For many fighters, getting to the top of your division is the ultimate goal. There’s no better feeling than winning a title in your weight class. However, when you get to the top, where do you go?

The discussion around forums, websites and events often focuses around the best pound for pound fighters in the world. The name on everyone’s lips – Fedor Emelianenko – dominates everyone’s top five. Of course, there is no definitive pound for pound rankings. Basically, I could have Fedor as my number one and someone else could have Anderson Silva. That is the beauty of the pound for pound rankings.

So, what exactly defines a guy who should be on the list?

First of all, he should be the best in his division. Personally, I don’t buy a fighter being on a pound for pound list if he isn’t the best in his division. That’s understandable, even if you don’t agree with it. So, depending on who you think is the best in the world determines who is the best pound for pound fighter. If we take my opinion for a second, I’d throw Fedor Emelianenko, Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre and Miguel Torres in there immediately. Then, you’re stuck with the interesting proposition of who is the best lightweight, light heavyweight and featherweight in the world. So, from that, I’ve got to throw Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans in there from the light-heavyweight division, Mike Brown and Urijah Faber in there from the featherweight division and then BJ Penn and Shinya Aoki in the lightweight division.

For me, a pound for pound list should be judged on who the fighter has defeated, how regularly they have fought and how skilled they are on their feet and ground. You then have to look at how each fighter performs in a weight class that they aren’t natural to. Based on that, you would have to take out some of the fighters listed above.

It really does determine how you look at it. Personally, I don’t think BJ Penn is even close to the top of the list. I’ve ranted about the guy before, so I’ll save it, but anyone who takes an average of two fights a year isn’t a world class fighter in my opinion. He’s even put back his fight with Kenny Florian to August.

A lot of people actually discredit Fedor Emelianenko’s status as one of the top guys in the list. Being outside of the UFC certainly doesn’t help Fedor’s claim, but you have to applaud his victories over Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia. A more consistent schedule against some more top heavyweights will convince people that Fedor is the top dog in MMA.

What about Georges St Pierre? He’s certainly in the top three, but it very much depends on how you look at his wins over BJ Penn, Matt Serra and Jon Fitch. For me, those victories almost certainly put St. Pierre at the top of the list.

His nearest rival, in my opinion, is Anderson Silva. However, you have to point at Anderson Silva’s opponents over the last twelve months. Will victories over the likes of Patrick Cote, James Irvin and Dan Henderson enhance his reputation? No chance. If he would have defeated say, Wanderlei Silva, Yushin Okami and Demain Maia, then you could certainly have an argument that he is the best in the world.

Then we have the forgotten man Miguel Torres. Fans of the UFC will shrug their shoulders and wonder who Torres is, but with just one defeat in nine years, he is by far one of the best Bantamweight fighters of all time. Is he the best fighter in the world? You’d be a brave man to disagree.

Of course, the argument of how to define a pound for pound fighter could rage on forever. The fact is, there will never be one fighter who stands above the rest. There will always been three or four guys deserving of the crown. That’s what is so beautiful about this sport.

For years, fighters have come and gone. At one time, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, Mark Coleman and more had valued claims to be the best fighter in the world. Today, they aren’t close. The new breed, the likes of Rashad Evans, Demian Maia and Forrest Griffin, are making a push to break into the top five.

One thing is for certain however, we’ll never agree on who is the top of the list. Don’t you just love this sport?

I’d love to hear who you guys think is the top pound for pound fighter in the world! Send over your top three fighters and get your opinion noticed – martin@ifight365.com.