Do fighters need to finish fights to be highly ranked?

Rankings are subjective.

This simple fact needs to be reinforced over and over again to calm people down.

Sean Sherk is the latest example. Recently he went after rankings that have Kenny Florian and Shinya Aoki ranked above 'the Muscle Shark'.

"There are guys ranked above me, that I've seen, that I know damn well I can beat. Rankings don't mean squat. (Shinya) Aoki is a good example. He's a big 155 pounder but he's got no boxing, no wrestling. Where does that leave you in the UFC? You can't wear pants, so guess what? You're in some trouble. I'd like to see a lot of those guys come here and I think eventually they will."

For those looking for a solid response to the differences between Japan and North American MMA read Leland Roling's excellent piece at Bloodyelbow.com. I will expand upon his points regarding  Kenny Florian's higher rank by pointing out the temporal pressures that go into the creation of rankings. The fight between Sherk and Florian happened in 2006 and a lot has changed in three years. Does that mean that Sherk would lose to Florian in a fight now? Absolutely not. This is why rankings are subjective and adds a certain element of pleasure to watching said fights.

Fightlinker offers a different perspective.

But let's be honest here. How high should we rank a fighter that hasn't won a UFC fight off the scorecards since 2002? Getting the W might be impressive, but are we really expected to extend the same respect to a dude who can't finish fights as we do to fighters who maul their opponents and leave them in a defeated pile clutching at the referee for protection?

While I see their point I have to disagree. A fighter doesn't need to produce a pound of flesh to be a great fighter. Forrest Griffin doesn't exactly have tremendous power, nor does Randy Couture. Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans were notorious for not being 'finishers' and now they are #1 and #3 respectively (the counter argument to this is that they elevated their rank when they started finishing fights). Are Evans and Machida's accomplishments diminished since neither fighter could finish Tito Ortiz? Absolutely not.

Take former pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mayweather was notorious for having brittle hands but that didn't stop boxing observers from realizing his hand speed and superb defense made him the best fighter in the sport.

Sean Sherk's record is stellar, boasting thirty-three career victories with only three loses. Those three loses came against George St. Pierre and Matt Hughes at welterweight and B.J. Penn at lightweight. With regards to St. Pierre and Hughes both fighters held massive size advantages over Sherk. The B.J. Penn fight is somewhat of an oddity since Sherk, a traditional wrestler, decided to stand and trade. While Sherk's punches looked crisp and fast his height and length deficiencies kept him from landing many of his combinations. What would have happened had he employed his excellent wrestling? We will never know.

Now if we were to take Fightlinker's analysis to its logical conclusion we should hold Sherk's size deficiencies against him. As oppose to realizing that he is succeeding, and brilliantly so, despite being below average in height and length. For baseball do we hold it against position players who overcome their size deficiencies to have successful careers? World Series MVP David Eckstein anyone? No, we marvel at their success in spite of those deficiencies.


I understand that there is a certain pleasure in watching fights end in memorable fashion. But no fighter should have to feel the pressure to finish a fight in order to feel that his or her career is validated.