UFC 144 Results: Tim Boetsch and the Top 10 Middleweights in the UFC

On Saturday night, Yushin Okami was five minutes away from victory, and five minutes away from proving that he is the No. 3 middleweight in the world.

In 54 seconds, that all changed.

At the start of the third round of Okami's fight against Tim Boetsch, Boetsch came out like a man possessed, and, after being dominated the first two rounds, knocked out Okami 54 seconds into Round 3.

With the win, Boetsch enters the top 10 middleweight rankings, and Okami falls way down.

Let's take a look at where exactly they stand.

No. 10: Wanderlei Silva

Some may be surprised to see Wanderlei 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, Wandy's over the Brit 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 opposite Vitor Belfort in The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil.

No. 9: Chris Weidman

With his win over Demian Maia at UFC on Fox 2, Chris Weidman moves into the top-10 middleweights in the world.

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

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

No. 8: 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 in the fight.

Stann is now 3-1 at middleweight.

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. 7: Yushin Okami

Yushin Okami has to be disappointed with his performance on Saturday night. Not just because he lost, but because he was winning big, and lost bad.

Okami was looking better than we'd ever seen him, and he was showing everyone that the loss to Anderson Silva made him a better fighter.

Then he got swarmed, rocked and finished.

By the time he got his senses back, the fight was over, and Tim Boetsch had defeated him.

No. 6: Tim Boetsch

When Tim Boetsch scored a third-round knockout victory over the No. 3 middleweight in Japan, Boetsch showed the entire division that he is going to be a threat.

Boetsch is now in the top 10 of the middleweight division, and is sure to be looking for another top contender next.

No. 5: Michael Bisping

It's not often that a fighter moves up the rankings after a loss, but that's exactly what Michael Bisping has done after his performance at UFC on Fox 2.

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 MW division.

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

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

No. 4: Mark Munoz

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 at UFC on Fox 2, 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. 3: 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 by Anderson Silva, but since then, he had a resounding win over Yoshihiro Akiyama and a submission victory over Anthony Johnson.

Belfort's UFC 142 win over Johnson marked Belfort's first submission victory inside the Octagon since 1997, and you can be sure he was especially happy to do it at home in Brazil.

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. 2: Chael Sonnen

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.

Then, at UFC on Fox 2, 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 with 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 him on twitter @TimMcTiernan.