Rank

Fighter

Comments

1.

Anderson Silva

His name is The Spider, king of kings: Look on his works, ye Mighty, and despair.

2.

Rich Franklin

Ace’s last match against Travis Lutter reminded us of how brilliant he can be when he’s not fighting Anderson Silva, who’s still the only middleweight to ever defeat him. We’d kill to see Franklin take on Dan Henderson and prove who really deserves the runner-up spot among the world’s middleweights.

3.

Paulo Filho

We know it’s harsh to drop Filho a spot for going through a personal crisis. But realistically, we’re not sure how many top ten middleweights Filho could beat at this point. Will being free of his drug addiction turn him into an even more dominant fighter, or has his confidence been irreparably damaged? His rematch with Chael Sonnen will reveal the answer…

4.

Kazuo Misaki

5.

Dan Henderson

Losing to two champions doesn’t make you a has-been. Hendo just needs a couple of solid wins to skate back to the top three. Still, like everyone else in the UFC’s middleweight division, a championship belt is out of the question as long as Anderson Silva lives and breathes.

6.

Yushin Okami

7.

Robbie Lawler

8.

Frank Trigg

9.

Jason Miller

10.

Matt Lindland

IFL superfights aside, The Law’s career has drifted aimlessly since he parted ways with the UFC in 2005; of course, getting screwed by BodogFight isn’t in anybody’s 5-year plan. We hope his deal with Affliction’s new MMA promotion will have him fighting regularly and against tough opponents, because as of now, his talent is being wasted to a tragic degree.