The month of June is only half over, but it has already given us a new TUF champion in Mike Chiesa and a top flyweight contender in Demetrious Johnson. Also, shortly before the month began, heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos defended his spot atop his division by knocking out Frank Mir.
Over the next month, the landscape of the middleweight division will become much more clear, as champion Anderson Silva will finally meet Chael Sonnen in a long-anticipated rematch. Two additional 185-pound match-ups could also have a significant impact on the division’s rankings, as Rich Franklin returns to middleweight for a fight against Wanderlei Silva and Mark Munoz squares off against fast-rising contender Chris Weidman.
Before what will undoubtedly be a immensely important month for all 185-pound title contenders, let’s take a look at how the entire UFC middleweight roster and the rest of the organization’s divisions currently stack up.
Rankings guidelines and criteria:
- – The following rankings are computerized based primarily on comparing similar competition among fighters.
- – Fighters who have announced their retirement will be ineligible for ranking until they return to the Octagon.
- – Suspended fighters and competitors who have been inactive for more than one calender year will be listed as not ranked.
- – Fighters will be ranked in the division which they last competed unless they are scheduled for a bout in a new division, in which case the fighter will be listed as not ranked in their new division until their scheduled bout occurs.