411 MMA Rankings 11.17.09: Middleweight Division

Posted by Jonathan Solomon on 11.17.2009

411 MMA presents the best middleweights on the planet with our weekly rankings. Jake Shields has the gold, but can he crack the top five? Chael Sonnen beat a top five Yushin Okami, now see the results. Plus, Mamed Khalidov shocked Jorge Santiago with a KO and Michael Bisping returned to victory, now read on to see the fresh rankings.

It is time again to check on the division that has been ruled by Anderson Silva for so long, when Rich Franklin was on top, it seems like a century ago. The top three has not changed as neither Silva, Dan Henderson or Nate Marquardt have fought over the past month. Henderson remains a free-agent and may not even sign by the end of 2009. Elsewhere, Marquardt has a tough fight lined up for the new year when he goes toe-to-toe with Chael Sonnen. Sonnen has made a new name for himself after defeated Yushin Okami, who is finally out from the top portion of the list.

Jake Shields is the new middleweight champion for Strikeforce but can his grueling ground game earn him a spot in the top five? Shields is a great fighter but I would be hard pressed to pick against Vitor Belfort or either of the top three powerful strikers in a fight against Shields. Now Henderson against Shields, THAT would be an interesting fight.

We have some fresh faces and returning names to the list this month. As mentioned before, Chael Sonnen had a big win in the division. Besides him, Michael Bisping is back on the winning track with an impressive TKO victory over Denis Kang (who just cannot put things together in the UFC) and Mamed Khalidov chalked up his most impressive win to date, a knockout (from the bottom) against Jorge Santiago. Yes, Santiago is still the Sengoku middleweight champion (their fight was non-title), but he has to come back strong from this loss to return to the a higher spot in the rankings.

The only top middleweight fighters in action before the end of the year will be for Strikeforce. December 19th on Showtime will see Jacare Souza make his Strikeforce debut against Matt Lindland (his first fight since being KO'd by Vitor Belfort in January) and Robbie Lawler will also be on the card.

After that, the big month for the 185ers will be February as we will see Demian Maia fight Dan Miller at UFC 109, then Yoshihiro Akiyama fight Wanderlei Silva and Nate Marquardt fight Chael Sonnen at UFC 110.

---

FEEDBACK to Last Week's PFP Rankings

From Brandon Commando:
Really?!? How anyone can say 25-4 (86%) > 19-2 (90%) > 31-1-1 (94%) is BEYOND ME!

Fedor hasn't been to a decision since 2005 while the other two grind out wins and don't even try to finish.

Fedor's KO of Arlovski > Silva's KO of Forrest.

I just don't understand what you people are looking for in order for Fedor... the single greatest fighter in the history of the sport... to be back on top of the P4P list. I mean... COME ON!
I say Silva is the PFP best because the man is DANGEROUS in any division he fights in. He fights former champion Forrest Griffin and makes him look like a rookie. He fights Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin and he decisively beats them down. That's not to say Fedor doesn't dominate his competition but it's tough to say Hong Man Choi, Brett Rogers and Matt Lindland were as stiff a competition to him as Alves/Fitch were to GSP or those mentioned before for Silva.


From WilliamMorgan:
I find any rankings that do not go 1. Fedor, 2. GSP, 3. Silva to be a tad ridiculous.

By his own admission, GSP is not better than Fedor. Silva's been amazing, but against far weaker competition than GSP. Outside of Hendo, I don't believe anyone he's beaten at Middleweight was really something special. Yeah, GSP has the Serra loss, but every single one of those 4 losses Silva has just "Um, why did you lose to that guy?"
GSP is the most humble fighter in the land, of course he will say something like that. Silva looks amazing in two weight classes, so he gets the bump out of the three in my eyes.



From Scottyieoittie:
Travis Lutter almost finished Anderson Silva. Travis no gas tank Lutter. He got submitted by Ryo Chonnen in embarassing fashion. Fedor would killl Anderson. He couldnt finish Cote or Leites. He beat Forrest whoope do dude so did Jardine but Silva did it by backpedaling who cares.
I always look to that fight, but Lutter was never about to finish Silva. I would hope Fedor could dominated Silva, after all, he has a huge size advantage.


From ian:
I'm just gonna question the Hendo love

The guy is 39 years old gimme a break... wow he won a split decision over Franklin and KO'ed an overrated Bisping.
So, he's 39-years old? The man is as good a wrestler as anyone in the middleweight or light heavyweight division. He has solid striking and one punch knockout power. What's not to like?


From AdamS:
I know the Fedor lovers are not happy here, but he's good where he is until he starts getting some better competition. All his best wins are now 3 years old or more.

If anyone should be higher, arguably...it'd be a GSP, whose win column is filled with big competition.

Or perhaps a Lyoto Machida, whose win column is also filled with big competition. I doubt that one would work though, at the moment, as too many people are overly sore about a close result that they're pretending wasn't.

Fedor wont rise higher until he faces some game competition, instead of ko'ing guys like Rogers a year before they should be fighting him.
Good points about the heavyweight competition out there. Recent competition, too. Nobody is knocking Fedor's PRIDE run (at least not the famous fights before the end when he was fighting Mark Coleman and Zulu).


From WilliamMorgan:
ROTFLMAO @ Fighter Quality with Silva vs. Fedor

Fedor: Rogers, Arlovski, Sylvia, Lindland, Hunt, Coleman 2x, Cro Cop, Nogueira 2x, Randleman, Herring, Schilt, Babalu, Arona
Silva: Griffin, Henderson, Franklin 2x, Marquardt, Leben, Newton, Sakurai

1. So what? It was Forrest.

2. Again, so what? It was Forrest. He beat a crippled Rua and his "win" over Rampage is still debated. Yes, he gave Rampage problems, but Rampage has never learned to defend against Muay Thai. If you clinch or start regularly leg kicking him, he gets all confused.

3. Yeah, it really looked that way. Those exchangnes were then released online in slow motion (http://www.mmaforum.com/affliction/50824-arlovski-vs-fedor-slow-motio
n-pics.html) and guess what? Arlovski was missing! Let me repeat that, it had to be shown in slow motion for people to realize just what Fedor was doing.

Anderson Silva fought people with little talent at Light Heavyweight and few people with talent at Middleweight and Welterweight. GSP and Silva
individually have been finished more times than Fedor's even been stunned in a fight despite having more wins in the sport than either of them have even fought. No one ever talked about Silva in P4P until Dana and the UFC Hype Machine stepped in.

Hell, Frank Mir wasn't even ranked in his division until he defeated a 1-0 fighter and a crippled Nogueira (staph infection + meniscus) because the UFC Hype Machine pretended he was amazing for it to get that PPV money.
These rankings don't take the long past (I'll say pre 2006 maybe?) into account for the most part. Say what you want about your dislike of Griffin but he was a former champion. He defeated Shogun Rua and Rampage Jackson. Anderson Silva moved out of his native weight class to fight him and beat him easily.

Just look at it like this, over the past two years: Fedor is 4-0 with wins over Choi, Arlovski, Sylvia and Rogers. GSP is 5-0 with wins over Hughes, Serra, Fitch, Penn and Alves. Silva is 5-0 with wins over Hendo, Irvin, Cote, Leites and Griffin. Throw in Franklin if you want and he's 6-0. I'm not saying that alone is the basis but they have each fought the top challengers in their divison and in Silva's case, fought a top contender in a higher division and won.


From SummerTwilight7:

Spot on with Silva on top. Easily the best P4P fighter in the world and has been for ages now. Hopefully people stop moaning about the hype machine Fedor, who outside of Rogers, hasn't beaten anyone of greatness in years.

I'm SHOCKED that Rashad Evans is in 15th. Honestly? The guy lost ONE fight and that was to one of the best LHW's in years in Machida. Rashad should be top ten and I don't get the logic of some of the people who are above him.
Who don't you understand as being above him?


From A. Coolman:
Hopefully FEMA can save 411mania from the flood of tears this column brought/will bring forth from Fedor nuthuggers.
I laughed.


From SoulBrotherNo1:
Pretty good list overall.

Anyone who is whining about ranking the top 3 is just a nitpicker,I mean they are so close,and so far ahead of their competition that you can rank them anyhow you want.

Personally I have Fedor as no.1,because Anderson will always keep the fight standing,GSP will always look for a takedown,but Fedor will fight wherever his opponent wants to fight,and beat them at their own game.
Silva kept the fight standing against Leites. Thats smart tactics.
GSP took down Alves. Thats smart tactics.
Fedor outstruck CroCop and fought on the ground against Nog. Thats just....being Fedor
You are right about the closeness between GSP, Silva and Fedor as the elite PFP fighters out there. I like your reasoning behind Fedor @ #1. Cannot argue with that, Fedor is strong at every aspect of the game, but so is GSP. Silva has not needed to show his skills on the ground though.


From The Last Emperor (I hope):
This list is a peace of shit just like Macheatah. He should be nowhere near the top. The guys a backpaddling joke. Fedor should be at the top while he carries on winning. GSP second and Silva third. Shogun should be higher. I wish you guys would get off the ufc's and dana's nuts. You are loosing all credebility to your site.
If Machida is such a joke, why is he still undefeated?


From GeeSpotter:
"This fight will be brutal if you do not enjoy powerful, crisp striking. Jake Shields probably won't be a big fan."

Hahahahahahaha. Well done
*Bows*



From dralla:
Do you guys not get the concept of 'pound for pound'.

The reason Silva is higher as well as GSP is that they have beaten and /or dominated other significant fighters from different weight classes. (Especially Silva).

Pound for Pound my friends.... its in the title.
That is part of their appeal in the PFP voting, although I would say GSP's dominance over B.J. Penn this year was not as impressive at first glance. That was a slaughter, though.


From Blake (in response to the Lutter post):
Are you freaking kidding me; you think lucky punch Fedor would destroy Silva?!?!? I am gonna laugh about that for a week. Anderson could take Fedor; a motivated Anderson could pretty much take anyone under 240 pounds. His striking is second to none; Fedor throws one looping punch, with zero technique and catches guys. Anderson, while dodging his opponents punches lands power shots that most guys cant land in the gym on a bag. Anderson is a black belt BJJ too. And don't act like you weren't shaking in your booties when Rodgers was punching Fedors face in at the end of round one. Fedor is a great fighter; no he is once in life time guy, Anderson, he is superman. You don't mess with superman.



From TommyBoy:
Hey, I want to ask a serious question and not fan boy it up. How much does size differential matter in your ranking scheme. I have always thought of pound for pound ranking as an equalizer of skill against different body types/physical advantages. I would think that a fighter who consistently beats much larger opponents would have a higher ranking than those who don't. This basically applies to heavyweights, the weight class with the largest disparities by far. A fighter beating an opponent with a 30 or 40 pound weight advantage should rank higher on these lists because they obviously have a very high class skill set. The two examples on this list are Nog and Fedor, I am fine with Fedor's ranking but shouldn't Nog be a lot higher?

Or is the ranking scheme here not trying to be a weight/size equalizer, which wouldn't really be a P4P list. Thanks.
Leveling out size is definitely a point here or else Brock Lesnar would make an appearance. Nogueira had a rough patch after his loss to Mir and is making his way back up the list.


From Hip Hop Jorge:
THE promotion is UFC. Fedor doesn't/hasn't fought in the UFC, therefore he doesn't/shouldn't get enough credit. And just like boxing, the heavyweight division isn't has exciting or polished as the other weight classes. The biggest fight for Fedor is Lesnar and it will never happen. Fedor is the best HW, but can't be the best PFP if he's the only Top 10 HW on the PFP list.
I disagree. Because Fedor has not fought in the UFC, that automatically should not effect him one way or the other. Judge the man based on his competition alone, not on which cage he's fighting in.


From Vordeo:
Despite all the hullabaloo(what a stupid word, but I couldn't think of another for it) of getting Fedor into the UFC, I think aside from Brock, his toughest tests are outside of it.

Alistair Overeem is probably the scariest fight for Fedor. The guy's a beast standing and on the ground he isn't totally lost that Fedor would be able to control him so easily. He could KO Fedor, especially if his cardio problems are solved.

Fabricio Wedrum, questionable standup aside(though it is showing some improvement) has better ground skill than most, if not all, of the UFC HWs.

Posted By: Guest#9142 (Guest) on November 10, 2009 at 01:43 AM

Werdum would be an easy win for Fedor, IMO.

Overeem & Barnett are the two interesting fights for Fedor. Barnett I would still have ranked in the top 5, for instance. While the Lesnar fight would be interesting, I'd imagine those two have as much chance at beating Fedor as anyone.

Pity both fights will likely need to take place in Japan, but what can you do?

And yeah, I have Fedor at #1, & Silva at #2. It's all subjective though, and they're very close.
Werdum has better ground skills than Rodrigo Nogueira? Besides Barnett, I'd agree the Overeem fight is the most appealing for us involving Fedor.


From WWEManiac:
I am going to copy the trend of Brock nuthuggers who compare the Greatest Fighter on the Planet (Fedor) to him everytime his name comes up.

Who would win?

The Undertaker or Anderson Silva
Triple H or Frank Mir
Kurt Angle or Randy Couture
Chyna or Cyborg
Vinnie Mac or Dana White
Tazz or Joe Rogan

Now, as silly as these are-so is saying Brock can beat Fedor.
I don't get it.

Brock Lesnar has a very real chance to defeat Fedor should they ever fight. He's got tons of power and is a big time wrestler. All he would need to do to REALLY improve his chances is continue working on submission defense.

For the time being, let's hope Lesnar returns to health ASAP and gets his private life in order.


From stronelis:
wow the Fedor marks are out in force today. There is no doubt that Fedor is the greatest of all time however the days of being the best P4P are over and done with.

Silva is by far the best P4P although I would rank Fedor second ahead of GSP by a fairly wide margin. I understand why you guys are freaking out because up until a few months ago I would have supported your argument but the sad fact is that Fedor is starting the down turn.

Anyone who watched his fight with Rogers knows this and if you don't you are fooling yourself. Fedor could barely handle Rogers power and only beat him because he was able to notice a 'tell' in Rogers striking. Anderson would have finished Rogers in the first and I fully believe that Anderson would beat Fedor as well.

We have yet to see Anderson try in a match. He was fooling around vs Leites and Cote, so to say that he couldn't finish them is ridiculous. To claim that Fedor catcing Arlovski is superior to Anderson toying with Griffin like a cat with a ball of string is equally ridiculous.

The fact is that Anderson (like Fedor in his prime) is on a level normal people can't even comprehend. He masters his opponents timing in less than a minute and once he has it the fight is over. Fedor does something similar but lacks Andersons raw athleticism. If they fought tomorrow Anderson would be taking it very seriously and actually come to fight. We would see his true ability and he knock Fedor out long before Fedor could take him down.


From Samer Kadi:
"He got submitted by Ryo Chonnen in embarassing fashion."

Welcome to five years ago. Some fighters actually improve, believe it or not.

"If anyone should be higher, arguably...it'd be a BJ Penn, whose win column is filled with big competition."

He's tied with Machida. Would you really place him above Fedor (who definitely belongs in the top 3), Anderson Silva, who holds victories against equally impressive competition, if not more, and has actually dominated far longer, and unlike BJ, was really successful when he moved up? Yeah I know BJ's frame isn't built for WW but still.

Or do you wanna put him over GSP, who's beaten him twice and one of them in embarassing fashion? Not to mention the fact that St. Pierre holds victories over even more impressive competition.


From that hullabaloo dude?:
Any of the top three are interchangeable. Their respective nuthuggers will tell you that the competition their fighter has fought as of late is sooo much better, but taking a closer look, their level of comp is similar.

Anderson's best wins in his last several fights are Griffin and Henderson. The rest of them are middle of the road MWs or in Irvin's case, a lower tier LHW.

GSP's best wins in his last few are Penn, Fitch and Alves. If you're going by strength of comp alone, you could make the best arguement of having him #1 - however, he doesn't finish his fights as decisively as Fedor or Anderson do.

Fedor's last few good wins consist of Rogers, Arlovski and Sylvia. Despite what many think, Arlovski is still a great fighter - his chin is a liability though, and a big one. Sylvia has alwasy been a little overrated but still counts as a quality win, in my opinion, as does Rogers.

Now, comparing them - does any one of them look THAT much better in their recent resumes? The top three can be shuffled around as necessary.



From good point: re: HENDO
yea good point. Its not like he smashed Wandy, Vitor, misaki, Gono, Chonnen, Big nog, gave the best performance against Silva, and held 2 titles at the same time in different weight classes.


From KSti:
Gegard Mousasi is the most overrated fighter in MMA right now. He shouldn't even be in the top 20 pound for pound.
Why is that? The man is a monster in the cage.


From CombatFan:
eople don't seem to realize that Anderson walks around at roughly 220. Now think about that for a second. Fedor is a chubby 230 with jeans and belt buckle and shorter than Anderson. hmmmmmmmmmmm yet Anderson is the p4p best? I don't think so.


From Ryan:
Four of the UFC's World Champions are in the top 5 of the rankings. Including the guy who, by most accounts, got beat in his last match.

The fifth? Not one Goddamn mention, when there's *ANOTHER GUY FROM HIS DIVISION* in the list.

Simply ridiculous.
We have talked about Brock Lesnar and the PFP rankings to death.

BTW, the only accounts that matter when ruling who wins fights is that of the judgs.




Thanks for the comments, questions, and love/hate. It's always appreciated.

---

Middleweight Rankings From One Year Ago

1. Anderson Silva

2. Paulo Filho

3. Dan Henderson

4. Yushin Okami

5. Robbie Lawler

6. Matt Lindland

7. Gegard Mousasi

8. Nate Marquardt

9. Yoshihiro Akiyama

10. Jacare Souza

Frank Trigg, Kazuo Misaki, Denis Kang, Thales Leites, Michael Bisping and Jorge Santiago were "On The Bubble."

---

THE CREW

The 411 MMA staff have decided to pull back the curtain and reveal the great 411 Oz and show you who voted for who.

So here are the nuts and bolts, the breakdown of the rankings from your favorite 411 MMA personalities:

Samer Kadi 1-Anderson Silva 2-Dan Henderson 3-Nate Marquardt 4-Vitor Belfort 5-Yoshihiro Akiyama 6-Demian Maia 7-Jake Shields 8-Chael Sonnen 9-Yushin Okami 10-Robbie Lawler 11-Kazuo Misaki 12-Jacare 13-Michael Bisping 14-Jorge Santiago 15-Matt Lindland	Daniel Bonnizzio 1) Anderson Silva 2) Dan Henderson 3) Nate Marquardt 4) Vitor Belfort 5) Demian Maia 6) Jake Shields 7) Sexyama 8) Chael Sonnen 9) Jacare de Souza 10) Yushin Okami 11) Robbie Lawler 12) Kazuo Misaki 13) Mamed Khalidov 14) Jorge Santiago 15) Mayhem Miller	Todd Bergman 1. Anderson Silva 2. Nate Marquardt 3. Dan Henderson 4. Vitor Belfort 5. Jake Shields 6. Demian Maia 7. Chael Sonnen 8. Robbie Lawler 9. Jacare 10. Yushin Okami 11. Sexiyama 12. Paulo Filho 13. Mamed Khalidov 14. Dan Miller 15. Jorge Santiago
Jeffrey Harris 1. Anderson Silva 2. Dan Henderson 3. Nate Marquardt 4. Vitor Belfort 5. Jake Shields 6. Demian Maia 7. Yoshiro Akiyama 8. Chael Sonnen 9. Yushin Okami 10. Robbie Lawler 11. Jacare 12. Jorge Sanitago 13. Michael Bisping 14. Kazuo Misaki 15. Matt Lindland	Scott Kuczkowski 1. Anderson Silva 2. Dan Henderson 3. Nate Marquardt 4. Vitor Belfort 5. Jake Shields 6. Jacare Souza 7. Yoshishiro Akiyama 8. Kazuo Misaki 9. Chael Sonnen 10. Yushin Okami 11. Robbie Lawler 12. Jorge Santiago 13. Demian Maia 14. Mayhem Miller 15. Michael Bisping	Jonathan Solomon 1. Anderson Silva 2. Dan Henderson 3. Nate Marquardt 4. Vitor Belfort 5. Yoshihiro Akiyama 6. Jake Shields 7. Kazuo Misaki 8. Jacare Souza 9. Mamed Khalidov 10. Chael Sonnen 11. Jorge Santiago 12. Robbie Lawler 13. Demian Maia 14. Yushin Okami 15. Hector Lombard

---

411's MMA Ranking Rules

- A fighter must fight at least once within the past calendar year to be ranked. The rule applies to weight classes as well so fighters must stay active inside their native weight class. However, if a fighter has a fight scheduled, they are eligible to be ranked.

- If a fighter appears on just one single ballot, and in the top ten, five points shall be deducted to balance out between other fighters who may have been ranked lower, but appeared on more total ballots.

- If you wish to complain about a fighter's ranking in the comments section, then please include an objective reason as to why you don't like the ranking, and include your own set of rankings if you would!




* denotes a statistical tie





411's Official MMA Rankings: Middleweight Division

Middleweight Division (185 pounds)






1) Anderson Silva (25-4)

Height: 6'2

Birthday: April 14, 1975

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Forrest Griffin - Win via KO (punch) - UFC 101: Declaration - August 8, 2009

- vs. Thales Leites - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 97: Redemption - April 18, 2009

- vs. Patrick Cote - Win via TKO (injured knee) - UFC 90: Silva vs. Cote - October 25, 2008

- vs. James Irvin - Win via KO (punches) - UFC: Fight Night 14 - July 19, 2008

- vs. Dan Henderson - Win via submission (rear naked choke) - UFC 82: Pride of a Champion - March 1, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Vitor Belfort - UFC 109 - February 6, 2010

Comment: Silva is trying to get healthy and is officially out of UFC 108. When will he return? Ask Ed Soares.

---

2) Dan Henderson (25-7)

Height: 6'1

Birthday: August 24, 1970

Currently Fighting With: Free Agent

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Michael Bisping - Win via KO (punches) - UFC 100 - July 11, 2009

- vs. Rich Franklin - Win via decision (split) - UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson - January 17, 2009

- vs. Rousimar Palhares - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 88: Breakthrough - September 6, 2008

- vs. Anderson Silva - Loss via submission (rear naked choke) - UFC 82: Pride of a Champion - March 1, 2008

- vs. Quinton Jackson - Loss via decision (unanimous) - UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion - September 8, 2007

Next scheduled appearance:

- Currently Unknown

---

3) Nathan Marquardt (29-8-2)

Height: 6'1

Birthday: April 20, 1979

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Damian Maia - Win via KO (punch) - UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira - August 29, 2009

- vs. Wilson Gouveia - Win by TKO (strikes) - UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson - February 21, 2009

- vs. Martin Kampmann - Win via TKO (punches) - UFC 88: Breakthrough - September 6, 2008

- vs. Thales Leites - Loss via decision (split) - UFC 85: Bedlam - June 7, 2008

- vs. Jeremy Horn - Win via submission (guillotine choke) - UFC 81: Breaking Point - February 2, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Chael Sonnen - UFC 110 - February 21, 2010

---

4) Vitor Belfort (19-8)

Height: 6'0

Birthday: January 4, 1977

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Rich Franklin - Win via TKO (strikes) - UFC 103: Belfort vs. Franklin - September 19, 2009

- vs. Matt Lindland - Win via KO (punches) - Affliction: Day Of Reckoning - January 24, 2009

- vs. Terry Martin - Win via KO (punches) - Affliction: Banned - July 19, 2008

- vs. James Zikic - Win via decision (unanimous) - Cage Rage 23 - September 22, 2007

- vs. Ivan Serati - Win via TKO (punces) - Cage Rage 21 - April 21, 2007

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Anderson Silva - UFC 109 - February 6, 2010

Comment: Belfort is simply waiting for when Anderson Silva is healthy before he returns to the octagon.

---

5) Jake Shields (24-4-1)

Height: 5'11

Birthday: January 9, 1979

Currently Fighting With: Strikeforce

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Jason Miller - Win via decision (unanimous) - Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers - November 7, 2009

- vs. Robbie Lawler - Win via submission (guillotine choke) - Strikeforce on Showtime - June 6, 2009

- vs. Paul Daley - Win via submission (armbar) - EliteXC "Heat" - October 4, 2008

- vs. Nick Thompson - Win via submission (guillotine choke) - EliteXC: Unfinished Business - July 26, 2008

- vs. Mike Pyle - Win via submission (rear naked choke) - EliteXC: Renegade - November 10, 2007

Next scheduled appearance:

- Currently Unknown

Comment: Shields is the undisputed Strikeforce middleweight champion and already people want to see him drop it.

---

6) Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-1)

Height: 5'10

Birthday: July 29, 1975

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Alan Belcher - Win via decision (split) - UFC 100 - July 11, 2009

- vs. Masanori Tonooka - Win via submission (arm bar) - DREAM 6: Middleweight Grand Prix 2008 - September 23, 2008

- vs. Katsuyori Shibata - Win via submission (GI choke) - DREAM 5: Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 - July 21, 2008

- vs. Kazuo Misaki - No contest (Akiyama KO'd by illegal kick) - Yarennoka - New Year's Eve 2007 - December 31, 2007

- vs. Denis Kang - Win via KO (punch) - K1 Olympia HERO's 2007 in Korea - October 28, 2007

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Wanderlei Silva - UFC 110 - February 21, 2010

---

7) Demian Maia (10-1)

Height: 6'0

Birthday: November 6, 1977

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Nate Marquardt - Loss via KO (punch) - UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira - August 29, 2009

- vs. Chael Sonnen - Win via submission (triangle choke) - UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson - February 21, 2009

- vs. Nate Quarry - Win via submission (rear naked choke) - UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar - November 15, 2008

- vs. Jason MacDonald - Win via submission (rear naked choke) - UFC 87: Seek And Destroy - August 9, 2008

- vs. Ed Herman - Win via technical submission (triangle choke) - UFC 83: Serra vs. St. Pierre II - April 19, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Dan Miller - UFC 109 - February 6, 2010

---

8) Chael Sonnen (24-10-1)

Height: 6'1

Birthday: April 3, 1977

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Yushin Okami - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun - October 24, 2009

- vs. Dan Miller - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida - May 23, 2009

- vs. Demian Maia - Loss via submission (Triangle Choke) - UFC 95: Stevenson vs. Sanchez - February 20, 2009

- vs. Paulo Filho - Win via decision (unanimous) - WEC 36 - November 5, 2008

- vs. Bryan Baker - Win via decision (unanimous) - WEC 33 - MArch 26, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Nate Marquardt - UFC 110 - February 21, 2010

---

9) Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (10-2)

Height: 6'0

Currently Fighting With: Strikeforce

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Jason Miller - No Contest (Souza received a cut from an illegal kick) - DREAM 9: Featherweight Grand Prix Second Round 2009 - May 26, 2009

- vs. Gegard Mousasi - Loss via KO (upkick) - DREAM 6: Middleweight Grand Prix 2008 - September 23, 2008

- vs. Zelg Galesic - Win via submission (arm bar) - DREAM 6: Middleweight Grand Prix 2008 - September 23, 2008

- vs. Jason Miller - Win via decision (unanimous) - DREAM 4: Middleweight Grand Prix 2008 - June 15, 2008

- vs. Ian Murphy - Win via submission (rear naked choke) - DREAM 2: Middleweight Grand Prix 2008 - April 29, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Matt Lindland - Strikeforce: Evolution - December 19, 2009

---

10) Yushin Okami (23-5)

Height: 6'2

Birthday: July 21, 1981

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Chael Sonnen - Loss via decision (unanimous) - UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun - October 24, 2009

- vs. Dean Lister - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 92: Ultimate 2008 - December 27, 2008

- vs. Evan Tanner - Win via KO (knee) - UFC 82: Pride of a Champion - March 1, 2008

- vs. Jason MacDonald - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 77: Hostile Territory - October 20, 2007

- vs. Rich Franklin - Loss via decision (unanimous) - UFC 72: Victory - June 16, 2007

Next scheduled appearance:

- Currently Unknown

---

11) Robbie Lawler (16-5)

Height: 5'11

Currently Fighting With: Strikeforce

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Jake Shields - Loss via submission (rear naked choke) - Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields - June 6, 2009

- vs. Scott Smith - Win via TKO (kicks and punches) - EliteXC: Unfinished Business - July 26, 2008

- vs. Scott Smith - No contest (thumb in the eye) - EliteXC: Primetime - May 31, 2008

- vs. Murilo Rua - Win via TKO (strikes) - EliteXC: Uprising - September 15, 2007

- vs. Frank Trigg - Win via KO (strikes) - ICON Sport: Epic - March 31, 2007

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. TBA - Strikeforce: Evolution - December 19, 2009

---

12) Kazuo Misaki (22-9-2)

Height: 5'10

Birthday: April 25, 1976

Currently Fighting With: Sengoku, Strikeforce

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura - Win via submission (guillotine choke) - Sengoku 9 - August 2, 2009

- vs. Jorge Santiago - Loss via technical submission (rear-naked choke) - Sengoku 7: no Ran 2009 - January 4, 2009

- vs. Joe Riggs - Win via TKO (punches) - Strikeforce "Playboy Mansion II" - September 20, 2008

- vs. Logan Clark - Win via decision (unanimous) - World Victory Road: Sengoku 3 - June 8, 2008

- vs. Siyar Bahadurzada - Win via submission (guillotine) - World Victory Road: Sengoku - March 5, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- Currently Unknown

Comment: Misaki has left the Grabaka Gym that he has called home for the past nine years. Reportedly, it was on good terms and was made by Misaki because he wants a fresh start elsewhere. He would likely have received a title shot with Sengoku but he was arrested for driving away from police earlier this summer.

---

13) Jorge Santiago (21-8)

Height: 6'1

Currently Fighting With: Sengoku

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Mamed Khalidov - Loss via KO - Sengoku 11 - November 7, 2009

- vs. Kazuo Misaki - Win via technical submission (rear-naked choke) - Sengoku 7: no Ran 2009 - January 4, 2009

- vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura - Win via TKO (punches) - Sengoku 6 - November 1, 2008

- vs. Siyar Bahadurzada - Win via submission (heel hook) - Sengoku 6 - November 1, 2008

- vs. Logan Clark - Win via submission (arm-triangle choke) - Sengoku 5 - September 28, 2008

- vs. Yuki Sasaki - Win via submission (armbar) - Sengoku 2 - May 18, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- Currently Unknown

---

14) Mamed Khalidov (20-3-1)

Height: 6'0

Birthday: 1981

Currently Fighting With: Sengoku

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Jorge Santiago - Win via KO - Sengoku 11 - November 7, 2009

- vs. Daniel Acacio - Win via KO - KSW XI - May 15, 2009

- vs. Jason Guida - Win via TKO - ShoXC: Challengers Series - October 10, 2008

- vs. Daniel Tabera - DRAW - KSW: Extra - September 13, 2008

- vs. Valdas Pocevicius - Win via submission (guillotine choke) - KSW 9: Konfrontacja - May 9, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- Currently Unknown

Comment: Khalidov's is ranked for the first time following his surprising knockout win over Jorge Santiago a week and a half ago.

---

15) Michael Bisping (18-2)

Height: 6'2

Birthday: February 28, 1979

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Denis Kang - Win via TKO (strikes) - UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera - November 14, 2009

- vs. Dan Henderson - Loss via KO (KTFO) - UFC 100 - July 11, 2009

- vs. Chris Leben - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben - October 18, 2008

- vs. Jason Day - Win via TKO (punches) - UFC 85: Bedlam - June 7, 2008

- vs. Charles McCarthy - Win via TKO (arm injury) - UFC 83: Serra vs. St. Pierre II - April 19, 2008

Next scheduled appearance:

- Currently Unknown






Closing Comments: Others receiving votes include Paulo Filho, Jason Miller, Dan Miller, Matt Lindland and Hector Lombard.



TWITTER

The Twitter of Yours Truly
http://www.twitter.com/411mania
http://www.twitter.com/411wrestling
http://www.twitter.com/411moviestv
http://www.twitter.com/411music
http://www.twitter.com/411games
http://www.twitter.com/411mma