MMA30 Rankings: Middleweight 10/19/11 – Sonnen Solid Number Two
UFC 136 took place earlier this month featuring two critical fights in the middleweight division resulting in a shakeup in the MMA30 Middleweight Top Ten.
First, MMA30 number two, Chael Sonnen, completely dominated former number seven, Brian Stann, and eventually submitted him late in the second round. Formerly a doubter of Chael Sonnen, and although I still don’t enjoy his trash talk, count me in as a believer in this man’s ability. Sonnen was within a minute of being the number one middleweight before he got caught in a triangle choke, and with a crushing win over Stann, he should get another crack at the title.
Stann on the other hand, showed that although he is improving, he may not be ready for top level competition. Formerly number seven, Stann dropped into the list of other impressive notables outside the top ten. The move allowed Belfort, Marquartd and Souza all to move up one spot and vacating MMA30 number ten for someone to fill in.
Earlier in the night at UFC 136, we saw Demian Maia easily handle Jorge Santiago and improve his record to fifteen wins with only three losses. Maia’s three losses are all by MMA30 top ten ranked fighters, and he also holds a win over MMA30 number two , so it was easy to move him into the vacant number ten spot with another impressive win.
MMA30 MIDDLEWEIGHT RANKINGS:
- Anderson Silva (UFC Champ)
- Chael Sonnen (UFC)
- Yushin Okami (UFC)
- Mark Munoz (UFC)
- Michael Bisping (UFC)
- Hector Lombard (Bellator Champ, CFC Champ)
- Vitor Belfort (UFC)
- Nate Marquardt (BAMMA)
- Ronaldo Souza (Strikeforce)
- Demian Maia
Other Notables: Chris Leben, Jason Miller, Cung Le, Rousimar Palhares, Tim Kennedy, Brian Stann and Alan Belcher.
