Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Heavyweight

1. Fedor Emelianenko (29-1, 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, though, as he should have another blockbuster heavyweight bout this summer against Josh Barnett.

2. Andrei Arlovski (14-6)
For three minutes, Arlovski was better than ever while peppering the sport's heavyweight king, Fedor Emelianenko, from range. Then, one cruel flying knee attempt later, Arlovski was face down, out cold on the mat -- a brutal punctuation mark put on what began as Arlovski'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 finest. However, the victory, coupled with the triumph of Fedor Emelianenko, should set up a high-stakes heavyweight marquee 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 that fans had long hoped for 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 WWE 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 Antonio Rodrigo 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 former 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 "Napao" Gonzaga on March 7. The victory gave the touted heavyweight prospect his 11th stoppage win in as many fights.

10. Alistair Overeem (29-11, 1 NC)
Continuing his kickboxing odyssey, Overeem at least drew critical praise on March 28 when he rag-rolled three-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion Remy Bonjasky before a late knockdown cost him a razor-thin decision.

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

*With the entry of Shane Carwin and a lack of activity against top competition, formerly ninth-ranked Ben Rothwell falls out of the top 10.