By George Hernandez
Top 10 Local MMA Fighters:
1. Johnny Espinoza (2-0) – The former El Rancho Don is making a name for himself in the MMA community.
2. Jamie Yager (2-2)– This Pasadena alum, is one of the first local stars to make it the UFC after being on The Ultimate Fighter.
3. Victor “Joe Boxer” Valenzuela (9-6-2) – Covina resident is the King of the Cagelightweight champ and with his striking skills should be in the big show soon.
4. Keiichi Matsumoto (3-0) – Fighting out of the Ring of Fire in Monrovia, none of his fights have made it out the first round.
5. Savant Young (9-8) – A veteran of the IFL, Affliction and KOTC is making name for himself as a trainer now with the Fight Academy in Pasadena.
– Former Arroyo Knight is not only a standout fighter but also owns Blood Bank MMA in Hacienda Heights.
7. Daniel Hernandez (5-7) – One of the most exciting fighters around, another former Knight is on a two fight win streak.
8. Cesar Urquilla (2-1) – Fighting out of Hacienda Heights Urquilla is another Blood Bank fighter making a name for himself.
9. Joe Camacho (12-14-3) – Fighting out of Pasadena, Camacho is a true veteran of MMA and has fought some of the biggest names around.
10. Armando Sanchez (10-7) – Another Pasadena guy is ready to push for the big show with his well rounded skills.
Johnny Espinoza is the number one ranked local fighter
6. Aaron “Bloodspiller” Miller (9-8)
Top 20 MMA Heavyweights:
1.Brock Lesner (4-1, UFC HW Champ) – Lesnar only five fights into his career on hasn’t fought for a year but he’s the UFC champion and Fedor’s loss bumped him up a spot.
2. Fedor Emelianenko (31-2) – Fedor’s shocking loss to Werdum cost him the top spot and a shot at the Strikeforce heavyweight title.
3. Shane Carwin (12-0, UFC interim HW Champ) – Carwin dominated Mir and now gets his shot at Lesnar to become undisputed champ.
4. Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1) – Jumped up a couple spots because of his career defining win over Fedor, now can he win Overeem again and most likely Fedor again right after.
5. Cain Velasquez (8-0) – Looks like he’s gonna have to be on the shelf for a while till he gets his title shot against the winner of Carwin and Lesnar.
6. Junior Dos Santos (11-1) – The wild card in the heavyweight division with some of the best striking in the division and working ground with the Nogueira brother probably won’t be long till he’s number one.
7. Frank Mir (13-5) – Will Mir be the same after two devastating loses in three fights?
8. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-6-1) – Has Nogueira been threw too many wars, to make another title run?
9. Alistair Overeem (33-11, Strikeforce HW champ) – Everyone wanted to see him fight Fedor, but he got Werdum a man who’s already won him. Will he stay focused enough for the win?
10. Antonio Silva (14-2) – Had a great fight with Werdum, and won Arlovski. He could he the next in line for Fedor to face the winner of Werdum/Overeem.
11. Josh Barnett (25-5) – Steroids might have messed up his chance of going back to the UFC but if he can get in Strikeforce he has a shot to move up.
12. Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic (27-7-2) – Did we see the old “CroCop” against Pat Berry at UFC 115?
13. Roy Nelson (15-4) – Could be the most underrated heavyweight in the UFC, we’ll see against Dos Santos.
14. Brett Rogers (10-2) – Two straight loses to Fedor and Overeem, now that win over Arlovski looks likea fluke.
15. Ben Rothwell (31-7) – Big Ben got his first win in the UFC against Yvel at 115 hopefully the former IFL champ can keep it alive.
16. Pat Berry (5-2) – Loss to “CroCop” wasn’t a set back, it should make him a better fighter.
17. Andrei Arlovski (15-8) – Three straight loses for the former UFC champ, where does he go from here?
18. Gilbert Yvel (36-15-1) – Two UFC loses puts him in the bottom of the stacked UFC heavyweight division.
19. Sergei Kharitonov (16-4) – Should be fighting good competition soon after signing with Strikeforce.
20. Aleksander Emelianenko (17-3) – Fedor’s little big brother better comes to the states if he ever expects to make an impact in any heavyweight division.
Brock Lesnar top ranked MMA Heavyweight
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