Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Heavyweight
1. Fedor Emelianenko (30-1, 1 NC)
Unfortunately for Emelianenko, his scheduled Aug. 1 bout with Josh Barnett and Affliction’s third show were scrapped after Barnett tested positive for steroids in a pre-fight licensing test. Fortunately for Emelianenko, his brand new deal with Strikeforce will allow him to get back in the ring this fall.

2. Brock Lesnar (4-1)
In just five fights, Lesnar now owns the undisputed UFC heavyweight crown and sports stoppages over the likes of Frank Mir and Randy Couture. However, despite his overwhelming performance against Mir at UFC 100, Lesnar’s post-fight professional wrestling theatrics seem to have overshadowed his victory.

3. Josh Barnett (24-5)
Barnett had the chance to vie for the sport’s heavyweight mantle in his slated Aug. 1 bout with Emelianenko. Instead, another positive steroids test for Barnett destroyed the matchup, put the final nail in the coffin of Affliction’s promotional wing and marred the former UFC champion’s career.

4. Frank Mir (12-4)
Mir was in his best shape in years for his rematch with Lesnar at UFC 100. However, it was not enough for him to duplicate his first-round submission win from February 2008, as Lesnar brutally pounded him out in the second stanza.

5. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-5-1, 1 NC)
Whether it will wind up being the fight for which fans had long hoped remains to be seen, but two of the sport’s most enduring icons will square off at UFC 102 on Aug. 29 when Nogueira finally meets up with Randy Couture.

6. Randy Couture (16-9)
His bout with Nogueira is long overdue. Hopefully, when “The Natural” and “Minotauro” square off at UFC 102 on Aug. 29, the clash of heavyweight legends will not prove past its expiration date.

7. Brett Rogers (10-0)
After his blistering 22-second knockout of Andrei Arlovski, Rogers was expected to be fast-tracked to a Strikeforce title shot against champion Alistair Overeem. Instead, the unbeaten prospect will continue honing his craft on Strikeforce’s October offering against a yet-to-be-named opponent.

8. Andrei Arlovski (15-7)
Despite having knocked off the likes of Fabricio Werdum, Ben Rothwell and Roy Nelson in the recent past, those accomplishments now seem like distant memories for Arlovski. “The Pitbull” has been brutally smashed in his last two outings against Emelianenko and Rogers, and conversation now centers on the fragile chin that has betrayed him again.

9. Shane Carwin (11-0)
Carwin will be back in action at UFC 104 on Oct. 24, when he will find opposition in fellow unbeaten heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez in a bout rich with risk and reward for both up-and-coming fighters.

10. Alistair Overeem (29-11, 1 NC)
The wait for Overeem’s first Strikeforce heavyweight title defense continues. The hand injury the Dutchman sustained in a nightclub dustup in Holland earlier this year has continued to plague him, postponing his return to Strikeforce yet again.

Other contenders: Junior dos Santos, Aleksander Emelianenko, Jeff Monson, Ben Rothwell, Fabricio Werdum.