UFC middleweight rankings: Who's next for the champ after Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis? All you need to know

UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland next defends his gold against number two-ranked middleweight Dricus Du Plessis, but who fills out the remainder of the UFC Middleweight Rankings?

Sitting at number one is former two-time divisional kingpin Israel Adesanya. This is who Strickland bested at UFC 293 to claim the gold in the first place.

Positioned at number three is former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. He has losses to the aforementioned Adesanya and Du Plessis, bookending a win over Marvin Vettori across his last three contests.

Residing in the number four slot is Jared Cannonier, who actually has a relatively recent win over reigning champion Strickland on points and bested the aforementioned fifth-ranked Vettori in his last outing.

Vettori readies to fight number eight-ranked Brendan Allen in April.

Number six-ranked UFC middleweight Paulo Costa rebounded from losses to Adesanya and Vettori to best Luke Rockhold at UFC 278. The former title challenger has been inactive since that August 2022 victory, with multiple canceled bouts since.

Check out the recently announced bout between ranked 185-pounders below:

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UFC Middleweight Rankings continued

The current number seven Middleweight contender Roman Dolidze collides with the 11th-ranked 185-pounder Nassourdine Imavov on February 3.

At number nine is Khamzat Chimaev, who is on the heels of his victory over Kamaru Usman last Fall.

Continuing the UFC Middleweight Rankings, number 10-ranked Jack Hermansson clashes with Joe Pyfer in February and looks to halt his momentum.

The number 12 ranked Paul Craig looks to rebound from his setback to the aforementioned Allen. At number 13 is Chris Curtis, who collides with Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC 297, with the previously referenced Strickland vs DDP title bout headlining the Toronto card on January 20.

At number 14 is Anthony Hernandez, with his rank increasing by one spot after the last update. 'Fluffy' looks to protect that elevated spot in the rankings against Ikram Aliskerov at UFC 298.

Finally, at number 15 is Caio Borralho, who rounds out the current UFC Middleweight Rankings hierarchy. The Brazilian native has, fittingly enough, not tasted defeat across his last 15 fights and has been with the Ultimate Fighting Championship since April 2022.