Light-Heavyweight 8-31-09

Rank

Fighter

Comments

1.

Lyoto Machida

The Dragon’s stunning KO of Rashad Evans at UFC 98 was a watershed moment, both for him and for the UFC. Karate, which had been an Octagon punchline since Fred Ettish, was finally an art to reckoned with in MMA. Machida shed the last of his “boring” label and became an improbable fan favorite. And the UFC’s light-heavyweight division may very well have its first dynasty fighter since Chuck Liddell. The Machida Era is here — get on board or get out of the way.

2.

Quinton Jackson

 

3.

Rashad Evans

Lets not forget that Rashad Evans is a relatively young, exceptionally talented fighter who wrecked Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin before he ran afoul of Lyoto Machida. He took his first career loss, people — this could just be the beginning of his story. Evans's “Black on Black Crime” fight against Rampage later this year is an opportunity for redemption, and we like Sugar's chances.

4.

Anderson Silva

Silva's Jedi-esque destruction of Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 proved two things. 1) Silva is The Man once again. (Welcome back, buddy.) And 2) There's no reason for him to waste his time with middleweights any more. Rampage, Rashad, Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture — the Spider would whip all these guys, and it would be a lot more entertaining and meaningful than rematches and barely marketable title defenses at 185 pounds. If Silva only has a few fights left before retirement, they should all be Superfights. Because when Anderson is challenged, he steps up his game, the fans are entertained, and everybody (except for his unconscious victim) walks away happy. 

5.

Mauricio Rua

Knocking out Chuck Liddell might not be the greatest accomplishment these days, but the win must have done wonders for Shogun’s confidence. If Rua’s past struggles were only due to conditioning and injuries, then a return to the top of the light-heavyweight pack isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Still, you can't think of him as anything other than a massive underdog in his upcoming title fight against Lyoto Machida at UFC 104.

6.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

 

7.

Rich Franklin

"Just moved to a different weight class to avoid Anderson Silva. Now he's ranked above me in that division too. FML."

8.

Gegard Mousasi

Talk about a smooth transition. After a tune-up match against Mark Hunt in DREAM's Super Hulk GP, Mousasi took his first official fight at light-heavyweight at Strikeforce's "Carano vs. Cyborg" show, destroyed a top-ten fighter in 60 seconds, and won a championship belt. Mousasi's KO of Renato Sobral made it 13 wins in a row for him, 11 of which came by first-round stoppage. He's confident, he's got great instincts, and he's improving before our eyes. The sky's the limit.

9.

Forrest Griffin

 

10.

Thiago Silva

Thiago has still yet to beat a top-ten light-heavyweight — but then again, the only one he's ever faced was Lyoto Machida, and you can't really fault him for being outclassed by the greatest 205-pounder in the world. Against Keith Jardine at UFC 102, he picked up his 13th stoppage victory in 15 fights, and re-established himself as a contender in the division. We'd love to see him bring his firepower into a fight against Forrest Griffin or Brandon Vera.

See previous rankings (published August 17, 2009)