Official B/R MMA Rankings June 2011: Top 10 Middleweights in MMA

Some of Bleacher Report’s best MMA writers have come together to give their opinions on who is the best-of-the-best in June. Each respective division voted on by these writers.

Going along with Bleacher Report's continuing efforts to provide our readers with the most unique content, we are also taking strides to compile consensus MMA rankings for each weight class.

It's been a tough month for some of these fighters since the last time we did the rankings in mid-May. UFC 130, 131, Strikeforce Overeem vs. Werdum and even The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale have helped shape the rankings voted on by the writers of Bleacher Report MMA.

So here you are, the reader, the Mid-June 2011 Bleacher Report official rankings as voted on by our panel of writers from the MMA section.

Special thanks to those who contributed:
Nick Caron
Jason Schielke
Vince Carey
Sean Smith
Dwight Wakabayashi
John Heinis
Sal DeRose

Honorable Mentions

Wanderlei Silva

Record: 33-10-1

Promotion: UFC

Age: 34 years old


Alan Belcher

Record: 16-6

Promotion: UFC

Age: 27 years old

T-10 Nate Marquardt

Record: 31-10-2

Promotion: UFC

Age: 32 years old

Reason:

This will likely be the last time that the former King of Pancrase makes the list of the Bleacher Report top 10 middleweights in MMA. It’s not that he isn’t skilled enough to be an elite middleweight any longer, but he has decided to make his move down to the welterweight division. If he was still a middleweight, he would likely be in the top five of the rankings.

Marquardt will be making his first appearance at 170 pounds on Sunday when he fights Rick Story in the main event of UFC on Versus 4. 

T-10 Michael Bisping

Record: 21-3

Promotion: UFC

Age: 32 years old

Reason:

He is one of the most controversial fighters in the sport, but Michael Bisping has earned his position as one of the top 10 middleweights in mixed martial arts with three straight victories. The illegal knee he landed on Jorge Rivera at UFC 127 drew even more hate from fans, but Bisping’s dominance was established both before and after the knee.  

Still, the Brit has not yet defeated a top-flight opponent and will likely need that to ever get his shot at the UFC middleweight championship. A win over Jason Miller would be helpful, but he’s still not a top 10 opponent. 

9. Hector Lombard

Record: 29-2-1

Promotion: Bellator

Age: 33 years old

Reason:

The only member of a non-Zuffa-owned promotion to make this list of the top 10 middleweights in MMA, Bellator’s Hector Lombard has been absolutely crushing people for years. In fact, he is amidst a 22-fight streak without a loss, with the only flaw coming in a draw in 2007 against Kyle Noke.

He hasn’t been fighting the top competition that some of the other fighters on this list, but only Anderson Silva has been more dominant over the past few years. 

8. Vitor Belfort

Record: 19-9

Promotion: UFC

Age: 34 years old

Reason:

Despite his crushing and embarrassing loss to Anderson Silva in his most recent fight, Vitor Belfort remains a top 10 fighter this month. His back-to-back, first-round knockout victories over Matt Lindland and Rich Franklin seem to still be resonating in our writers’ memories.

He will have a chance to get back in the win column in August as he fights Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama. 

7. Demian Maia

Record: 21-3

Promotion: UFC

Age: 33 years old

Reason:

The UFC’s most exceptional Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert, Demian Maia, drops two spots this month, down to seventh among middleweights. The fall comes following a disappointing loss to world-class wrestler Mark Munoz in a fight which many are pointing to as the downfall of jiu-jitsu-only fighters.

However, Maia’s standup looked far improved, and Munoz even admitted that he was surprised by the power and technical ability Maia suddenly had. 

6. Brian Stann

Record: 11-3

Promotion: UFC

Age: 30 years old

Reason:

“All-American” Brian Stann has been perfect since his drop to middleweight last August, defeating three solid UFC opponents during that time. Of course, the biggest of those came at UFC 125 when he became the second man in history to knock Chris Leben out.

Stann earned “Fight of the Night” honors at UFC 130 last month with his knockout victory over Jorge Santiago and continues on his path toward an eventual middleweight title shot. 

5. Mark Munoz

Record: 11-2

Promotion: UFC

Age: 33 years old

Reason:

Mark Munoz is a living example that top-level wrestling trumps are in the world of mixed martial arts.

Many expected Munoz to dominate the standup game in his fight against Demian Maia, but we were all surprised when the exact opposite happened early in the fight. Munoz admitted after the fight that he was caught off guard by the suddenly improved standup game from Maia but was able to counter it with his excellent wrestling and secure a judges’ decision at UFC 131.

In spite of his previous loss to Yushin Okami, Munoz is likely only one more impressive victory away from his shot at UFC gold.  

4. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza

Record: 14-2-1

Promotion: Strikeforce

Age: 31 years old

Reason:

The reigning Strikeforce middleweight champion, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza has established himself as one of the top 185-pound fighters on the planet. His fourth straight victory came over Robbie Lawler in January when he submitted the former EliteXC middleweight champion in the third round of their fight.

Souza trains with Anderson Silva, so it is highly unlikely that we will ever see a title unification bout between these two, but that doesn’t stop both of them from cracking the top five according to the B/R voters.

3. Chael Sonnen

Record: 25-11-1

Promotion: UFC

Age: 34 years old

Reason:

Chael Sonnen has not yet been re-granted the right to compete as a mixed martial artist following his positive drug test last August at UFC 117.

In that fight, Sonnen did what many thought was impossible by dominating his fight against Anderson Silva. He appeared to be well on his way to being the new UFC middleweight champion, but Silva again showed his versatility by throwing on an impressive triangle/armbar that forced Sonnen to submit with under two minutes remaining in the five-round fight.

The loss will go in the record books as the same as any other fight, but Sonnen has to feel confident in his ability as no one else has come anywhere near that close to defeating Silva in the UFC.

...Now if only he can get back in the cage...

2. Yushin Okami

Record: 26-5

Promotion: UFC

Age: 29 years old

Reason:

He has a loss on his record against Chael Sonnen, but Yushin Okami still checks in at No. 2 in the rankings, likely because of his activity over the past year. In earning decisions over Nate Marquardt and Mark Munoz, Okami defeated two consensus top five fighters and re-established himself as the No. 1 contender for Anderson Silva’s UFC middleweight championship.

He will have his chance, finally, at UFC 134 in Rio this August. 

1. Anderson Silva

Record: 30-4

Promotion: UFC

Age: 36 years old

Reason:

Not only is Anderson Silva the best middleweight on the planet, he is also widely considered the top pound-for-pound fighter as well.

Even in near-defeat, Silva submitted Chael Sonnen last August. Then when many fans were expecting a slugfest with his former teammate Vitor Belfort, Silva surprised us all by lighting him up with an unbelievable front kick to the face.

Silva has not been defeated since January 2006 when he lost by disqualification to Yushin Okami. Conveniently, he will have a chance to redeem himself as the two men are set to fight on August 27, 2011 in front of Silva’s home country at UFC Rio.