Although a middleweight title defense against Yushin Okami (Pictures) still seems likely for the early fall, Silva could begin a new chapter in his pound-for-pound dominance when he steps up to 205 pounds to meet James Irvin (Pictures) on the July 19 UFC card. More of "The Spider" is certainly a good thing.
After suffering with depression, drug dependency and rehab, the Brazilian fireplug will be back to rematch Chael Sonnen (Pictures) on Sept. 10, with his WEC middleweight title on the line. Filho beat Sonnen last December, escaping with the victory after a controversial armbar stoppage.
3. Rich Franklin (Pictures) (23-3-0, 1 NC)
Franklin put his second brutal loss to Silva behind him, overcoming some early adversity to put a beatdown on another former Silva challenger, Travis Lutter (Pictures) at UFC 83 in April. 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. Robbie Lawler (Pictures) (16-4-0, 1 NC)
On the biggest stage of his career, primetime network television, Lawler appeared on his way to victory in his May 31 fight-of-the-year candidate against Scott Smith, before an errant finger to the eye ended Smith's night and disappointingly rendered the bout a no contest. However, Smith and Lawler will settle their business at EliteXC's second event on CBS July 26. With Nathan Marquardt (Pictures)'s loss, Lawler rises one spot to number four.
5. Yushin Okami (Pictures) (22-4-0)
If Okami needed a dominant and decisive victory to really cement his place in the middleweight division, he 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 at UFC 82. Given the controversial history between the two, a rematch with Silva would seem to be the most sensible fight, though Okami will be hard-pressed to score a second win over the champ. Nonetheless, Okami benefits from Marquardt's loss, rising from sixth to fifth.
6. Frank Trigg (Pictures) (16-6-0)
After a bit of drama with Fighting and Entertainment Group and Dream, "Twinkle Toes" will head back to Japan, but he'll be stepping into the ring for World Victory Road and Sengoku. Trigg will square off with a presently undetermined opponent at Sengoku's next card on Aug. 24. For now, Trigg grabs the sixth spot in the rankings due to Marquardt's loss.
7. Thales Leites (Pictures) (13-1-0)
It certainly wasn't the prettiest win you'll ever see, but the Nova Uniao product showed his toughness and withstood some serious trials in his bout with Marquardt. With the aid of a couple point deductions, he took the split decision win - easily the biggest of his career. The upstart Brazilian debuts in these rankings at number seven.
8. Nathan Marquardt (Pictures) (26-8-2)
Amidst controversy, Marquardt dropped a split decision to Thales Leites (Pictures) after two point deductions sabotaged his chance at victory. The result figures to be a considerable setback to Marquardt's quest to get another crack at the UFC middleweight championship. With the tough loss, Marquardt tumbles from fourth to eighth in the Sherdog.com rankings.
9. Yoshihiro Akiyama (Pictures) (10-1-0, 2 NC)
After injury kept him out of the ongoing Dream middleweight tournament, Akiyama has confirmed that he'll be back in action for July 21's Dream offering in Osaka against a yet-to-be-named opponent. More importantly, with Dream's 185-pound tournament bracket producing excitement, some great matches may be on the horizon for one of MMA's premier villains. With Thales Leites (Pictures) joining the party in these rankings, Akiyama falls one spot from eighth to ninth.
10. Kazuo Misaki (Pictures) (20-8-2, 1 NC)
The ever-tough Misaki turned in another gritty performance against solid Minnesota product Logan Clark (Pictures) on June 8. Although Misaki suffered some damage to his left ankle that put him on crutches after the bout, it shouldn't require surgery and shouldn't prevent the "Grabaka Hitman" getting back into the ring this summer. With the introduction of Thales Leites (Pictures), Misaki falls from ninth to tenth.