Rankings: Cain Velasquez jumps back in the mix after big heavyweight win over Junior dos Santos

Cain Velasquez's five-round demolition of Junior dos Santos on Dec. 29 won him the UFC heavyweight title and earned him a return trip into the Yahoo! Sports Top 10.

Velasquez checked into the poll at No. 6 in the January rankings after his impressive victory over dos Santos.

Demetrious Johnson was the beneficiary of a high-profile win, jumping up two spots from No. 9 to No. 7 after defeating John Dodson in an exciting flyweight title fight on Fox.

Lightweight champion Benson Henderson jumped up a spot from No. 6 to No. 5, replacing dos Santos, who fell out of the Top 10. Frankie Edgar slipped from No. 7 to No. 8 and Gilbert Melendez dropped from No. 8 to No. 9 to accommodate Johnson's move upward.

With that, let's take a look at the current rankings:

1. Anderson Silva   Points: 208 (19 of 21 first-place votes)   Affiliation: UFC (middleweight champion)   Weight class: Middleweight   Record: 31-4   Last outing: TKO1 Stephan Bonnar, Oct. 13   Previous ranking: 1   Up next: Nothing scheduled

2. Jon Jones   Points: 185 (2 of 21 first-place votes)   Affiliation: UFC (light heavyweight champion)   Weight class: Light heavyweight   Record: 17-1   Last outing: SUB4 Vitor Belfort, Sept. 22   Previous ranking: 2   Next: Title fight vs. Chael Sonnen

3. Georges St-Pierre   Points: 173   Affiliation: UFC (welterweight champion)   Weight class: Welterweight   Record: 23-2   Last outing: W5 Carlos Condit on Nov. 17   Previous ranking: 3   Next: Title fight vs. Nick Diaz

4. Jose Aldo   Points: 141   Affiliation: UFC (featherweight champion)   Weight class: Featherweight   Record: 21-1   Last outing: TKO1 Chad Mendes, Jan. 14, 2012   Previous ranking: 4   Next: Title fight vs. No. 8 Frankie Edgar

5. Benson Henderson   Points: 121   Affiliation: UFC (lightweight champion)   Weight class: Lightweight   Record: 17-2   Last outing: W5 Nate Diaz, Dec. 8   Previous ranking: 6   Next: Title fight vs. No. 9 Gilbert Melendez

6. Cain Velasquez   Points: 81   Affiliation: UFC (heavyweight champion)   Weight class: Heavyweight   Record: 11-1   Last outing: W5 Junior dos Santos, Dec. 29   Previous ranking: NR   Next: Nothing scheduled

7. Demetrious Johnson   Points: 69   Affiliation: UFC (flyweight champion)   Weight class: Flyweight   Record: 17-2-1   Last outing: W5 John Dodson, Jan. 26   Previous ranking: 9   Next: Nothing scheduled

8. Frankie Edgar   Points: 62   Affiliation: UFC   Weight class: Featherweight   Record: 14-4-1   Last outing: L5 Benson Henderson, Aug. 11   Previous ranking: 7   Next: Title fight vs. No. 4 Jose Aldo

9. Gilbert Melendez   Points: 51   Affiliation: UFC   Weight class: Lightweight   Record: 21-2   Last outing: W5 Josh Thomson, May 19   Previous ranking: 8   Next: Title fight vs. No. 5 Benson Henderson

10. Renan Barao   Points: 20   Affiliation: UFC (interim bantamweight champion)   Weight class: Bantamweight   Record: 29-1   Last outing: W5 Urijah Faber, July 21   Previous ranking: 10   Next: Title fight vs. Michael McDonald

Others receiving votes: Junior dos Santos, 10; Ronda Rousey, 8; Carlos Condit, 7; Rashad Evans, 6; Daniel Cormier, 4; Johny Hendricks, 4; Gray Maynard, 4; Anthony Pettis, 2.

Ineligible: Nick Diaz (serving marijuana suspension); Alistair Overeem (serving PED suspension); Dominick Cruz (inactive more than 12 months); Dan Henderson (inactive more than 12 months).

Voting panel: Elias Cepeda, Cage Potato; Steve Cofield, ESPN Radio 1100, Las Vegas; Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press; Dave Deibert, Post Media; Dave Doyle, MMA Fighting/SI.com; Matt Erickson, MMA Junkie/USA Today; Josh Gross, ESPN.com; Ariel Helwani, MMA Fighting; Adam Hill, Las Vegas Review-Journal; Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports; Case Keefer, Las Vegas Sun; Steven Marrocco, MMA Junkie/USA Today; Todd Martin, freelance; Franklin McNeil, ESPN.com; Dave Meltzer, The Wrestling Observer/MMA Fighting; John Morgan, MMA Junkie/USA Today; Brett Okamoto, ESPN.com; Ken Pishna, MMA Weekly; Greg Savage, Sherdog; Dann Stupp, MMA Junkie/USA Today; Jeff Wagenheim, SI.com.

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