Recently, Sherdog updated their rankings again and I was quite surprised to see Mike Russow at #10 in the Heavyweight rankings.  I thought I was dreaming last month when I saw him in their Top 10, but now I know that it’s for real.  A dream it was not.

It’s quite common to see human polled subjective rankings seemingly “grab” a fighter at random to slide into an open final spot.  After all, Russow didn’t get into the Top 10 via some big win, nor did he accomplish a ranking boost due to a loss (see: Michael Bisping).  For Russow, it was Carwin’s inactivity-fueled ejection from the list that let Russow mysteriously slide into the #10 position.

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The middleweight division has been in the spotlight as of late, with both the UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and his Strikeforce counterpart Luke Rockhold making successful title defenses this month, and Chris Weidman emerging as a possible contender to the UFC gold. Another high profile bout is coming up this weekend as Hector Lombard takes on Tim Boetsch at UFC 149, and a bout between [#12] Brian Stann and [#13] Michael Bisping has been slated for UFC 152.

Here are fifteen other middleweight matchups I would like to see in UFC and Strikeforce:

[#2] Chael Sonnen vs [#25] Wanderlei Silva

While Sonnen remains the #2 middleweight, going 0-2 against the champion sends him to the back of the proverbial line when it comes to title contention. Given the animosity which exists between Chael and Wanderlei Silva, this should make for some epic smack talk and an entertaining matchup without title implications.

[#3] Chris Weidman vs  the winner of [#6] Hector Lombard / [#9] Tim Boetsch

After an impressive win over Mark Munoz, Weidman is pushing for a shot at the champion. However it is not likely that Anderson will fight again this year, and sitting on the bench waiting for a title shot will do no favors to Weidman’s career. Pit Weidman against Lombard or Boetsch and you have a legitimate #1 contender for Anderson Silva’s next fight.

[#4] Luke Rockhold vs [#20] Lorenz Larkin

It’s dificult to find a true contender on Strikeforce’s anemic roster. Luke Rockhold expressed interest in rematching Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, and Roger Gracie is quickly moving up the rankings. However I believe Souza and Gracie are better off fighting each other next. Rockhold should instead take on Lorenz Larkin, who made an solid divisional debut with a unanimous decision win over Robbie Lawler.

[#5] Vitor Belfort vs [#7] Alan Belcher

Alan Belcher looked like a monster since returning to action from an injury layoff, finishing Jason MacDonald and Rousimar Palhares in the first round. Vitor Belfort also racked up two first-round stoppages over Yoshihiro Akiyama and Anthony Johnson since suffering a knockout courtesy of Anderson Silva.   Guaranteed fireworks, and a win will move one of these middlweights into the title picture.

[#8] Rich Franklin vs [#46] Cung Le

Former champion Rich Franklin was as scrappy and resilient as ever in his return to the middleweight division, and spoke of making one last run at the title. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?) for ‘Ace’, a third matchup with Anderson Silva remains an impossibly tough sell even 5 years after they last met in the Octagon. For now Franklin is relegated to big-name, low-significance ‘superfights’. He was slated to meet Cung Le in his most recent fight before injuries forced card changes. With both guys coming off hard-fought victories, this remains an intriguing matchup.

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When taking a look at all of the major ranking sites, there is one fighter ranked very highly by the others, whom we are pretty harsh on — and that is Michael Bisping.

On Sherdog’s most recent ranking, he is ranked #4 in the Middleweight division.  They are not alone, as the USA Today meta-rankings (of which we are a part of) have him just one notch lower, at #5.  On FightMatrix, he is currently at #14.

Now, I’m not just defending the system here — I truly believe that these sites are overrating Michael Bisping.  Let’s take a look at his performances from the past 3.5 years and the current ranking of those opponents.

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Notable Info

With this latest release, we updated a piece of the methodology that computes the division dominance list used for our current rankings.

The entire basis of how the list is compiled remains identical, with the exception that the “contenders” that are used as the sample size for comparison will be scaled based upon the size of the division.  We believe this more accurately represents divisional depth and will more appropriately reward fighters who have elevated themselves to the top of the deeper and more competitive divisions.

If you are interested, you can follow the evolution of brainstorming that led to this change here in our forum.

Notable Info

• With his recent retirement, Fedor will only remain in the current rankings for one more week.  Upon the next update, he will be dropped.
• A minor modification was made to distribute a small division dominance penalty to any #1 ranked fighters with only one recent win in their currently listed division.  The gap between an equation and a “pound-for-pound” list is hopefully now lessened.

Notable Info

• Women Strawweight expanded from 15 to 20.

Notable Info

• Jose Aldo finally displaced Urijah Faber as the top Featherweight in history.  This may fluctuate a time or two, but Aldo should eventually hold this position moving forward.
• Junior dos Santos moves up the Heavyweight ladder, as he swaps spots with Frank Mir, taking #7.  Cain Velazquez also moves up one spot, to displace the venerable pioneer Bas Rutten at #9.  JDS should move into #6 very shortly, as the new crop of Heavyweights are moving past the old guard.
• Martin Kampmann surges into the Welterweight list at #18, with his stunning victory over #23 Ellenberger, who himself drops a spot to make room.
• Mark Munoz is the latest to claim the #25 spot at Middleweight.  Although this may seem premature, he is now 7-1 in the UFC Middleweight division, with his only loss, a split decision to #7 Yushin Okami.  He also holds a win over #11 Maia.
• Tara LaRosa retakes the top position in the Women’s list with Fujii’s second loss (which she deserved to win) in the states.  As Fujii and #3 Tsuji fade, the chance to lockup the top spot, at least temporarily, is completely in LaRosa’s hands.  She needs to face quality opposition.

With Georges St. Pierre’s late-July inactivity removal from the rankings looming and nothing scheduled for Carlos Condit, a rare situation could have a non-UFC champion ranked at #1 in the division.  Despite Condit’s split decision win over Ellenberger nearly three years ago, a dominant win for Ellenberger on Friday will seal this as a certainty, as he will pass Condit in the rankings.

This will create a three-headed dragon at the top of the division that may take quite a bit of time to unwind, depending on how long St. Pierre sits out of action.  With time, we could have a similar situation in the Bantamweight division, thanks to the weakening ACLs that we’ve been seeing lately in professional sports.