Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Middleweight

1. Anderson Silva (25-4)
Silva was originally set to headline UFC 108 on Jan. 2, defending his middleweight crown against Vitor Belfort. However, the recovery of his enigmatic elbow injury, though reportedly ahead of schedule, will not allow him to fight on that date, postponing the Belfort bout until later in 2010.

2. Nate Marquardt (29-8-2)
As Dan Henderson's negotiations with Zuffa have decayed, the highly appealing Marquardt-Henderson bout has fallen by the wayside. Instead, Marquardt will meet another outstanding wrestler on Feb. 21 at UFC 110 in Sydney, Australia, when he takes on Chael Sonnen.

3. Dan Henderson (25-7)
With Zuffa not interested in paying Henderson the money he seeks, the former two-division Pride champion is now MMA's most prized free agent given his name value, aggressive style and two-division flexibility.

4. Demian Maia (11-1)
After his deflating loss to Nate Marquardt in August, Maia will return to action at UFC 109 on Feb. 6. In opposition, the BJJ world champion will find himself against another savvy grappler in former IFL champion Dan Miller.

5. Vitor Belfort (19-8)
Though "The Phenom" will still likely be the next man to bid for Anderson Silva's middleweight mantle, he'll have to wait a bit longer than expected. Silva's elbow injury will not be healed in time to allow for a Jan. 2 meeting between the two at UFC 108.

6. Chael Sonnen (24-10-1)
Quietly having knocked off a string of strong competitors, Sonnen has been granted his moment to prove he's a serious middleweight contender rather than an opportunistic wrestler. The Team Quest product is slated to take on Nate Marquardt in a bout with major UFC title implications on Feb. 21 at UFC 110.

7. Jake Shields (24-4-1)
Shields earned the vacant Strikeforce middleweight title by taking a workmanlike five-round unanimous decision over Jason "Mayhem" Miller on the promotion's Nov. 7 network television debut. With the likes of Cung Le, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, Matt Lindland and others filling into Strikeforce's middleweight division, Shields' road only gets tougher from here.

8. Yushin Okami (23-5)
The fervor for Okami to be granted a UFC middleweight title shot has likely died following the Japanese export's unanimous decision loss to Chael Sonnen at UFC 104. It'll be a long road back to acclaim for the polarizing Okami.

9. Mamed Khalidov (20-3-1)
In the biggest bout of his career, the starchild of Poland's MMA scene came through in the clutch by halting Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago in the first round. Unfortunately, the non-title status of the bout meant that Khalidov's breakthrough win didn't come with a title belt.

10. Jorge Santiago (21-8)
The slipper finally fell on Santiago's muscular 9-0 run with nine stoppages, as the Brazilian's shaky chin was again exposed by hot Polish prospect Mamed Khalidov on Nov. 7. Santiago's Sengoku middleweight title was not at stake in the bout, therefore complicating the promotion's middleweight scenario heading into New Year's Eve.

Other contenders: Yoshihiro Akiyama, Paulo Filho, Robbie Lawler, Dan Miller, Kazuo Misaki.

*With the entries of Jake Shields and Mamed Khalidov, previously ninth-ranked Robbie Lawler and 10th-ranked Yoshihiro Akiyama fall to the contenders list.