim Hansen

Im not trying to disrespect any fighters I just honestly dont know anything about these guys.

JAMH gave a great run down, so I will leave it at that.. personally though, I don't know why Kawajiri is ranked where he is. He should be #7 or #8 IMO.

His only top 10 fighter win is over Riberio, and they are 1-1 (his win being more recent, so you put him over Vitor).

Ishida has great wins over Melendez and Aurelio, but that is it too.

If I had to arrange these fighters, it would be different.

1. Takanori Gomi
2. Gesias Calvancante (and going to be the new #1 LW in the world if he beats Aoki)
3. B.J. Penn
4. Shinya Aoki
5. Joachim Hansen
6. Gilbert Melendez
7. Tatsuya Kawajiri
8. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro
9. Mitsuhiro Ishida
10. Joe Stevenson

P.S. Don't feel like a noob because you have questions to ask and want to expand your knowledge of the sport. We support that, here at MMANews (Shameless plugging right there)


My advice to you is to start watching fights outside the UFC.. you can find them on YouTube and Dailymotion (even PRIDE ones have been lasting more than 5 minutes lately) for the time being.

[jesusatemyhotdog]

Originally Posted by Ramma

JAMH gave a great run down, so I will leave it at that.. personally though, I don't know why Kawajiri is ranked where he is. He should be #7 or #8 IMO.

His only top 10 fighter win is over Riberio, and they are 1-1 (his win being more recent, so you put him over Vitor).

Ishida has great wins over Melendez and Aurelio, but that is it too.

If I had to arrange these fighters, it would be different.

1. Takanori Gomi
2. Gesias Calvancante (and going to be the new #1 LW in the world if he beats Aoki)
3. B.J. Penn
4. Shinya Aoki
5. Joachim Hansen
6. Gilbert Melendez
7. Tatsuya Kawajiri
8. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro
9. Mitsuhiro Ishida
10. Joe Stevenson

P.S. Don't feel like a noob because you have questions to ask and want to expand your knowledge of the sport. We sport that, here at MMANews (Shameless plugging right there)

Your rankings are pretty much as I would have them. Although if we are talking who would beat who and didn't care about activity in the weight class, I would leap frog Penn to #1. And steroids aside, I would put Sherk ahead of both Ishida and Stevenson.

[AJL416AZ]

each of them has fights up on dailymotion, if you wanna catch them live

[Ramma]

Originally Posted by jesusatemyhotdog

Your rankings are pretty much as I would have them. Although if we are talking who would beat who and didn't care about activity in the weight class, I would leap frog Penn to #1. And steroids aside, I would put Sherk ahead of both Ishida and Stevenson.

Yeah, I completely agree.. that is why I made sure to highlight "these" fighters... because I don't think Ishida or Stevenson are top ten worthy. Kawajiri hangs on because of his win over Riberio, but if they rubbermatch and Vitor wins.. I would take Kawajiri right off without question.

Penn deserves the #1 spot right now, and if he beats Sherk, depending on how he fairs against him and how JZ does against Aoki, he may earn it. I just think it is unfair to guys like Gomi and JZ (especially after winning that tournament and plowing through Riberio) who have been fighting in the division to be thrown aside to Penn who hasn't beaten a great LW since his return.. know what I mean?

If we were talking about who would beat who, Gomi would be behind Penn and Calvancante.

[jesusatemyhotdog]

Originally Posted by Ramma

Yeah, I completely agree.. that is why I made sure to highlight "these" fighters... because I don't think Ishida or Stevenson are top ten worthy. Kawajiri hangs on because of his win over Riberio, but if they rubbermatch and Vitor wins.. I would take Kawajiri right off without question.

Penn deserves the #1 spot right now, and if he beats Sherk, depending on how he fairs against him and how JZ does against Aoki, he may earn it. I just think it is unfair to guys like Gomi and JZ (especially after winning that tournament and plowing through Riberio) who have been fighting in the division to be thrown aside to Penn who hasn't beaten a great LW since his return.. know what I mean?

If we were talking about who would beat who, Gomi would be behind Penn and Calvancante.

I get what you are saying and agree somewhat.

The fight I would really want to see would be Aoki vs. Penn. That would be poetry in motion.

[azur_dog]

Thanks guys appreciate the insight. Great rundown from JAMH, exactly what I was looking for. You guys really know how to make a guy feel welcome.
Oh and Ramma love the sig man. Gina Carano is a badass!

[AJL416AZ]

Ishida definitely deserves top 10. not top 5, IMO

but he had a very close fight with Gilbert Melendez, who has proven to be a very solid guy, who DESTROYED Clay Guida when they fought within the last 2 years i think.
he also beat the shit out of Aurelio, who is a very solid fighter, and did it from the top inside his guard, which is very impressive.