One month ago I had a lot of debate as to who is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

After UFC 101, my questions were answered.

Long have I felt Fedor Emelianenko was the best in the world no matter the weight class, but that honor I now give to Anderson Silva following his absolutely flawless win over Forrest Griffin.

The Silva victory combined with Emelianenko opting to sign with Strikeforce puts Silva at No.1 in my book. When making this list I am considering the fighters as they are today, not as they were five years ago. Emelianenko looked a little sloppy in his last fight and is now going to have much easier competition as a whole in Strikeforce, whereas Silva and Georges St. Pierre have fought the best and looked impressive doing so.
So, here is my list. As always, I encourage healthy discussions.

1. Anderson Silva (24-4) – Middleweight/Light Heavyweight – UFC
If you really look at, the Silva vs. Griffin fight was every bit as big as St. Pierre vs. Penn from a standpoint that you had a champion from one weight class facing a bigger fighter that was one fight removed from being the champion in that weight class as well. Silva made Griffin look like Glass Joe from Mike Tyson Punch Out and basically made Griffin quit out of embarrassment (which has caused me to stop reading Forrest’s book, as he know seems to look like a hypocrite). After that display, I truly feel that Silva could not only be Light Heavyweight champion, I have serious beliefs that he is the kind of guy that could actually beat a guy like Brock Lesnar. His accuracy and power while backing up would be a problem for Lesnar in more ways than one. Brock wouldn’t be able to get a takedown without eating a solid knee or punch that could put him down. I know many of you think I am crazy probably, but that is the way I feel.

2. Georges St. Pierre (19-2) – Welterweight – UFC
I used to think GSP could give Silva a fight, but I don’t feel so good about that now. If Silva was to move to Light Heavyweight on a permanent basis, I would like to see GSP move up to middleweight for a new set of challenges. Guys like Mike Swick and Martin Kampmann don’t seem to present much of a challenge and nobody is going to be excited to see rematches with Jon Fitch or Thiago Alves. Middleweight could present some intriguing fights and would really test GSP.

3. Fedor Emelianenko (30-1-1) – Heavyweight – Strikeforce
Well, again this is all about present day and Fedor hasn’t done anything as of late to keep his top ranking while guys like Silva and St. Pierre are beating some of the best. Fedor had no control over what happened with Affliction: Trilogy, but the option to sign with the UFC was there and he turned it down. He has to know that UFC has better overall talent and hosting an exhibition sparring match with Gegard Mousasi is not going to get me excited. I think Fedor’s career is probably the best of anyone, but in terms of best fighter in the world today, I don’t see him as No. 1.

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Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

- At last weekend’s UFC 101 show, Anderson Silva got his balls back with a stunning knockout of Forrest Griffin and BJ Penn taught Kenny Florian a very painful lesson.

- Brian Bowles scored the upset of the year with his shocking first-round KO of WEC bantamweight ruler Miguel Torres. Unfortunately, Bowles got paid peanuts for the win, and broke his hand in the process.

- Inspired by Nick Diaz’s marijuana-related screwjob of Strikeforce, we counted down the 10 most cursed MMA events of all time.

- The UFC has recently been stockpiling crusty old-timers, including Vladimir Matyushenko and Phil Baroni. Can a “Veterans” season of The Ultimate Fighter be far behind?

- We took a look at some classic MMA moments, crudely recreated in MS Paint.

- Notorious MMA steroid abuser Josh Barnett sold his last shred of dignity in a freaky pro-wrestling bout in Japan.

- Hit up CagePotato.com starting tonight at 10:30 p.m. ET for our liveblog of “Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg.” Get familiar with the card by reading our interview with Cris Cyborg, some last-minute betting advice, as well as our always provocative “Ben vs. Ben” debate.

At one point following UFC 100 this past weekend, I felt like there are a lot of new questions about who the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world is.

Georges St. Pierre certainly raised his stock with a definitive win over Thiago Alves, who was considered to be GSP’s toughest fight to date prior to UFC 100.

Brock Lesnar also deserves some consideration for his dominant performance over Frank Mir, which left many wondering who can beat him.

Here is my personalized top 10 ranking of who I feel are the top 10 overall fighters in the world. In making this list, I consider win-loss record, how convincingly the fighters have won their most recent fights, and their appeal to other fans. Well, here we go:

1. Fedor Emelianeko (30-1-1) – Heavyweight – Affliction
About a year ago, I was one of those people that claimed that Fedor was overrated and didn’t fight the best. Well, after two quick KO’s of Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski, you can’t argue that Fedor is not the best. The guy has virtually never lost, with his lone loss coming on a cut. The guy never changes his expression and never makes a mistake in his fights. Until someone beats him cleanly, Fedor will be at the top of my list.

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With UFC 100 a week away on July 11, I decided to look back at what got the UFC to this point. Here is my take on what I believe are the 10 most significant fights in UFC history, helping the company become what it is today.

1. Stephan Bonner vs. Forrest Griffin – Ultimate Fighter Finale 1: This fight was not only the most memorable fight to watch, but may also be the fight that really pushed the UFC into the next level of mainstream popularity. Following the debut season of The Ultimate Fighter, a show which UFC President Dana White and co-owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta funded out of their own pocket, the finale took place live on Spike TV, which was airing live fights for the first time in the history of cable television. The UFC knew it needed something big to happen to not only keep a cable television deal, but earn future advertisers, and also prolong its reality show for future seasons. Bonner vs. Griffin delivered just that. The two fought to the very end and both were so even, it was impossible to decide a clear winner for most fans. The fight at one point drew 10 million viewers, which was just what the UFC needed. The back-and-forth, non-stopped action gave the UFC an identity to fans that had never seen it before and got the ball rolling that has allowed the UFC to snowball into what it is today.

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Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

- Last Saturday at UFC 98, Lyoto Machida buried the last of his “boring” image by knocking out Rashad Evans in the second round and stealing his light-heavyweight title. We wondered if Machida and Anderson Silva had switched bodies, and if Machida’s recent dominance means the light-heavyweight division is no longer “stacked.”

- Instead of taking an immediate shot at Machida’s shiny new belt, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has agreed to coach the next season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite Rashad Evans; Machida will make his first defense against Mauricio Rua.

- Speaking of TUF, Wednesday’s episode featured Team U.S. evening the score to 4-4 heading into the semi-finals, as the toothless Frank Lester got a callback as an alternate and outlasted Team U.K.’s “best guy.”

- You may think you’re a badass, but don’t bring that attitude into Xtreme Couture or your ass will get “greenlighted.”

- After a four-year absence, radio host/t-shirt designer/occasional fighter Frank Trigg is heading back to the Octagon. Is a reunion fight with Matt Hughes in the works?

- Gina Carano is a little doll, and we stared at MMA fighter Miesha Tate’s booty for a while.

- DREAM.9 featured the sad MMA debut of Jose Canseco, and a middleweight championship main event that ended with blood and chaos. You can watch some videos here and here.

Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

- Last weekend’s MMA action was highlighted by Bobby Lashley choking out Mike Cook in 24 seconds and a Bellator event jam-packed with wild fights.

- Good news: PRIDE legend Mirko Cro Cop is returning to the UFC. Bad news: He’s back at the bottom of the heavyweight ladder.

- Andrei Arlovski will be tangling with undefeated prospect Brett Rogers at Strikeforce’s stacked-to-death June 6th card. Rogers was originally supposed to face Alistair Overeem, but Overeem injured his hand while putting five nightclub bouncers in the hospital.

- Wednesday’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter was plagued by staph infections, bronchitis, and an inconvenient gag-reflex.

- Must-see videos: Brock Lesnar and Anderson Silva made us laugh Spencer Pratt made us cry, and BJ Penn cried wee wee wee all the way home.

- After countless delays, Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett are slated to face each other this summer, at what will probably be Affliction’s last MMA event.

- Former baseball star/steroid snitch Jose Canseco is having his MMA debut in Japan on Tuesday against 7′2″ kickboxer Hong Man Choi. His preparation is, shall we say, lacking.

- Swing by CagePotato.com tomorrow night starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT as we liveblog UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida, which will feature the UFC’s best title fight in nearly a year. You can see more analysis of the fight card here and here.

- Even though the Hawks don’t stand much chance against the Cavs in their best of seven series this postseason, UNCOACHED.COM notes that at least we can enjoy Atlanta’s A-Town Dancers (above).

- SPORTSbyBROOKS.COM shares details of tennis star Jelena Dokic’s father Damir, who is threatening to launch a rocket attack on the Australian ambassador to Serbia. Take it easy, guy!

- BLAZE OF LOVE compiles 10 of Ron Artest’s best quotes – with video.

- YARDBARKER reports that UFC’s Dana White won’t allow boxer Roy Jones to fight Anderson Silva.

- DEADSPIN notes that L.A. columnist Bill Plaschke is finally vindicated now that Manny Ramirez has been suspended for 50 games by MLB. Plaschke warned all along that Ramirez was a no good troublemaker.

Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

- Congenital amputee Kyle Maynard’s MMA debut went about as well as we thought it would.

- Clearly bored with the garbage-ass challengers he’s been getting in the UFC’s middleweight division, 185-pound king Anderson Silva will go up to light-heavyweight again to face Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 in August. Meanwhile, Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia will be facing off to determine who really deserves the next middleweight title shot.

- Gina Carano looked hot at Kevin Randleman’s wedding.

- Despite some intense infighting, Team U.S. was able to put its first victory on the board on the last episode of The Ultimate Fighter, while coach Michael Bisping vanished into thin air.

- Japanese promotion DREAM is putting together the greatest MMA freak show in history with their “World Superman Championship,” which will feature steroid-snitch Jose Canseco, pituitary case Hong Man Choi, Bob Sapp, and five more warriors, hopefully fighting to the death.

- Speaking of freak shows, Fedor Emelianenko used his 70-pound weight advantage to toss around Shinya Aoki in a grappling exhibition at the last M-1 Challenge event.

- Less than two months after Nick Diaz and Scott Smith scored victories at “Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz,” the two will be fighting each other at “Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields.”

- Sign of the apocalypse #783: Kung Fu Football.

- Kim Couture’s wife pulled out of her upcoming fight against Miesha Tate, and Tate responded by telling everyone that Kim and The Natural are getting a divorce. Real classy.

- By forcibly retiring Chuck Liddell, is Dana White looking out for his friend’s health or his company’s wallet? Little from column A, little from column B?

Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

- Chuck Liddell stepped into the cage (and got knocked out) for the last time, while Anderson Silva and Thales Leites put on one of the most boring title fights in UFC history at UFC 97 last Saturday. Regarding the Silva/Leites scrap, UFC prez Dana White said “I’ve never been embarrassed of a UFC fight like I was tonight,” while Silva’s manager tried to do damage control.

- The Iceman may be retired from the fight game, but it seems like his acting career is taking off. Meanwhile, Andrei Arlovski is going to appear in the next Jean-Claude Van Damme joint.

- Nick Osipczak put the Brits up 1-0 with his crushing head-kick knockout of Mark Miller on Wednesday’s episode of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

- Gina Carano does it for love, not money. Yeah, right.

- Pro wrestler-turned-fighter Bobby Lashley will be colliding with cartoonish brawler Bob Sapp in a June pay-per-view event that will also feature Affliction’s vice-president actually fighting on the card.

- Congenital amputee Kyle Maynard makes his MMA debut tomorrow night. But will it be a triumph or an ill-advised freak show?

- Speaking of freak shows, lightweight grappling-genius Shinya Aoki and world’s-best-heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko will be tangling in a “special sparring exhibition” next week in Tokyo. Ah, what’s a 70-pound weight-difference between friends?

- Enter our “Underground Heroes” giveaway and win a pair of tickets to UFC 98! And if you’re going to the May 23rd event, be sure to check out our fan’s guide to Las Vegas.

Despite chants of “boring” and boos that echoed inside the Bell Centre, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champ Anderson Silva entered the record books with a unanimous decision over Thale Leites at UFC 97:Redemption in Montreal on Saturday evening.

Silva posted his ninth-straight victory in the octagon that broke a tie he held with MMA legend Royce Gracie and Jon Finch. This was overshadowed by the lack of action generated in a less-than-stellar main event, as the two fighters avoided contact for the first minute of the fight and they often went for long stretches without exchanging blows.

This didn’t sit well with UFC President Dana White, and he didn’t mince words in the post-fight press conference.

“I can honestly tell you that I’ve never put on an event that I was embarrassed to be at until tonight,” White said. “I want to publicly apologize to all the fans.

“Watching that was hard. That was tough to take. It was embarrassing, honestly. It was really and truly embarrassing.”

The fans booed throughout the match and started a “boring” chant at the beginning of the final round. They also cheered for UFC welterweight champion George St. Pierre, who was sitting at ringside. The Canadian star is rumored to be the next opponent for Silva.