Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Middleweight

1. Michael Bisping (30-7)

Since he shocked Luke Rockhold for the UFC middleweight title on short notice in June, Bisping’s 185-pound reign has been hard to conceptualize, let alone forecast. However, with Yoel Romero’s sensational knockout of former champ Chris Weidman at UFC 205 and his subsequent call-out of Bisping, “The Count” figures to next defend his title and try to preserve his improbable championship run against the Olympic silver medalist in 2017.

2. Luke Rockhold (15-3)

Yoel Romero’s incredible flying knee stoppage of Chris Weidman would have made Rockhold’s path to a rematch with UFC champ Michael Bisping hard anyway, but a knee injury forced the oft-injured American Kickboxing Academy ace to the sidelines, nixing his slated Nov. 27 rematch with Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. The former UFC and Strikeforce titleholder will need to get healthy before hopping back into the suddenly packed line of contenders at 185 pounds.

3. Yoel Romero (12-1)

Romero went into UFC 205 with a potential title shot on the line against former champion Chris Weidman and came through in spades. With his fifth third-round stoppage inside the Octagon, the 2000 Olympic silver medalist showed off his striking prowess, clobbering Weidman with a flying knee before cutting a promo on champion Michael Bisping that seems to have installed the Cuban as the top 185-pound contender.

4. Chris Weidman (13-2)

Heading into the third round of his UFC 205 bout with Yoel Romero, there was essentially a title shot on the line for Weidman, the man who ended Anderson Silva’s reign of terror at 185 pounds. However, when that bell rang, Romero went airborne with a flying knee that destroyed Weidman and his immediate title hopes. The Cuban’s win, in conjunction with a knee injury to Luke Rockhold, has seemingly firmed up Romero as the next man to challenge Michael Bisping for the UFC middleweight crown.

5. Ronaldo Souza (23-4, 1 NC)

The former Strikeforce middleweight champion’s path to a UFC title shot has faced another roadblock beyond the Brazilian’s control. With a Nov. 27 rematch lined up against Luke Rockhold in Australia, “Jacare” was in prime position to stake his claim as the 185-pound division’s top contender. However, a knee injury to Rockhold scuttled the bout and has left Souza on the sidelines waiting to be rescheduled.

6. Gegard Mousasi (41-6-2)

For nearly 14 months, Mousasi and his UFC middleweight title ambitions were plagued by the memories of his jaw-dropping knockout loss to Uriah Hall in September 2015. Mousasi is 4-0 since that defeat, punctuated by his revenge beatdown on Nov. 19 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he punched out Hall in the first round and exorcised those demons.

7. Robert Whittaker (17-4)

After a knee injury to Luke Rockhold killed a main event rematch with Ronaldo Souza, Whittaker was thrust into a headlining position in Melbourne, Australia, as his major middleweight showdown with Derek Brunson was promoted to the top of the bill. Despite a rocky start, Whittaker quickly recovered and knocked out Brunson in a wild brawl that lasted just over four minutes, earning the biggest win of his career.

8. Derek Brunson (16-4)

Riding a five-fight winning streak and four straight knockouts, Brunson came out guns blazing against Robert Whittaker on Nov. 26 but forgot about his technique. As a result, Brunson ran face first into a big left hand from Whittaker, then eventually ate a head kick and a series of punches that left him and his UFC middleweight title ambitions down and out.

9. David Branch (20-3)

As World Series of Fighting closed out 2016, Brooklyn native and two-division WSOF champ Branch got to fight in front of a hometown New York crowd inside The Theatre at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 31. In the third defense of his 185-pound strap, Branch used his positional grappling to wear out Louis Taylor and tap him with a rear-naked choke in the fifth round.

10. Vitor Belfort (25-13)

After going 1-3 in his last four bouts and coming off of lopsided stoppage losses to Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Gegard Mousasi, many questioned if Belfort would make overtures to retirement after a 20-year career. Perish the thought: “The Phenom” will headline another Brazilian card on March 11, when he takes on Kelvin Gastelum in a UFC Fight Night main event from Fortaleza.

Other Contenders: Rafael Carvalho, Uriah Hall, Krzysztof Jotko, Thales Leites, Mamed Khalidov

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