Apart from Alan Belcher’s impressive win over Rousimar Palhares at UFC on Fox 3, May was a relatively quiet month for the middleweight division. After Vitor Belfort suffered an injury and was forced out of a belt with Wanderlei Silva, June will bring even less official middleweight action.
However, Rich Franklin has stepped in as a replacement for Belfort and will meet Silva in a 190-pound catchweight bout that will have implications for the middleweight division. The entire month of June will also build anticipation for a historic 185-pound title fight between champion Anderson Silva and rival Chael Sonnen.
Let’s take a look at the landscape of the top of the middleweight division as we head into a new month and prepare for what could be the biggest fight in the division’s history.
These rankings are the combined efforts of some of Bleacher Report MMA‘s best writers, as we continue to try and provide you with the best content on the web.