Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Middleweight

1. Anderson Silva (23-4)
“The Spider” will headline the April 18 UFC 97 in Montreal against fellow Brazilian Thales Leites. The bout will mark Silva’s fifth UFC middleweight title defense.

2. Yushin Okami (23-4)
Getting a title shot in the UFC certainly hasn't come easy for Okami. The next hurdle for the Japanese stalwart to clear is former IFL champ Dan Miller, whom Okami will meet at UFC 98 on May 23.

3. Gegard Mousasi (24-2-1)
It may not have been an MMA bout, but the 23-year-old Mousasi destroyed respected K-1 veteran Musashi at K-1 “Premium 2008 Dynamite.” The fight brilliantly displayed why the Dutch-bred, Armenian-born Mousasi is one of the sport's most enthralling young fighters.

4. Nate Marquardt (28-8-2)
In a must-win bout against Wilson Gouveia at UFC 95, Marquardt came through with an explosive third-round stoppage. The victory was yet another step closer to a rematch with Anderson Silva.

5. Robbie Lawler (16-4, 1 NC)
EliteXC's middleweight champion will look to pick up where he left off when his former employer closed up shop. "Ruthless" takes on fellow former EliteXC champ Jake Shields in the headliner of Strikeforce's June 6 bill on Showtime.

6. Dan Henderson (24-7)
It was not without a bit of a brouhaha, but Henderson earned a split decision over Rich Franklin at UFC 93 in Dublin, Ireland, on Jan. 17. Now the former two-division Pride champ has earned a lengthy promotional vehicle coaching against Michael Bisping on the ninth season of “The Ultimate Fighter” as well as the season's larger payoff: a marquee bout against "The Count."

7. Demian Maia (10-0)
Another fight, another victory and another "Submission of the Night" bonus for Maia. The BJJ king easily polished off Chael Sonnen in the first round of their Feb. 21 encounter. Now Maia is said to be waiting in the wings for the winner of the April 18 meeting between Anderson Silva and Thales Leites.

8. Jorge Santiago (21-7)
Flunking out of the UFC is now a distant memory for Santiago. The American Top Team product has ripped off nine straight victories, all stoppages, including two tournament victories. With his Jan. 4 come-from-behind choke-out of Kazuo Misaki, he captured Sengoku’s middleweight title.

9. Thales Leites (14-1)
Luck smiled upon Leites, as the Nova Uniao product is the winner in the Anderson Silva sweepstakes. The gifted grappler will challenge “The Spider” for his middleweight title at UFC 97 on April 18 in Montreal.

10. Vitor Belfort (18-8)
While the MMA world has grown skeptical of the multiple "returns" of Belfort, "The Phenom" has been sensational as a middleweight thus far. He polished off Terry Martin in July before brutally dispatching the well-regarded Matt Lindland in a mere 37 seconds on Jan. 24 to stake his claim in the division.

Other contenders: Yoshihiro Akiyama, Patrick Cote, Dan Miller, Frank Trigg, Chael Sonnen.