Who deserves a title shot? (Your UFC rankings)?

Who in each UFC weight class do you believe deserves a title shot? and where do the rest stack up behind them on the ladder? What non-UFC fighters if signed would merit an immediate title shot?



Example:

Heavyweight:

Champ- Brock Lesnar/Frank Mir

#1 Contender- Winner of Couture Noguiera (I usually think a fighter should have 2-3 big wins before getting a shot but with the HW division being so shallow marketability plays a huge factor, plus i personally want to see rematches, I know Nog can beat Mir and Couture was schooling the giant Lesnar just got caught)

2- Shane Carwin (HUGE victory over GG who I would have given this spot, would like to see him against another top contender before a title shot but have no doubt he is more skilled than current champ Brock Lesnar and just as big)

3- Behind Carwin it gets fuzzy but i think to establish another legit contender Joe Silva should pit undefeated Cain Velasquez against Cheick Kongo



If signed- Fedor Emelianenko



Light Heavyweight:

Champ- Rashad Evans

#1 Contender- Lyoto Machida (I personally feel Rampage should have gotten an immediate rematch with Griffin but this fight is scheduled and should a good fight)

2- Rampage

3- Winner of Thiago Silva/Forrest Giffin

4- Shogun Rua (this depends not only on him beating Chuck Liddell but also his cardio being back up to par, I feel Shogun is a shell of his former self after suffering 2 knee injuries that have ended the career of more than one football player, but with his credentials and pending a solid performance against Chuck I still feel he has his place in the title picture)

5- Luis Cane (2 TKOs in his last 2 fights against solid competition, some more big wins and some good marketing, could be a future title challenger)



If signed- Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira



Middleweight:

Champ- Anderson Silva

#1 Contender- Thales Leites (???How? not sure myself, good fighter but IMO if this fight wasn't already set in stone I would put him at the 4th or 5th spot)

2- Demian Maia (Undefeated, 5 straight submissions in the UFC, with Anderson's 1 weakness being wrestling and not caring if the fight goes to the ground I give Maia a good shot)

3- Yushin Okami/Nate Marquardt (both these guys deserve rematches with Silva, Joe Silva make this fight happen)

4- Richardo Almeida (rumor has it he may move down to WW though)

5- Yoshihiro Akiyama (has the credentials lets see how he does trading the octagon for the ring)



If signed- Robbie Lawler



Welterweight:

Champ- Georges St. Pierre

#1 Contender- Thiago Silva (coming off a great year, pummeled 170's top fighters just like GSP did in 2005)

2- Jon Fitch/Dustin Hazelett (Fitch has proven he belongs at the top but needs another win or two to get a rematch with GSP, Hazelett has shown a solid game since his UFC depute and his only recent loss being to Josh Koscheck, a fight which IMO he was winning and may have been called a tad early)

3- Josh Koscheck (a top contender, got caught in his recent fight but if he keeps getting fights at the pace he has he should have no problem racking up the wins to get right back up to the front of the line)

4- Matt Serra/Hughes (These guys are still in it having only lost to the champ and #1 contender recently)



If signed- Jack shields



Lightweight

Champ- BJ Penn

#1 Contender- Kenny Florian (finally this fight is signed)

2- Diego Sanchez (If he gets past Clay Guida that is)

3- Gray Maynard/Sean Sherk (Sherk needs another win to get a rematch with Penn/Florian, and Gray needs a battle with the cream of the crop)

4- Tyson Griffin (would love to see him finish a fight but a top contender none the less)

5- Joe Lauzon (but with his recent injury he will be out of competition for a year or more)



If signed- Shinya Aoki, Eddie AlvarezWho deserves a title shot? (Your UFC rankings)?
hw-winner of couture-nogueira or carwin-velasquez/kongo winner depending on which winner is more impressive



if signed-fedor, no question



lhw-machida



if signed i feel arona would be favored in a fight against anyone. arona in a cage with elbows would be insane. but with that said rogerio nogueira would be more deserving.



mw-maia. his jiu jitsu gives him a serious advantage over any opponent in the ufc. the only question is if he could actually get it to the ground



if signed-gegard mousasi, assuming of course he still would want to fight at 185(which it doesn't sound like he wants to anymore). if mousasi goes up to 205 then jacare would be pretty fun to see for the same reason as maia.



ww-alves. it will be interesting to see if gsp will be able to out-muscle this monster and impose his dominant wrestling on him.



if signed-aoki. while it might seem like an odd pick his jiu jitsu off his back is incredible and could make a fight against gsp pretty interesting. but then again gsp should be able to pick him apart on his feet so who knows?



lw-florian. he seems like a much hungrier fighter than bj at this point and could very well earn him the upset victory.



if signed-aoki again. two jiu jitsu wizards going at it. but once again bj should be able to pick him apart on his feet but that hasn't stopped aoki in the past too much, so who knows?Who deserves a title shot? (Your UFC rankings)?
(All these ideas would obviously take place after all of the champions current fights)



HW - 1) If Cain Velasquez beats Heath Herring, than he should fight Shane Carwin for the contendership.

2) Carwin faces winner of Couture/Nogueira for contendership

As long as Velasquez, Carwin, Dos Santos, and Kongo are in the picture.



LHW - 1) Rampage gets next dibs.

Luiz Cane is a prospect as well, and if Liddell beats Shogun than beats another top fighter than I'd give Liddell another go at it.



MW - Maia shud get the next shot, after that the winner of Bisbing/Hendo. Than either Okami or give Marquardt a rematch. Akiyama's in that picture too now that he's in the UFC



WW - Not much after Alves, I'd say possibly a move to MW for GSP for a superfight with Silva, if not than I guess Kampmann after a couple more wins or Swick. Koscheck lost all momentum by getting KO'd by Paulo Thiago, and even if Fitch beats Thiago, nothing really comes of it. IF Hazelett can string together a few more notable wins than sure but, no ones really emerged yet since Alves got the title.



LW - Diego looked great at 155 so I'm thinkin' he could be a competitor for the title. If Sherk beats Edgar, than I could see a rematch between him and Penn. Tyson Griffin is moving on up their, despite his inability to finish a fight. (To be honest, he should just drop to featherweight). And like you said, if signed, than either Aoki or Alvarez would be great but Alvarez is currently with Belator and Aoki will undoubtedly stay with Dream.Who deserves a title shot? (Your UFC rankings)?
Heavyweight

Champ: Brock Lesnar/Frank Mir

1) Winner of Nogueira-Couture - winner deserves shot

2) Loser of Nogueira-Couture - loser is still top 4

3) Shane Carwin - great win over Gonzaga

4) Cheick Kongo - needs to face higher competition

5) Cain Velasquez - needs a win over Herring

?) Fedor Emelianenko



Light Heavyweight

Champ - Rashad Evans

1) Lyoto Machida - never lost a round, let alone a match

2) Rampage Jackson - too close match against Jardine, but still at top

3) Forrest Griffin - if he beats Silva

4) Chuck Liddell - needs to beat Rua and get back to his old style

5) Keith Jardine - impressive performance against Rampage

?) None



Middleweight

Champ - Anderson Silva

1) Dan Henderson - last opponent to really give Silva a chance

2) Nate Marquardt - great all around fighter, great win over Gouveia

3) Yushin Okami - needs to face tougher competition

4) Demian Maia - top notch jiujitsu, but one-dimensional

5) Michael Bisping - needs to face higher competition

?) Robbie Lawler



Welterweight

Champ - Georges St. Pierre

1) Thiago Alves - earned his shot with win over Koscheck and Hughes

2) Josh Koscheck - a fluke loss to Thiago, but will make up for it

3) Jon Fitch - beats everybody but GSP

4) Matt Hughes - needs a win over Matt Serra, but still a legend

5) Mike Swick - dominated every recent opponent

?) Jake Shields, but not immediately



Lightweight

Champion - BJ Penn

1) Kenny Florian - dominated all recent opponents

2) Sean Sherk - still a strength and cardio maniac

3) Tyson Griffin - lost a close decision to Sherk

4) Gray Maynard - can't finish, but dominates nonetheless

5) Clay Guida - needs to face higher competition

?) Shinya Aoki
Kongo, Rampage, Okami,Silva,Florian