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Tuesday, May 21
Tuesday, May 21
Oh my. Step aside, Chris Weidman. Vitor Belfort's stunning knockout over Luke Rockhold has him ranked once again as the No. 2 middleweight in the world. Forgive Weidman for not caring, though. With so much discussion based around Belfort's TRT use recently, it's nice to know a bigger story will take place in July. That's when the 28-year-old Weidman looks to take down the best fighter in the world -- and there are plenty out there who like his chances. That storyline will be a welcome break from the TRT headlines, which incensed Belfort so much he told a reporter in Brazil over the weekend to "talk to the hand" like it was 1995.
See how they were ranked here.| Middleweight Power Rankings | |||||
| RANK | FIGHTER | TRENDING | COMMENT | ||
| 1 |  Anderson Silva  33-4-0 | -- Last Rank: 1 | Silva remains two things: (A) an impossible puzzle to figure out in the cage, and (B) a slightly less confusing puzzle to solve outside of it. Chris Weidman gets his turn in July. | ||
| 2 |  Vitor Belfort 23-10-0 | 1 Last Rank: 3 | Goodness gracious, Belfort. The "old dinosaur" feasted on the UFC newcomer like he was a goat tied to a stake. Wow. It's just unfortunate a knockout like Belfort's over Luke Rockhold has to come with inevitable TRT talk. | ||
| 3 |  Chris Weidman  9-0-0 | 1 Last Rank: 2 | Weidman is incredibly confident heading into a summer showdown with "The Spider," and maybe he should be. But there's no denying the difference in competition between everyone else and Silva is enormous. Weidman will need to be as good as advertised. | ||
| 4 |  Chael Sonnen 27-13-1 | -- Last Rank: 4 | He tried and failed at 205 against Jon Jones, but that hasn't stopped Sonnen from targeting Wanderlei Silva. If he still has any hopes of capturing a belt, it should probably be at 185, but it appears that ship may have sailed. | ||
| 5 |  Michael Bisping  24-5-0 | 1 Last Rank: 6 | Bisping made the most of his decision to hop back in the cage after Belfort brained him in January, holding court against Alan Belcher. The haters don't want to see it, but Bisping is a terrific fighter. | ||
| 6 |  Luke Rockhold 10-2-0 | 1 Last Rank: 5 | "Things were going well until he hit me with a spinning back kick to the face." Luke Rockhold, ladies and gentlemen. That UFC debut was as tough as they come, but don't think you've seen the last of this guy. | ||
| 6 |  Ronaldo Souza 18-3-0 | 2 Last Rank: 8 | Alligator fever has infiltrated the UFC middleweight division. Souza is electric and powerful, and it appears as though he's putting it all together in a way he never has before. We may need a "Don't feed the wildlife" sign over here. | ||
| 6 |  Yushin Okami  29-7-0 | 1 Last Rank: 7 | Hector Lombard had two buzzwords attached to him heading into his fight with Okami: "explosive" and "powerful." You know what Okami does with those words? He turns them into "hyperbole" and "hahaha!" | ||
| 9 |  Constantinos Philippou 12-2-0 | 1 Last Rank: 10 | Philippou missed out on a shot at elite competition when a cut forced him off the fight with Souza. Not sure what's next for this Serra-Longo fighter, but he's still poised to make a statement. | ||
| 10 |  Mark Munoz 12-3-0 | 1 Last Rank: 9 | "The Filipino Wrecking Machine" takes on "The Barbarian" Tim Boetsch in July -- not as part of the plot to a bad summer flick but in the UFC cage. This should be a heck of a fight. | ||
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