Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

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Vitor Belfort keeps his place as No. 5 middleweight in this edition of the Sherdog.com divisional rankings thanks to a decisive victory in his rubber match with Dan Henderson.

The 38-year-old “Phenom” was in need of a win after a failed May title bid against Chris Weidman and months of speculation over whether Belfort could still contend without the help of testosterone replacement therapy. He got exactly that on Nov. 7, when Belfort used a left high kick to the head and vicious follow-up punches to knock out Henderson before a partisan crowd at UFC Fight Night in Sao Paulo. While a victory over an unranked and similarly TRT-free “Hendo” may not immediately put Belfort back in the title picture, the vintage performance should get him another big fight in short order.

The show’s co-main event saw light heavyweight Glover Teixeira take another step toward contention by punching out Patrick Cummins in the second frame. Teixeira keeps his No. 7 ranking, while undercard 205er Corey Anderson earns a spot on the list of contenders thanks to his lopsided decision win against Fabio Maldonado.

The bottom part of the featherweight top 10 was shaken up at Bellator 145, where Daniel Straus reclaimed his title from Patricio Freire with a gritty five-round win. Straus takes his place on the list of contenders, while formerly ninth-ranked “Pitbull” drops out of the rankings. That leaves room for Hacran Dias to move up one place to No. 9, while Jeremy Stephens enters the ranks at No. 10. UFC featherweight Chas Skelly, who tapped Edimilson Souza in Sao Paulo, takes the place of Daniel Weichel on the contenders list.

White-hot bantamweight prospect Thomas Almeida cracks the top 10 in this update, jumping in at No. 8 thanks to a highlight-reel knockout of Anthony Birchak. Also at 135 pounds, Jimmie Rivera’s hard-fought decision over Pedro Munhoz earns the streaking New Jersey native a spot on the list of contenders, where he replaces former Bellator ace Joe Warren.

In other action: Bellator lightweight king Will Brooks holds on to his No. 6 ranking after besting challenger Marcin Held across 25 minutes; Gleison Tibau takes Shinya Aoki’s spot on the list of 155 contenders; and newly crowned Bellator middleweight champ Rafael Carvalho takes the place of ex-titlist Brandon Halsey on the bubble.

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