Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Heavyweight

1. Brock Lesnar (5-1)
Big-time heavyweight bouts seldom deliver, but Lesnar’s July 3 title defense against Shane Carwin did just that. In addition to likely pulling significant PPV numbers, Lesnar’s rousing second-round submission comeback showed he is not just a hulking frontrunner. The win set up what will likely be Lesnar’s biggest test to date when he defends against Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 on Oct. 23.

2. Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1)
Werdum underwent surgery on Aug. 18 and had 27 loose bone fragments removed from his left elbow. Already in physiotherapy to rehab, the author of this year’s most significant upset now targets a return to action in the first quarter of 2011.

3. Fedor Emelianenko (31-2, 1 NC)
The chicanery of another Emelianenko pre-fight has begun. Emelianenko’s promoters at M-1 have openly announced their interest in fighting Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem on the condition that Overeem submits to Olympic-style drug testing. Naturally, little headway has been made surrounding Emelianenko’s next bout.

4. Cain Velasquez (8-0)
The July 3 matchup between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin was especially interesting for Velasquez, who was already tabbed to face the winner. Now, Velasquez will face the tallest task of his young career when he challenges Lesnar for the heavyweight throne at UFC 121 in October.

5. Junior dos Santos (12-1)
For the first time in his UFC tenure, dos Santos could not finish his foe. Nevertheless, at UFC 117 in Oakland, Calif., “Cigano” put a 15-minute beating on tough heavyweight Roy Nelson, took a unanimous decision and entrenched himself as the man to challenge the winner of October’s clash between Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez.

6. Shane Carwin (12-1)
One would have expected his July 3 loss to Brock Lesnar to be Carwin’s toughest pill to swallow this summer. Instead, the Coloradan’s name has cropped up in a federal case for reportedly having received steroids. Though it represents the most important fight in the near future, Carwin has yet to offer comment on the matter.

7. Frank Mir (13-5)
Mir was set for a rematch with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 119 on Sept. 25. However, ongoing hip issues forced “Minotauro” out of the fight. Now, the MMA community will be treated to a different look in the main event, as Mir will take on Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic in the headliner in Indianapolis.

8. Alistair Overeem (33-11, 1 NC)
Fedor Emelianenko’s camp recently announced it wanted a bout with Overeem, Strikeforce’s heavyweight champion. Weirdly, it might be another Emelianenko that Overeem faces next, as his management is in talks with Polish promoter Stefa Walk to stage a fight with Fedor’s younger brother, Aleksander Emelianenko, on Nov. 18.

9. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-6-1, 1 NC)
Back in December 2008, Nogueira was beaten by Frank Mir in lopsided fashion. He was scheduled for a chance at redemption against Mir at UFC 119 on Sept. 25, until a hip injury struck, forcing “Minotauro” from the fight and onto the surgeon’s table.

10. Antonio Silva (14-2)
In wake of Fedor Emelianenko’s upset loss to Fabricio Werdum in June, Silva has quickly become the forgotten man in the Strikeforce heavyweight division. Silva -- a possible opponent for Emelianenko or heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem -- continues to call out the pair and Strikeforce itself in hopes of securing himself a bigger bout.

Other contenders: Andrei Arlovski, Josh Barnett, Roy Nelson, Brett Rogers, Ben Rothwell.