UFC 127 Results: Top 10 Middleweights in the UFC
As the dust clears from UFC 127 in the land down under, the middleweight division has a great collection of fighters that are looking up at Anderson Silva and a future title shot for his UFC middleweight title.
When anyone ranks fighters, it is a good idea to give the parameters of how the list was made so people reading the list will not come rip it apart, right Bleachers?
With that said, the basic parameters for the list is that a fighter must have fought within the last year of this list, in addition to not losing two or more fights in a row inside the Octagon.
Now that the groundwork has been laid down, let's check out who ranks number one in the top middleweight right now in the UFC.
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Chael Sonnen
1 of 11
Overall Record: 25-11-1
Most Recent Result: Submission loss against Anderson Silva at UFC 117.
Last Five Fights: 3-2
Next Scheduled Fight: Unknown
With his suspension from the UFC for legal issues for money laundering, the inclusion felt as though being undeserving since there is no timeline for when or if Sonnen will ever return to the Octagon.
No. 10: Jorge Santiago
2 of 11
Overall Record: 4-1
Most Recent Result: TKO victory over Kazuo Misaki at Sengoku 14.
Last Five Fights: 4-1
Next Scheduled Fight: Brian Stann at UFC 130.
After a successful run with the World Victory Road promotion, Santiago returns to the UFC looking to capture the the promotion's middleweight title in his second run after a three-fight stretch in 2006 where he won once and lost twice by knockout to Chris Leben and Alan Belcher.
No. 9: Demian Maia
3 of 11
Overall Record: 14-2
Most Recent Result: Unanimous decision victory over Kendall Grove at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale.
Last Five Fights: 3-2
Next Scheduled Fight: Unknown
After marking his only second loss in his career to Anderson Silva at UFC 112, Maia has righted the ship with two consecutive unanimous decision victories over Kendall Grove and Mario Miranda in recent months for the dangerous Brazilian submission expert.
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No. 8: Chris Leben
4 of 11
Overall Record: 25-7
Most Recent Result: TKO loss against Brian Stann at UFC 125.
Last Five Fights: 3-2
Next Scheduled Fight: Unknown
After his sudden TKO loss to Brian Stann on New Year's Day last month, Leben will need to regain the path that he was following after he made his comeback push in 2010 that featured three victories in the span of seven months.
No. 7: Michael Bisping
5 of 11
Overall Record: 21-3
Most Recent Result: TKO victory over Jorge Rivera at UFC 127.
Last Five Fights: 4-1
Next Scheduled Fight: Unknown
After the Brit's impressive win over Jorge Rivera last night, Bisping now currently sits on a three-bout winning streak that could lead to his very first title shot with the UFC later this year after his debut with the promotion in the summer of 2006.
No. 6: Wanderlei Silva
6 of 11
Overall Record: 33-10-1
Most Recent Result: Unanimous decision victory over Michael Bisping at UFC 110.
Last Five Fights: 2-3
Next Scheduled Fight: Unknown
Since his middleweight debut victory over Bisping, the "Axe Murderer" has been on the shelf dealing with injuries, including knee surgery last summer, that has kept the Brazilian away from the Octagon for a very long stretch and still is unsure who will be his first opponent after he backed out of his UFC 130 fight with Brian Stann.
No. 5: Brian Stann
7 of 11
Overall Record: 10-3
Most Recent Result: TKO victory over Chris Leben at UFC 125.
Last Five Fights: 4-1
Next Scheduled Fight: Jorge Santiago at UFC 130.
For the all-American former military captain, the middleweight division has been good to Stann in his two career bouts at the weight with two very impressive victories with a TKO of Leben and a submission of Mike Massenzio as he looks to climb the middleweight rankings in route to challenge for the belt.
No. 4: Vitor Belfort
8 of 11
Overall Record: 19-9
Most Recent Result: KO loss against Anderson Silva at UFC 126.
Last Five Fights: 4-1
Next Scheduled Fight: Unknown
After his title bout with Silva at UFC 126, Belfort, usually scoring the big punch in his fights, felt the sting of a loss by way of knockout from the attack by Silva for the first time in his career with two TKO losses from Randy Couture.
No. 3: Nate Marquardt
9 of 11
Overall Record: 30-10-2
Most Recent Result: Unanimous judges' decision loss against Yushin Okami at UFC 122.
Last Five Fights: 3-2
Next Scheduled Fight: Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 128.
After failing in his middleweight title eliminator to Yushin Okami, Marquardt will likely get back on track as he will challenge Yoshihiro Akiyama, who has been on a slide of his own, dropping his last two fights to Chris Leben and Michael Bisping.
No. 2: Yushin Okami
10 of 11
Overall Record: 26-5
Most Recent Result: Unanimous judges' decision victory over Nate Marquardt at UFC 122.
Last Five Fights: 4-1
Next Scheduled Fight: Unknown
After his decision win over Nate Marquardt at UFC 122, Okami is on a three-bout winning streak appearing to be the best challenger to champion Anderson Silva as the Japanese fighter holds the last victory over Silva when the two met at Rumble on the Rock 8 in 2006.
No. 1: Anderson Silva
11 of 11
Overall Record: 28-4
Most Recent Result: KO victory over Vitor Belfort at UFC 126.
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Next Scheduled Fight: Unknown
How can anyone say Silva isn't the top middleweight fighter in the UFC? Since winning the title at UFC 64, "The Spider" has only had two fights go to the judges during his record-breaking title reign, while using a variety of ways to victory in his bouts that were determined in early rounds.
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