MMA Rankings: Little movement among top across January's tables
Updated to include 2009's closing cards and the first month of 2010, SI.com's latest mixed martial arts rankings feature changes to the middle and bottom of most weight divisions. While consistency reigns among the top three in all classes, there is expected to be considerable movement as the calendar shifts from winter to spring.
• Troubled heavyweight Josh Barnett has not fought in 12 months. As a result he's pulled from the rankings, where he stood at No. 4. Despite losing his last two by knockout to Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers, former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski slips back into the top 10.
• Seventh-ranked pound-for-pound fighter Dan Henderson is out of the light heavyweight division, also due to inactivity. Brazilian Luis Arthur Cane is the beneficiary.
• Welterweight Marius Zaromskis' time on the 170-pound list was cut short by Nick Diaz, who returned to welterweight for the first time since 2006 to cut down the dangerous Lithuanian.
• After deciding to leave their longtime haunts at 155 and 145 respectively, Joachim Hansen and Wagnney Fabiano are unranked for the first time in years. Hansen is slated to fight Dream featherweight champion Bibiano Fernandes in March. And Fabiano scored a victory in his debut 135 pounds on Jan. 10.
Heavyweight
1. Fedor Emelianenko (31-1, 1 NC)2. Brock Lesnar (4-1)3. Frank Mir (13-4)4. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1, 1 NC)5. Alistair Overeem (32-11, 1 NC)6. Shane Carwin (11-0)7. Junior dos Santos (10-1)8. Cain Velasquez (7-0)9. Brett Rogers (10-1)10. Andrei Arlovski (15-7)
Others receiving consideration: Fabricio Werdum, Gabriel Gonzaga, Antonio Silva, Aleksander Emelianenko, Todd Duffee
Light Heavyweight
1. Lyoto Machida (16-0)2. Mauricio Rua (18-4)3. Rashad Evans (14-1-1)4. Quinton Jackson (30-7)5. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (18-3)6. Anderson Silva (25-4)7. Forrest Griffin (16-6)8. Gegard Mousasi (28-2-1)9. Thiago Silva (14-2)10. Luis Arthur Cane (10-2)
Others receiving consideration: Jon Jones, Keith Jardine, Randy Couture, Rich Franklin, Vladimir Matyushenko
Middleweight
1. Anderson Silva (25-4)2. Dan Henderson (25-7)3. Nate Marquardt (29-8-2)4. Vitor Belfort (19-8)5. Jake Shields (24-4-1)6. Robbie Lawler (17-5, 1 NC)7. Demian Maia (11-1)8. Chael Sonnen (24-10-1)9. Yushin Okami (23-5)10. Mamed Khalidov (20-3-1)
Others receiving consideration: Jorge Santiago, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Paulo Filho, Ronaldo Souza, Michael Bisping
Welterweight
1. Georges St. Pierre (19-2)2. Jon Fitch (21-3, 1 NC)3. Thiago Alves (16-6)4. Paulo Thiago (12-1)5. Josh Koscheck (14-4)6. Matt Hughes (43-7)7. Carlos Condit (24-5)8. Nick Diaz (21-7, 1 NC)9. Dan Hardy (23-6, 1 NC)10. Mike Swick (14-3)
Others receiving consideration: Martin Kampmann, Paul Daley, Jay Hieron, Marius Zaromskis, Dan Hornbuckle
Lightweight
1. B.J. Penn (15-5-1)2. Shinya Aoki (23-4, 1 NC)3. Eddie Alvarez (19-2)4. Tatsuya Kawajiri (26-5-2)5. Gray Maynard (9-0, 1 NC)6. Frankie Edgar (11-1)7. Gilbert Melendez (17-2)8. Kenny Florian (12-4)9. Sean Sherk (33-4-1)10. Tyson Griffin (14-2)
Others receiving consideration: Joe Stevenson, Josh Thomson, Gesias Cavalcante, Evan Dunham, Jim Miller
Featherweight
1. Jose Aldo (16-1)2. Mike Thomas Brown (23-5)3. Urijah Faber (23-3)4. Hatsu Hioki (20-4-2)5. Raphael Assuncao (14-2)6. Bibiano Fernandes (7-2)7. Manny Gamburyan (10-4)8. Masanori Kanehara (16-7-5)9. Michihiro Omigawa (9-8)10. Deividas Taurosevicius (12-3)
Others receiving consideration: Takeshi Inoue, Marlon Sandro, Josh Grispi, Joe Soto, Mackens Semerzier
Bantamweight
1. Brian Bowles (8-0)2. Miguel Torres (37-2)3. Masakatsu Ueda (10-0-2)4. Dominick Cruz (14-1)5. Joseph Benavidez (11-1)6. Scott Jorgensen (8-3)7. Takeya Mizugaki (12-4-2)8. Damacio Page (12-4)9. Rani Yahya (15-5)10. Eddie Wineland (16-6-1)
Others receiving consideration: Antonio Banuelos, Eduardo Dantas, Charlie Valencia, Akitoshi Tamura, Wagnney Fabiano
Flyweight
1. Jussier da Silva (3-0)2. Shinichi Kojima (10-4-5)3. Mamoru Yamaguchi (23-5-3)4. Yuki Shojo (9-5-2)5. Yasuhiro Urushitani (16-4-6)6. Ryuichi Miki (10-3-3)7. Mitsuhisa Sunabe (11-5-3)8. Pat Runez (3-0)9. Masaaki Sugawara (9-4-1)10. Alexis Vila (6-0)
Others receiving consideration: Ayumu Shioda, Kiyotaka Shimizu, John Dodson, Isao Hirose, Hiroyuki Abe
Pound-for-pound
1. Anderson Silva (Brazil)2. Georges St. Pierre (Canada)3. Fedor Emelianenko (Russia)4. B.J. Penn (U.S.)5. Lyoto Machida (Brazil)6. Jose Aldo (Brazil)7. Dan Henderson (U.S.)8. Brian Bowles (U.S.)9. Miguel Torres (U.S.)10. Shinya Aoki (Japan)
