Middleweight

MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION (185-pound limit)

1. Anderson Silva: 24-4-0
‘The Spider’ is arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the world. The only thing holding him out of most people’s top spot would be the recent lack of explosive performances. It’s not to say he hasn’t been dominant. Patrick Cote celebrated the fact that he made it to the third round against Silva, although he had produced little offense. His next opponent,  Thales Leites, was toyed with for five rounds. Next, Anderson will be moving back up to light heavyweight to take on former champion Forrest Griffin. A fight that will, all but, cement Anderson Silva’s legacy in the sport if he were to dominate a top contender in another division.

2. Dan Henderson: 25-7
It’s amazing when you look at the resume of Dan Henderson. Although he has seven losses on his record, he has as many victories over current and former champions as the rest of the top ten list combined. With a brutal, highligh treel, knockout over Michael Bisping at UFC 100, 'Hendo' had some semblance of revenge for an entire season of dealing with Bisping's cockiness on The Ultimate Fighter. With a rematch against Anderson Silva eluding him, Henderson has made his intentions clear; take a big fight light heavyweight, come back down to middleweight and take the belt. 

3. Nate Marquardt: 28-8-2
Nate ‘The Great’ edges Maia as the number three middleweight based slightly over his overall experience. Like Dan Henderson, it seems that Marquardt has fought almost every relevant name in the division at one point or another. 3-1 since losing in his first UFC title bid, Nate's only loss came to Leites, in a fight where Nate lost points for fouls and would lose a split decision. Marquardt's convincing win over Wilson Gouveia earned him a shot at Demian Maia for the number-one contedner's slot.

4. Demian Maia: 10-0-0 
Maia has gone undefeated, and as the competition gets tougher, Maia seems to be getting better. His victories over Chael Sonnen and Nate Quarry were as impressive displays of submission technique as any we’ve seen in the sport. The black belt plans to get passed Nate Marquardt in his next bout, in hopes of earning a title shot against Anderson 'The Spider' Silva.

5. Jorge Santiago:  21-7-0
It wasn’t long ago that Jorge Santiago, loaded with potential, left the UFC roster with only a 12-7 career record. Since then he has reeled off nine consecutive wins over some pretty impressive names. Names such as Jeremy Horn, Andrei Semenov, Sean Salmon, Kazuhiro Nakamura, and Kazuo Misaki. Even more impressive is that Santiago has finished all nine. Always exciting, and ever-improving, the American Top Team product is possibly the most underrated fighter in the sport today.

6. Yushin Okami: 23-4
He might not be underrated, but Yushin Okami is certainly underappreciated. His style doesn’t win over many promoters or fans, but you cannot argue with the results. ‘Thunder’ has lost only twice in the last four years, both being razor thin decisions to the likes of Jake Shields and Rich Franklin. Okami's problem isn't the close losses, but the close wins by decision.  Never an exciting fighter, Okami is as solid as they come. A win, decision or not, in his next bout should start Okami moving back towards the top of the middleweight rankings where he was prior to his recent injury issues.

7. Vitor Belfort: [Free Agent] 18-8
He’s Back! And it’s a great feeling. Having the ‘The Phenom’ climbing back toward the top of the rankings recalls the images of his early career when he was blowing through his opponents with speed and power. His recent success has seen him knock out Matt Lindland, a long time top ten fighter, and Terry Martin. Along with Henderson, Belfort is a fighter that seems to only fight the very best fighters available. Thus, the eight losses do not scream as loudly as his 18 victories.

8. Thales Leites: 14-2
This Jui-Jitsu ace recently lost his title match with Anderson Silva and looked scared on his feet.  Leites needs to go back and tinker with his game a bit.  His ground game is one of the best around and he's made great steps in improving his striking and defense. However, he needs to make more.  We can see him moving up and down in the rankings depending on who he fights.  Leites possesses an enormous amount of ability. The harnessing of that will be the trick as he moves forward ahainst Alessio Sakara at UFC 101.

9. Chael Sonnen: 23-10-1
Sonnen makes the list because of the lack of consistency of the rest of the top middleweights. With Lawler’s recent loss, Paulo Filho’s struggles, Misaki’s ups and downs, among other fighters, Chael earned his spot on this list with his wire to wire domination over highly regarded Dan Miller. Although he lost to Maia, Maia’s rise helps Sonnen as much as any recent victory. There are several contenders that could also take this position with an impressive performance in their next fights.

10. Jake Shields:  23-4-1
Not a natural middleweight, Shields has two victories over top middleweight contenders. He defeated Yushin Okami in 2006, and recently submitted Robbie Lawler in just over two minutes. Shields may be making a living at this weight for the next few fights as the welterweight division is thin on depth outside of UFC. The potential for Shields in this weight class is high considering his performances of late. Shields has also fought to a draw against on-agin off-again middleweight top ten, Kazou Misaki.

One To Watch: Yoshihiro Akiyama:  13-1
Akiyama has an impressive resume of wins, defeating top stars Denis Kang and Melvin Manhoef. He has a great combination of power and speed. His UFC debut voctory over Alan Belcher, while not flawless, answered many questions about just whether or not he could handle the step up in competition. With another big win in the ever changing UFC middleweight division, he could easily break into the top ten.

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Posted at 02-28-2009