Way back in 1997, as the UFC was entering what fans called “the dark ages,” a single bright light shined with an intensity then unknown in the world of mixed martial arts. In 16 seconds, Frank Shamrock did more than submit Olympic gold medalist Kevin Jackson, more than win a newly created UFC championship.
In those brief moments between takedown and armbar, Shamrock also set a new standard for all UFC light heavyweight champions to follow. In the years that followed, even after Shamrock’s sudden retirement from the UFC, the division stood apart from the rest of the pack. Its champion and challengers, traditionally, were the sport’s marquee fighters on two continents.
The list of light heavyweight stalwarts isn’t a collection of mere champions. These are the men who defined the sport. Tito Ortiz. Chuck Liddell. Wanderlei Silva. Randy Couture.
And Jon Jones.
Love him or not, Jones absolutely belongs right alongside the very best this sport has ever seen. Five former champions in a row fell to his hand, and he defended the belt a record eight times in a row before taking some time to get his life together. Whether that sticks or not, Jones has already established himself as the top competitor of his era.
The Champions
Jon Jones (21-1)
Jones, the best fighter in the world, is just 28 years old. Unless fate, or his own recklessness, strikes him down, he should carry on the legacy of the men who preceded him ably, the rightful successor to a position that has only been occupied by the best of the best for almost two decades.
You may have noticed, however, that Jones is not listed as the UFC’s official champion at 205 pounds. A series of incidents, from a positive cocaine test to a hit-and-run traffic accident, forced the UFC to strip official recognition from its top athlete.
By the time he steps into the cage against Daniel Cormier at UFC 197 (if he does), it will have been more than 15 months since Jones competed in a UFC bout. For the first time in more than five years, he will enter the cage first—the challenger at least in name.
Daniel Cormier (17-1)
While Jones was, to borrow a quote from the man himself, “getting his s–t together,” Cormier ably filled his shoes, beating slugger Anthony Johnson for the interim title and then beating Alexander Gustafsson in his first defense.
Twice an Olympian, Cormier has developed into one of the most intelligent and diverse fighters in the game. He’s developed a solid striking game and remains a threat to take any opponent down on a whim. It’s a time-tested combination, but one few have executed better than Cormier.
His stellar light heavyweight career, however, has been contested in Jones’ giant shadow. Unless or until Cormier can beat the man, he can never truly be the man.
The Contenders
Anthony Johnson (21-5)
After losing to Cormier in a bout for the UFC light heavyweight interim championship, Johnson has picked up right where he left off—knocking fools out right and left. Most recently, he ended Ryan Bader’s latest run at the championship with a left hand that turned a contender into a pretender in fewer than 90 seconds.
Johnson’s uncanny power makes him a threat to any fighter in the division, including Jones. No skill set or master plan can contend with the kind of punching prowess that potentially makes a single mistake your last one.
Glover Teixeira (24-4)
A pupil of Liddell’s coach John Hackleman, Teixeira had won 20 consecutive fights before Jones and new Bellator star Phil Davis handed him his first losses in nine years.
Teixeira has since returned to form, scoring consecutive finishes against what passes for rising stars in this moribund division. But, at 36, Teixeira’s time at the top is surely coming to an end. His next title shot, most likely, will be his last.
A Long Way to Go
Alexander Gustafsson (16-4)
Gustafsson did an admirable job reinventing himself after a 2010 loss to Phil Davis. Instead of giving up, he went to train with the man who vanquished him, joining Davis in San Diego and becoming one of the best fighters in the division.
But, at this point, it’s fairly clear that Gustafsson falls just short of the elite. He’s lost to Jones, Cormier and Johnson. No matter who emerges from that trio as champion, it will be hard for the sport’s top Swede to make a reasonable case for the title.
Ryan Bader (20-5)
Five consecutive victories, including wins over former champion Rashad Evans and Davis, had Bader on the verge of contention. But the hype train was brutally derailed by Johnson’s fearsome punching power and Bader, once again, was sent back to the end of the line.
At 32, Bader is right in the middle of his fighting prime. Unfortunately for him, his skill set makes him ill-suited to compete with the best fighters in the division. He’s a gatekeeper. A darn good gatekeeper, granted, but a gatekeeper nonetheless.
Ovince Saint-Preux (19-7)
At some point, Saint-Preux stopped being the division’s top prospect and became a mid-tier fighter instead. But after eight years in the sport, and with his 30th birthday in his rearview mirror, it’s clear at this point that Saint-Preux is what he is—and that’s something less than championship material.
Rashad Evans (19-4-1)
Old man Evans, a veteran of the second season of The Ultimate Fighter way back in 2005, has only fought once since 2013. That bout, a lackluster decision loss to Bader, did little to convince anyone that Evans has a bright future, no matter how glorious his championship past.
The Prospects
Nikita Krylov (19-4)
The 24-year-old Ukrainian karate fighter has become a cult favorite thanks to his exciting style and inexplicable love of American gangster Al Capone.
One the plus side, all 19 of his wins have come in the first round. That they’ve all come against the division’s lower tier means it’s not yet time to declare Krylov a future champion.
Corey Anderson (8-1)
Anderson was the winner of one of the seasons of The Ultimate Fighter you didn’t watch. That’s OK, no one else did either.
Anderson beat someone named Matt Van Buren in that season’s finale, which, in the current state of the division, was enough to qualify him as a prospect. That status is being reconsidered after a lackluster win over veteran Tom Lawlor earlier this month.
The Last Word
For the first time in MMA history, the future looks bleak in the sport’s most important division. Cormier is old, Jones is in a constant state of self-destruction and Johnson has spent several years alienating many of the UFC’s female fans.
The future doesn’t just seem to pale in comparison to the glorious past. Worse, it’s almost nonexistent. There is no heir apparent to Jones and Cormier. Our only hope is that the former champion gets his head on straight and continues to prove what many of us have known for years—that he’s the best fighter the world has ever seen.
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