ProMMANow.com World Rankings Update — Alistair Overeem continues his climb

The biggest knock against Alistair Overeem since his move to heavyweight was that he had not faced the toughest opposition. After he signed with the UFC, it became clear that he would face tougher tests. Against Brock Lesnar at UFC 141, Overeem showed that he is a lethal finisher, regardless of the opponent. With the victory, the former Strikeforce and Dream champion moves up the third in the heavyweight top ten. Lesnar, who announced his retirement following the bout, dropped out entirely. The fill the vacancy, Strikeforce heavyweight Antonio Silva returned to the rankings at 10.

For years, Jon Fitch held the spot of second best welterweight in the world. Johny Hendricks put an end to that with a 12-second knockout. Fitch now has a long road back to the title at number nine, while Hendricks’ future looks bright at number eight.

Shinya Aoki successfully defended his Dream lightweight title against former Sengoku champion Satoru Kitaoka. In the process, he kept his spot as the fourth best lightweight in the world. Aoki is expected back in action on the One FC-Dream card, which takes place March 31 in Singapore.

Number-seven ranked featherweight Diego Nunes defeated unranked Manny Gamburyan to hold his place in the rankings.

Heavyweight

1. Junior dos Santos (UFC Champion)
2. Cain Velasquez (UFC)
3. Alistair Overeem (UFC)
4. Fabricio Werdum (Strikeforce)
5. Shane Carwin (UFC)
6. Frank Mir (UFC)
7. Daniel Cormier (Strikeforce)
8. Josh Barnett (Strikeforce)
9. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC)
10. Antonio Silva (Strikeforce)

Upcoming Fights
#7 Daniel Cormier vs. #8 Josh Barnett (3/5/2012)
#1 Junior dos Santos vs.#3 Alistair Overeem (TBA)

Light heavyweight

1. Jon Jones (UFC Champion)
2. Dan Henderson (UFC)
3. Mauricio Rua (UFC)
4. Rashad Evans (UFC)
5. Quinton Jackson (UFC)
6. Lyoto Machida (UFC)
7. Forrest Griffin (UFC)
8. Phil Davis (UFC)
9. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (UFC)
10. Rafael Cavalcante (Strikeforce)

Upcoming Fights
#4 Rashad Evans vs. #8 Phil Davis (1/28/2012)
#5 Quinton Jackson vs. Ryan Bader (2/26/2012)

Middleweight

1. Anderson Silva (UFC Champion)
2. Chael Sonnen (UFC)
3. Yushin Okami (UFC)
4. Mark Munoz (UFC)
5. Nate Marquardt (BAMMA)
6. Vitor Belfort (UFC)
7. Demian Maia (UFC)
8. Brian Stann (UFC)
9. Michael Bisping (UFC)
10. Luke Rockhold (Strikeforce Champion)

Upcoming Fights
#10 Luke Rockhold vs. Keith Jardine (1/7/2012)
#6 Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson (1/14/2012)
#2 Chael Sonnen vs. #4 Mark Munoz (1/28/2012)
#7 Demian Maia vs. #9 Michael Bisping (1/28/2012)
#4 Nate Marquardt vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (welterweight) (2/11/2012)
#3 Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch (2/26/2012)
#6 Vitor Belfort vs. Wanderlei Silva (TBA)

Welterweight

1. Georges St. Pierre (UFC Champion)
2. Nick Diaz (UFC)
3. Josh Koscheck (UFC)
4. Jake Ellenberger (UFC)
5. Jake Shields (UFC)
6. B.J. Penn (UFC)
7. Carlos Condit (UFC)
8. Johny Hendricks(UFC)
9. Jon Fitch (UFC)
10. Martin Kampmann (UFC)

Upcoming Fights
#2 Nick Diaz vs. #7 Carlos Condit (2/4/2012)
#2 Josh Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce (2/4/2012)
#4 Jake Ellenberger vs. Diego Sanchez (2/15/2012)
#5 Jake Shields vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama (2/26/2012)
#10 Martin Kampmann vs. Thiago Alves (3/3/2012)

Lightweight

1. Frankie Edgar (UFC Champion)
2. Gilbert Melendez (Strikeforce Champion)
3. Gray Maynard (UFC)
4. Shinya Aoki (Dream Champion)
5. Benson Henderson (UFC)
6. Jim Miller (UFC)
7. Clay Guida (UFC)
8. Anthony Pettis (UFC)
9. Michael Chandler (Bellator Champion)
10. Eddie Alvarez (Bellator)

#6 Jim Miller vs. Melvin Guillard (1/20/2012)
#1 Frankie Edgar vs. #5 Benson Henderson (2/26/2012)
#8 Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon (2/26/2012)

Featherweight

1. Jose Aldo (UFC Champion)
2. Hatsu Hioki (UFC)
3. Chad Mendes (UFC)
4. Pat Curran (Bellator)
5. Kenny Florian (UFC)
6. Marlon Sandro (Bellator)
7. Diego Nunes (UFC)
8. Dustin Poirier (UFC)
9. Bart Palaszewski (UFC)
10. Joe Warren (Bellator Champion)

Upcoming Fights
#1 Jose Aldo vs. #3 Chad Mendes (1/14/2012)
#2 Hatsu Hioki vs. #9 Bart Palaszewski (2/26/2012)
#4 Pat Curran vs. #10 Joe Warren (TBA)

Bantamweight

1. Dominick Cruz (UFC Champion)
2. Urijah Faber (UFC)
3. Joseph Benavidez (UFC)
4. Scott Jorgensen (UFC)
5. Brian Bowles (UFC)
6. Demetrious Johnson (UFC)
7. Renan Barao (UFC)
8. Masakatsu Ueda (Shooto/Bellator)
9. Brad Pickett (UFC)
10. Miguel Torres (UFC)

Upcoming Fights
#8 Masakatsu Ueda vs. Kyoji Horiguchi (1/8/2012)
#4 Scott Jorgensen vs. #7 Renan Barao (2/4/2012)
#3 Joseph Benavidez vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani (flyweight) (3/3/2012)
#6 Demetrious Johnson vs. Ian McCall (flyweight) (3/3/2012)
#1 Dominick Cruz vs. #2 Urijah Faber (TBA)

Flyweight

1. Yasuhiro Urushitani (UFC)
2. Ian McCall (UFC)
3. Jussier da Silva (Tachi Palace)
4. Shinichi Kojima (Shooto)
5. Mamoru Yamaguchi (Shooto/Tachi Palace)
6. Darrell Montague (Tachi Palace)
7. Yuki Shojo (Shooto)
8. Kiyotaka Shimizu (King of Pancrase)
9. Fumihiro Kitahara (Shooto)
10. Ulysses Gomez (Tachi Palace)

Upcoming Fights
#1 Yasuhiro Urushitani vs. Joseph Benavidez (3/3/2012)
#2 Ian McCall vs. Demetrious Johnson (3/3/2012)