UFC on Fox 2 Results: Ranking the Top 10 Middleweights in the UFC

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On Saturday night, three of the top 10 middleweights were in action, and a fourth had a chance to break into the top-10.

Michael Bisping, Chael Sonnen and Demian Maia were the three in the original top-10, and Chris Weidman was the fourth one who, with a win, broke into the top-10.

Sonnen cemented himself as the No. 2 middleweight, but where did the other three end up?

Read on to find out.

Fighters on drug/steroid suspensions will not be eligible to be ranked until having competed one time since completing the suspension.

No. 10: Demian Maia

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Demian Maia may be a former title challenger, but he hasn't been totally impressive lately.

Maia lost to Mark Muñoz in 2011, then won a unanimous decision over Jorge Santiago.

Then, on Saturday night, he dropped a unanimous decision to Chris Weidman in an underwhelming fight.

Maia has now gone eight fights without a submission or a fight night bonus. Also, in that time, he is just 4-4 overall.

Maia has notable victories over Jorge Santiago, Kendall Grove, Dan Miller, Chael Sonnen, Nate Quarry, Jason MacDonald and Ed Herman.

No. 9: Chris Weidman

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With his win over Demian Maia on Saturday night, Chris Weidman moves into the top-10 middleweights in the world.

Weidman took the fight with Maia on 11 days notice, cut off 32 pounds to make the 185-pound limit and he was still able to pull out the decision victory over Maia.

Weidman is now 8-0 in his career, and looks set to make some noise in the division in 2012.

No. 8: Wanderlei Silva

Some may be surprised to see Wanderlei at No. 8, let alone in the top-10, but think about it.

Wandy is 2-1 at middleweight, with wins over Michael Bisping and Cung Le.

With Bisping's recent performance against Sonnen, that win that Wandy has just looks better and better. Also, with Maia's loss and underwhelming performance, there was bound to be big movement in the middleweight division.

Wanderlei will now coach against Vitor Belfort in The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil.

No. 7: Brian Stann

At UFC 136, Chael Sonnen showed that Brian Stann isn't ready for the best of the best, as Sonnen submitted him in the second round and was never in any danger from Stann.

Stann is now 3-1 at middleweight, with wins over Chris Leben and Jorge Santiago.

Next up for Stann is a fight with Alessio Sakara.

Stann has notable victories over Steve Cantwell, Mike Massenzio, Chris Leben and Jorge Santiago.

No. 6: Mark Muñoz

Mark Muñoz has quietly worked himself into the title picture.

In his UFC/WEC career, Muñoz is 9-2, with his only losses being a KO loss to Matt Hamill at light heavyweight and a split decision loss to Yushin Okami.

Muñoz was supposed to fight Chael Sonnen on Saturday night, but an injury forced him out of the bout. He will likely return against a top fighter, possibly with a No. 1 contender spot on the line.

Muñoz has notable victories over Chris Leben, Demian Maia, C.B. Dollaway, Kendall Grove and Nick Catone.

No. 5: Michael Bisping

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It's not often that a fighter moves up the rankings even with a loss, but that's exactly what Michael Bisping has done after his performance on Saturday night.

In his fight against Chael Sonnen, Bisping put up the best fight of any of Sonnen's recent opponents, and he showed that he is truly a force to be reckoned with in the middleweight division.

Even though he lost, he will likely have a fight against a top guy next.

Bisping has notable victories over Mayhem Miller, Jorge Rivera, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Chris Leben and Matt Hamill.

No. 4: Vitor Belfort

Vitor Belfort is the former UFC light heavyweight champion and a one-time contender for the middleweight title.

Belfort is known by many for being front-kicked in the face at UFC 126, but since then, he had a resounding win over Yoshihiro Akiyama and a submission victory over Anthony Johnson.

Saturday marked Belfort's first submission victory inside the Octagon since 1997, and you can be sure he was happy to do it at home.

Up next for Belfort is a coaching stint on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, and then a rematch with the opposing coach, Wanderlei Silva.

Belfort has notable victories over Anthony Johnson, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Rich Franklin, Matt Lindland, Randy Couture, Gilbert Yvel and Wanderlei Silva.

No. 3: Yushin Okami

Yushin Okami was last seen in action at UFC 134, where he got TKO'd by Anderson Silva in the second round of their title fight.

Prior to that loss, Okami was on a three-fight winning streak over Lucio Linhares, Mark Muñoz and Nate Marquardt.

Okami is an elite middleweight, and the only middleweights he's lost to in the UFC are Silva, Chael Sonnen and Rich Franklin.

Okami makes his return to the Octagon at UFC 144, where he will face Tim Boetsch.

Okami has notable victories over Nate Marquardt, Mark Muñoz, Evan Tanner, Mike Swick and Alan Belcher.

No. 2: Chael Sonnen

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This should be no surprise whatsoever.

Sonnen pushed the champion to the brink and almost won a decision over the most dominant fighter in MMA history.

Sonnen being at No. 2 is basically a given, and everybody out there likely agrees with me.

Then, on Saturday night, Sonnen solidified himself as the No. 2 middleweight in the world when he defeated Michael Bisping via unanimous decision.

Sonnen holds notable victories over Michael Bisping, Brian Stann, Nate Marquardt, Yushin Okami, Paulo Filho, Trevor Prangley and Jason "Mayhem" Miller.

No. 1: Anderson Silva

This should come as even less of a surprise than Sonnen at No. 2.

Anderson Silva is the middleweight champion and the most dominant fighter in MMA history.

Now we will all get the rematch we want, featuring Silva vs. Chael Sonnen.

Silva has notable victories over Yushin Okami, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Demian Maia, Forrest Griffin, Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin (twice), Nate Marquardt, Chris Leben, Jorge Rivera and Carlos Newton.

 

Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow Tim on twitter @TimMcTiernan.