It has been debated widely throughout the Mixed Martial Arts World as to who is the worlds top MMA fighter. After an impressive knockout win over James “The Sandman” Irvin in UFC Fight Night 14, many believe that Anderson “The Spider” Silva is the best pound for pound fighter in the world. Although I agree that Silva is without a doubt the best middleweight in the world, he has yet to prove to me that he’s the best pound for pound fighter in the world.
Silva, although incredibly successful in the middleweight ranks, has never held a title in any other weight division. “The Prodigy” BJ Penn and “The Natural” Randy Couture are the only fighters who can stake claim to titles in two weight classes in the UFC. With Couture vacating his heavyweight title and leaving the organization, Penn now reigns supreme.
Penn currently holds wins over such notables as Takanori Gomi, Matt Serra, Renzo Gracie, and Caol Uno and has beaten former UFC Champions Jens Pulver (155), Sean Sherk (155), Matt Hughes (170), and Joe Stevenson (155). Penn was even willing to step up and fight light heavyweight Lyoto Machida who is still considered one of the best at 205 although being clearly outweighed by nearly 35 pounds.