The Greatest MMA Fighter (Right Now)

Who is the greatest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter right now? This is a tough question, but I'm going to try to answer it because it's a heck of a lot easier than "Who is the greatest MMA fighter OF ALL TIME?", which I hope to get to later.

First of all, there will be none of this pound for pound stuff. The best MMA fighter alive should be able to step into a cage or octagon and beat anyone else on the planet. Anyone. Bigger, smaller, lighter, heavier, whatever.

The only question is, when 2 men enter and 1 man leaves, who is that man?

I see several worthy candidates: Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, Cain Velasquez, and Junior Dos Santos.

St. Pierre and Silva are generally acknowledged as the two most skilled fighters out there. Both are extremely experienced, extremely athletic, and in their physical prime. Neither has been beaten in a long time. But both are relatively light guys, compared to the others in the top 5. St. Pierre is 5'10", fights at 170 lbs., and reportedly walks around at 190. Silva is 6'2", fights at 185, and reportedly walks around at 230. Jones is 6'4" and fights at 205. His walking-around weight is 217. Velasquez is not that tall, at 6'1", but he fights and walks around in the mid-240s. Jones and Silva are extremely lean, naturally skinny guys, whereas Velasquez is muscular. And Dos Santos is lean and muscular, at 6'4", 239 lbs.

So let's boil that down. Having seen all of these guys fight, I think St. Pierre is the most skilled martial artist, but they are all highly skilled. And, come fight night, St. Pierre gives up 15 pounds to Silva, 35 pounds to Jones, 69 pounds to Dos Santos, and 75 pounds to Velasquez. And that weight difference is all muscle. None of these guys is fat or out-of-shape; all have excellent cardio. I've seen smaller guys beat bigger guys because of radical differences in skill and/or conditioning. None of that applies here.

Translated: St. Pierre loses. He's just too small.

What about the other 4? All slightly over 6 feet in height. Two skinny guys, Jones and Silva, and 2 muscular guys, Velasquez and Dos Santos.

Who wins if Jones fights Silva? I think Jones wins. He's got an extra 20 pounds of muscle and I think he's smarter and better trained, with more heart.

I doubt Silva could beat Velasquez or Dos Santos either. Velasquez is too good of a grappler and Dos Santos is Silva's equal as a striker, because although he may not be quite as skilled, he's got more power.

The question then becomes, could Jones beat Velasquez or Dos Santos. Maybe. I saw Jones submit Quinton "Rampage" Jackson on Saturday night, and Jackson was big, strong and angry. But Jackson was also a one-trick pony (boxing) and Velasquez and Dos Santos bring more to the table than one skill set.

I think either would beat Jones. They have too much power.

Thus, it comes down to Velasquez versus Dos Santos. And what do you know, we're going to actually see that fight, on November 12 on FOX.

So, the best MMA fighter alive will be whoever wins the first live network MMA fight. It all makes sense. The best heavyweight is the best fighter. Same as it ever was. "A good big man beats a good little man" as they used to say back in the days when boxing was the premier combat sport. And I think the best good big man is ... Junior Dos Santos!

I saw Dos Santos destroy a big, game, powerful Shane Carwin. And I saw Velasquez beat a Brock Lesnar who, while huge, quick and powerful, fought like a confused, slightly frightened polar bear.

I'm more impressed with Dos Santos. I think he's the new heavyweight champ . . . and Earth's greatest (current) MMA fighter.