Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Heavyweight

1. Fedor Emelianenko (30-1, 1 NC)
Emelianenko’s brutal sparking of Andrei Arlovski in their Jan. 24 Affliction headliner has given rise to fervent, polarized discussion over whether Emelianenko is supernatural or fortunate. Any discussion of the sport’s heavyweight king is welcomed, as he should have another blockbuster bout this summer.

2. Andrei Arlovski (14-6)
For three minutes, Arlovski was better than ever, as he peppered the sport’s heavyweight king, Fedor Emelianenko, from range. One cruel flying knee attempt later, Arlovski was face down, out cold on the mat -- a brutal punctuation mark put on what began as the Belarusian’s finest performance.

3. Josh Barnett (24-5)
Barnett’s Jan. 24 victory over Gilbert Yvel at Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning” was hardly one of his best. However, the win, coupled with the Fedor Emelianenko’s triumph, could set up a high-stakes heavyweight marquee battle for Affliction's third offering in the early summer.

4. Frank Mir (12-3)
A knee injury postponed Mir’s May matchup with Brock Lesnar. Now, the UFC’s interim heavyweight champion will seek to unify both versions of the promotion’s title when he rematches Lesnar at UFC 100 on July 11.

5. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-5-1, 1 NC)
Whether it will wind up being the fight for which fans had long hoped remains to be seen, but two of the sport’s most enduring icons will square off at UFC 102 in August when Nogueira finally meets up with Randy Couture.

6. Brock Lesnar (3-1)
The former World Wrestling Entertainment star got a bit of bad news when his UFC heavyweight title rematch with Frank Mir was postponed due to injury. Lesnar will get the chance to become the full and undisputed UFC heavyweight king come July 11 at UFC 100.

7. Randy Couture (16-9)
His bout with Nogueira is long overdue. Hopefully, when “The Natural” and “Minotauro” square off at UFC 102 in August, the clash of heavyweight legends is not past its expiration date.

8. Tim Sylvia (24-5)
Not having seen action since his blowout loss to Fedor Emelianenko last July, the former UFC heavyweight champion is tracking down competition of a different sort. He’ll box 1988 Olympic gold medalist Ray Mercer on June 13.

9. Shane Carwin (11-0)
Just when it looked as if he were on the ropes, Carwin turned out the lights on Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 96. The victory gave the touted heavyweight prospect his 11th stoppage win in as many fights.

10. Alistair Overeem (29-11, 1 NC)
After his recent K-1 forays, Overeem will return to mixed martial arts action in the coming months. Strikeforce’s heavyweight champion expects a title defense on the promotion’s June 6 bill, possibly against former foe Fabricio Werdum, who bested him in May 2006.

Other contenders: Junior dos Santos, Aleksander Emelianenko, Jeff Monson, Ben Rothwell, Fabricio Werdum.