Jason "Mayhem" Miller and the Top 15 Middleweights in the UFC

For the past few years, the UFC's middleweight division has been its most predictable. 

Anderson Silva has dominated the division since he won the belt back in 2006, leaving everyone else shuffling for second place.

Add Jason Miller to the list of guys fighting for a shot at Silva's title.

Recently, the division has seen major changes such as Silva almost going down to Chael Sonnen, injuries forcing contenders Wanderlei Silva and Alan Belcher to be sidelined, consistent contender Nate Marquardt dropping to welterweight and the addition of Jorge Santiago.

With all of the recent changes in the division, it's tough to see exactly where everyone falls into place. Good thing I have nothing better to do than sit around and rank fighters all day.

15. Yoshihiro Akiyama

Although he is only 1-2 in his UFC career, Sexyama keeps getting high profile opponents.

Since a controversial win over Alan Belcher at UFC 100, Aikiyama has lost his last two fights to Michael Bisping and Chris Leben.

He was recently set to fight Nate Marquardt at UFC 128 last month, but the disaster in his home country of Japan forced him off the card.

Aikiyama will return at UFC 133 against former UFC champion Vitor Belfort.

14. Chris Leben

There are few, if any, fighters in all of MMA more entertaining than Chris Leben.

The Ultimate Fighter 1 vet was on a three-fight win streak with back-to-back wins over Aaron Simpson and Yoshihiro Aikiyama heading into his UFC 125 match up with Brian Stann.

But the notoriously sturdy chin of Leben couldn't hold up against Stann's relentless striking and he was knocked out in the very first round.

Leben returns at UFC 132 against the one fighter who may like to stand and throw leather more than he does, Wanderlei Silva.

13. Rousimar Palhares

With a UFC record of 5-2, and his lone losses coming at the hands of Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt, Rousimar Palhares is quietly climbing the ladder at 185.

Palhares has established himself as a huge threat on the ground, earning a submission in four of his five UFC victories by submission.

A mental mistake against Marquardt and a suspension for holding on to a heel hook for a bit too long have hindered his rise to the top of the division, but Palhares has the talent to be a top-10 middleweight.

12. Jason "Mayhem" Miller

Hopefully, Jason Miller is the first of many Strikeforce fighters to switch promotions and come over to the UFC.

Currently on a two-fight win streak, most casual MMA fans know Miller from his role as the host of MTV's Bully Beatdown show and for his involvement in the post-fight brawl at Strikeforce: Nashville.

Lately, Miller has made headlines by repeatedly calling out current Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz.

Immensely talented and charismatic, Miller is a promoters dream, and fellow loudmouths Michael Bisping and Chael Sonnen have already been rumored as possible opponents for his first UFC fight since 2005.

11. Brian Stann

Brian Stann is such a good guy, Wanderlei Silva didn't even want to fight him. Seriously.

After a third-round submission win over Mike Massenzio in his middleweight debut, Stann was granted a co-main event spot at UFC 125 against Chris Leben.

After demolishing Leben in the first round, Stann was rumored to fight Wanderlei at UFC 130, but has since had his opponent switched to recently signed Jorge Santiago.

10. Mark Munoz

A former NCAA wrestling champion at Oklahoma State, Mark Munoz was once one of the top prospects in the sport, but at 33 years old, his time is running out.

With a 5-1 record at middleweight, with the lone loss coming from current number one contender Yushin Okami, Munoz is quickly working his way to a title shot of his own at 185.

A win over Demian Maia at UFC 131 would thrust Munoz into the title discussion, while a loss might send him too far away to ever reach the top.

9. Alan Belcher

One of the many up-and-coming fighters making waves out of the Roufosport camp, Belcher has long been an exciting prospect in the middleweight division.

Belcher has had an up and down UFC career, with big wins over Jorge Santiago and Patrick Cote helping out his resume and losses to Kendall Grove and Jason Day holding him down.

After his big win over Cote at UFC 113, Belcher was training to fight Demian Maia when he suffered a career-threatening eye injury. He since been cleared to fight, but has yet to enter the Octagon since the injury.

8. Jorge Santiago

After going 0-2 in the UFC back in 2006, it looked like Jorge Santiago wasn't quite cut out to fight the best in the world.

Santiago then went on to win 11 of his next 12 fights and work his way into the top 10 of the division. 

After his recent fight with Kazuo Misaki, a fight that can rightfully be called one of the best of all-time, the UFC came calling once more and he will have a chance to showcase his skills inside the Octagon once more.

Santiago is currently set to fight Brian Stann at UFC 130 next month.

7. Wanderlei Silva

One of the true legends of the sport, Wanderlei Silva has only one career middleweight victory, and due to inactivity that man has passed him on this list.

After winning a close decision over Michael Bisping at UFC 110, Silva was forced to pull out of a fight against Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116 due to injury and hasn't fought since.

After rumored fights against Brian Stann and Vitor Belfort fell through, Silva has been confirmed to fight Chris Leben at UFC 132—a fight he had been wanting for months.

6. Vitor Belfort

Vitor Belfort waited over a year for his shot at the middleweight title and it all ended within one round. 

After knocking out Rich Franklin back at UFC 103, Belfort was set to fight Silva three separate times but various injuries to both fighters prevented it from happening. Finally at UFC 126, Belfort got his shot.

One kick to the face and he's back to square one.

Belfort will look to get back on track when he fights Yoshihiro Aikiyama at UFC 133 in August.

5. Demian Maia

A four-time winner of the Submission of the Night award, Demian Maia is a wizard when the fight hits the mat.

With marquee wins over Chael Sonnen and Dan Miller on his resume, Maia has been in the top five of the middleweight division for almost three years.

Aside from a quick knockout loss to Nate Marquardt and a one-sided beating from Anderson Silva, Maia has dominated every opponent he has fought in the UFC and is only a few wins away from a second shot at UFC gold.

Maia will fight Mark Munoz at UFC 131 in June.

4. Michael Bisping

The Brit is likely a win away from a shot at a UFC title.

Michael Bisping is one of the most hated fighters in the sport, but with four wins in his last five fights, all over decent mid-level fighters, a win over a top guy would move him into a title fight.

Recent reports have Bisping as a rumored coach of the next season of The Ultimate Fighter, with Chael Sonnen as his likely opponent. If this fight goes down, expect some of the best prefight trash talk in UFC history.

3. Yushin Okami

The next in line to fight Anderson Silva for the middleweight title, Yushin Okami is also the last man to defeat Silva, albeit by disqualification, back in 2006.

Thanks to his stifling top control and improved striking, Okami is in the middle of a three-fight win streak with wins over Nate Marquardt and Mark Munoz in the past year. 

Long considered the best fighter to never earn a shot at UFC gold, Okami will finally get his shot at UFC 134 later this year.

2. Chael Sonnen

Possibly the most interesting fighter in the sport, in the last year Chael Sonnen has come within minutes of defeating the greatest fighter of all-time, been busted for using performance enhancing drugs, pleaded guilty to money laundering charges and ran for Congress in his home state of Oregon.

Finally able to get back into the Octagon now that his personal life is under control, Chael is already making headlines by calling out Michael Bisping and taking shots at Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Cro Cop.

Sonnen will apply to get his fighter's license back early next month, and assuming all goes well we could see him fighting again by early fall.

1. Anderson Silva

You were expecting Kalib Starnes?

While Anderson Silva may borrow tactics from Mr. Starnes at times, he is undoubtedly one of the best fighters of all time and the number one middleweight in the world. 

The UFC record-holder for most consecutive wins (13), title defenses (eight) and consecutive title defenses (eight), Silva has dominated the middleweight division since 2006 and aside from a scare against Chael Sonnen last year, has looked virtually unbeatable.