Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

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MMA’s eight kings remain intact, but the last four weeks have given rise to considerable shake-up.

Anderson Silva’s brilliant standing punt of Vitor Belfort in their UFC middleweight title matchup at UFC 126 on Feb. 6 firmly reiterated the hold “The Spider” has on the middleweight division, amidst questions of waning prime and ambition. However, that is not to say 185 pounds has been without some reshaping.

One of Silva’s regular training partners at X-Gym, Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo Souza, retained his title in his first defense against Robbie Lawler on Jan. 29. The performance was one that places “Jacare” alongside the middleweight elite, as he showed all the world-class ground ability that made him a coveted prospect and the toughness to overcome the early knockdown and damage that “Ruthless” was able to deliver.

Flux continued at 205 pounds, as blue-chipper Jon Jones carved out the most significant win of his career against Ryan Bader at UFC 126, moving up in the light heavyweight world and securing a UFC title shot on March 19 against Mauricio Rua.

Meanwhile, at 155 pounds, touted up-and-comer Evan Dunham suffered a setback on Jan. 22, falling to hard-charging Melvin Guillard in the first round, again reminding us of the competitive shark tank that is the lightweight division.

However, no change has been as prominent as that at 145 pounds. While former champion Mike Thomas Brown fell twice in three weeks -- first to Diego Nunes on Jan. 1 and then to Rani Yahya on Jan. 22, both by split decision -- unbeaten Team Alpha Male product Chad Mendes joined the ranks of the top featherweights with a fantastic Feb. 6 showing against Japanese standout Michihiro Omigawa, dominating the Yoshida Dojo product for 15 minutes.

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