Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

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Middleweight

1. Anderson Silva (28-4)
It was Silva at his finest. In one of his most anticipated bouts to date, the UFC middleweight champion ducked, dodged and weaved around Vitor Belfort’s punches before slamming a front kick into his face that struck him down. The sensational first-round stoppage could potentially lead to the much-anticipated clash between Silva and welterweight king Georges St. Pierre, should GSP best Jake Shields in April.

2. Chael Sonnen (25-11-1)
Sonnen was expected to face Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 128 in March. However, the embattled middleweight took yet another hit after pleading guilty to federal charges of money laundering, forcing the UFC to put the freeze on Sonnen’s contract. It leaves the former middleweight title challenger out of competition for the near future.

3. Yushin Okami (26-5)
Such is life for Okami. After earning the most significant win of his career against Nate Marquardt in November, “Thunder” was seemingly next on deck for the winner of the UFC 126 match between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort. However, Silva’s remarkable performance has quickly accelerated talks of a super fight with Georges St. Pierre, putting Okami on the backburner again.

4. Nate Marquardt (30-10-2)
Marquardt’s three-year journey to earn another shot at middleweight ruler Anderson Silva hit another speed bump in Oberhausen, Germany, in November. For the better part of 15 minutes, Marquardt was outboxed and outwrestled by a surprisingly aggressive Yushin Okami, who took the unanimous nod and, with it, a potential UFC middleweight title shot. The defeat dropped Marquardt back into the rest of the population at 185 pounds. The former middleweight King of Pancrase will collide with Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 128 on March 19.

5. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (14-2, 1 NC)
In a great fight, Souza successfully defended his Strikeforce middleweight crown for the first time on Jan. 29, submitting Robbie Lawler in the third round. “Jacare” dominated on the ground but was badly hurt in the first round, battling back from the brink of defeat to notch the rear-naked choke win in the third stanza.

6. Demian Maia (14-2)
Just as he had done against Mario Miranda in August, Maia controlled Kendall Grove on the floor on Dec. 4 en route to earning a unanimous decision. Another thorough if not thrilling win for Maia continues to help erase the bitter memories of his April debacle with middleweight champion Anderson Silva in the United Arab Emirates.

7. Dan Henderson (26-8)
Henderson can barely be considered a middleweight at this point. Following his Dec. 4 crushing of Renato “Babalu” Sobral, “Hendo” will challenge Rafael Cavalcante for the Strikeforce light heavyweight belt on March 5 in Columbus, Ohio.

8. Jorge Santiago (23-8)
Sengoku’s middleweight champion has signed on for a second tour of duty with the UFC. Santiago expects to make his return to the Octagon at UFC 130 in May, when he will take the place of Wanderlei Silva and challenge Brian Stann in a fantastic middleweight affair.

9. Vitor Belfort (19-9)
Though many tabbed Belfort a live underdog heading into his Feb. 6 title challenge against Anderson Silva, it seems hard to imagine “The Phenom” not becoming synonymous with his brutal knockout loss to “The Spider” at UFC 126. The Brazilian fight community has already immortalized the knockout as “bicuda na fuca,” and it is sure to be a highlight reel staple for years to come.

10. Michael Bisping (21-3)
Bisping got the last laugh against antagonist Jorge Rivera on Feb. 27 when he stopped “El Conquistador” on second-round punches in their UFC 127 co-headliner. While the Brit’s postfight actions may not have won him scads of new fans, “The Count” proved himself definitively to be a better and more versatile fighter than Rivera. Where Bisping goes from here remains to be seen, but regardless, he remains a valuable commodity for the UFC’s international outings.

Other contenders: Alan Belcher, Mamed Khalidov, Robbie Lawler, Hector Lombard, Brian Stann

*Having been inactive for 365 days with no fight scheduled in the next 90 days, Wanderlei Silva has fallen from the middleweight contenders list.

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