The light heavyweight division has produced several of the greatest moments in MMA history.
From Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s breathtaking slam of Ricardo Arona to Lyoto Machida’s dazzling front kick that sent legend Randy Couture into retirement, the 205-pound class has provided excitement ever since it was introduced as the middleweight division in the early stages of the sport.
Much quicker than heavyweights, and more powerful than MMA’s smaller fighters, the competitors in the light heavyweight division were built for entertainment, so it should come as no surprise that narrowing the list of memorable moments in the division’s history was no easy task.
Unfortunately, Frank Shamrock’s underappreciated reign as champion, Jackson’s title-merging win against former Pride champion Dan Henderson, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua’s impressive performances against then-undefeated Machida and several other incredible performances are absent from this elite list of memorable light heavyweight moments.
With that being said, let’s take a look at the 12 occurances that did make the cut for leaving the longest- lasting impressions in the history of the 205-pound division.