Alistair Overeem is fighting Fedor Emelianenko....or is it Antonio Silva? Oh, no wait! Werdum has made a speedy recovery and the two are to meet at years end in Strikeforce! All rumors have been trumped as of late, when "sources" were able to confirm premature negotiations were in place for the Strikeforce heavyweight champion, who moonlights as a K-1 contender, to face an Emelianenko--just not the one everyone was anticipating. ...

Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko's (31-1) trainer, Vladimir Voronov, appeared on cable television station Russia Today Wednesday to talk about Emelianenko and Voronov's first meeting with the world's top heavyweight. ...

Aleksander Emelianenko (12-3) told Sports.ru Tuesday that he will rematch with Fighters.com’s seventh-ranked heavyweight “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (19-5) at Affliction: Day of Reckoning 24 January. “There is already an agreement that on the show organized by Affliction and M-1 Global 24 January, I will have a rematch with former UFC Champion Josh Barnett,” Emelianenko said. However, Fighters.com has learned Barnett’s most likely opponent for Day of Reckoning, and it’s not Aleks.  Fighters.com thinks it’s Aleks’s wishful thinking. Emelianenko was scheduled to fight at Affliction’s debut event in July but was denied a license by the California State Athletic Commission at the last minute. ...

Heavyweight "Hurricaine" Gilbert Yvel (30-12-1) will fight in the co-main event at M-1 Challenge 9 in St. Petersburg 21 November versus an opponent to be named soon, Fighters.com learned from M-1's Russian division today. M-1 told Fighters.com that Yvel will not rematch Red Devil heavyweight Roman Zentsov (17-12), who knocked Yvel out in a 2006 PRIDE fight. The event will be lead by the return of Fighters.com's tenth-ranked heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (12-3) after the commission debacle before Affliction's debut in Anaheim, east of Los Angeles, 19 July.  Emelianenko will fight Korean Sang Soo Lee (9-4). The event will also feature a team format with bouts between Russia's Red Devil team versus Korea and Russia's Legion team versus Holland. ...

Fighters.com's ninth-ranked heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) is scheduled to fight Sang Soo Lee (9-4) in St. Petersburg 21 November, M-1 announced Sunday. The match-up is Emelianenko's first since being denied a license to fight "Headhunter" Paul Buentello (26-10) by the California State Athletic Commission in July. Emelianenko publicly denied rumors that he was denied a license because of a positive test for Hepatitis. Emelianenko rolled through Silvao Santos (1-1) in St. Petersburg 3 April. Lee tapped Emelianenko's Red Devil teammate Roman Zentsov (17-3) in a triangle choke in Seoul 29 August. The fight will feature as one of two Super Fights at M-1 Challenge 9. ...

A rematch between badass British pugilist Wayne Buck (4-1) and Italian Muay Thai wrecker Matteo Minonzio (7-6) headlines a 13-fight card in Nottingham 27 September. Minonzio forced a doctor stoppage "W" over Buck in Nottingham in July, handing Buck his first MMA loss. Buck is a retired boxer hailing from Nottingham and looking for revenge.  He ended his career in the ring in 2000 at 10-4-1, winning his final five fights. Saturday afternoon before the fights, Red Devil fighter and coach Fighters.com's ninth-ranked heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) will hold a seminar featuring DREAM Middleweight GP Champion Gegard Mousasi (24-2-1), UFC welterweight "Outlaw" Dan Hardy (19-6), and "The Machine" Ian Freeman (19-7-1). Just a week after winning a split decision over Brandon Thatch (3-1) in Beverly Hills, north of Los Angeles, Brandon Magana (6-1) will fight Red Devil's Erik Oganov (7-7) in Nottingham. ...

Elusive Russian Sergei Kharitonov (15-3) breached Fighters.com's Heavyweight Top Ten in September without having fought for a year. Kharitonov TKO'd "Demolition Man" Alistair Overeem (28-11) in Yokohama in September 2007; but, has been more active on the rumor mill than in the ring since. He was floated as "Cro Cop" Mirko Filipovic's (23-6-2) opponent at DREAM.4 in June and lately was mentioned as a challenger for the EliteXC Heavyweight Championship versus "Bigfoot" Antonio Silva (11-1). Kharitonov found his way into neither fight and may have a short stint as a top ten big boy as fighters beneath him line-up legit matches. A spot opened for Kharitonov when "Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring (28-14) was mauled by physical phenom Brock Lesnar (2-1) in Minneapolis 9 August, shoveling Herring out of the eighth rank. ...

Affliction on Wednesday confirmed a middleweight bout between “The Law” Matt Lindland (21-5) and “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (17-8) and announced a heavyweight match between “Headhunter” Paul Buentello (26-10) and Roy Nelson (13-2), and to take place in Las Vegas 11 October. Belfort must first be cleared to fight by a doctor.  He is currently serving a 180-day medical suspension. Buentello won a unanimous decision over “Big Daddy” Gary Goodridge (23-18-1) at Affliction: Banned in July. Nelson, the IFL Heavyweight Champion, most recently won via first-round TKO over “Hillbilly Heartthrob” Brad Imes (11-5) in May. The Buentello-Nelson match is part of the preliminary card which will air on HDNet before switching to the main card on pay-per-view, according to MMA Junkie. Affliction also announced that IFL lightweight Chris Horodecki (12-1) has signed a three-fight deal with them and will make his Affliction debut at the October event. No opponent has yet been named for Horodecki. Not participating in the event is Fighters.com's tenth-ranked heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3), who is still dealing with licensing issues. He was denied a license by the California State Athletic Commission for his scheduled fight in July. ...

From Russia with gloves, "Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko(28-1) stamped his heavyweight dominance on "Maine-iac" Tim Sylvia's (24-5) head in Anaheim, east of Los Angeles, 19 July. His dismantling of "Big" Tim in 36 seconds earned him the Fighters.com Heavyweight Championship, jumping from sixth and dumping Sylvia from third to seventh. The "W" strips naked UFC President Dana White's proclamation that all other promotions are the minor leagues, at least at north of 205-pounds. In fact, Emelianenko's victory makes clear that the Octagon hasn't been the proving grounds for the world's top heavyweights for quite some time. The UFC Champ, second-ranked "Minotauro" Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1), took a thrashing from Sylvia in February before tapping the two-time UFC titlist in a guillotine. Nogueira loses his Fighters.com Heavyweight Championship, falling into the top contender spot, but a top contender whose register already records two UD losses to the new champ four years ago. Nog' is set to clash with un-ranked former UFC Champ Frank Mir (11-3) after Mir tapped rook' Brock Lesnar (1-1), which tells you all you need to know about the UFC heavyweight class. But, Emelianenko's new promoter, Affliction, is playing the name game too. ...

Russian heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) spoke with Life.ru last week about his absence from the Affliction: Banned card 19 July, where he was scheduled to face “Headhunter” Paul Buentello (26-10). Emelianenko insisted that everything is in order with his health, and that the reason for his absence was his failure to meet the California State Athletic Commission’s deadlines. “From a medical point of view everything is fully in order. I got through the medical board successfully and received my license to fight without any problems,” he said. “But the fact is that in California the commission is very strict about allowing you to fight. One of the main conditions… is that you must pass all the tests on time. I should have been in America on the thirteenth [of July]. They gave me my visa only on the fourteenth, and our tickets were purchased only on the fifteenth of July. I was just late.” ...

Fighters.com's ninth-ranked heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) wasn't allowed to weigh-in Friday in Anaheim, east of Los Angeles, before his Saturday night fight in Affliction with "Headhunter" Paul Buentello (25-10). A source in Buentello's entourage cited "medical issues" as the excuse given to them by Affliction officials. Spokesperson for Emelianenko, Ilona Kolesnichenko told Fighters.com, "Emelianenko  did not meet CSAC licensing standards.  There is nothing about medical issues!" "We were all lined up [to weigh-in]," Buentello explained to Fighters.com.  "He even waved to me." On stage just before Emelianenko was to take the scale, Affliction VP Tom Atencio was visably frustrated and talking hard-and-fast down the curtained walkway to the platform. After several tense moments, Emelianenko and Buentello were simply skipped and no official announcement was made to the crowd or media. ...

The heavyweight division paces like a heavyweight slog.  I'm tempted to switch to a semi-annual evaluation...but not until after this weekend. There were a couple of shakers this month, but no movers. In London 7 June, seventh-ranked "Vai Cavalo" Fabricio Werdum (11-3-1) played a samba on "The Truth" Brandon Vera's (8-2) noggin for a first round TKO. Werdum remains the top contender to "Minotauro" Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's (31-4-1) UFC Heavyweight Championship. Of course, Big Nog' is pitted versus struggling, but dangerous former UFC Champion Frank Mir (11-3) in a made-for-TUF match-up in October. Werdum will probably draw the winner of 9 August's eighth-ranked "Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring (28-13) versus Brock Lesnar (1-1) fight, maybe on the same October UFC card to build the follow-up versus the winners. Also in action this rankings period, tenth-ranked "Napao" Gabriel Gonzaga (8-3) blew through confidence-booster Justin McCully (8-4-2) in Las Vegas 5 July to break a two-fight losing streak for the man who sentenced "Cro Cop" Mirko Filipovic (23-6-2) down a spiral the Croatian has yet to ascend from. ...

"Headhunter" Paul Buentello (25-10) told Fighters.com Thursday at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose that he's going to have fun fighting ninth-ranked Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) 19 July in Anaheim, East of Los Angeles.  He assured that the fans are going to see two heavyweight slugging it out.   ...

Affliction confirmed on Tuesday two fights that will air on Fox Sports Net in the U.S. and The Fight Network in Canada on 19 July. Fighters.com's ninth-ranked heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) versus “The Head Hunter” Paul Buentello (25-10) will headline Affliction: Live, the one-hour telecast of Affliction: Banned’s undercard. Also announced was the light heavyweight match-up between “The Phenom” Vitor Belfort (16-8) and Terry Martin (17-4). Belfort versus Martin replaces the originally-scheduled bout between “Minotoro” Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (13-3) and “Tiger” Vernon White (26-32-2) on the FSN card.  White has since been replaced by “Babyface” Edwin Dewees (35-12; 1 NC). ...

In boxing rankings, champions have mandatory defenses versus the number one challenger and voluntary defenses versus a top-fifteen challenger. Through no fault of his own of course, Fighters.com's Heavyweight Champion "Minotauro" Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) won't meet either threshold when he defends his UFC title versus Frank Mir (11-3). So, what's Fighters.com to do?  Second-ranked "The Natural" Randy Couture (16-8) admitted this week to Canada's Globe and Mail, "I'm also OK with the idea that [I may not fight again].  I may get a bad [court] ruling and I can't really see myself at this point going back and fighting two more times for the UFC if that's what the state says I have to do." Should 19 July's more competitive match-up between third-ranked "Maine-iac" Tim Sylvia (24-4) and sixth-ranked "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko (27-1) be for Fighters.com's Heavyweight Championship? Both Sylvia and fourth-ranked "Pitbull" Andrei Arlovski (12-5) climbed two spots on fifth-ranked "The Babyface Assassin" Josh Barnett's (22-5) inability to put away "The Snowman" Jeff Monson in Tokyo last month coupled with Barnett's submission of ninth-ranked Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) falling off his two-year record. Of course, Arlovski officially announced today that he'll fight top heavyweight prospect Ben Rothwell (29-5) 19 July.  Rothwell steps-in well-hyped from the IFL and Arlovski looks to shake out of his funk. Barnett returns on the same undercard to seek revenge from a 2001 KO loss versus now largely irrelevant "The Rock" Pedro Rizzo (16-7) and Aleksander Emelianenko fights "The Headhunter" Paul Buentello (25-10) in my pick for fight of the night in Anaheim, outside of Los Angeles. This weekend in London, seventh-ranked "Vai Cavalo" Fabricio Werdum (10-3-1) and returning prospect "The Truth" Brandon Vera (8-1) will battle for the UFC's top contender spot. Eighth-ranked "Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring (28-13) will fill-in for injured "Hammer" Mark Coleman (15-9) versus the UFC's version of market-friendly "Kimbo Slice" Kevin Ferguson (3-0), former pro-wrestler Brock Lesnar (1-1), in a fight that shouldn't even be sanctioned, but only a big lug like Herring could find a way to lose. In July, tenth-ranked "Napao" Gabriel Gonzaga (8-3) has a lot to prove versus Justin McCully (8-3-2); and, McCully might be thinking the same thing. ...

Keith Crawford, former CEO of Canadian promotion Hardcore Championship Fighting, confirmed to Fighters.com Friday morning that the promotion has ceased operations. HCF's demise was foreshadowed by Fighters.com last month when Crawford released a statement postponing a scheduled 10 May card in Calgary. “Due to the fact that the due diligence process has been extended on our impending re-structuring we are officially postponing our May 10 fight card," Crawford said then. In response to a Fighters.com request for details Friday morning, Crawford replied, "I cannot comment on these things." The promotion's last event was held 29 March in Gatineau and featured Quebecois middleweight "The Crow" David Loiseau (16-8) in the main event. HCF debuted in July 2007 and held four events in Canada featuring fighters such as Fighters.com's tenth-ranked heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3), Gegard Mousasi (21-2-1), "Minotoro" Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (13-3), and "Diesel" Joe Riggs (27-10). Last November, HCF signed former UFC light heavyweight title contender "Babalu" Renato Sobral (29-7) to a contract, though the grappler never fought in an event. HCF joins a list of MMA start-ups that couldn't turn recognizable names into sustaining revenue. ...

Is there any real wonder why the UFC is divesting in the heavyweight division?  It's dead! The only April action was a first round TKO of Silvao Santos (1-1) by tenth-ranked Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3).  It might as well have been a Monday morning sparring session. So, why did "Maine-iac" Tim Sylvia (24-4) and "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko (27-1) sink a spot respectively?  Sylvia's stoppage of "Pitbull" Andrei Arlovski (12-5) in 2006 fell off their two-year records, which is the time span Fighters.com considers when ranking fighters. The division's future is just as bleak as the recent past. Adrenaline MMA still insists Emelianenko's claim of an official fight with Sylvia in June is false.  To boot, the promotion that promotes Sylvia and rising heavyweight Ben Rothwell (29-5) claims Emelianenko's delinquent repayment of a $500,000 signing bonus left over from the M-1 Global era is also holding up a fight for Rothwell on the same card.  Though Rothwell insists it ain't happenin', he's been rumored to have been matched versus Arlovski. All four fighters and the entire division need those two fights. Unfortunately, third-ranked "Babyface Assassin" Josh Barnett's (21-5) rise will be short-lived because his submission of tenth-ranked Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) will fall off his two-year record next month.  He's scheduled to grapple with always competitive "The Snowman" Jeff Monson (24-7) at Sengoku this month; but, even the expected "W" can't replace the submission of Emelianenko. The UFC has scheduled a contender match-up between seventh-ranked "Vai Cavalo" Fabricio Werdum (10-3-1) and "The Truth" Brandon Vera (8-1) for London in June.  A win for Vera will launch him into the division's top ten; a win for "Vai Cavalo" will prove that he belongs. First-ranked "Minotauro" Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) is rumored to be mauling a UFC title defense against Frank Mir (11-3).  For the love of God!  Mir is a gentleman, a technician on the mat, and a fine fighter.  He is not the top heavyweight contender in the UFC. So goes a division where “Kimbo Slice” Kevin Ferguson (2-0) and Brock Lesnar (1-1) make bank at the box office. May Heavyweight Rankings 1. "Minotauro" Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) It ain't pretty! Nogueira has turned "blocking punches with your face" into a winning strategy versus top teners Sylvia, Herring, Barnett, and Werdum in the last two years, earning him Fighters.com's first ranking at heavyweight. 2. "The Natural" Randy Couture (16-8) The best strategist in a weight class of brutes returned to solve the 6'8" riddle of Sylvia over five grueling rounds to reclaim UFC's title, then forced Cro Cop-slayer Gonzaga to wish MMA had timeouts in a bloody three-round TKO. 3. "The Babyface Assassin" Josh Barnett (21-5) "The Babyface Assassin" returned to tap Hidehiko Yoshida and is the last man to beat Noguiera. Even with an involuntary 14-month layoff, he holds submissions over tenth-ranked Aleksander Emelianenko and hard-headed Mark Hunt in the last two years. 4. "Maine-iac" Tim Sylvia (24-4) The oft maligned "Maine-iac" has meshed his stature with world-class striking, championship cardio, and a Jeff Monson-tested ground game. His losses are to legends Nogueira and Couture, but he’s failed to lay out ripe KO candidates Arlovski and Monson. 5. "Pitbull" Andrei Arlovski (12-5) “Pitbull” has fought like a poodle since getting neutered by Sylvia in an ‘06 KO loss, but was able to steal a decision from Werdum in the most disappointing fight of ’07.  Perhaps free agency will reignite the once explosive fighter’s fire. 6. "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko (27-1) Rankings reflect what has happened in fights with a predilection towards the most recent and Emelianenko hasn't fought another top ten heavyweight in 32 months.   He'll take sixth and like it, or take first in a real fight.  It's his decision. 7. "Vai Cavalo" Fabricio Werdum (10-3-1) "Vai Cavalo" spanked Gonzaga like a bad monkey in January, his fourth consecutive top ten matchup, going 2-2 with two stoppage wins.  He’s likely Nogueira’s first UFC title challenge in a rematch that ended in a close decision for Nogueira in PRIDE. 8. "Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring (28-13) Herring’s bungle versus Nogueira was beefed-up with a strong decision over Cheick Kongo in March.   Three losses to Nogueira stop-gaps a potential UFC title challenge, but the “Texas Crazy Horse” will valiantly defend the gate to the UFC’s gold. 9. "Napao" Gabriel Gonzaga (8-3) After mauling Mirko Filipovic in Manchester, "Napao" risks becoming a footnote in MMA history with consecutive stoppage losses to Couture and Werdum.  The big man has the tools to remain top ten for years to come, but does he have the heart? 10. Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) Fedor's li’l bro’ isn’t lost in the shadow of "The Last Emporer". In the last two years, the man with the coldest stare down in MMA has outclassed his brother in competition, losing only to top ten heavies while TKOing fellow Russian Sergei Kharitonov. ...

Hardcore Championship Fighting CEO Keith Crawford released the following statement today: "Due to the fact that the due diligence process has been extended on our impending re-structuring we are officially postponing our May 10 fight card.  We hope our exclusive fighters will understand.  We are confidant this new corporate structure will be in every athlete's best interest." Fighters.com's 10th-ranked heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) had disclosed his negotiations to fight on the 10 May HCF card in Calgary. With the delay (and lack of due dilligence in proofreading official communications), one has to wonder how confident "exclusive fighters" should be... ...

In an interview at www.m1mixfight.com, Fighters.com's 10th-ranked heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) claimed he was negotiating a 10 May fight in Canada. Last October, Emelianenko submitted Dan Bobish (17-9) in a guillotine choke in Hardcore Championship Fighting in Calgary. An e-mail to HCF CEO Keith Crawford to confirm Emelianenko would return to Calgary on HCF's 10 May card hasn't been responded to. Emelianenko said, "I don't know an opponent yet." Last weekend, unfortunate Brazilian Silvao Santos (1-1) was sacrificed to Emelianenko in a first-round TKO in M-1 Challenge. Emelianenko said of the poor matchmaking, "Everyone refused to fight with me; [Santos] was the one who'd agreed.  He is not weak; he's a good fighter; he had a lot of fights.  It's just that I'm strong and train a lot." Emelianenko also fired across the UFC bow. "The UFC, for example, won't take me; because, if they let me in there, I would beat everybody and take the belt to Russia.  They don't want that.  They want their own American champions.  We already beat everyone in Japan, even though no one bet on us." Half of the current UFC heavyweight title is held by Fighter.com's first-ranked heavyweight "Minotauro" Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1), a Brazilian. It's speculated Emelianenko has never fought in the United States due to visa complications stemming from his stint in a Russian prison. ...

Fighters.com tenth-ranked heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) beat Brazilian Silvao Santos (1-1) into the fetal position in the first round at M-1 Challenge in St. Petersburg Thursday. Emelianenko's teammates Amar Suloev (24-7) and Roman Zentsov (17-12) also scored wins for the home team, while Japanese fighters "Andre" Yuta Watanabe (8-1-3) and Ken Hamamura (14-4-4) picked-up victories on foreign soil. In the same kind of Finkelsteinian matchmaking that has kept "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko (27-1) from meaningful MMA for over two-and-a-half years, li'l brother Aleks was paired with Santos whose only other professional MMA appearance ended in a split decision victory over that notorious gatekeeper to top ten contention, Edson Conterraneo (3-1). Note my sarcasm. The big Brazilian circled Russia's finest before a shot stuffed and swept by Aleks into a textbook uchi mata makikomi toss landing Emelianenko in Santos's half-guard. Strong Santos stood out of Emelianenko's half-mount, but into a near standing guillotine the Russian wrenched like a neck crank. Emelianenko muscled Santos into a corner, released the choke, and hopped into a flying knee that effectively ended the fight. Santos shot forward for a desperate single-leg lunge, but Emelianenko sprawled and pummeled the Brazilian with a series of rights as the referee dove to Santos's rescue. Emelianenko's middleweight Red Devil Sport Club stablemate, Suloev, bounced back from a second round TKO to Chael Sonnen (20-9-1) last July to TKO Jacek Buczko (11-4), who hadn't fought in two-and-a-half years, in the first round. Heavyweight Zentsov also rebounded from an '07 stoppage loss to deal undersized Daniel Tabera (9-1-2) of Spain his first "L" in a two-round decision. DEEP middleweight vet Watanabe dealt Ansar Chalangov (7-4) his fourth consecutive defeat in a first-round rear naked choke.  It was Watanabe's first fight out of country. Welterweight Hamamura also ventured out of the "Land of the Rising Sun" for the first time to TKO Russia's Islam Karimov (5-4-1) in the second round. The event also saw Akhmet Sultanov (2-0) submit multi-promotion veteran Katsuhisa Fuji (8-14-1) in a first-round armbar. Besiki Gerenava (5-0) won a decision over Pancrase vet Yuji Sakuragi (9-10-1). U-File Camp's Daisuke Nakamura (13-9) decisioned Juri Ivlev (4-3). Victor Nemkov (1-0) debuted with a triangle choke submission of fellow rookie Christian Bombay (0-1). Team Scandinavia's Jarno Nurminen (2-1) forced Ji Hoon Kim's (1-6) corner to throw in the towel in the first round. Heavyweight Fin Toni Valtonen (15-7) submitted South Korean Seung Hyun Choi (0-2) in a rear naked choke in the first round. Hyun Gyu Lim (2-1-1) knocked out Brazil's Lucio Linhares (7-3) in the first round. Lightweight Janne Tulirinta (7-2) TKO'd Doo Won Seo (1-2) in round two. Finally, lightweight Niko Puhakka (11-6) of Finland submitted Jong Man Kim (3-5-2) in a triangle choke in round one. ...

Sure to appall, enrage, offend, and shake-up the MMA world, Fighters.com has released it's April heavyweight rankings. 1. "Minotauro" Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) It ain't pretty! Nogueira has turned "blocking punches with your face" into a winning strategy versus top teners Sylvia, Herring, Barnett, and Werdum in the last two years, earning him Fighters.com's first ranking at heavyweight. 2. "The Natural" Randy Couture (16-8) The best strategist in a weight class of brutes returned to solve the 6'8" riddle of Sylvia over five grueling rounds to reclaim UFC's title, then forced Cro Cop-slayer Gonzaga to wish MMA had timeouts in a bloody three-round TKO. 3. "Maine-iac" Tim Sylvia (24-4) The oft maligned "Maine-iac" has meshed his stature with world-class striking, championship cardio, and a Jeff Monson-tested ground game. His losses are to legends Nogueira and Couture, but he’s failed to lay out ripe KO candidates Arlovski and Monson. 4. "The Babyface Assassin" Josh Barnett (21-5) "The Babyface Assassin" returned to tap Hidehiko Yoshida and is the last man to beat Noguiera. Even with an involuntary 14-month layoff, he holds submissions over tenth-ranked Aleksander Emelianenko and hard-headed Mark Hunt in the last two years. 5. "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko (27-1) Rankings reflect what has happened in fights with a predilection towards the most recent and Emelianenko hasn't fought another top ten heavyweight in 32 months. He'll take fifth and like it, or take first in a real fight. It's his decision. 6. "Pitbull" Andrei Arlovski (12-5) “Pitbull” has fought like a poodle since getting neutered by Sylvia in an ‘06 KO loss, but was able to steal a decision from Werdum in the most disappointing fight of ’07. Perhaps free agency will reignite the once explosive fighter’s fire. 7. "Vai Cavalo" Fabricio Werdum (10-3-1) "Vai Cavalo" spanked Gonzaga like a bad monkey in January, his fourth consecutive top ten matchup, going 2-2 with two stoppage wins. He’s likely Nogueira’s first UFC title challenge in a rematch that ended in a close decision for Nogueira in PRIDE. 8. "Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring (28-13) Herring’s bungle versus Nogueira was beefed-up with a strong decision over Cheick Kongo in March. Three losses to Nogueira stop-gaps a potential UFC title challenge, but the “Texas Crazy Horse” will valiantly defend the gate to the UFC’s gold. 9. "Napao" Gabriel Gonzaga (8-3) After mauling Mirko Filipovic in Manchester, "Napao" risks becoming a footnote in MMA history with consecutive stoppage losses to Couture and Werdum. The big man has the tools to remain top ten for years to come, but does he have the heart? 10. Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) Fedor's li’l bro’ isn’t lost in the shadow of "The Last Emporer". In the last two years, the man with the coldest stare down in MMA has outclassed his brother in competition, losing only to top ten heavies while TKOing fellow Russian Sergei Kharitonov. ...