Today 411Mania main released their top ten MMA fighter rankings for the Welterweight division. According the the MMA section of 411 Mania (actually a pretty reputable source of mixed martial arts news), here is how they stack up the division.

10. Marcus Davis

9. Carlos Condit

8. Diego Sanchez

7. Josh Koscheck

6. Karo Parisyan

5. Matt Serra

4. Jake Shields

3. Matt Hughes

2. John Fitch

1. Georges St. Pierre

My thoughts.

1. The welterweight division is absolutely stacked.

2.  No surprise that GSP is #1

3. John Fitch #2??? Fitch was exposed when he was very much tested against the unknown Chris Wilson, #2 seems a bit lofty

4. Carlos Condit #9??? If you’ve seen the WEC Champion in action you know what I’m talking about

To view more commentary about the list, check out the 411Mania article here.

God damn MMA has come a long way! The new Chuck Liddell book Iceman: My Fighting Life is not only listed on the New York Times best seller list, but it’s #16. Chuck Liddell is following the in the footsteps of other mixed martial arts fighters like Randy Couture and Matt Hughes with a book about his life, but never before has the sport seen this kind of mass acceptance and fanfare.

Amazon.com reviewers are giving it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. Click the pic for more deets.

Have you read it? Please share your comments for the rest of us.

Dennis “Superman” Hallman, the guy who beat UFC champion Matt Hughes twice, was suspended late last year for testing positive for steroids (a form of). He failed the drug test after his win over Jeremiah Metcalf at Strikeforce: Four Men Enter, One Man Survives.

Well the California State Athletic Commission gave him (scheduled) a chance to appeal the test and clear his name. Today I received an email from the CSAC that Hallman was a no-show for his appeal.

This is too bad because Hallman had won his last two fights but now his 1-year suspension will remain in take. Good job buddy.

Today at 7PM/PT the UFC will hold a press conference to discuss UFC 83. What exactly they will talk about I don’t know, but you can find out for yourself by hittin up UFC.com at 7 to watch it live.

I check out their last event and it was pretty brutal, but in a good way. It’s definitely worth checking out, especially being free and all. I think you have to give your email address to watch, but other than that there shouldn’t be any strings attached.

I’d love to see one of these top guys fight under UFC rules and a top UFCer fight under their rules.

Release from Rio Heroes:

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, 29 January, 2008 - RioHeroes, the most controversial fight league in the world is back in 2008 and stronger then ever, broadcasting another free live event on Jan. 29th, 2008. The Vale Tudo fight league, where contenders compete without gloves, rounds, or time limits, displays what they call, “The purest form of fighting in the world.” After acknowledging that students of all fighting disciplines have begun to practice what they see on T.V., and not necessarily what will best prepare them for real life situations, the company’s phones have been swamped by gyms and training facilities expressing their gratitude for displaying such events for their students to see.

In the first match-up of the evening, Leiarte Azevedo squares off against Fabio Oliveira. Considered the most controversial fighter in RioHeroes, the 167-pound Leiarte Azevedo is a Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu specialist who has been known to fight for over 30 minutes, non-stop, in RioHeroes. But he is going up against a fighter with similar fighting skills, Fabio Oliveira, who will be making his RioHeroes debut. If he makes it past Oliviera, Azevedo hopes for a second rematch against Ivanildo “Cafu” Santos, who dominated Leiarte in their last battle during RioHeroes 13.

Santos will need to shake off the explosive raw power of Ricardo Caetano in the second qualifying match of RioHeroes 14. Caetano, a 143-pound Jiu Jitsu instructor, lost his RioHeroes 11 debut and is itching to prove his skills against Cafu’s lighting quick Capoeira techniques. Cafu has proven himself worthy by already claiming the RioHeroes 6 title. In the third qualifier, Dangelo Viera steps into the ring for the first time against Isaac “Nanico Black” Tavares, a Capoeira specialist vying for his first RioHeroes victory.

In the fourth qualifier night, William Viana will battle Marcelo Franco. In RH11, Viana, in a grueling fashion, beat all of his competitors to win the super lightweight belt. Whether Viana can hold on to his title remains to be seen. “If you thought you’ve seen extreme fighting in 2007, just wait and see what RioHeroes is going to bring our fans in 2008,” says RioHeroes President, Jason Atkins. “We are going to kick off the year with an explosion.”

I grabbed this from the Wilcoxon blog over at Sportingnews.com. Here are some pretty good rumors covering the mixed martial arts world.

-Former UFC LHW champion Tito Ortiz has accepted a fight with Lyoto Machida scheduled to take place in May. This fight is the last one Ortiz’s contract and he has stated he will leave the UFC after the fight.

-Former UFC legend and announcer for PRIDE FC and the IFL, Bas Rutten has been named Vice President of Fighter Operations by the IFL. Bas will oversee contact between the IFL and the fighters and assist in matchmaking both for the org and when they have fighters compete outside of it.

-UFC is still working on a TV deal. The word came just over a week after reports said the deal with CBS stalled. The UFC official said they are still working on a deal and talking with various stations. The official also set a loose time table saying they planned to air the event on June 14th which is scheduled to take place in England.

-Akihiro Gono is out of his bout with Jon Fitch scheduled for UFC82. Gono needs surgery on an injured hand. Chris Wilson will replace him. Wilson has seen action in both the IFL and Bodog.

-Ricco Rodriguez is training for an upcoming fight against Antonio Silva for EliteXC.

-M-1 Global is reportedly having their 1st US show on April 11th possibly in Chicago. It is reported Aleks Emelianenko is going to face Josh Barnett on a card that will be headlined by Aleks older brother Fedor Emelianenko facing K-1 fighter Semmy Schilt. Both fights are rematches.

-In sponsorship news: Xyience Inc., a supplement company that sponsors many fighters and the UFC, has filed for Chapter 11.

-Harley Davidson who sponsored recent UFC events said the UFC is the first major sport not involving motor vehicles the company has ever sponsored.

-Finally, it is rumored that the UFC’s relationship with Affliction, a MMA clothing company, has soured. The early rumor is the UFC is dropping Affliction from their approved sponsors because Affliction is starting a MMA org.