To be the man, you gotta beat the man.
Well, Chris Weidman beat the man that held the top spot in the 185-pound rankings for the past six years, thanks to a stunning, second-round knockout of Anderson Silva in the main event of the UFC 162: "Silva vs. Weidman" pay-per-view (PPV) event, which took place back on July 6, 2013 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Relive the madness here.
At the same event. Mark Munoz got himself back into the conversation by turning away fellow division stalwart Tim Boetsch, which means the SB Nation rankings panel -- compiled by MMA Mania, MMA Fighting and Bloody Elbow -- recently reshuffled the top middleweight mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and beyond.
Here's what they came up with:
1. Chris Weidman
2. Anderson Silva
3. Vitor Belfort
4. Yushin Okami
5. Michael Bisping
6. Mark Munoz
7. Ronaldo Souza
8. Constantinos Philippou
9. Luke Rockhold
10. Tim Boetsch
Bellator's Alexander Shlemenko received one vote, as did UFC's Cung Le. To see how these compare to the "official" UFC rankings click here. Remember, this could do a complete 360 and go back to the way it was when "The Spider" gets his rematch at UFC 168 (details here).
Thoughts?
You've heard from us, Maniacs, now let's hear from you. Top 10 middleweight fighters are ...