Light Heavyweight 7-7-08
<!-- start -->
- Rank
- Fighter
- Comments
-
1.Forrest GriffinYes, #1 — but the ranking is very tenuous, obviously. No other 205-pounder can claim to have knocked off two top-5 fighters back-to-back, which is why Griffin's on top. The bad news is, he's got a horde of guys at his heels with the tools to beat him. An imminent matchup with Chuck Liddell could make Griffin's title run disappointingly brief, and the Brazilian light-heavyweight death-trio of Lyoto Machida, Wanderlei Silva and Thiago Silva would all create big problems for the original Ultimate Fighter.
-
2.Lyoto MachidaThe recurring criticism of Lyoto Machida as a boring, even cowardly fighter displays a prejudice about "what a mixed martial artist should be" that we simply don't agree with. Machida is the first fighter we've seen who focuses more on defense than offense, and in doing so, completely demoralizes his opponents. He'll need to start finishing fights before he's recognized as a star by casual fans, but to us, watching his flawless technique in action is anything but dull.
-
3.Quinton Jackson
-
4.Chuck Liddell
-
5.Mauricio Rua
-
6.Wanderlei SilvaSince Keith Jardine had already shown that his weakness was aggressive brawlers who come out like a house on fire, Wanderlei Silva's knockout victory over "The Dean of Mean" at UFC 84 didn't really prove much. Silva's accomplishments - which include two brutal KOs of the consensus #1 light-heavyweight in the world - speak for themselves. But we're still waiting to see how the Axe Murderer does against some of the UFC's other top dogs before jumping back on the Wandy War Wagon.
-
7.Thiago Silva
-
8.Keith Jardine
-
9.Vladimir MatyushenkoIf not for a decision loss to Tito Ortiz at UFC 33 in 2001, he would have been the UFC’s light-heavyweight champion. Instead, “The Janitor” found his way to the IFL, where he went on a 5-0 killing spree and took the title there. Unfortunately, without higher-caliber competition, we don’t see Matyushenko going much higher on this list.
-
10.Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
<!-- end -->
Comments
terrence Says:
omg u gotta be kidding me....shut the site down.....do u just post him as number one to get people like me pissed off? he sucks and i think u do know it.....the guyz a douche who im sure i could even take at a mere 185 lbs
Anonymous Says:
If Forrest had the demeanor of someone like Chuck Liddell no one would be arguing that he is top dog right now.
terrence Says:
Negative....even if he had that....forrest is a rookie with absolutely no talent in any area of the game..
terrencem8 Says:
Negative....even if he had that....forrest is a rookie with absolutely no talent in any area of the game..
TheFeniX Says:
"The current champion of the most stacked LHW division in MMA is ranked the #1 LHW! Holy fuck! SHUT THE SITE DOWN! DIS SHIT IS RIGGED!"
This isn't a fucking popularity contest, nor are there a bunch of fighters spread over multiple organizations like other weight class rankings. The current UFC LHW belt holder is pretty much guaranteed to be #1 in that weight class. Just deal with it.
terrence Says:
quite simply...ur an idiot
terrence Says:
and if ur gonna quote something do it right u faggot
TheFeniX Says:
Oh, I'm sorry. Allow me to reiterate based upon your firm grasp of the English language and open bigotry:
"dis site is teh suxors u fag"
After all, sounding like a coherent person DOES get in the way of acting like a jackass.
Care to offer any decent argument or something constructive for the rankings?
terrence Says:
lol....u know copying and pasting what I wrote would of been a lot easier.
As for an argument..... I think that most MMA fans would agree that Forrest didn't deserve a title shot, but he got one and he won....that suppose to make him #1? (in a rankings sense)....in any other sport if you beat the top ranked person or team that doesnt just catapult you to #1 status...now I dont mind that he has the title because any title holder can lose the belt in any given fight (especially one with a weaker ground game such as rampage), but to rank him over some of the fighters in, what you call, "the most stacked LHW division" is ridiculous
TheFeniX Says:
Ok, now we've got something to work with.
Griffin "deserved" his shot at the title. He was obviously ready for it and besides his loss in a stupid exchange with Jardine, he's done a lot of good work in the UFC (and before hand). I will grant that there are other fighters you could claim are more "deserving" of a title shot, but in reality, it was a smart move for the UFC. Griffin is more marketable than many of the other contenders in the UFC LHW division. Yes, it's bullshit "politics," but you have to stay in business first and foremost.
As for the ranking bit, you are correct: beating the #1 guy doesn't always make you #1. But beating two other top 5 competitors speaks volumes. It's always going to be speculative to an extent. Unless you let all top 10 fighters at each other at least 3 times, you're never going to be 100% about the rankings. That's just the way it is.
That said, you really can't rank Griffin below the guy he just beat, especially when that guy was the title holder. Now, we could go on about Machida and Liddell, but something tells me we're going to find out about that in the octagon soon enough. As it stands now, Griffin as the #1 LHW is perfectly reasonable. There's no reason to go nuts about it when the chance to test it is likely coming very soon.
from a business standpoint yes you are right...giving him th Says:
from a business standpoint yes you are right...giving him the title shot is good for tuf and what not, but still, getting a title shot after a win streak of 2 fights? thats bullcrap(wheres Frank Mir's title shot if this is how title shots are determined?).... and sure beating 2 top 5 competitors does say a lot and yes beating rampage should boost him significantly in rankings. However, I believe he is still 1 or 2 fights away from being ranked #1. Now had he gone through 5 or 6 fights with at least 3 top competitors, won them all, and then beat Rampage, well then it would be undisputed, but until he proves himself time in and time out he should only be ranked around 4 (his previous ranking).
As far as ranking him above Rampage....well since he just beat him it is disputable, but i'd still say he shouldn't be because he doesnt have the impressive record rampage has....plus with this logic Matt Serra would of been ranked #1 after knocking out GSP, but we all know serra wasn't the best....Now im not saying that because he has been around longer that Rampage deserves a higher ranking(otherwise long live Royce Gracie), but over the last 2 years Rampage has been more dominant and so have other LHW fighters(Chuck, Machida ect). Now if Forrest can do this and retain his title, or regain if necessary, than he is more than deserving.
Now I hope this is all agreeable. Also, I expect a public apology when Forrest fails in his next fight.
terrence Says:
thats weird, but yes i wrote what is directly above me
TheFeniX Says:
But there's the rub:
Liddell's record is impressive if you look at the whole thing, so is Rampage's. But it's kind of a "What have you done lately" deal. Liddell's been on a bit of a downward trend. Besides Wanderlei, who was also hit a plateau with three losses in a row, he lost two of his last three fights. One to Jardine, who just didn't bring much into the Octagon (and neither did Liddell for that matter).
Rampage has been on more a a rip then Griffin for sure. You could argue that even with beating Rampage, you should still possibly rank him under Machida and Rampage. But something tells me, that would cause a lot more of a ruckus.
Unfortunately, with Rampage's recent emotional and legal issues, he may be sliding further down the list. Which sucks.
junkie Says:
machida!!!!wtf this guy sucks.chuck shouid be #2.
Anonymous Says:
come on now...
Jardien beat Forrest who beat Rampage, who beat Liddel twice, who beat Wandy, who beat Rampage twice and killed Jardien. Forrest also beat Rua who also beat Rampage.... why shouldnt Forrest be on this list, based on that he should be.
The dude works harder than anyone and it shows.... admit it the guy can fight and is only gettting better with each one.
terrence Says:
just give it two more real fights and ull see that he doesnt deserve the #1 spot
WarmfuzzyBunny Says:
Machida suxs. He should fight with the girls. He ran from Tito the whole time.
nice Says:
i think the rankings are justified, the fighters fight to see who wins not who you think should win. in any given fight you can see anyone win or lose, there is no guarantee that one fighter will win over the other in specific weight classes especially in the UFC where they have most of the talented figthers. michida isnt exicting to watch i'll admit, but he does beat people and thats the point. he has a game plan, sticks to it, and pulls the win. you dont move up in rank because you are more exciting than other fighters but lose.
liddel is getting old, and indeed is going in a downward spiral. rampage is stuck in a bad situation. wanderlei needs another fight against another top 10 to make a credible comeback - but i do think he should have won the liddel fight but that doesnt matter. of course michida needs to grab the title before hes #1. who knows, next fight he could be knocked out, he cant run forever. shogun needs another fight too. i cant see jardine on the top 10 this time next year for some reason, someone is going to replace him. no one in the top 10 should be getting paid chump change like he is for fighting a guy like silva. thiago is coming up, and he also needs to fight one of the top 10.
hopefully from the rumors on this site rampage wont fight wanderlei so soon after his mental/emotional break down, i would hate to see a fighter of his caliber mess up his career because of personal issues.
grant Says:
wandy should be waaay higher
Lyoto Says:
Lyoto should be #1 based off the fighters he's beaten alone.
Some people...
terrence Says:
LOL i just was watching a re-run of the ortiz/griffin match.....Tito absolutely dominated that 1st round which easily made it a 10-8 round so for all u guys saying Forrest won that fight, the most u can argue is that it should of been a draw...even tho the judges did make the right decision....so moral of the story is....go on a 3 fight win streak and you can be called #1 and be the most over-rated fighter out there
Mr information Says:
Lyoto should understand that hes fighting infront the world, and that no one wants to watch a pussy ass defensive game.
colonel Says:
dan henderson should definately be in this top 10
colonel Says:
hedo
boomgagem Says:
Henderson doesn't compete at light heavyweight anymore.
"Lyoto ran from tito the whole time" - And won, Machida is a future champion..
Chuck Liddell ran from Bobolu and what happened? He knocked his bitch ass out. That's MMA.
If you want to see 2 people get out there and swing like a bunch of drunk rednecks, I'm sure you can find all you can stand on youtube
Dererva Says:
My only beef with this list is Lyoto at 2.
Great fighter, but he needs to beat better competition in a more impressive manner. I love that he takes a different approach to MMA, but point karate and defensive maneuvers don't make great fights. Show me some power, show me a dominating performance with a convincing finish. With all that being said he makes this stacked division all the more interesting.
terrence Says:
make room for evans....i guess