According to Spiars: UFC Divisional Rankings

Before this article gets underway, here is a not-so-subtle reminder for all of the readers out there.

This is the UFC Divisional Rankings... According To Spiars. It's not entitled According To Joe Silva: UFC Divisional Rankings.

So please remember this when you are baffled because I place a certain fighter lower or higher than you would place him. Once again, this is according to Spiars.

Let's face it, rankings are nothing but a personal opinion based off of the recent performances of the fighters. If you don't agree, by all means, publish your own set of rankings.

Regardless of my babbling, one thing that most of us can agree on is that the current champions in each respected division appear set to vanquish all challengers from their sights for years to come.

But then again, this is MMA, and it's been proven time and time again that anybody can dethrone the champ and begin to build his own legacy.

Without further adieu, let's move on to the rankings.

Lightweight Division

The lightweight division is one of the most stacked divisions inside the octagon, and sitting on top of this mountain of challengers is B.J. Penn, who will once again defend his championship against a very game opponent, this time in the form of Diego Sanchez.

Since this division is so stacked, it's hard for a contender to leap-frog over multiple opponents, even with a dominating victory.

Such is the case for Joe Stevenson, even though he dominated Spencer Fisher in his most recent fight, he only moved up one spot.

On the other hand, Spencer Fisher's poor performance flushes his way out of the top ten in desperate need of win.

On to the rankings:

Noteworthy- Jim Miller (15-2) & Kurt Pellegrino (14-4)

10- Nate Diaz (10-4)

9- Clay Guida (25-10)

8- Joe Stevenson (31-10)

7- Tyson Griffin (14-2)

6- Sean Sherk (33-4-1)

5- Kenny Florian (11-4)

4- Gray Maynard (9-0-0-1 NC)

3- Frankie Edgar (10-1)

2- Diego Sanchez (21-2)

1- B.J. Penn (14-5-1)

Welterweight Division

While the champion, Georges St. Pierre, is recovering from his groin injury in the brittle winter winds of Canada, the rest of the welterweight warriors are unveiling all of their blood, sweat, and tears in order to prove that they should be deemed worthy of the next crack at the champ.

Seeing as how GSP appears to be at the top of the game, the contenders shouldn't rush their way into a title match.

All of the top contenders have been disposed of by the champion easily, but that doesn't mean the title defenses should stop.

The UFC have stated that the winner between Mike Swick and Dan Hardy will get the next chance to solve the French-Canadian riddle.

Here's a look at the other potential welterweight challengers, or lack thereof:

Noteworthy- Paul Daley (22-8-2) & Anthony Johnson (8-2)

10- Martin Kampmann (15-3)

9- Paulo Thiago (11-1)

8- Josh Koscheck (13-4)

7- Carlos Condit (23-5)

6- Dan Hardy (22-6)

5- Matt Hughes (43-7)

4- Thiago Alves (16-6)

3- Mike Swick (14-2)

2- Jon Fitch (19-3)

1- Georges St. Pierre (19-2)

Middleweight Division

The post-apocalyptic era continues for the UFC's middleweight division under the reign of "The Spider," Anderson Silva.

The top three contenders have all been deemed unsuitable for a crack at the belt, and a fourth contender lurking under the radar proved that his title-less run in the UFC was justifiable.

Although Silva doesn't feel Belfort deserves a shot at his belt, Silva states that he'll fight whoever the UFC places in front of him. Expect this fight to be for the championship once Silva is completely healed from his elbow surgery.

On another note, the thunderstorm of cries stopped as Yushin Okami was out-classed by former WEC "champion" Chael Sonnen.

While Okami was supposed to come in and wreck shop on his way back up the ladder, the large build of Sonnen's wrestling frame proved to be too much, leaving the Okami supporters in awe.

Only time will tell if a new light will ever shine in the division. Here's a look at some of the potential sources of light:

Noteworthy- Yushin Okami (23-5)

10- Alan Belcher (14-6)

9- Michael Bisping (17-2)

8- Patrick Cote (13-5)

7- Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-1)

6- Chael Sonnen (24-10-1)

5- Demion Maia (10-1)

4- Vitor Belfort (19-8)

3- Nate Marquardt (29-8-2)

2- Dan Henderson (25-7)

1- Anderson Silva (25-4)

Light-Heavyweight Division

The aftershocks continue to rumble throughout the light-heavyweight division in the aftermath of UFC 104.

Although the fight between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Rua was much closer than most people thought, there are still fragments of doubt with the outcome.

So much so, that the rematch has already been agreed upon and it will take place once both fighters are completely healed and able to train properly.

Although Quinton Jackson was the No. 1 contender at one point, his retirement will have him sliding down the ranks until he falls off completely, or until he returns and smashes his way back to the top.

Since middleweight kingpin, Anderson Silva, refuses to fight for the light-heavyweight championship, the division appears to be lacking in contenders until Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva square-off at UFC 108.

Here are the other fighters that have a chance to make an immediate impact on the division:

Noteworthy: Dan Henderson (25-7), Tito Ortiz (15-6-1) & Vladimir Matyushenko (23-4)

10- Jon Jones (9-0)

9- Luis Cane (10-1)

8- Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (17-3)

7- Forrest Griffin (16-6)

6- Quinton Jackson (30-7)

5- Anderson Silva (25-4)

4- Thiago Silva (14-1)

3- Rashad Evans (18-1-1)

2- Mauricio Rua (18-4)

1- Lyoto Machida (16-0)

Heavyweight Division

In a division where weight has a serious involvement in the outcome, there is nothing more frightening than a 265-pound monster with the speed and athleticism to match his strength.

Although Brock Lesnar's run in the heavyweight division is somewhat controversial, he is also the most dangerous athlete walking in the land of giants.

He has the strength of a Tyrannosaurus rex mixed with the speed and ever-evolving brain patterns of a velociraptor.

Even though a number of heavyweights have risen to the occasion with dominating performances over fellow top ten fighters, no one has really proven that a title shot should be in their cards.

So it appears that match-maker, Joe Silva, scoured through the internet forums and took the advice of numerous fans who were saying Shane Carwin has the attributes to dethrone Lesnar.

Since the title fight has been postponed until early January, this gives top contenders, Antonio Nogueira and Cain Velasquez, time to prove once again why they deserve the next title shot, possibly against each other.

Since it's still a relatively weak division, a few of the lesser known heavyweights also have a chance to propel themselves into contender status:

Noteworthy: Mirko Filipovic (26-7-2) & Todd Duffee (5-0)

10- Paul Buentello (27-10)

9- Cheick Kongo (14-5-1)

8- Gabriel Gonzaga (11-4)

7- Randy Couture (16-10)

6- Frank Mir (12-4)

5- Cain Velasquez (7-0)

4- Junior Dos Santos (9-1)

3- Shane Carwin (11-0)

2- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1)

1- Brock Lesnar (4-1)