USAT/SBN February MMA Consensus Rankings: Middleweight

by Kid Nate on Feb 26, 2010 10:34 AM EST in MMA Rankings

Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Anderson Silva	100	UFC	1
2	Dan Henderson	94	Strikeforce	3
3	Chael Sonnen	89	UFC	5
4	Vitor Belfort	86	UFC	6
4	Nate Marquardt	86	UFC	2
6	Demian Maia	81	UFC	4
7	Jake Shields	77	Strikeforce	7
8	Robbie Lawler	58	Strikeforce	10
9	Yushin Okami	55	UFC	8
10	Mamed Khalidov	45	WVR	12
11	Yoshihiro Akiyama	42	UFC	9
12	Jorge Santiago	42	WVR	11
13	Ronaldo Souza	39	DREAM/Strikeforce	16
14	Michael Bisping	32	UFC	14
15	Thales Leites	30	MFC	20
16	Paulo Filho	29	DREAM	13
17	Kazuo Misaki	26	K-1	29
18	Alan Belcher	26	UFC	18
19	Patrick Cote	25	UFC	19
20	Alessio Sakara	25	UFC	26
21	Gegard Mousasi	25	Strikeforce	28
22	Melvin Manhoef	25	Strikeforce	17
23	Rich Franklin	25	UFC	25
24	Scott Smith	24	Strikeforce	20
25	Ricardo Almeida	24	UFC	24

Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

#1 Anderson Silva may still rule the division with an iron hand, but #3 Chael Sonnen made everyone sit up and take notice with his utter domination of a very tough #4 Nate Marquardt at UFC 109.

Sadly, #6 Demian Maia will get the next shot at Silva's title at UFC 112, rather than the red-hot Sonnen due to injuries and scheduling realities.

#4 Vitor Belfort was supposed to be facing Silva at UFC 112 but he opted for shoulder surgery instead.

#2 Dan Henderson will presumably make his Strikeforce debut by challenging #7 Jake Shields for the Strikeforce title at Strikeforce in April.

#8 Robbie Lawler could be in line for the winner of that fight after his impressive KO win over #22 Melvin Manhoef at Strikeforce : Miami. Middleweight is the one division where Strikeforce has enough critical mass to have not only the occasional entertaining bout, but an actual pool of contenders.

#9 Yushin Okami will continue his exile when he fights the dangerous but unranked Lucio Linhares on the undercard of UFN 21 in March.

The UFC's other top Japanese middleweight #11 Yoshihiro Akiyama has been shelved since UFC 100 but is widely rumored to be facing Wanderlei Silva next.

World Victory Road will be presenting a rematch of #10 Mamed Khalidov and #12 Jorge Santiago but this time for Santiago's title at their March Sengoku Raiden Championships 12 event.

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.

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.

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Comments

I love Robbie but

he isn’t number 8 in the world.

by Riney on Feb 25, 2010 11:23 AM EST reply actions

Maia needs to be above Sonnen!

And Marquardt above Maia! At least Sonnen is above Nate, but Demian should be- fuck. MW rankings make my head hurt.

In borderline serious news: UFC co-promotion needs to happen so we can see Manhoef fight either Cote or Leben. Unmovable object, meet unstoppable force.

"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe

by pdl on Feb 25, 2010 12:04 PM EST reply actions

:)

Wait, so… Marquardt > Maia > Sonnen > Marquardt?

Bolts from the Blue // "He looks like a catfish" - Nick Hardwick on Brandon Siler
Bloody Elbow // " looks like your comment violated rule #4. and it’s a heck of a rule, rule #4" - Kid Nate

by Richard Wade on Feb 25, 2010 3:27 PM EST up reply actions

Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com

by Brent Brookhouse on Feb 26, 2010 10:40 AM EST up reply actions

Manhoef would tear Leben apart.

And before you say it yes, I know Robbie was getting destroyed before he came back at the end and all that, but Leben has looked terrible and unmotivated in his last handful of outings. He’d get outstruck and likely KO’d.

I like the Cote matchup though.

Without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing.

by lowellthehammer on Feb 26, 2010 11:02 AM EST up reply actions

If you saw Leben’s recent fight against Jay Silva, Leben actually took the fight to the ground for all three rounds and kept taking his back. If Leben stands with Manhoef, Manhoef would probably win, but he doesn’t have the strongest chin so he may get tagged. If Leben takes it to the ground, Manhoef would probably lose.

by chrisbboy82 on Feb 26, 2010 1:11 PM EST up reply actions

I know Dan Henderson robbed Franklin for a decision,but besides that who did he beat to be #2. He is a great fighter but…….. kinda an easy road to the 2 spot. No one else is ranked top 25 that he has a win over in the past 4 yrs? ?? True or false help me out here guys.

by Raycetpfl on Feb 26, 2010 11:43 AM EST via mobile reply actions

Well. he came into the UFC ranked #2 or #3 (behind Anderson Silva and Paulo Filho on some polls) and since than has gone 3-1 at MW, losing to Anderson Silva in Silva’s most competitive fight as champ, and beating Palhares, Frankln #23, and Bisping #12. (OK, Franklin was at LHW but it was to see who was going to join Bisping on the Ultimate Fighter so obviously it had MW implications.) And that doesn’t include beating current MW Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort at LHW back in late 2006 and early 2007.

by John Nash on Feb 26, 2010 11:59 AM EST up reply actions

he is good enough i suppose

I guess it doesn’t really matter your exact rank. After all being ranked # 2 doesn’t really mean much…. a #2 ranking and 5 bucks will get ya a latte but not a ufc title shot.

by Raycetpfl on Feb 26, 2010 1:08 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

By the time he had his first middleweight UFC fight he hadn’t competed at that weight in over 18 months. Anybody who had him at #2 or #3 must have been pretty lenient about inactivity.

Ranking MMA

by JRN on Feb 26, 2010 1:36 PM EST up reply actions

That would have been everybody. I guess since he was the PRIDE MW champ they thought it fitting he was ranked that high.

by John Nash on Feb 26, 2010 2:49 PM EST up reply actions

Chael Sonnen is 3-1 at MW with his wins coming against better quality opponents (and actual middleweights.) There’s no reason why he shouldn’t have the #2 spot.

by yukkurishiteittene on Feb 26, 2010 6:50 PM EST up reply actions

I think..

It has to do w/ that 1 loss. When it came time for his push, he lost to Maia. What I wanna know is how the fuck is Vitor Belfort #4??!! Since his debut at MW, he’s beaten 1 person on that list, and it wasn’t even at MW, wtf?

by Cestus84 on Mar 23, 2010 6:19 PM EDT up reply actions

How is allessio sakara ranked above mousasi & Franklin.. better yet.. how is allessio sakara ranked?

by woodson28 on Feb 26, 2010 12:08 PM EST via mobile reply actions

He won a split decision over Leites?

by goodbones on Feb 26, 2010 12:20 PM EST up reply actions

Only MMA Playground persists in considering Mousasi and Franklin middleweights.

Bolts from the Blue // "He looks like a catfish" - Nick Hardwick on Brandon Siler
Bloody Elbow // " looks like your comment violated rule #4. and it’s a heck of a rule, rule #4" - Kid Nate

by Richard Wade on Feb 26, 2010 2:31 PM EST up reply actions

Then wouldn’t mousasi be ranked higher than jacare?

by woodson28 on Feb 26, 2010 12:25 PM EST via mobile reply actions

Objective linear ranking of the MW division

Here is what the MW rankings look like if you go purely on the philosophy that if you beat a higher ranked opponent, you take his spot.

1. A.Silva
2. Henderson
3. Belfort
4. Franklin
5. Sonnen
6. Okami
7. Sakara
8. Leites
9. Marquardt
10. Maia
11. Souza
12. Lindland
13. Lutter
14. Cote
15. Almeida
16. Grove
17. W. Silva
18. Bisping
19. Akiyama
20. Mousasi
21. Shields
22. J. Miller
23. Lawler
24. Trigg
25. Day
26. Belcher
27. Quarry
28. Gouveia
29. MacDonald
30. Lombard
31. Starnes
32. Leben
33. Rivera
34. Khalidov
35. Santiago
36. Filho
37. Misaki
38. Kang