Middleweights
1. Anderson Silva (25-4) – Black House
Silva has had an amazing run and is one of the greatest fighters of all time. He was set for perhaps his toughest test yet against Vitor Belfort but a shoulder injury has put Demian Maia in line for a crack at Silva at UFC 112.
2. Vitor Belfort (19-8) – Xtreme Couture
Since dropping to MW Vitor has been on a tear and earned a shot at the title with a TKO over Rich Franklin but will have to wait to heal his injury now as he watches Demian Maia get his title shot instead.
3. Dan Henderson (25-7) – Team Quest
Despite his inactivity in the division as he’s bounced between MW and LHW the last few years, Dan is just too good to not have this high on the list. His first fight in Strikeforce will be for the MW title against Jake Shields in April
4. Chael Sonnen (25-10-1) – Team Quest
Count me as one person who wouldn’t have thought you’d see Sonnen this high on a rankings list but with wins over Okami and Marquardt you simply can’t deny him. The Marquardt fight was for a title shot but with Vitor getting pushed back it’s unclear what’s next for Sonnen.
5. Jake Shields (24-4-1) – Cesar Gracie
For years Shields was known as the best welterweight not in the UFC but looking to face tougher competition he moved up to middleweight and has since defeated Robbie Lawler and Jason Miller to become the Strikeforce champion. His first defense will be a stiff test against Dan Henderson on CBS in April.
6. Nate Marquardt (29-9-2) – Jackson’s MMA
Since losing his title shot to Silva, Marquardt has been derailed twice now on his road back- first losing to Thales Leites after being deducted two points and then losing a decision to Chael Sonnen. His next fight is TBA.
7. Demian Maia (12-1) – Wand Fight Team
Maia is one of the best grapplers in MMA right now but that didn’t help him as he got blasted by Nate Marquardt quickly in the first round of their fight. Good timing with an injury to Belfort and a decision victory over Dan Miller have moved him to the front of the line for a title shot as he looks to solve the puzzle of Anderson Silva at UFC 112.
8. Mamed Khalidov (20-3-1) – Arrachion MMA
Khalidov has quietly become one of the best MW’s in the world with a slick ground game and knockout power. After blasting Jorge Santiago in November he’ll look to do it again on 3/7.
9. Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1, 1NC) – Wand Fight Team
Silva’s first fight in the division was a success as he unanimously defeated Michael Bisping at UFC 110. Wand has now had two solid fights in a row as he was narrowly defeated by Rich Franklin at UFC 99. Next up for Wand is likely Akiyama.
10. Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-1, 2NC) – Xtreme Couture
Akiyama’s been out of action for a while but has called out Wanderlei Silva as a potential next opponent. After narrowly escaping defeat from Alan Belcher at UFC 100, he’ll have his hands full with Silva.
August 28th, 2008 at 12:35 am
[...] Rankings were compiled from the following sites: TAGG Radio, MMA News, Sherdog, Cage Potato, MMA On Tap, Five Ounces of Pain, Houston Chronicle’s Brawl Sports, WAMMA, MMA Fighting, MMA-ELO, FCFighter, 411 Mania, MMA Madness, FightMatrix, MMA Playground, HDNet/Inside MMA, MMAVT (Japan), Figure 4 Online, Fighters.com, and Total MMA. [...]
October 28th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
[...] were compiled from the following sites: WAMMA, Fighters.com, MMA Ratings, Fight Magazine, Total-MMA, Houston Chronicle Brawl Sports, MMA/VT, HDNet/Inside MMA, MMA Playground, FightMatrix, Sherdog, [...]
October 28th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
[...] were compiled from the following sites: WAMMA, Fighters.com, MMA Ratings, Fight Magazine, Total-MMA, Houston Chronicle Brawl Sports, MMA/VT, HDNet/Inside MMA, MMA Playground, FightMatrix, Sherdog, [...]
December 9th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
[...] were compiled from the following sites: MMA Weekly, Sherdog, HDNet/Inside MMA, Total MMA, Fight Magazine, 411 Mania, CagePotato, TAGG Radio, FCFighter, MMA ELO, Five Ounces of Pain, [...]