B/R Official MMA Rankings for August: The Top 10 Middleweights in MMA

Photo credit: The Province

This just in: there was some action in MMA's middleweight divisions in July. 

Let me bring you up to speed. First of all, there's this guy. His name is Anderson Silva. UFC champion at middleweight. And then there was this other dude, Chael Sonnen, who gained some notoriety for peppering Silva with verbal salvos in the media. It was something he learned to do during his hardscrabble upbringing. 

So they fought at UFC 148; Silva won. Then there were these other fights, one between Chris Weidman and Mark Munoz on Fuel TV, another between Hector Lombard and Tim Boetsch at UFC 149. Oh, and Luke Rockhold defended his Strikeforce title for the second time.

So like I said...just a few small things. With these and a host of other 185-ers jockeying for positional dominance, presented herewith are Bleacher Report's official and rather reshuffled rankings for the middleweight division coming into August.

 

These rankings are the combined efforts of some of Bleacher Report MMA's best writers, as we continue to try and provide you with the best content on the web.

10. Luke Rockhold

Photo credit: MMA Weekly

Promotion: Strikeforce 
Record: 10-1
Most Recent Fight: Win vs. Tim Kennedy, Unanimous Decision, July 14 
Next Fight: TBD
Previous Ranking: N/R 

I'd say Luke Rockhold switched places with Hector Lombard, July's No. 10 middleweight. But Lombard's likely a lot farther down now than Rockhold was last month.

After fully outclassing Tim Kennedy, Rockhold was linked to every eligible middleweight in the land, from Ronaldo Souza to Tim Boetsch to Anderson Silva. It will be interesting to see what Strikeforce—and parent company Zuffa—do with him next.

9. Mark Munoz

Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

Promotion: UFC 
Record: 12-3
Most Recent Fight: Loss vs. Chris Weidman, Knockout, July 11
Next Fight: TBD
Previous Ranking: 3

Last month, Mark Munoz was just one prospect away from a title shot. This month, he's a discarded husk along the side of another fighter's road to the belt. 

Can he recover? Sure. But as evidenced by the fact that he fell six spots this month, he's got plenty of work to do.

8. Brian Stann

Photo credit: Scott Peterson/MMA Weekly

Promotion: UFC 
Record: 12-4
Most Recent Fight: Win vs. Alessio Sakara by KO, April 14 
Next Fight: Michael Bisping, UFC 152, Sept. 22
Previous Ranking: 6

Stann has moved from eighth to sixth and back to eighth without fighting once. It's a testament to the movement happening around him in the division. He'll take matters back into his own hands when he faces Michael Bisping.  

7. Alan Belcher

Joe Camporeale-US PRESSWIRE

Promotion: UFC
Record: 18-6
Most Recent Fight: Win vs. Rousimar Palhares, TKO, May 5 
Next Fight: Vitor Belfort, UFC 153, Oct. 13
Previous Ranking: 8

Belcher got a boost not only from his dismantling of the dangerous Palhares, but from his four-fight win streak and his 2-0 record since returning from an extended injury layoff. His recently announced fight with Belfort should put the winner very much in the mix for a shot at Silva.   

6. Tim Boetsch

Anne-Marie Sorvin-US PRESSWIRE

Promotion: UFC 
Record: 16-4
Most Recent Fight: Win vs. Hector Lombard, Split Decision, July 21
Next Fight: TBD
Previous Ranking: 8

Boetsch has four consecutive wins, including two in 2012. The hulking middleweight was the lesser of two evils against Lombard (who may never find himself on this list again) but still orbits outside the title mix, despite having a stronger claim on paper than others who seem closer to the shot.

5. Vitor Belfort

Promotion: UFC 
Record: 21-9
Most Recent Fight: Win vs. Anthony Johnson, Submission, Jan. 14 
Next Fight: Alan Belcher, UFC 153, Oct. 13
Previous Ranking: 4

Title implications aside, Belfort's tilt with Belcher should be terrifically entertaining. Title implications added back in, Belfort, despite his loss to Silva in 2011, would, if given a second shot, have a puncher's chance at the champion. That's more than can be said for most. 

4. Michael Bisping

Mike Dinovo-US PRESSWIRE

Promotion: UFC 
Record: 22-4
Most Recent Fight: Loss vs. Chael Sonnen, Unanimous Decision, Jan. 28
Next Fight: Brian Stann, UFC 152, Sept. 22
Previous Ranking: 5

Bisping has been around a long time. He's beaten a lot of people. Is he the best middleweight to never fight for the UFC title? There is a case to be made. If he defeats Brian Stann, that case grows a lot stronger.

3. Chris Weidman

Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

Promotion: UFC 
Record: 9-0
Most Recent Fight: Win vs. Mark Munoz, Knockout, July 11 
Next Fight: TBD
Previous Ranking: 7

He pounded Munoz into unconsciousness. He's also young, undefeated, and seemingly lacking any major soft spots in his skill set.

There's always drama when you're talking about a title picture; even more so when it's Anderson Silva's title you're talking about. Maybe Weidman gets the next shot. Or maybe, as UFC president Dana White has hinted, he would get Rashad Evans next if Evans drops down to middleweight. Either way, if there's any justice, the shot will come soon for Weidman. He has earned that right and emerged as the clear top contender. 

2. Chael Sonnen

Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Promotion: UFC 
Record: 27-12-1
Most Recent Fight: Loss vs. Anderson Silva, TKO, July 7 
Next Fight: TBD
Previous Ranking: 2

Sonnen has, for many reasons, many options in front of him. Fighting Anderson Silva again is not one of them.

1. Anderson Silva

Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Promotion: UFC 
Record: 32-4
Most Recent Fight: Win vs. Chael Sonnen, TKO, July 7 
Next Fight: TBD
Previous Ranking: 1

We'll see what course of action Team Silva finally takes. It'll be a lot harder to guess his next fight than to guess at its outcome.

Scott Harris is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and a regular contributor to the site's Caged In blog. He also has a new and reasonably entertaining Twitter account; follow along at @ScottHarrisMMA.