Two years ago, the sport of MMA was hitting a peak. You could not ask for a better representation of mixed martial arts when looking at the sport’s best pound-for-pound fighters.
At #3, you had the greatest ambassador that the sport could ever ask for in Georges St. Pierre. At #2, you had the young and extremely talented Jon Jones, who was finishing fighters who were once seen as unbeatable. At #1 was arguably the greatest martial artist to ever walk the planet, Anderson “The Spider” Silva.
Fast-forward to today, and you would be shocked to see that not a single one of these fighters holds a top spot in the P4P rankings. Rewind the tape, and pay attention. There are fights and details that can be skipped, but it’s the major happenings that will still leave you wondering, “What happened?”
A knockout, a beating, a surprising semi-retirement, a broken leg, a need for stricter drug testing, a brawl, two positive drug tests, and a felony. The past two years have shown that the greatest fighters in the world have a tougher battle outside of the cage than inside.
Down Came “The Chris” and Washed “The Spider” Out
Two years ago, Anderson Silva was preparing for his upcoming fight against the undefeated Chris Weidman. Up until this fight, Silva had defeated 16 straight UFC opponents, and had defended his UFC Middleweight Championship a record of 10 times.
Silva’s claim for the pound-for-pound best spot was solidified following one-sided beat-downs of Vitor Belfort, Yushin Okami, Chael Sonnen and Stephan Bonnar. Although Silva was getting up there in age, it did not look like he was slowing down. No one expected what would happen on July 6th, 2013.
To say that this moment was Silva’s lowest point in the sport would be an understatement now, though it was the catalyst for all that has happened since.
Silva was defeated in the rematch when a checked kick caused his leg to snap (I’ll spare you the gif for that one.) It was clear that Weidman was the better fighter, and that a new generation of middleweight talent would begin to make their mark after the Silva-era.
There are three ways in which a fighter can be taken off of the top position in the sport. Eventually, everyone loses if they fight for long enough, and just like Fedor Emelianenko, Silva suffered the same fate.
A Sudden Semi-Retirement, With No “Rush” To Return
Anderson Silva could have retired before facing Chris Weidman. He could have retired after his knockout loss or after breaking his leg. He should have retired before beating Nick Diaz and failing a post-fight drug test.
Georges St. Pierre was always known for his intelligence, relying on perfect technique and expert timing. He “retired” before facing defeat and before his personal life could effect his fighting career. The perfect timing.
Two years ago today, St. Pierre was coming off of a dominant win over rival Nick Diaz, with Johny Hendricks being primed for the next shot at the UFC Welterweight Championship.
I mentioned before that GSP was known for his technique and timing, and that his retirement was perfectly timed. Although the timing was perfect, the execution was disastrous. (Skip to 1:50)
After the dust settled, it was clear that the UFC Welterweight Champion would be vacating the title and leaving the sport. St. Pierre cited multiple reasons for his exit, including OCD problems, the loss of passion for the sport and the lack of drug testing.
We fast-forward again to today, and GSP is still unsure if he will return. While GSP ponders a comeback, drug testing and personal problem have claimed another one of the sports top fighters, but in an entirely different, and more sensationally tragic way.
Punches and Kicks Won’t Break A “Bones”, But The Law Can Hurt Him
We have a fighter losing his spot as the best fighter in the world by finally being beaten in competition. We have another fighter that left the sport indefinitely, almost as an early retirement, before he had the chance to face defeat. Losing and retiring are two nobel ways to hand down the title of P4P best to the next generation of great fighters.
The third and final way to relinquish that title is one that has never been seen or done before in mixed martial arts. Jon Jones’ only loss in MMA competition was from an illegal elbow strike. Essentially, Jones defeated himself. It’s the only way he knows how to lose, and it’s exactly how he was stripped of his UFC Light-Heavyweight Championship, and the #1 P4P ranking.
By now you know the story. Jones allegedly crashed his rental car, injuring a pregnant woman, fled the scene, went missing for 24 hours before turning himself in to Albuquerque police to face a felony charge. This was months after testing positive for cocaine in a random drug test and entering rehab, albeit, for a day.
The UFC took the appropriate action of stripping the longest reigning UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion in history of his title, and suspending the superstar indefinitely.
Jon Jones is suspended indefinitely & stripped of his title. @ufc president @danawhite explains the decision #FSLivehttp://t.co/C46wYSwunW
— FOX Sports Live (@FOXSportsLive) April 29, 2015
You could argue that Jones is still the P4P best, and that he can still make a return and reclaim all that he has lost. The fact is that he could not compete at UFC 187 due to personal problems, and will be inactive for the foreseeable future. Who knows if Jones will even return to the sport, or if this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Jones and his personal problems.
On April 29th, 2013, the Pound-for-Pound rankings went Anderson Silva, Jon Jones and Georges St. Pierre in order from 1 to 3. Those three spots are now held by Jose Aldo, Demetrious Johnson and Chris Weidman. The sport has changed a tremendous amount in the past two years, and we may never see three more dominant champions rule the sport at the same time again.
Thanks to Adam Martin of MMAOddsBreaker.com for the idea for the story. You can follow him on Twitter @MMAdamMartin.
