Due to inactivity Cain Velasquez and Josh Barnett are ineligible for the rankings. Also previous rankings (9/29/14) are in parenthesis:
1) Fabricio Werdum (2)
Fabricio Werdum is now the Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion after a battle with Mark Hunt and faces Cain Velasquez next. The two will supposedly face off sometime in March but nothing has been set in stone and the schedule is looking somewhat over wise.
2) Junior dos Santos (3)
After over a year off, Junior dos Santos got a win against Stipe Miocic in what was arguably one of the best fights of 2014 to say the least.
3) Travis Browne (4)
Travis Browne got a successful rebound win against Brendan Schaub at UFC 181 last month to put him back on track for this next year. Only time will tell who he fights next and whether he can build himself back up to a title shot or not, which should be his ultimate goal.
4) Stipe Miocic (5)
Again Stipe Miocic was stopped short of a title shot when he lost to former champion Junior dos Santos but got a Fight of the Night.
5) Mark Hunt (8)
Mark Hunt certainly gave fellow Pride FC veteran Fabricio Werdum a run for his money for the title but was surprised by a quick knee. One can’t help but admire Hunt’s title run considering his underdog status and building his career back up from his Pride days.
6) Antonio Silva (7)
Upon a return from suspension, Antonio Silva lost to Andrei Arlovski and will face Frank Mir at UFC Fight Night 61 on February 21th.
7) Roy Nelson (9)
Roy Nelson lost to Mark Hunt in September and will next be facing Alistair Overeem at UFC 185 on March 14th for a possible rebound. Nelson needs to keep winning if he wants to remain in the UFC considering his rocky relationship with Dana White and his body type.
8) Andrei Arlovski (N/A)
Following ups and downs outside the UFC, Andrei Arlovski is now 2-0 in his UFC return, a win against Antonio Silva most recent.
9) Vitaly Minakov (N/A)
Vitaly Minakov will probably defend his Bellator Heavyweight Championship relatively soon in a rematch against Alexander Volkov. After that there are several opponents that Minakov could face under the new system, not the least of which is Bobby Lashley.
10) Alistair Overeem (10)
Once again with a win under his belt, Alistair Overeem will face Roy Nelson on March 14th to try and string together a winning streak.
Contenders
The following are contenders: Gabriel Gonzaga, Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Ben Rothwell, and Jared Rosholt.