Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

Despite the fact that October's UFC 104 will see #1 Lyoto Machida defend his UFC title against #4 Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, the division has been dominated by talk of who's not going to be fighting anytime soon. That would be #2 Quinton "Rampage" Jackson who has declared himself retired after a falling out with Dana White over the A-Team movie.

This leaves #3 Rashad Evans in limbo and out of a potentially huge money fight coming off of the two coaching the biggest rated TUF series ever. Rumors have matched up Rashad against #7 Thiago Silva, but that seems like a high-risk, low-reward bout for the ex-champ.

He's in good company with #5 Forrest Griffin in a post-Anderson Silva funk, #6 Gegard Mousasi injured and having to opt out of the DREAM Super-Hulk tournament, #9 Anderson Silva who's just a very dangerous dilettante in this division, and #10 Rich Franklin whose UFC 103 loss leaves him more betwixt and between than ever.

#8 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is expected to make his UFC debut against #11 Luiz Cane but Nogueira has already said he won't fight his friend Lyoto Machida for the title. As much as I love Little Nog, I'd hate to see Cane knocked off as a potential contender for nothing.

Another legend will be coming to the UFC 205lb division at UFC 105 when ex-champ Randy Couture makes his return against #17 Brandon Vera. This is Vera's biggest chance to get over as a contender in the UFC's toughest division. It's also Couture's last chance for a title run. Should make for compelling viewing free on Spike TV.

One bout that will have an impact on the future of the division is the #18 Jon Jones vs #19 Matt Hamill fight at the TUF 10 Finale on December 5. If Jones wins he'll be on the fast-track to contender status. That might be too much too soon for the talented youngster but Matt Hamill should present a very formidable challenge for Jones.

UFC 106 will be co-headlined by former UFC champs #21 Tito Ortiz and #25 Mark Coleman in a bout that has more commercial than competitive relevance. If Randy Couture loses at UFC 105 we could very well see the loser of Ortiz-Coleman face Couture in another lucrative but irrelevant bout.

If #23 Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou wins the DREAM super-hulk tournament as he should, Strikeforce might be able to present him as a semi-legitimate challenger for Mousasi's title. But given the UFC's utter dominance of the division they are looking at some slim pickings. 

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.