MMA Rankings > UFC Light Heavyweight Rankings
UFC Light Heavyweight Division Rankings
A review and ranking of the UFC's 205-pound Light Heavyweight division - June 2009 Update
Unlike the current set up of the heavyweight division, the UFC’s light heavyweight division is considered to be one of the best in terms of overall talent in any weight class. With reigning champion Lyoto Machida along with a slew of top contenders and former champions to choose from, the 205lb weight class seems destined to be the premiere destination for marquee match ups in the years to come.
Here are the UFC’s top ten light heavyweights for the month of June 2009.
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Rashad Evans defeated Forrest Griffin via TKO at UFC 92 |
1. Lyoto Machida – At 15-0 as a professional and with wins over some of the best fighters in the sport’s short history, “The Dragon” catapulted himself into a position that seemed almost destined for him as he knocked out defending champ Rashad Evans in the second round of their May 2009 title bout. If the rumors are true, and they make sense from a rankings perspective, then Machida’s first title defense should come against Mauricio Shogun Rua in October 2009 as the main event on the UFC 104 fight card. Can Machida break the chain of unsuccessful defending champions, or will he fall just like Griffin and Evans did before him?
2. Quinton Jackson – “Rampage” is one of the most exciting and charismatic figures in MMA history. He holds notable victories over Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell (twice), Dan Henderson, Keith Jardine, and Ricardo Arona. He was also a shoe in to challenge Machida for the belt after defeating Jardine in March 2009, but Jackson has instead chosen to compete with rival Rashad Evans on the upcoming tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter. The winner between the two coaches, who will probably collide in December, should be next in line after Shogun.
3. Rashad Evans – Evans may have been knocked out by undefeated challenger Lyoto Machida, but it was still just the first loss of his career, and to a man that nobody has been able to figure out to this point. Evans is still young, and should he take a page out of teammate and reigning welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre’s comeback book, he could make his return stronger and faster than ever following the devastating defeat.
4. Forrest Griffin – Griffin’s Cinderella story came to an end not long after it began. After taking the light heavyweight title away from Quinton Jackson in July 2008, Griffin lost his first title defense to Rashad Evans in December the same year. An upcoming super fight with reigning UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva in August could push Griffin ahead of the pack for a crack at the winner between Machida and Rua, and a loss—as long as it is competitive—will not do much to hurt the light heavyweight winner of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter.
5. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua – Shogun’s moniker barely even needs to be in quotation marks, so often is it used in place of his actual name. Less than two years ago, he was considered to be the most dangerous and top ranked light heavyweight fighter in the world. Two knee surgeries and a lackluster submission loss to former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin have tempered much of that praise. Rua has since rebounded from a sloppy TKO victory over Mark Coleman in January to knock out former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell in April and earn a shot at current champion Machida, largely because of “Rampage’s” TUF shenanigans. Interestingly, though he is ranked fifth, Shogun could present the most challenging opponent for the new champion at the very start of his reign. 6. Keith Jardine – He may be the most inconsistent top-ten fighter in all of Mixed Martial Arts. “The Dean of Mean” has alternated wins and losses for much of the past three or four years, but the strength of his opposition, as well as the name opponents he has defeated in that span, have kept him rooted on this list. An upcoming August bout with Thiago Silva should provide a high-energy and competitive affair that could put Jardine right back into title contention. |
7. Wanderlei Silva – While it is understandably off-putting to place a fighter who has lost five of his last six bouts on the top ten list, especially since he is planning a move to middleweight this year, Silva remains in the bottom half based on the names he has lost to, as well as a brilliant knockout of Jardine one year ago. “The Axe Murderer” will have his hands full with former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin this week, making his transition to middleweight all the more rocky.
8. Rich Franklin – Franklin could very well end up challenging for the light heavyweight title a lot sooner than many people think. He has the knockout power to drop anyone at 205 and his ring movement and southpaw stance, as well as his unwillingness to stand and trade in unintelligent flurries will give many light heavyweights fits, including those at the top of the heap. A win over Wanderlei Silva, though certainly not surprising, would do wonders to build Franklin toward a match with a top five light heavyweight before the end of 2009.
9. Thiago Silva – Silva is quite the conundrum. He has only lost one time in 14 professional appearances, and it was to current light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, but he has not defeated many name opponents. An August battle with top light heavyweight Keith Jardine should answer a lot of questions about the aggressive Brazilian slugger.
10. Jon Jones – Not everyone will agree with placing Jones at the ten spot in the UFC, especially considering that the last man he defeated, Stephan Bonnar, was coming off of a lengthy layoff and did not appear to be at 100% during their January 2009 fight. Nevertheless, “Bones” is undefeated as a professional and should continue to climb up the light heavyweight ladder with a win over the solid wrestler Jake O’Brien at UFC 100 in July.
Look for Top Ten UFC Rankings to be up the first week of every month from here on out, exclusively on ProFighting-fans.com.
By Steven T. Kelliher
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer
Published June 2009
Photo used with permission from the UFC
More UFC Rankings from ProFighting-fans.com:
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- UFC Middleweight rankings
- UFC Welterweight rankings
- UFC Lightweight rankings