The GOAT's UFC Power Rankings: Middleweight Division Top Five

Many fans of the UFC have their own opinions as to who is the "best" fighter in each respective weight division.  Similar to every week in the NFL, The GOAT will update Power Rankings after each UFC pay-per-view event.

The GOAT ranking system combines a proprietary formula that has been developed using mathematical modeling along with subjective analysis from 15 years of MMA viewing.

The GOAT strongly encourages those to post an argument for a fighter that you feel is over/under rated. All valid reasoning will be taken into consideration for the subsequent article as The GOAT continually pursues improvement to the system.

MMA UFC POWER RANKINGS

1. Anderson Silva

No shocker here.  Anderson successfully defended his UFC title on Saturday and moved his UFC undefeated streak right along (12).  Silva was challenged by Sonnen's worldclass wrestling for a majority of the fight, but was able to submit Sonnen via triangle choke halfway through the fifth and final round.

In no way do I feel Silva has been tarnished by this bout.  He came out and stopped a very good fighter all while battling a rib injury suffered in a sparring session in the previous week.  Did he look human? Sure did, but so did Michael Jordan when he would shoot 6-21 from the field in a Bulls playoff game.  But like all great champions, he did what he had to do to walk away a Champion.

*Silva has been so dominant during his reign at the top of the UFC, he would still have the number one slot had the fight gone to the cards and he lost.

2. Demian Maia

Settle down Sonnen fans... this is a power ranking system, not the "who just fought a really good fight system".  Maia is the better overall fighter, and actually has a victory over Sonnen head to head.  Because Maia was pathetic in his showing against Silva, does not mean he does not cause serious problems for the rest of the division.  He is a dynamic submission specialist that has a 14-2 record, with his only losses coming against Silva and Marquardt, two very skilled tacticians in the ring.

3. Chael Sonnen

The math does not have Chael in the top 5, but fortunately the subjective aspect to my system squeaks him in here.  I also didn't feel like checking his fanboys for two weeks on the comment boards. Sonnen showed that he is a great wrestler but only a good fighter.  He controlled the fight and took it to Silva, but like so many times in the past, got subbed by fairly remedial BJJ.  

Here's the objective point of view:

Because he is a matchup problem for the best, does not make him second best.

He is 4-4 in his last 8 UFC fights.

He has 10 career losses

When he wins, he generally wins by decision.

When he loses, he is generally submitted (a pretty big part of the sport that he fails to address)

*Look for him to lose his next fight and no longer be heard from.  I cant believe I'm selling out and putting him on here for the Thunder Dans of the world.

4. Vitor Belfort

Very similar pedigree with respect to disciplines as the champ Anderson Silva.  Crazy striker that is also well rounded.  Vitor has a record of 19-8 in his career, but has looked great in his return to the UFC.  Vitor's losses (Couture, Overeem Liddell, Tito, Hendo, etc) are all very respectable, and were at higher weight than the MW division.  

He can catch Anderson and end the fight, so it makes for a very interesting fight that will NOT see a decision.  I would love to see this fight all day before a rematch with Sonnen.  This will be a bloodbath with someone going to sleep.

5. Michael Bisping

I don't like the guy, but his numbers don't lie.  The loudmouth has a record of 19-3 with his only losses coming from the creme de la creme of the UFC (Evans, Hendo, W. Silva).  I don't go too crazy for the English fighters generally speaking, but Bisping has made a name for himself.

Bisping's next fight with Akiyama will be a good gauge to determine his skill set and ranking, but for now, the math has him rounding out the top 5. My current opinion is that he is decently rounded with no stand-out discipline that is championship caliber.

* Honorable mention Nate Marquardt.