Around The UFC: WEC Rankings In, UFC Releases Top 10 Fighters Of ’10, Nogueira Updates

Added on Dec 22, 2010 by John Petit in

UFC & MMA

WEC 53 Ratings Are In

The last set of WEC 53 ratings are in, and the show did pretty well. It was the seventh largest event in the companies history. WEC 53 “Henderson Vs. Pettis” totaled 615,000 viewers, and it was the highest rating the WEC has had since WEC 46 “Varner Vs. Henderson” which netted 640,000. The WEC will be sorely missed, but you can’t say they didn’t go out with a bang. MMA fans around the world are still reeling from the high light real kick that closed out the WEC, and most can not wait until the WEC fighters debut in the Octagon.

UFC Top Ten Fighters:

The UFC has announced its top ten fighters of 2010. Frankie Edgar tops the list, but below is what the UFC came up with:

Frankie Edgar
Cain Velasquez
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
George Sotiropoulos
Georges St. Pierre
Junior Dos Santos
Jim Miller
Yushin Okami
Rashad Evans
(tie) Chris Leben, Evan Dunham, Rick Story

This is the the list they provided for honorable mention: Anderson Silva, Carlos Condit, Nate Diaz, Chris Lytle, Jon Jones, Gray Maynard, Melvin Guillard, Brendan Schaub, Matt Hamill, Ryan Bader, Randy Couture, CB Dollaway, Kyle Noke, Court McGee, Jake Ellenberger.

Ratings and rankings are so subjective and I don’t like to do them for a pile of reasons. However, I would like to point out Chris Leben does not belong this list. I think his actions outside the Octagon should be taken into account. I am referring to his most recent DUI arrest, yes he has two, and he still hasn’t even gone to court over it. I am a Chris Leben fan, and I was happy when he seemingly turned his life around. I just don’t think his name belongs on a list of people who not only managed to win, but manged to stay out of jail.

Tito Ortiz Vs. Antônio Rogério Nogueira

It looks like Tito Ortiz and Antônio Rogério Nogueira (Little Nog) will be fighting. Many people feel Tito Ortiz should have been cut a while ago, but it turns out he has been given one more last chance. Tito has gone 0-4-1 since October of 2006 in the UFC, and has only been fighting once a year. He will be taking a HUGE step up in competition as he will be facing the always competitive Little Nog. The 19-4 Nogueira is coming off of his first UFC loss to Ryan Bader. A fight some people thought he deserved the decision in.

I have a hard time seeing Tito winning this fight, and I just don’t think he can compete at the level the UFC has been bringing in the 205 division. I think Tito has something to bring to the MMA game, but I think his fighting days are long gone. I think Tito will quickly realize that he can not take down Nogueira, and will end up being picked a part on the feet for 15 minutes.

The event is expected to be announced after the Holidays, but the event will take place in Seattle, Washington. It will be called UFC Fight Night 24, and the fights will take place on March 26.

Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira

In other Nogueira, Little Nog’s twin brother, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (Big Nog) has undergone successful surgery on both hips. Big Nog went under the knife last week, and as it turns out he may be out for most of 2011. Right now, there is speculation that he is trying to make it back in time for the historic UFC Brazil event slated to happen in August. He was forced to pull out of his UFC 119 fight with Mirko Crocop, and now it sounds like he still wants that fight, but he wants it to go down in Rio. His trainer was recently quoted as saying “Hopefully he will be back in UFC Brazil in August next year. If it is against Mirko ‘CroCop’, it’ll be even better.”