USAT/SBN June MMA Consensus Rankings: Heavyweight

Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

Buckle your seatbelts fight fans, the next 70 days will see some of the biggest heavyweight fights in MMA history. If everything goes according to plan, there will be clarity in the division for the first time since the collapse of PRIDE.

First up at UFC 100, #3 Frank Mir and #5 Brock Lesnar will unify the UFC's heavyweight titles. If Lesnar can beat his nemesis in a rematch it will be the fastest rise by a heavyweight MMA fighter since Mark Coleman emerged at UFC 10.

On August 1, #1 Fedor Emelianenko will face #2 Josh Barnett at Affliction: Trilogy. If Barnett shocks the world he could very well find himself welcomed back in the UFC. If he loses he could be the next victim of the Fedor Curse, a dreaded affliction (sorry!) that has seen those vanquished by Fedor go on to lose their following fight(s) and rapidly slide down the rankings.

If Fedor wins, the big question will be: What Next for Fedor? All signs point to Trilogy being the final Affliction event. Will Fedor return to Japan for his traditional New Year's Eve Feast of the Can or will he finally bear down and cut a deal with the UFC?

At the end of August , MMA legends #4 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and  #6 Randy Couture will finally meet at UFC 102. Something of a senior circuit fight, this is the loser's bracket of the UFC's four man heavyweight mini-tournament. If Nogueira wins in convincing fashion, and Lesnar beats Mir, we could see "Big Nog" get one more run at UFC gold. Ditto for Couture/Mir, but I'll be surprised if Randy is given a rematch against Lesnar should he beat Nogueira.

Eagerly awaiting the outcome of those fights is #7 Shane Carwin. The right combination of winners at UFC 100 & 102 could propel him into an immediate title shot -- Lesnar/Couture or Mir/Nogueira. The wrong combination of winners and Carwin might have to win another fight before he gets his shot.

#8 Brett Rogers is the biggest beneficiary of the Fedor curse this side of Ray Mercer. Rogers' demolition of #9 (former #4) Andrei Arlovski at Strikeforce's June 6th event propelled Rogers up 18 spots in the rankings this month. One of the biggest single month leaps I can recall. No word on what's next for Rogers, but one can hope that the Strikeforce title fight he had booked against #10 Alistair Overeem until Overeem broke his hand in a bar brawl will be rebooked ASAP.

It will be interesting to see if Strikeforce signs Arlovski now that Affliction has opted not to renew their deal with the Belorussian. Surely his price tag is greatly reduced. Unfortunately, there is zero market demand for a rematch of Arlovski and Strikeforce's other big heavyweight acquisition, #14 Fabricio Werdum. I'll expect Arlovski to go to Japan before he signs with Strikeforce or returns to the UFC.

#11 Cain Velasquez had a nice jump of his own after dominating #16 Cheick Kongo at UFC 99. Velasquez easily won the decision, but in the aftermath of a performance that saw him repeatedly dropped by punches, some are calling for the UFC to put the brakes on rushing the AKA fighter to a title shot.