Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

November is the big month for heavyweights. Ok, well it's not quite as big as it was going to be until yesterday, but it's still big. #1 Fedor Emelianeko will be fighting #8 Brett Rogers on Strikeforce's November 7 CBS debut. A number of things will be decided at that fight. Most of them have more to do with determining the economic viability of the enigmatic Russian star as a headliner on an American network TV broadcast. If Rogers does the unthinkable and upsets Fedor...it won't just be Strikeforce's business model that will be in tatters -- the heavyweight rankings themselves might implode!

#2 Brock Lesnar was going to face #6 Shane Carwin at UFC 106 on November 21. Instead they'll meet at UFC 108 in January. It's kind of a drag that we only get to see Lesnar fight one time in 2009, but hopefully he'll fight twice or even three times in 2010. A Carwin upset won't be the shattering blow to the UFC's fortunes that a Fedor loss will be to Strikeforce, but it certainly will have business implications and will impact the rankings.

#3 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira staked his claim on yet another career revival by thoroughly dominating #9 Randy Couture at UFC 102. It's unclear what will be next for Big Nog. He wants a title shot, but it seems clear that he'll have to win at least one if not two more fights to earn his chance at gold.

#4 Frank Mir will face #16 Cheick Kongo at UFC 107 in December. This is a crucial test for Mir. He has a chance to confirm his re-emergence as a top tier heavyweight, but he could just as easily slip back into irrelevance in the decision.

Speaking of irrelevance, #5 Josh Barnett apparently won't be able to reapply for a license to fight in the USA for at least a year due to his continued troubles with the CSAC. There is a definite shortage of top heavyweights plying their trade in Japan these days so it's not apparent how Barnett can remain relevant in exile.

#7 Junior Dos Santos seems to be cruising towards a title shot after three straight wins in the UFC. He'll be facing #15 Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 108 in January, but presumably is in line behind #11 Cain Velasquez for the title shot even if he wins. Expect Velasquez to rise in the rankings next month as his UFC 104 win over #17 Ben Rothwell was not accounted for in these rankings.

No word on what's next for #10 Andrei Arlovski beyond a recent jaunt to New Mexico to train with Team Greg Jackson.

#11 Alistair Overeem picked up a couple of tuneup wins in the last month. Including a win over the (very) unranked James Thompson at DREAM.12. He's now talking about wanting to fight Fedor in April. Both DREAM and Strikeforce are possible promoters (er co-promoters) for that bout. But Alistair might have to wait in line for his shot at Fedor.

#13 Fabricio Werdum will be taking on #22 Antonio Silva on the Strikeforce Fedor vs Rogers card on November 7. That bout is clearly designed to establish the winner as the next opponent for Fedor. Expect the winner to take a jump in the rankings.

Based on the premise that all MMA rankings are subjective but that it’s still useful and informative to know who the online MMA community as a whole ranks as the best fighters in MMA, we collect and average the rankings of the top MMA websites to produce our consensus rankings. Show more "

We compile the top MMA rankings from each of our sources and award 25 points for a first place ranking, 16 for a 10th place ranking, 1 for a 25th place ranking. A formula is used to "normalize" the data so all fighters are awarded points from those lists that do not include a full 25 fighters. This formula ensures that each ranking site awards the same number of total points regardless of how many fighters they choose to rank. Each fighter’s total is divided by the number of possible points to determine their standing in the Consensus Rankings.