Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

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Heavyweight

1. Cain Velasquez (13-1)

While Velasquez has not lost a bout inside the Octagon since 2011, injuries continue to get the better of the undisputed heavyweight champion outside the cage. Already out of action for one year, the American Kickboxing Academy star was forced to bow out of his Nov. 15 meeting with rival “The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America” coach Fabricio Werdum after suffering a knee injury in training. Velasquez underwent surgery on his right knee and will look to unify his belt with that of interim champion Werdum at UFC 188 in June.

2. Junior dos Santos (17-3)

Dos Santos continues to beat every UFC heavyweight not named Cain Velasquez. “Cigano” did not have an easy time on Dec. 13, but the Brazilian weathered an early assault from Stipe Miocic and came on strong in the latter frames of their five-round affair to earn a unanimous decision. While another title shot remains out of reach for the time being, dos Santos’ well-honed boxing and seemingly unbreakable chin make him a tough matchup for any man in the division.

3. Fabricio Werdum (19-5-1)

It was not the belt for which he hoped, but Werdum nonetheless captured Ultimate Fighting Championship gold at UFC 180. Faced with hard-hitting late replacement Mark Hunt, the Brazilian fought cautiously until midway through the second round, where he leveled Hunt with a knee and punches to claim the interim heavyweight title. Now unbeaten in five appearances since returning to the UFC, Werdum will attempt to unify the titles when champion Cain Velasquez returns from the sidelines at UFC 188 in June.

4. Travis Browne (17-2-1)

Browne rebounded from his April loss to Fabricio Werdum by blasting Brendan Schaub with a first-round uppercut and follow-up punches at UFC 181 -- a win “Hapa” credited to new coach Edmond Tarverdyan. The Hawaiian has scored knockouts in four of his last five bouts, none of which have left the first round. Browne will meet the resurgent Andrei Arlovski at UFC 187 on May 23.

5. Stipe Miocic (13-2)

Miocic was utterly dominant in his victory over Mark Hunt on May 10, mauling the famously durable kickboxer with ground-and-pound for the better part of five rounds before finally earning an overdue referee stoppage. The win saw the Ohioan rebound from a grueling December loss against Junior dos Santos. Now 7-2 inside the Octagon, Miocic continues to inch closer to title contention.

6. Mark Hunt (10-10-1)

Hunt suffered the worst beating of his career at the hands of Stipe Miocic, who disfigured “The Super Samoan” with hard strikes on the feet and the floor in front of an Australian crowd on May 10. The 41-year-old rarely looked competitive in his second consecutive defeat, which came six months after he failed to capture the UFC interim heavyweight belt in a knockout loss to Fabricio Werdum.

7. Andrei Arlovski (23-10, 1 NC)

After barely edging Brendan Schaub in a June split decision, few expected Arlovski to excel against Antonio Silva, a man to whom he had already lost in 2010. The former UFC heavyweight champ proved the oddsmakers wrong by rendering “Bigfoot” unconscious with a violent barrage of punches on Sept. 13, marking Arlovski’s first four-fight winning streak since 2008. The Belarusian will tangle with Travis Browne at UFC 187 in May.

8. Matt Mitrione (9-3)

Mitrione’s 2014 campaign was a violent one which included first-round knockouts of Gabriel Gonzaga, Shawn Jordan and Derrick Lewis. “Meathead” will look to kick off 2015 in the same fashion when he runs up against fellow heavy hitter Ben Rothwell on June 6 in New Orleans.

9. Ben Rothwell (34-9)

Rothwell is no longer the active fighter he once was -- “Big Ben” has competed just seven times since joining the UFC in 2009 -- but when he gets inside the cage, he makes it count. Coming off of back-to-back knockouts of Alistair Overeem and Brandon Vera, Rothwell will attempt to inch further up the heavyweight rankings when he faces Matt Mitrione on June 6 in New Orleans.

10. Alistair Overeem (39-14, 1 NC)

Overeem had an up-and-down 2014, a loss to Ben Rothwell sandwiched between wins over Frank Mir and Stefan Struve. The powerful Dutchman got his 2015 campaign off to a good start on March 14 with a sterling three-round performance against Roy Nelson in which he outstruck “Big Country” nearly three to one. His victory against Nelson put Overeem on the first winning streak of his UFC career.

Other Contenders: Mirko Filipovic, Frank Mir, Alexey Oleinik, Stephan Puetz, Antonio Silva.

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