Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Middleweight

1. Michael Bisping (30-7)

It would be wrong to say the Bisping-Georges St. Pierre drama instigated by the UFC is over, but we seem to be headed in a more legitimate direction. While the Robert Whittaker-Yoel Romero interim title fight at UFC 213 should never have needed to happen in the first place, it did; and now we have an undisputed No. 1 contender. With Bisping entering the cage after Whittaker's interim title win to dismiss the validity of his placeholder trinket, the UFC appears to be on track for the a necessary unification bout between the two.

2. Robert Whittaker (19-4)

When a developing, 170-pound Whittaker dropped back-to-back fights to Court McGee and Stephen Thompson a few years ago, the MMA world seemed keen to write off “Bobby Knuckles” as another “Ultimate Fighter” winner destined for mediocrity. In November 2014, the Kiwi bumped up to middleweight and has never looked back, going 7-0 at 185 pounds. Whittaker was thrust into the main event role in his interim middleweight title fight with Yoel Romero at UFC 213 and seized the moment, overcoming an early leg injury to dominate the second half of the fight, earning the biggest win of his career, a UFC interim belt and, if common sense reigns, a title shot against legitimate middleweight kingpin Michael Bisping later this year.

3. Luke Rockhold (15-3)

Rockhold has been on the shelf since an injury forced him out of a rematch with Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in November. More recently, Rockhold has spent some time training with Henri Hooft at Combat Club in Florida, but the former Strikeforce middleweight champion has really kept his name in the headlines by advocating for his fellow UFC fighters to “stand up” and not be afraid to tell their promotion to “[expletive] off.”

4. Yoel Romero (12-2)

Romero's 8-0 Octagon record made him long overdue for a rightful crack at UFC gold. However, when the Olympic silver medalist finally got his shot, it was not quite what he imagined. Instead of undisputed champ Michael Bisping in the cage, he faced fast-rising prospect Robert Whittaker for an interim strap at UFC 213, faded over the final 15 minutes and dropped a unanimous decision to “Bobby Knuckles.” The 40-year-old Cuban certainly remains one of the best 185-pounders in MMA, but his longevity in the sport and road to a second title shot are highly uncertain.

5. Ronaldo Souza (24-5, 1 NC)

“Jacare” had been outspoken in recent months about how the UFC has conducted the middleweight division, from Michael Bisping's championship win and "The Count" defending against an aged Dan Henderson to a returning Georges St. Pierre being granted a title shot. Unfortunately for Souza, after repeatedly stating his case for crack at UFC gold, he met red-hot contender at Robert Whittaker at UFC on Fox 24 and was knocked out in the second round.

6. Gegard Mousasi (42-6-2)

Before and after his controversial second-round stoppage of Chris Weidman at UFC 210, Mousasi was outspoken about his displeasure with his promoter's monetary compensation. The UFC was not willing to pony up on a new deal, so the former Strikeforce light heavyweight titleholder will reunite with old boss Scott Coker, signing a six-fight deal with Bellator MMA, where he could wind up becoming a two-division champion.

7. Chris Weidman (13-3)

Weidman has suffered three straight defeats after starting his career 13-0, and following his debacle of a TKO loss to Gegard Mousasi at UFC 210 in April, “All-American” lobbied for a rematch. However, Mousasi has become a free agent, and Weidman could not pass up the chance to fight in front of a partisan crowd in Long Island, New York. The former UFC 185-pound king is due to headline UFC on Fox 25, where he takes on Kelvin Gastelum on July 22.

8. David Branch (21-3)

It was not a pretty affair, but Branch earned his 11th win in a row at UFC 211 on May 13 and remained unbeaten since a 2012 loss to Anthony Johnson by taking a split decision over Krzysztof Jotko. Even if his performance was not exactly enthusing, it gave the Bronx, New York, native a win to cement his top-10 status and saw his hand raised inside the Octagon for the first time since December 2010.

9. Anderson Silva (34-8, 1 NC)

Silva's slated June 3 pairing with Kelvin Gastelum went to hell in a hand basket when the latter tested positive for cannabinoid metabolites and was pulled from the bout. Following Gastelum's removal, Silva lobbied for an interim UFC middleweight title bout against Yoel Romero. After his demands went unmet, “The Spider” shut down his training camp entirely and removed himself from the UFC 212 bill in Rio de Janeiro.

10. Derek Brunson (17-5)

Brunson was perhaps a few strikes from victory before succumbing to Robert Whittaker's head kick and punches in November and took a highly questionable decision loss to legend Anderson Silva in February. However, things got back on track for the North Carolina native at UFC Fight Night 110 in Auckland, New Zealand, as Brunson needed just 76 seconds to waste four-time Olympic judoka Daniel Kelly. Brunson's last five Octagon wins have all ended by first-round knockout, with none going longer than 2:38.

Other Contenders: Rafael Carvalho, Kelvin Gastelum, Krzysztof Jotko, Daniel Kelly, Thales Leites.

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