Jason MacDonald

It seems appropriate at UFC 77 right around the corner, with Rich Franklin fights current champion UFC middleweight Anderson Silva to give my UFC middleweight top 5 rankings now.

The UFC middleweight division is probably the lowest in all of UFC. In weaker I mean there is a clear champion, a clear second and then everyone is much lower. Mixed Martial Arts has come a long way in a very short period of time, then things could change overnight. Let's get started with my ranking.

5. Chris Leben, I think most MMA fans would not include Chris Leben in the top 5 of the UFC middleweight division, but Leben has an impressive come from behind victory over a very difficult and Terry Martin fought decision loss Kalib Starnes closely with. Personally, I think the Starnes fight was a draw or even a narrow victory Leben.

The thing I was very impressed lately with Leben's ground game. Of course, it is not at Jason MacDonald or Travis Lutter, but he defended very well and even tried some arguments in the fight Starnes. It is clear after his loss to Chris Leben MacDonald Silva returned to the drawing board and made some improvements to his game real.

4. Jason MacDonald had an actual sequence goes before his meeting with Rich "Ace" Franklin. He had back to back wins over Ed Herman and ultimate fighters Chris Leben winning both fights by submission. MacDonald had a little back side when he recently dethroned champion Rich Franklin. This fight showed just how big of a difference there is in the UFC middleweight division, but MacDonald is it to take all in stride, and a recent victory at UFC 72 Rory Singer shows that "athlete" is back on track. Jason MacDonald takes Yushin Okami at UFC 77, could see who will face the winner of Anderson Silva and Rich Franklin.

3. Yushin Okami and Jason MacDonald are both face Rich Franklin, but did not face middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Since Okami got less beaten by Franklin that MacDonald did, I gave him the number three spot. I think that if Okami had committed earlier in the fight, he might be decisioned Franklin.

2. Rich Franklin is defintely worthy of its status as No. 2. He defeated the third and fourth best fighters in the division and deserves to get his title rematch against Anderson Silva. Until Silva arrived on the scene, it looked like Rich Franklin remains on top of the mountain of average weight for a while. Franklin took a beating at the hands of Silva and I am curious to see what improvements he has made to his game / strategy for the return leg.

1. Anderson Silva is the best in the UFC, maybe the best in the world. Real MMA fans would like to see a fight between Matt Lindland and Anderson Silva to decide the best middleweight MMA, but since Lindland does not fight in the UFC, Anderson Silva, who we reign supreme. His dominant performance against Chris Leben, Rich Franklin, Travis Lutter, and most recently Nate Marquardt dominance true. In fact, in his last 4 fights that we have passed the second round and they account for only 10 minutes from time of global struggle.

Anderson Silva is throwing punches extremely comfortable all angles. He is not afraid of being taken down, so he can take great risks throwing knees theft and other high-profile strikes. That kind of fight that will both keep Anderson on or near the top of the middleweight division for a while. Fans thrilled to see the great strikes and there is nothing more satisfying for a KO.

This completes the UFC middleweight top 5. Time to start working on the UFC heavyweight 5, but with the departure of Randy Couture and the recent signing of M-1.