Okay, you caught me.  I really don’t have the official UFC rankings which is a shame as there is nothing I’d rather report and discuss.  I’ve checked with the UFC’s official website, Google, Bing, and several other sources to find the official UFC rankings but have found nothing.  Don’t get me wrong, I found plenty of MMA rankings.  Everyone from Sherdog to MMA Junkie seems to have rankings.  Even the USA Today has a rankings list for all to see.  The problem is that none of those rankings seem have any bearing on who is actually the highest ranked contender for any given UFC title.  The only rankings which seem to matter are the UFC rankings which of course appear to be a highly guarded secret.

We have to be certain that the UFC does, in fact, have official rankings. Don’t we? After all, time and time again we’ve heard Dana White mention which fighter is now the #1 ranked contender when announcing who will next challenge for the title. More often than not, when asked to comment about the standing of a fighter, White will respond, “He’s in the mix”. One would have to assume, "In the Mix," means they are top 5, correct? Maybe even top 3?

“AND IT IS ALL OVER!”

“Introducing your NEW champion…”

And now we hate him.  We are not absolutely sure why, but we know there is a reason.  We will figure it out soon.  In the meantime, let’s make a case for how unworthy he is of the belt.  Type our hearts out through our favorite social networking site, or about all of the fighters that would walk all over the champ.  Nod aggressively while reading Chael Sonnen’s latest interview transcript about how he could easily dismiss of this new champion.  Explain that the new champion’s recent string of wins can be attributed to either:

1)    Pure, downright, out and out luck.
2)    Lack of any real competition.

Nevermind that he is a professional fighter.  Nevermind that you were dumbfounded when he defeated all of his challengers.  Nevermind that he has made you eat your words time and time again.  Nevermind the sheer improbability needed for a fighter to have that many “lucky” wins in a row.  He is now the champion and there’s a problem with that, right?

Kenny Florian is an Ultimate Fighter runner-up, two-time lightweight title challenger and about to add featherweight challenger to that list. Florian established himself as an elite lightweight in the biggest promotion in the MMA world, the UFC. He beat all challengers, whether rising prospects or legends of the sport. Though the one thing that has eluded him is the golden strap, two-time lightweight challenger Florian made the decision to drop to featherweight in hopes that a size advantage would finally make him into a champion.

His first fight was against once beaten Brazilian Diego Nunes. Nunes proved to be a tough first fight for Florian but tired out in the second and third rounds and Florian took a decisive victory. Afterwards, it was announced that Florian would be given his third attempt at a title against featherweight king Jose Aldo. The question immediately became, how deserving was he? He only had one contest in the featherweight division; why not have him take a few fights before giving him another shot at the belt? In order to be worthy of a title fight, one must win their last fight against a good opponent, perform well in big fights, and possess marketability and availability. Let’s see how Florian measures up.

Win your last fight against fight against a good opponent: Florian had a decisive victory against once beaten Diego Nunes at UFC 131. Nunes is a talented young fighter who was sporting a 16-1 record heading into the fight. Nunes seemed to get the better of Florian in the first round but Florian came back and controlled the young Brazilian in the second and third rounds with effective boxing and by taking down and passing the guard of Nunes.

Perform well in big fights: This is an area where Florian falls short: he’s lost both of his title fights, in the finals of The Ultimate Fighter, and his title eliminator against Gray Maynard.  

Marketability: Florian is possibly the biggest name in the 145 pound division. He was a runner-up on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, is currently an analyst for ESPN, and is known as one of the funnier personalities in the UFC. He also finishes many of his fights with his great submission game and legendary elbows.

Availability: You can’t fight for the title if you aren’t available to fight for it. Chad Mendes was a popular pick for the title shot, but he was already tied up with a fight against Rani Yahya. Hatsu Hioki is another very deserving featherweight but he has yet to have a fight in the promotion and the UFC doesn’t like to give fighters immediate title fights unless it’s a title unification bout.

Florian meets three of the four requirements to fight for a title, so is he the perfect challenger? No, but it doesn’t change the fact that he still is a worthy one, and one that champion Jose Aldo will certainly have his hands full with.

10. Charlie Brenneman- Before Brenneman’s fight with Rick Story I probably would have put Story at six on this list.  However, the largely unrecognized Brenneman capitalized on Nate Marquardt being pulled from his scheduled fight with Story and took the fight on a day’s notice.  He was a heavy underdog but came in and out-wrestled and out-struck Story on his way to stealing all the momentum Story built up after beating Thiago Alves.  Brenneman was already a bright spot in young MMA fighters, but his bout with Story was an extra boost to his career.

This is the beginning of a series that will focus on the question all of us mixed martial arts fans want answered.  What does it truly take to be a professional MMA fighter?  And the only way to know is by asking the pros themselves.  The journey from an amateur to becoming a pro is often brutishly long and filled with adversity.  For those who have embarked on this treacherous trail, few will ever be able to make a career out of it.  This series will tell the true life tales of those who have.

1. 1. Throw Donald Cerrone a bone. Cerrone was a powerhouse in the WEC but has yet to fight anybody of note in the UFC and has picked apart both of his opponents. His opponent at UFC 131, Vagner Rocha, was a one dimensional BJJ expert who was given a seminar on Muay Thai by Cerrone in their fight. Rocha continually attempted and failed takedowns and is the only person who I’ve ever seen try a baseball slide as a way of taking his opponent down. Cerrone has proved that he’s a legitimate 155-pounder in the UFC and should receive an interesting matchup in his next fight. The most fitting opponrent is Anthony Pettis. Both are WEC all-stars and Pettis had a title shot lined up before his loss to Clay Guida. Cerrone has been the clear winner of both his UFC fights, so a bout between the two just seems obvious.

We all know the story of Georges St. Pierre, a superman  that comes as close to perfect as an MMA fighter can be, but what of his UFC 137 opponent Nick Diaz? If GSP is a major summer blockbuster then Diaz is a comic book available at most book stores near you, it has a good following but it’s not Inception.