Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Middleweight

1. Robert Whittaker (19-4)

Whittaker was promoted to undisputed champion late last year when Georges St. Pierre vacated the 185-pound belt, but his official reign got off to a rough start: “The Reaper” was forced to withdraw from a scheduled defense against Luke Rockhold at UFC 221 due to complications from a staph infection in his stomach. The Australian is now on the road to a full recovery and will return to action in a rematch against Yoel Romero -- the man he defeated for interim gold at UFC 213 -- in the UFC 225 headliner.

2. Yoel Romero (13-2)

When Romero goes all-in, it can be a sight to behold. Such was the case at UFC 221, where “The Soldier of God” earned a scary third-round knockout of Luke Rockhold following two competitive frames. Unfortunately for the 2000 Olympic silver medalist, he failed to make weight and was not eligible to win the interim middleweight crown. Nonetheless, the Cuban fighter earned himself a rematch against reigning champion Robert Whittaker in the UFC 225 main event on June 9.

3. Luke Rockhold (16-4)

Rockhold once looked capable of a lengthy reign as UFC middleweight champion. However, the California native is now on the outside of the title picture looking in after suffering a brutal third-round knockout loss to Yoel Romero in the UFC 221 headliner in Perth, Australia. After losing two of his last three fights in the Octagon, Rockhold’s next move looks to be up a division to light heavyweight, where he has been linked to a bout with former title challenger Alexander Gustafsson.

4. Kelvin Gastelum (16-3)

Gastelum made a major statement in Rio de Janeiro by taking a hard-fought split decision over former Strikeforce champion Ronaldo Souza on May 12. Gastelum survived having “Jacare” on his back in the opening frame, dropped his adversary in the second round and held on down the stretch to earn perhaps the most significant win of his career to date. The Kings MMA representative is now targeting the winner of the UFC 225 title clash between Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero.

5. Ronaldo Souza (25-6)

Souza was in prime position to establish himself as a No. 1 contender at UFC 224, but he was unable to get the job done against “The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner Kelvin Gastelum. “Jacare” started quickly but ran out of gas when he could not secure a submission in the first frame. As a result, Gastelum eked out a split decision triumph to hand the 38-year-old Brazilian his second defeat in three outings within the Las Vegas-based promotion.

6. Georges St. Pierre (26-2)

We all knew for one reason or another that even if St. Pierre defeated Michael Bisping at UFC 217 on Nov. 4, he would not be defending the middleweight title against interim champion Robert Whittaker. After just 31 days on the throne, St. Pierre vacated the UFC middleweight title on Dec. 7, citing a bout with colitis. It remains unclear if “Rush” will ever compete in the Octagon again, but UFC President Dana White recently revealed that his next proposed bout could come two weight classes below 185 pounds in a lightweight showdown with Nate Diaz at UFC 227.

7. Gegard Mousasi (43-6-2)

A razor-thin decision victory against Alexander Shlemenko in his Bellator MMA debut gave Mousasi a sixth consecutive victory since 2016. While the Armenian-born Dutchman may have been fortunate to emerge with his winning streak intact, his recent resume has earned him a shot at reigning 185-pound king Rafael Carvalho at Bellator 200 on May 25 in London.

8. Chris Weidman (14-3)

Weidman broke his nightmarish three-fight losing streak at UFC on Fox 25, overcoming a few scares from Kelvin Gastelum to prevail by third-round arm-triangle choke. Better for the Baldwin, New York, native, he got to do it in front of a Nassau Coliseum crowd in the UFC’s Long Island debut, making for a truly memorable moment in the cage. A troublesome thumb injury that has required two surgeries will likely delay Weidman’s Octagon return until at least the fall.

9. Michael Bisping (30-9)

Bisping has long been a company man for the UFC, and he has certainly never been afraid of a challenging bout. Those two tendencies combined for the worse at UFC Fight Night 122, as Bisping filled in for former opponent Anderson Silva against Kelvin Gastelum in Shanghai. Just three weeks after he was choked out by Georges St. Pierre and lost the 185-pound title at UFC 217, the Brit was squashed by Gastelum in 2:30. At the moment, it is unclear if Bisping can be lured back into the Octagon for one last swan song.

10. David Branch (21-4)

Faced with an opponent who had earned knockout victories in his last four appearances, Branch turned the tables on Thiago Santos at UFC Fight Night 128. The former two-division World Series of Fighting champion dropped his Brazilian counterpart with an overhand right to the jaw and sealed the victory with hammerfists on the mat 2:30 into Round 1 for his second triumph in three Octagon appearances. Considering he was supposed to face Yoel Romero at UFC on Fox 28 in February, Branch will likely be in line for a highly ranked opponent in his next outing.

Other Contenders: Derek Brunson, Thiago Santos, Paulo Henrique Costa, Brad Tavares, Elias Theodorou.

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