Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Heavyweight

1. Fedor Emelianenko (28-1-0, 1 NC)
Between hand injuries and teases of possibly competing on New Year's Eve in Japan, the next step for MMA's top heavyweight is, as usual, not etched in stone. However, a return for Emelianenko is likely in January, as Affliction looks to kick off its co-promotional relationship with boxing powerhouse Golden Boy Promotions.

2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1, 1 NC)
Although the TUF 8 coach is still locked into a bout with former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir later this year, the future for Nogueira has gotten more interesting with the return of Randy Couture to the mix. Now, should Nogueira defend his interim version of the UFC heavyweight crown, 2009 will see "Minotauro" take on either Couture or Brock Lesnar in a high-stakes heavyweight affair.

3. Andrei Arlovski (14-5-0)
Sliding into primetime on short notice, the "Pitbull" parlayed his recent work with renowned boxing trainer Freddie Roach into a second-round sniping of a high-quality heavyweight in Roy Nelson. With his Affliction association, the former UFC champion may have a bout with heavyweight king Fedor Emelianenko to look forward to, especially with Josh Barnett no longer a shoo-in to face Emelianenko in January.

4. Josh Barnett (23-5-0)
Back into the heavyweight mix in a serious way, Barnett has teased that he may compete on Sengoku's Nov. 1 card. However, his management has publicly nixed hopes of him facing Fedor Emelianenko in January as the headliner for Affliction's co-promotion with Golden Boy Promotions.

5. Tim Sylvia (24-5-0)
In the biggest fight of his career, Tim Sylvia was summarily smashed by Fedor Emelianenko in a humbling 36 seconds. Although his missteps have come against the top heavyweights in the world, Sylvia has lost three of his last four and he is a year removed from his last win in a suddenly active heavyweight division.

6. Fabricio Werdum (11-3-1)
Werdum will meet fellow Brazilian Junior "Cigano" dos Santos on Oct. 25 in Chicago at UFC 90. Unfortunately, the real story for the BJJ standout is the difficult UFC heavyweight title picture, which may lead to Werdum taking another tune-up fight after the Santos fight as he awaits a title opportunity.

7. Gabriel Gonzaga (9-3-0)
Gonzaga took an easy two-minute submission win over Justin McCully in July with little surprise. "Napao" figures to be a heavy favorite again in his slated November bout at UFC 91 against Midwesterner Josh Hendricks.

8. Mirko Filipovic (23-6-2, 1 NC)
He didn't take a loss in his Sept. 23 meeting with Alistair Overeem, but what "Cro Cop" did take in the fight may have been just as painful. In addition to being completely dominated for the abbreviated bout, and taking a nasty series of knees to groin, Filipovic looked like a shell of the fighter who had torn through Pride's open-weight grand prix just two years ago.

9. Ben Rothwell (29-6-0)
Rothwell validated himself with a gutsy performance against Andrei Arlovski. He was looking to get back into the ring against Pedro Rizzo on Affliction's slated Oct. 11 follow-up card, but the postponement of the event left him in the lurch temporarily. The Miletich product may still meet Rizzo on the rescheduled January Affliction bill.

10. Alistair Overeem (28-11-0, 1 NC)
Overeem was dominating the early going of his bout with Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, but he didn't get the chance to seize victory due to his errant knees ending the bout prematurely. The Dutchman is still amidst one of his hot streaks, though, and may find another highlight reel to add to it Nov. 9 if a bout with Gary Goodridge comes to fruition in his native Netherlands.