MIDDLEWEIGHT (185-170)

1. Anderson Silva (20-4-0)
You expected someone else? Silva repeated his October 2006 whipping of Rich Franklin with an October 2007 whipping of "Ace" in front of his hometown Cincinnati crowd. Yet another high-level win has even further solidified Silva's stature atop the division. While many are waiting for the other shoe to drop for "The Spider," they may have to wait a bit longer yet; UFC's 185-pound title picture is anything but clear-cut.

2. Paulo Filho (15-0-0)
Adding to an already outstanding lineup, Filho found a fight on the Dec. 12 WEC card in Vegas. He'll fight a veteran middleweight grappler out of Team Quest in Gresham, Oregon -- though not the one most want Filho to fight. Instead of a third-ranked Matt Lindland, Filho fights the unranked Chael Sonnen.

3. Matt Lindland (20-5-0)
"The Law" wins based on addition by subtraction, taking the third spot in the rankings after the removal of previously third-ranked Dan Henderson due to inactivity and the loss of Rich Franklin. However, in order to maintain his ranking and validate his reputation as one of MMA's best fighters, he'll need to beat some elite competition in his division.

4. Rich Franklin (22-3-0, 1 NC)
Following another destruction at the hands of Anderson Silva, Franklin's next move is unclear. He slides below Matt Lindland with the loss. However, with Dan Henderson's subtraction from the top 10, Franklin remains in the four slot. Still a quality competitor in a relatively shallow division, Franklin is left with very few options given the nature of his debasing losses to "The Spider."

5. Nathan Marquardt (25-7-2)
Marquardt found himself overwhelmed by UFC champion Anderson Silva in July. Though many thought Marquardt provided a bad style match for Silva, his chin failed to hold up against the champion's strikes. "Nate The Great" will be in action come Super Bowl weekend against once-beaten Brazilian Thales Leites.

6. Robbie Lawler (15-4-0)
Lawler, the Elite XC and ICON Sport champion, has won seven of eight fights starting in 2005 against the likes of Frank Trigg, Joey Villasenor and Falaniko Vitale twice. His lone loss came against Jason Miller, and he was bombing on "Mayhem" before succumbing to a submission. Lawler returns to ICON Sport in December to defend his organizational title against dangerous banger Kala Kolohe Hose.

7. Yushin Okami (21-4-0)
Following his domination of Jason MacDonald in October, rumors immediately surfaced that Okami was done in the UFC and that Zuffa had no interest in re-signing him. While there is talk of Okami as a part of K-1's 2007 Premium Dynamite! card, Okami and his handlers at least remain outwardly optimistic that he will be in the Octagon in '08.

8. Yoshihiro Akiyama (10-1-0, 1 NC)
After spending almost 11 months on the shelf after his slippery situation with Kazushi Sakuraba, Yoshihiro Akiyama (Pictures) silenced many of his critics with his vicious KO-of-the-year candidate against Denis Kang. Such an outstanding win sees Akiyama jump in the Sherdog.com rankings. However, the more pressing issue, given the inclinations of FEG and the HERO'S product, is whether we'll get to see Akiyama face another top middleweight.

9. Denis Kang (27-9-1, 1 NC)
After a broken hand had kept him out for most of 2007, Kang got a rude welcome back to competition when an Akiyama uppercut sent him to sleep with his eyes wide open. One of the division's most gifted athletes, Kang has had to deal with injury and visa woes this year that have limited and hampered his in-ring performance. With the loss, Kang falls from the No. 7 spot in the Sherdog.com rankings.

10. Frank Trigg (15-6-0)
When Paulo Filho was added to Dec. 12's stacked WEC lineup, rumors immediately broke out that he would meet "Twinkle Toes" in a highly compelling middleweight clash. The problem? No one told Trigg. Trigg is now officially set for action as part of HDNet Fights' Dec. 15 card in Dallas, where he'll meet TUF 4 alum Edwin Dewees.