Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Fabricio Werdum vs. Fedor Emelianenko: Sherdog.com

After 20 fights and seven and a half years, Fedor Emelianenko’s reign atop the heavyweight division is over.

“The Last Emperor” lorded over the heavyweights for an unprecedented 2,660 days, but it came to an end in just 69 seconds in San Jose, Calif. Fabricio Werdum, viewed as an also-ran and UFC castoff, notched one of the milestone victories in mixed martial arts history with his quick triangle armbar. Now, with the longtime king dethroned, the heavyweight division is poised to take on a new look, especially with a major UFC title fight looming between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin on July 3.

The massive heavyweight moment has overshadowed other recent significant rankings happenings, however.

On June 12, flyweight kingpin Jussier "Formiga" da Silva defeated countryman Alexandre Pantoja to cement his status atop the division, while Martin Kampmann and Evan Dunham notched the biggest wins of their respective careers and emerged as UFC title contenders. A week later, Marlon Sandro blew away Masanori Kanehara in just 38 seconds. On the other side of the Pacific, Diego Nunes and Josh Grispi banked the most significant victories of their careers inside the World Extreme Cagefighting cage.