B/R Official Rankings for March: The Top 10 Heavyweights in MMA

With the UFC putting on an event nearly every weekend and Strikeforce still slowly moving forward with their heavyweight grand prix tournament, it’s a little surprising that there wasn’t much movement in the heavyweight division in February.

Mark Hunt’s knockout win over Cheick Kongo forced the B/R staff to knock Kongo out of the rankings, and it opened the door for a new fighter to take his place.

Curiously enough, Hunt was unable to nab that final spot, and it looks like he will have to do a little bit more to earn a spot in the top ten.

This weight class features more fighters outside of the UFC than most, but once the heavyweight merger is complete, we will end up seeing a ton of fights between the best in the world.

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. Antonio Silva

Promotion: Strikeforce

Record: 16-3

Most Recent Fight: Loss to Daniel Cormier at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov

Next Scheduled Fight: N/A

Previous Ranking: N/A

After a shockingly dominant victory over Fedor Emelianenko in the first round of the Strikeforce grand prix, Antonio Silva was riding high as one of the favorites to win the entire tournament prior to his fight with Daniel Cormier.

Cormier was a bit too much for “Bigfoot,” and Silva ended up getting crushed by an uppercut and left the tournament in as memorable of fashion as he started it.

Now with the Strikeforce heavyweight division set to mold into the UFC’s in the next year, Silva will likely fight inside the Octagon in his next bout and have a chance to prove he is a legitimate contender in the biggest organization in the world.

9. Minotauro Nogueira

Promotion: UFC

Record: 33-7-1 [1 NC]

Most Recent Fight: Loss to Frank Mir at UFC 140

Next Scheduled Fight: N/A

Previous Ranking: 9

One of the true legends of the sport, it’s unknown how much time Minotauro Nogueira has left at the top of the sport, but it’s probably safe to bet that it won’t be too much longer.

Nogueira has gone through some serious wars throughout his career in both the UFC and in Pride, and it’s gotten to the point where the man that was once believed to be unfinishable has been stopped in three of his last five fights.

After getting his arm snapped by Frank Mir at UFC 140, Nogueira will have to take a bit of a step back in competition in his next one, and if he's unable to pull out a win there, it may be time for him to call it a career.

8. Josh Barnett

Promotion: Strikeforce

Record: 31-5

Most Recent Fight: Defeated Sergei Kharitonov at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov

Next Scheduled Fight: Daniel Cormier at TBA

Previous Ranking: 8

As a former UFC champion who has continued his success at a high level for several years now, it seems like Josh Barnett is always overlooked in the heavyweight division.

His failed drug tests and recent lack of competition have hurt his legacy a bit over the years, but Barnett is still one of the most dangerous heavyweights alive, and if he beats Daniel Cormier in the finals of Strikeforce’s heavyweight grand prix, he’ll be back at the top of the sport.

It remains to be seen if UFC president Dana White will allow him back inside the Octagon even if he wins the tournament, but Barnett has to be considered one of the best even if he never fights in the UFC again.

7. Daniel Cormier

Promotion: Strikeforce

Record: 9-0

Most Recent Fight: Defeated Antonio Silva at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov

Next Scheduled Fight: Josh Barnett at TBA

Previous Ranking: 6

It’s tough to be an undefeated fighter in any weight class, but it may be even harder to stay perfect in a division where everyone hits hard enough to knock you unconscious with a single punch.

Daniel Cormier has taken the MMA world by surprise, coming into the Strikeforce grand prix as a late replacement and knocking out one of the favorites in Antonio Silva in the semifinal round.

Now with only MMA veteran Josh Barnett in his way, if Cormier can pull off the win, he’ll have a ton of momentum heading into his UFC debut that will come soon after.

6. Fabricio Werdum

Promotion: UFC

Record: 15-5-1

Most Recent Fight: Defeated Roy Nelson at UFC 143

Next Scheduled Fight: N/A

Previous Ranking: 7

Following in the footsteps of Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum walked into the UFC as a former Strikeforce star and promptly proved that the San Jose based organization had some serious talent after all.

Though it pales in comparison to his career-defining win over Fedor Emelianenko, Werdum’s return to the UFC against Roy Nelson was an extremely successful one and quickly had fans calling for him to face a top-five opponent.

With a solid jiu-jitsu game and some stand-up that looked phenomenal against Nelson, Werdum is going to be a tough out for anyone in the division this time around.

5. Shane Carwin

Promotion: UFC

Record: 12-2

Most Recent Fight: Loss to Junior dos Santos at UFC 131

Next Scheduled Fight: N/A

Previous Ranking: 5

When you think about the most powerful men in MMA, Shane Carwin’s name immediately comes to mind.

Simply put, the dude hits like a truck, and pretty much any man on the planet will go down in a heap if Carwin connects with a couple of hard punches.

His power almost secured him a UFC title back at UFC 116, but then, champion Brock Lesnar survived an early onslaught from Carwin and ended up tapping out “The Engineer” in the second round.

The last few years have been marred by injures for Carwin, but a nice win or two in 2012 will shove him right back into contention.

4. Frank Mir

Promotion: UFC

Record: 16-5

Most Recent Fight: Defeated Minotauro Nogueira at UFC 140

Next Scheduled Fight: N/A

Previous Ranking: 4

Is Frank Mir the Ronda Rousey of men’s MMA, or is it the other way around?

Either way, Mir has shown he isn’t afraid to take someone’s arm home with him, having once broken Tim Sylvia’s arm in an armbar and recently snapping Minotauro Nogueira’s limb off in a nasty kimura at UFC 140.

Combine that with knockout power on the feet and some ever-improving wrestling skills and Mir may be back into a title fight much quicker than most of us imagined after seeing him get beat down by Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin.

3. Cain Velasquez

Promotion: UFC

Record: 9-1

Most Recent Fight: Loss to Junior dos Santos at UFC on Fox 1

Next Scheduled Fight: N/A

Previous Ranking: 3

The former heavyweight champion of the world is still known as one of the best fighters in the sport, but inactivity has made Cain Velasquez a bit of a forgotten man in the heavyweight division.

After a yearlong layoff from his UFC title win to his loss to Junior dos Santos last November, Velasquez is sitting on the sidelines once again and has no fight scheduled as of early March.

Velasquez will need to get back into the cage soon if he wants to make a claim for a rematch with JDS, as the ever changing landscape of MMA will create new contenders much faster than one might think.

2. Alistair Overeem

Promotion: UFC

Record: 36-11 [1 NC]

Most Recent Fight: Defeated Brock Lesnar at UFC 141

Next Scheduled Fight: Junior dos Santos at TBA

Previous Ranking: 2

Alistair Overeem has been a force ever since he moved to the heavyweight division, but fighting in Strikeforce and winning K1 kickboxing tournaments can only gain you so much popularity.

Overeem was one of the fighters fans talked about most when they discussed who needed to be signed to the UFC, and last December, Overeem finally made his UFC debut, and it turned out to be a great one.

Knocking out one of the most popular fighters of all time in Brock Lesnar, Overeem quickly made himself one the top contender in the division and will get a shot at Junior dos Santos later this year.

1. Junior dos Santos

Promotion: UFC

Record: 14-1

Most Recent Fight: Defeated Cain Velasquez at UFC on Fox 1

Next Scheduled Fight: Alistair Overeem at TBA

Previous Ranking: 1

Being a champion has many perks, but being called the best in the world at your weight is definitely one of them.

Junior dos Santos has destroyed everyone in his path since entering the Octagon way back at UFC 95, and if he keeps fighting the way he has, he may be on top of the division for a long time.

With former Strikeforce champion and consensus No. 2 ranked heavyweight Alistair Overeem waiting in the wings, dos Santos has a chance to solidify his spot at the top even further in his next bout.