Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings
Middleweight
Apr 23, 2008
MIDDLEWEIGHT (185-170)
1. Anderson Silva (21-4)
Another one up, another one down. MMA's middleweight king solidified his top pound-for-pound status with his destructive second-round submission over Dan Henderson (Pictures) in March. While talk of a boxing match with Roy Jones Jr. may not be realistic, Silva's reign has been spectacular thus far. And like Jones' reign as king of the ring, many fans are left wondering who can beat "The Spider."
2. Paulo
Filho (Pictures) (16-0-0)
His on-again, off-again rematch with Chael Sonnen (Pictures) was officially moved to June, following Filho's admission into rehab for substance abuse. Here's to a speedy recovery for the potent Brazilian, who reportedly suffered from depression as well.
3. Rich Franklin (Pictures) (23-3-0, 1 NC)
Franklin put his second brutal loss to Anderson Silva behind him, overcoming some early adversity to put a beatdown on another former Silva challenger, Travis Lutter (Pictures). With that second-round stoppage in the books, it's unclear what Franklin's next move at middleweight will be. But in the wide-open division, there is still a multitude of interesting fights for "Ace."
With a dominant drubbing of Jeremy Horn (Pictures) now behind him, Marquardt will set his sights on once-beaten Brazilian Thales Leites (Pictures) in a June bout that has twice been postponed. If Marquardt wants to prove he deserves another crack at the UFC title after getting blown out by Anderson Silva in July, he'll need an impressive victory.
5. Robbie Lawler (Pictures) (16-4-0)
Looking to put recent injury woes behind him, Lawler will gear up for what will likely be the biggest fight of his career when he defends his EliteXC middleweight title against fellow heavy-handed 185-pounder Scott Smith. The bout is set for the main card of EliteXC's May 31 event on CBS.
6. Yushin Okami (Pictures) (22-4-0)
If Okami needed a dominant and decisive victory to really cement his place in the middleweight division, he's got it. Japan's best plus-155 product crashed former UFC champ Evan Tanner (Pictures)'s homecoming party with a nasty second-round knockout in March. Given the controversial history between the two, a rematch with Anderson Silva would seem to be the most sensible fight, though Okami will be hard-pressed to score a second win over the champ.
7. Frank Trigg (Pictures) (16-6-0)
In what looked like a highly compelling affair, Dream announced that Trigg would meet grappling god turned MMA prospect Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza in the opening round of its middleweight tournament on April 29. However, Trigg said that he had not agreed to the fight and didn't even have a visa. Oops.
8. Yoshihiro Akiyama (Pictures) (10-1-0, 2 NC)
Ever the source of controversy and quagmires, Akiyama's participation in Dream's middleweight tournament was seemingly nixed when he announced this week he has a broken nose that will take three weeks to heal. It's almost amazing to think of what might happen to Akiyama next.
9. Kazuo Misaki (Pictures) (19-8-2, 1 NC)
Misaki put the Akiyama fiasco behind him with a solid victory over Shooto world champ Siyar Bahadurzada (Pictures) at the debut Sengoku card. What's next for Misaki isn't certain, but he figures to have options with deals in hand with both Sengoku and Strikeforce stateside.
10. Jorge Santiago (Pictures) (16-7-0)
After winning Strikeforce's one-night tournament in November, it was uncertain what would be next for the Brazilian veteran. Santiago has since signed on to face Yuki Sasaki (Pictures) on World Victory Road's May Sengoku card. The two were originally set to square off in the first round of the Strikeforce tournament before failed pre-fight medicals forced Sasaki from the bracket.
1. Anderson Silva (21-4)
Another one up, another one down. MMA's middleweight king solidified his top pound-for-pound status with his destructive second-round submission over Dan Henderson (Pictures) in March. While talk of a boxing match with Roy Jones Jr. may not be realistic, Silva's reign has been spectacular thus far. And like Jones' reign as king of the ring, many fans are left wondering who can beat "The Spider."
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His on-again, off-again rematch with Chael Sonnen (Pictures) was officially moved to June, following Filho's admission into rehab for substance abuse. Here's to a speedy recovery for the potent Brazilian, who reportedly suffered from depression as well.
3. Rich Franklin (Pictures) (23-3-0, 1 NC)
Franklin put his second brutal loss to Anderson Silva behind him, overcoming some early adversity to put a beatdown on another former Silva challenger, Travis Lutter (Pictures). With that second-round stoppage in the books, it's unclear what Franklin's next move at middleweight will be. But in the wide-open division, there is still a multitude of interesting fights for "Ace."
4. Nathan Marquardt (Pictures) (26-7-2)
With a dominant drubbing of Jeremy Horn (Pictures) now behind him, Marquardt will set his sights on once-beaten Brazilian Thales Leites (Pictures) in a June bout that has twice been postponed. If Marquardt wants to prove he deserves another crack at the UFC title after getting blown out by Anderson Silva in July, he'll need an impressive victory.
5. Robbie Lawler (Pictures) (16-4-0)
Looking to put recent injury woes behind him, Lawler will gear up for what will likely be the biggest fight of his career when he defends his EliteXC middleweight title against fellow heavy-handed 185-pounder Scott Smith. The bout is set for the main card of EliteXC's May 31 event on CBS.
6. Yushin Okami (Pictures) (22-4-0)
If Okami needed a dominant and decisive victory to really cement his place in the middleweight division, he's got it. Japan's best plus-155 product crashed former UFC champ Evan Tanner (Pictures)'s homecoming party with a nasty second-round knockout in March. Given the controversial history between the two, a rematch with Anderson Silva would seem to be the most sensible fight, though Okami will be hard-pressed to score a second win over the champ.
7. Frank Trigg (Pictures) (16-6-0)
In what looked like a highly compelling affair, Dream announced that Trigg would meet grappling god turned MMA prospect Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza in the opening round of its middleweight tournament on April 29. However, Trigg said that he had not agreed to the fight and didn't even have a visa. Oops.
8. Yoshihiro Akiyama (Pictures) (10-1-0, 2 NC)
Ever the source of controversy and quagmires, Akiyama's participation in Dream's middleweight tournament was seemingly nixed when he announced this week he has a broken nose that will take three weeks to heal. It's almost amazing to think of what might happen to Akiyama next.
9. Kazuo Misaki (Pictures) (19-8-2, 1 NC)
Misaki put the Akiyama fiasco behind him with a solid victory over Shooto world champ Siyar Bahadurzada (Pictures) at the debut Sengoku card. What's next for Misaki isn't certain, but he figures to have options with deals in hand with both Sengoku and Strikeforce stateside.
10. Jorge Santiago (Pictures) (16-7-0)
After winning Strikeforce's one-night tournament in November, it was uncertain what would be next for the Brazilian veteran. Santiago has since signed on to face Yuki Sasaki (Pictures) on World Victory Road's May Sengoku card. The two were originally set to square off in the first round of the Strikeforce tournament before failed pre-fight medicals forced Sasaki from the bracket.
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