2: St-Pierre’s legacy is assured. He’s the best welterweight of all time and one of the best fighters in the history of the sport. But in order to catch up with Silva, he’s going to need to display the kind of violent dominance we all know he’s capable of. Winning his fights with ease is great, but going to decision after decision won’t allow him to catch up with Silva.

3: Aldo faces a stern task in the durable Kenny Florian in October. After that? He’s looking at Chad Mendes and perhaps Hatsu Hioki. Those kinds of opponents won’t allow Aldo to make much headway in these rankings, but great performances will be enough to keep him here.

4: Jones’ personal beef with Rampage Jackson has soared to new heights in recent days with MMA’s version of Spygate. We’re not sure if Jones or his camp has a spy in Jackson’s camp, and frankly we don’t think it matters. Jones goes into the UFC 135 main event as a sizable favorite, and rightly so.

5: Edgar finally gets to settle the score with Gray Maynard at UFC 135 in October, but he’ll have a tough road of opponents for at least the next 18 months. Ben Henderson, Clay Guida and Melvin Guillard are all on the cusp of contention, and all of them present difficult matches for Edgar.

6: Cruz takes his bantamweight title to Versus in October for a main event title defense against Demetrious Johnson, a tough and durable wrestler who likely will not present much of a problem for the champ. After that, he’ll face the winner of the Urijah Faber/Brian Bowles fight. Cruz continues to improve and continues to prove that he’s one of the best in the world with every passing fight.

7: Melendez looks to face one final Strikeforce challenge in the form of Jorge Masvidal on Dec. 17. He’s not happy about it and has petitioned the UFC on Twitter nearly every single day for a move to the UFC and a title shot. It’ll happen if he beats Masvidal, and deservedly so. In the meantime, Melendez will focus on the opening of his new Skrap Pack gym in the Bay Area.

8: Fitch will be ready to make his return in November, but he doesn’t have a fight. In a way, he’s the odd man out due to his boring style in the cage, but lately he’s been compensating for that by being more outspoken outside of it.

9: The untimely death of Shields’ father Jack casts a pall over his UFC Fight Night 25 main event against Jake Ellenberger in two weeks, but Shields is going through with the fight. As long as he keeps winning, he’ll continue to stay near the top of the ladder and perhaps earn a rematch with Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight title.

10: Diaz finally gets his wish with his Oct. 29 title fight against Georges St-Pierre at UFC 137. It’s easily the biggest fight of his career and one he’s been clamoring for, and he needs to deliver if he’s to back up all of the trash talking he’s done over the years.