Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Middleweight

1. Anderson Silva (27-4)
Following one of the most rousing comebacks in MMA history, Silva will get the chance to prove that his Aug. 7 fifth-round submission triumph over Chael Sonnen was no fluke. As soon as Silva’s injured ribs heal, “The Spider” will face a rematch with Sonnen, likely in early 2011, in his next title defense.

2. Chael Sonnen (24-11-1)
Owing to both the bombastic hype he created for it and the shockingly effective performance he turned in during his first encounter with Anderson Silva, Sonnen will be afforded another title fight with “The Spider.” Sonnen-Silva 2 figures to be on tap for early next year.

3. Jake Shields (25-4-1)
After the expiration of his Strikeforce contract, the Octagon was the obvious next step for Shields. The two-division stalwart will make his UFC debut at 170 pounds, as Shields drops back to welterweight to challenge tough Dane Martin Kampmann at UFC 121 on Oct. 23.

4. Nate Marquardt (29-9-2)
Marquardt expected to face powerful Brazilian grappler Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares on Aug. 28, when the UFC rolled into Boston for UFC 118. However, the dissolution of a bout between Demian Maia and Alan Belcher slated to main event UFC Fight Night 22 on Sept. 15 in Austin, Texas, prompted the relocation of the Marquardt-Palhares match to the Lone Star State in September.

5. Demian Maia (13-2)
Change of opponent, date and venue did little to slow down Maia. Moving from a September matchup with Alan Belcher in Austin, Texas, to an August bout with Mario Miranda in Boston, the grappling wizard dominated the whole of his 15 minutes in the cage with Miranda and walked away with a clear-cut unanimous decision.

6. Dan Henderson (25-8)
Henderson looked every bit the heavy favorite in round one of his Strikeforce title fight with Jake Shields on April 17. However, for the next four rounds, the former two-division Pride champion was dominated on the ground and lost a unanimous decision in his promotional debut.

7. Vitor Belfort (19-8)
After a shoulder injury forced him to miss out on a UFC middleweight title shot earlier this year, Belfort expected to meet Anderson Silva when he came off the shelf. Instead, he will have to deal with Yushin Okami at UFC 122 on Nov. 13 in Germany in order to secure the title shot.

8. Yushin Okami (25-5)
Following his tidy handling of Mark Munoz on Aug. 1, the drum began to beat again for Okami to spring ahead in the UFC middleweight title race. He now has his chance. Okami will meet Vitor Belfort in what amounts to a UFC middleweight title eliminator in the UFC 122 main event on Nov. 13 in Oberhausen, Germany.

9. Jorge Santiago (22-8)
In a rematch of one last year’s most underrated fights, Santiago and Kazuo Misaki turned in arguably the best fight of 2010. The back-and-forth five-round war culminated in Santiago -- who had already been nearly knocked out and submitted in the fight -- retaining his Sengoku middleweight crown, as he pounded on a hapless Misaki until his corner threw in the towel.

10. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (13-2, 1 NC)
Prior to their Aug. 21 clash in Houston, conventional wisdom held that if “Jacare” were to beat Tim Kennedy for the vacant Strikeforce middleweight title, he would do so on the ground. Instead, Souza outboxed Kennedy for five rounds to take a well-appointed unanimous decision and the 185-pound strap.

Other contenders: Alan Belcher, Michael Bisping, Chris Leben, Hector Lombard, Wanderlei Silva.