NBC Sports: UFC Power Punch Rankings

Randy Couture's domination of Tim Sylvia in UFC 68 sends the two fighters in opposite directions in our latest power rankings. But was Couture's win good enough to make him No. 1?

Pound-for-pound rankings
1. Chuck Liddell
2. Georges St. Pierre
3: Mirko Cro Cop
4: Anderson Silva
5: Matt Hughes

Movers: None
Comments: Not much movement here since last time despite Couture's win, which while a stunning and stirring victory, still equals only one victory in the last year. Of course, Couture will have every chance to vault up the rankings if he wins his next title defense. St. Pierre is a big favorite over Matt Serra at UFC 69, so any stumble will cost him. Cro Cop has Gabriel Gonzaga next.


Heavyweight Division
1: Mirko Cro Cop
2: Randy Couture
3: Tim Sylvia
4: Brandon Vera
5: Andrei Arlovski

Movers: Couture up three spots to No. 2; Sylvia drops two spots to No. 3
Comments: Randy Couture's domination of Tim Sylvia sends the two fighters moving in opposite directions, the champ surging to within one spot of the top while the ex-champ drops a couple rungs. Cro Cop gets credit for his previous work overseas so he moves up to the top slot.


Light-Heavyweight Division
1: Chuck Liddell
2: Rashad Evans
3: Tito Ortiz
4: Quinton Jackson
5: Keith Jardine

Movers: Renato "Babalu" Sobral drops out.
Comments: A decisive loss to Jason Lambert drops Babalu out of the top five, while Keith Jardine joins the group on the strength of his recent win over Forrest Griffin. Michael Bisping is poised to state his case for a top five slot when he fights in his native UK against Elvis Sinosic at UFC 70.


Middleweight Division
1: Anderson Silva
2: Rich Franklin
3: Nate Marquardt
4: Mike Swick
5: Yushin Okami

Movers: Jason MacDonald drops out.
Comments: Rich Franklin solidifies his status as the No. 2 man in the division with a commanding second-round TKO over MacDonald. While Marquardt is expected to get the next title shot, UFC President Dana White has said Franklin will also get a shot. On top of that, Swick and Okami are fighting at UFC 69. Won't that winner be deserving of a shot as well? He might be, but he'll have to take a number.


Welterweight Division
1: Georges St. Pierre
2: Matt Hughes
3: Diego Sanchez
4: Karo Parisyan
5: Josh Koscheck

Movers: None
Comments: This is an extremely deep division, which will start to get a little clarity on April 7. On that day, not only will Georges St. Pierre's defend the title against Matt Serra, but Diego Sanchez and Josh Koscheck will square off in one of the most anticipated fights of the near-future. Karo Parisyan is also waiting in the wings.


Lightweight Division
1: Sean Sherk
2: Hermes Franca
3: B.J Penn
4: Melvin Guillard
5: Spencer Fisher

Movers: None
Comments: Melvin Guillard will be the next of the contenders to square off in the octagon when he takes on fellow title hopeful Joe Stevenson at Fight Night 9. With a win, he could become the top contender after Sean Sherk and Hermes Franca square off later this summer. But anytime B.J. Penn is in the mix, he's a possibility to cut to the front of the line as top contender.

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