Consensus Rankings:   Official  |  Member Designed  |  This Ranking Updated 12 years, 8 months ago  |  All By minotauro11

1. 1

   

   Anderson Silva

   "The Spider"

   34-11-0, 1 NC

   I just rewatched his fight with Vitor Belfort. He is ******* incredible. Absolutely amazing. His head movement, his speed, his punches, kicks, it's amazing. He's has new moves every time he fights, it's just incredible.
   

2. 2

   

   Yushin Okami

   "Thunder"

   38-15-0

   Okami has looked unbeatable since his loss to Chael, because he was smart and went to train with Chael at Team Quest after losing to him. More fighters should learn from this and start correcting their downfalls. Okami presents an interesting threat to Silva because he has solid striking, great wrestling, and submission defense. His fight against Silva is a true number one vs. number two fight.
   

3. 3

   

   Chael Sonnen

   30-17-1

   Sonned looked better than anyone (in the ufc) against Silva. His wrestling is superb, but his Jiu-jitsu is non-existent. He is behind Maia because Maia beat him, and it is hard to debate that he wouldn't do it again. Chael's run at another title shot has to be put on hold unfortunately, because of embezzlement charges.
   

4. 4

   

   Ronaldo Souza

   "Jacaré"

   26-10-0, 1 NC

   Jacare may have the best Jiu-jitsu in MMA, and his striking has improved consistently. After surviving an early scare against Lawler, Souza rallied and dominated on the floor, proving his place as the best middleweight outside of UFC.
   

5. 5

   

   Vitor Belfort

   "The Phenom"

   26-14-0, 1 NC

   Vitor is a very good striker, but wasn't on Anderson's level, and was on the receiving end of one of the greatest KO's of all time. A win against Sexyama may regain him his spot in the top 5.
   

6. 6

   

   Mark Muñoz

   "The Filipino Wrecking Machine"

   14-6-0

   Looked good, not great against Maia, he needs to improve his technique on the feet.
   

7. 7

   

   Demian Maia

   28-11-0

   Although I think Maia deserved the win over Munoz, losing to someone outside of the top 10 will lose you the number two spot. He looked damn good on the feet though, and now that he isn't so one dimensional he'll be an even bigger threat. He should drop to WW though, where he'd be unstoppable.
   

8. 8

   

   Rousimar Palhares

   "Toquinho"

   19-13-1

   Submitting a black belt in Dave Branch was enough to convince me he deserves a higher spot than Bisping. That was a great performance and he has the skills to beat anyone in the middleweight division.
   

9. 9

   

   Michael Bisping

   "The Count"

   30-9-0

   Bisping has solid kickboxing and takedown defense, but that wont save him from the higher lever grapplers, strikers, or his achilles heel, wrestle-boxers. Unfortunately for him, Bisping has an unfortunate combination of no power and a weak jaw. He has been fed favorable competition to open up foreign markets, but he won't ever be able to ever take the title due to his shallow game, unless he makes big improvements.
   

10. 10

    

    Brian Stann

    "All American"

    12-6-0

    Stann's last two performances speak for themselves.
    

11+

11. 11

    

    Chris Leben

    "The Crippler"  |  21-12-0

    If he loses to Wand his days as a legitimate contender are over. I'm excited to see how he does.
    

12. 12

    

    Hector Lombard

    "Showeather"  |  34-10-1, 3 NC

    Lombard looked unstoppable in fights with Jay Silva and Whisper Goodman, but he didn't look spectacular in the later rounds of the Schlemenko fight. I don't like to critique fighters on their performances if they still win, specifically if it is as dominant as that fight was, so he will not move down, but he needs a better win over a more quality opponent to move up, or to keep his spot and avoid being passed up. Bjorn Rebney has talked about trying to set up Lombard vs Jacare, which is a great match, and could show who the best middleweight outside of the ufc is.
    

13. 13

    

    Jason Miller

    "Mayhem"  |  24-10-0, 1 NC

    Mayhem has been looking good recently, he has put together a solid string of wins. If he's fighting Tim Kennedy, that will be a big test for him. Kennedy presents problems for Mayhem, and the winner of that fight certainly deserves a title shot.
    

14. 14

    

    Jorge Santiago

    "The Sandman"  |  26-12-0

    Santiago could have a great future in MMA, but power punchers will always give him trouble if he doesn't improve his defense. He is very hittable and his worst asset as a fighter is his chin. He does have great skill everywhere else though, and I hope him the best.
    

15. 15

    

    Yoshihiro Akiyama

    "Sexyama"  |  16-7-0, 2 NC

    Sexyama is constantly being thrown to the wolves, after his loss to late replacement Leben, it was clear he needed a step down in competition. The UFC didn't give it to him, instead they gave him Bisping. After getting battered by Bisping, they are giving him Nate Marquardt, another step up in competition. Akiyama needs to work on his terrible cardio problems if he wants a chance for a win, and to keep his job in the UFC.
    

16. 16

    

    Maiquel Falcão

    "Big Rig"  |  40-20-0, 1 NC

    It's sad that he got released by the UFC, but now he's signed with Colloseo Fighting, where Pride rules are used. I feel bad for the poor guy who has to fight Falcao when stomps and soccerkicks are legal.
    

17. 17

    

    Wanderlei Silva

    "The Axe Murderer"  |  35-14-1, 1 NC

18. 18

    

    Tim Kennedy

    18-6-0

    Kennedy doesn't really change rank for beating Manhoef.
    

19. 19

    

    Alan Belcher

    "The Talent"  |  18-8-0

    Belcher is a good striker, with solid jiu-jitsu. Hopefully he recovers from the eye injury and comes back strong.
    

20. 20

    

    Robbie Lawler

    "Ruthless"  |  30-16-0, 1 NC

    Robbie Lawler looked good against Lindland. He has a very tough fight coming up against BJJ ace Jacare for the SF MW belt. He also has a great beard.
    

21. 21

    

    Ed Herman

    "Short Fuse"  |  24-16-0, 1 NC

22. 22

    

    Tom Lawlor

    "Filthy"  |  11-8-0, 1 NC

    Lawler's biggest problem has always been his cardio. It looks like he has fixed this problem, coming off a 3 round decision win over Patrick Cote.
    

23. 23

    

    Court McGee

    "The Crusher"  |  21-13-0

    Court won the Ultimate Fighter, but it was probably the weakest cast the season has ever seen. He is still improving though, and he showed his heart and skill with a recent win over Ryan Jensen.
    

24. 24

    

    Kyle Noke

    "KO"  |  22-10-1

    After his domination of Camozzi, he will hopefully start fighting some top 25 guys.