Jake Shields left Strikeforce; Headed for the UFC?
By George Hernandez
The top of the middleweight rankings haven’t moved around in awhile with Anderson Silva, Jake Shields, Wanderlei Silva and Dan Henderson still at the top. But there are other fighters making names for themselves. The top five area gyms are also listed. Contact me at MVS_FightGame@yahoo.com if you got any info on more gyms or local fighters.
Top 5 Local MMA Gyms:
1. Fight Academy (Pasadena) – Head trainer Savant Young who is a KOTC, Affliction, and WEC veteran trains at the Fight Academy. The students are getting not only good training but get to look up to someone with big time experience.
2. The Vault MMA (Monrovia) – Pro fighter Daniel Hernandez and fellow head trainer Vincent Duchetta of the Ring of Fire have a stable of fighters to look forward to seeing in the big shows.
3. Submission Factory (San Gabriel) – MMA fighter, ref, and trainer Larry Landless is calling the shots. They are going to have some well rounded fighters coming out of here.
4. Blood Bank MMA (Hacienda Heights) – Aaron “Blood Spiller” Miller is making big things happen in Hacienda Heights. He has shown he can make good fighters with guys like Johnny Espinoza and Anthony Olivas under him.
5. Team Florez (La Puente) – This is the place to go for striking with Alan Florez and Mark De La Cruz. Now with ground guy Derrick Martinez they are going to start turning out legitimate fighters.
Top 20 MMA Middleweights:
1. Anderson Silva (26-4, UFC MW Champ) – He’s not only the middleweight kingpin but also the pound for pound best, as long as he gets through Sonnen.
2. Jake Shields (25-4-1, Strikeforce MW Champ) – With his release from Strikeforce he’s most likely on his way to the UFC and a shot at the big dog.
3. Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1) – One more win will put him in a match against his former Chute Boxe teammate Anderson Silva.
4. Dan Henderson (25-8) – After a shocking loss to Shields, Henderson next Strikeforce belt might be against Renato “Babalu” Sobral.
5. Vitor Belfort (19-8) – On the shelf for almost a year now, is he still the middleweight number one contender?
6. Chael Sonnen (25-10-1) – Getting a shot at Silva alone is career making, beating Silva will be a bigger shock then Werdum over Fedor.
7. Nate Marquardt (29-9-2) – Loss to Sonnen took his title shot away, now he has to climb back up the ladder.
8. Robbie Lawler (17-6) – Probably the most underrated middleweight, he shouldn’t have took the first round off against “Babalu“.
9. Jorge Santiago (22-8, WVR MW Champ) – Needs to come to the states if he wants to move up the rankings.
10. Hector Lombard (25-2-1, Bellator MW Champ) – Bellator has to get some better middleweights if they expect to keep the hottest middleweight around.
11. Ronaldo Souza (12-2) – Most well rounded middleweight might be the favorite in the Strikeforce tournament.
12. Alan Belcher (16-6) – Moving up the rankings fast.
13. Chris Leben (21-5) – Win over Akiyama makes him a title contender.
14. Alessio Sakara (15-7) – Best boxer in the division but this isn’t boxing.
15. Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-1) – Loss to Leben cost him.
16. Mamed Khalidov (20-4-2) – Needs to show the win over Santiago wasn’t a fluke.
17. Michael Bisping (19-3) – Needs to win against some A level fighters.
18. Melvin Manhoef (24-7-1) – Most dangerous guy in the division on his feet, too dangerous for him to get on the ground.
19. Alexander Shemenko (30-4) – Making a name for himself in Bellator; is going to be a big challenge for Lombard.
20. Jorge Rivera (18-7) – A fighter’s fighter; ready to take any challenge at any time.
Leave a Reply