MMA30 Rankings: Middleweight Debut

By Mikal
260 days ago

This past weekend at UFC 134, middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, defended his title for a record ninth consecutive time prompting MMA30 Rankings opening up the middleweight division debut. Here we go!

An obvious MMA30 middleweight number one without much explanation needed, Anderson Silva, easily knocked off a guy which many rankings had rated number two in the division in Yushin Okami. Silva, winner of fifteen straight, fourteen in the UFC, seems to stand alone in this division without many viable threats arising.

MMA30 middleweight number two is one of those previously mentioned threats. Chael Sonnen, at UFC 117, shocked the world when he utterly dominated the champion, Silva for nearly all of five rounds before finally getting trapped in a triangle choke forcing a tap. Sonnen’s performance was the closest anyone has come to beating Silva in the UFC. Sonnen is expected to fight at UFC 136; with a win, Sonnen will find himself with another opportunity at UFC gold and more importantly, the number one MMA30 middleweight ranking.

Strikeforce middleweight champion, Ronaldo Souza, has earned MMA30 middleweight number two owning a record of fourteen wins, eleven by submission, with only two losses. Souza all but cleaned out the Strikeforce middleweight class. If and when Strikeforce divisions are absorbed by the UFC, Souza stands as another possible threat to the UFC champion’s current reign.

Yushin Okami, prior to this past weekend’s UFC 134, was considered by many to be ranked second in the division. His loss to Silva showed everyone that he is not yet ready to compete for the championship, but nothing to be ashamed about because it’s obvious now that not many can. Okami claimed MMA30 middleweight number four.

MMA30 middleweight number five, Mark Munoz, has won three straight and six of his seven career middleweight fights losing only to number four, Okami, in that stretch. Of his career eleven wins, four of them have come by knock-out, one by TKO and another by submission.

The Ultimate Fighter 3 Season winner, Michael Bisping, has claimed MMA30 middleweight number six. Bisping is currently coaching TUF Season 14 and is scheduled to fight his opposing coach at the close of the season on December 3^rd. A win over Jason Miller, who was in close consideration for our top ten, will likely bring Bisping into title discussion.

Hector Lombard, currently riding a twenty-two fight win streak, holds a career record of twenty-nine wins with only two losses. Sixteen of his wins are by KO or TKO. Lombard is currently scheduled to fight in September for his third promotion championship as he already owns Bellator middleweight and CFC middleweight championships. With a resume as impressive as his, Lombard’s only criticism comes in regards to the level of competition he’s faced earning him MMA30 middleweight number seven.

Former WEC light-heavyweight champion, Brian Stann, is MMA30 middleweight number eight. Making his middleweight debut at UFC Live a year ago, Stann has reeled off three straight wins submitting Mike Massenzio, earning a TKO over Chris Leben (who very narrowly missed MMA30 middleweight top ten), and a KO victory over Jorge Santiago. Stann seems to have found a home in the middleweight division as he looks to continue to rise and eventually compete for the UFC title. A scheduled fight against MMA30 middleweight number two, Chael Sonnen, will tell us a lot about the future prospect of Stann.

PRIDE veteran, Vitor Belfort, has won six straight, four by KO and another by TKO, losing only to Anderson Silva in that run. Belfort, having been out all of 2010, has only fought twice in the past two years beating Yoshihiro Akiyama, and getting knocked-out by Anderson Silva via front kick to the face. Based on the lack of recent fights, Belfort has claimed MMA30 middleweight number nine.

Nate Marquardt was arguably second in the MMA middleweight division when he got the opportunity to take on Anderson Silva at UFC 73. In that fight and since, Marquardt has come up short in big events losing four of his last ten. To his credit, three of those losses are to MMA30 middleweight top ten fighters in Silva, Sonnen and Okami. Holding wins over no current top ten fighters and now having been cut from the UFC, Marquardt’s future on this list is certainly questionable.

MMA30 MIDDLEWEIGHT RANKINGS: