Strikforce’s paper-thin light-heavyweight division just lost another one.
As GRACIEMAG first reported yesterday, Strikeforce light-heavyweight Roger Gracie has been called up to the UFC. While a date and an opponent have yet to be named for his UFC debut, Roger Gracie has hinted that he may enlist Anderson Silva to help him train for the bout. Roger Gracie is currently 4-1 in his career, with his last fight being a first round knockout loss to King Mo at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov.
On paper, it’s pretty strange to call up a guy with five professional fights who just lost to the big leagues. But it makes a little more sense when you actually look over Strikeforce’s light-heavyweight division. With King Mo on the shelves for a while, there really isn’t much to offer Gracie in Strikeforce. As the age old saying goes: If Gracie fights Ovince St. Preux or Gegard Mousasi in Strikeforce and no one watches, does the fight even matter? At least I think that’s how that one went.
Strikforce’s paper-thin light-heavyweight division just lost another one.
As GRACIEMAG first reported yesterday, Strikeforce light-heavyweight Roger Gracie has been called up to the UFC. While a date and an opponent have yet to be named for his UFC debut, Roger Gracie has hinted that he may enlist Anderson Silva to help him train for the bout. Roger Gracie is currently 4-1 in his career, with his last fight being a first round knockout loss to King Mo at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov.
On paper, it’s pretty strange to call up a guy with five professional fights who just lost to the big leagues. But it makes a little more sense when you actually look over Strikeforce’s light-heavyweight division. With King Mo on the shelves for a while, there really isn’t much to offer Gracie in Strikeforce. As the age old saying goes: If Gracie fights Ovince St. Preux or Gegard Mousasi in Strikeforce and no one watches, does the fight even matter? At least I think that’s how that one went.
So what say you, Potato Nation? Given Gracie’s past performances, who does the UFC match him up against? And who wins it?
Filed under: UFC, Rankings, Light HeavyweightsOther than Jon Jones, no light heavyweight in mixed martial arts has been more impressive than Dan Henderson in the last 12 months.
Henderson brutally knocked out Renato “Babalu” Sobral in December, won th…
Other than Jon Jones, no light heavyweight in mixed martial arts has been more impressive than Dan Henderson in the last 12 months.
Henderson brutally knocked out Renato “Babalu” Sobral in December, won the Strikeforce light heavyweight title with a TKO over Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante in March, took another TKO victory over Fedor Emelianenko in July as a light heavyweight fighting against a heavyweight, and then beat Shogun Rua in an all-time classic at UFC 139.
So where does that put Henderson? He’s certainly in our light heavyweight Top 5, but it’s still tough to justify Henderson going higher than fifth. Henderson did, after all, lose to Rampage Jackson, who lost to Rashad Evans, who lost to Lyoto Machida (who also lost to Rampage). The light heavyweight division has been so competitive for so long, with so many of the top fighters picking each other off, that after Jones, any of the next five guys could easily be put in any order. My order is below.
1. Jon Jones (1): The light heavyweight champion has easily separated himself from the pack, with two dominant wins over two other Top 10 light heavyweights, Shogun Rua and Rampage Jackson. Jones will try to make it three dominant wins over three other Top 10 light heavyweights when he takes on Lyoto Machida on December 10 at UFC 140.
2. Rashad Evans (2): Evans is a tough one to rank because he’s been so inactive of late: He’s only fought three times in the last two and a half years. But he’s been impressive in all three of those fights, beating Tito Ortiz, Rampage Jackson and Thiago Silva, and he has earned the light heavyweight title shot that he’ll supposedly get whenever he and Jones are healthy and able to fight at the same time.
3. Lyoto Machida (4): Machida is a tough one to rank: Should he be below Evans, even though he brutally beat Evans? Should he be above Rampage and Shogun, even though both of them beat him? There’s really no fair way to rank them, since Evans, Machida and Jackson all went 1-1 in their fights against each other. Machida will get a chance to show where he belongs in the light heavyweight division when he takes on Jones.
4. Rampage Jackson (5): Jackson has fought all the best of the best in the light heavyweight division, beating Machida and Henderson in the UFC, and losing to Jones, Evans and Forrest Griffin in the UFC and Shogun in Pride. It’s impossible not to put Rampage behind someone he’s beaten and above someone he’s lost to, but given the totality of his career No. 4 sounds about right.
5. Dan Henderson (6): As great as Henderson has looked in the last year, I can’t rank him ahead of Rampage, given what happened when Rampage and Henderson fought. I’d sure love to see a rematch of that one, though.
6. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (3): Shogun is only 2-3 in his last five fights, but it’s about as impressive a 2-3 record as a light heavyweight could possibly have: The two wins were brutal first-round knockouts of Machida and Griffin, while the three losses were close decisions against Machida and Henderson, and a loss to Jones in which he admittedly looked bad — but then again Jones makes everyone look bad.
7. Forrest Griffin (7): The biggest question about Griffin is whether, at age 32 and having a wife and kid, he’s still interested in completely committing himself to MMA. When Griffin is on, he’s good enough to beat high-quality opponents like Rich Franklin, Rampage and Shogun. He looked decidedly off in his rematch loss to Shogun in August, however.
8. Rafael Cavalcante (8): Feijao bounced back from his loss to Henderson and beat Yoel Romero Palacio in September, and now would be a good time to see him in the UFC, where there are a lot more good fights for him.
9. Phil Davis (9): The 9-0 Davis was pulled from a fight with Evans in August because of a knee injury, and there’s still no word on when he’ll be ready to return. A former NCAA wrestling champion, Davis is one of the most talented athletes in the light heavyweight division, and he’ll be fighting for the belt eventually.
10. Thiago Silva (10): I’ve been waiting for someone to step up and take the bottom spot in the Top 10 from Silva, who’s been suspended all year for taking performance-enhancing drugs. But no one has really been able to do that, and so Silva stays. He should return early in 2012.
Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Rankings, Light HeavyweightsThe UFC’s light heavyweight division has been so talented for so long that it’s been impossible in the last few years for anyone to stay on top for long. Rampage Jackson looked like a force whe…
The UFC‘s light heavyweight division has been so talented for so long that it’s been impossible in the last few years for anyone to stay on top for long. Rampage Jackson looked like a force when he took the belt from Chuck Liddell, but it wasn’t long before Forrest Griffin took the belt from Rampage. Rashad Evans then took the belt from Griffin, but Evans lost the belt in his first title defense — at what was supposed to be the dawn of the Lyoto Machida Era. Except that Machida promptly lost his belt to Shogun Rua.
Now we have Jon Jones at the top of the division, however, and I think the belt is going to stay in place for a long time. Jones has absolutely obliterated both Jackson and Rua, and now he’ll get another former champion in Evans — with, I believe, similar results.
So as we list the top light heavyweights in mixed martial arts, we’re looking at an extremely talented division. But a division with one unique talent that stands far above the rest.
1. Jon Jones (1): There was never a moment during Jones’ victory over Jackson at UFC 135 that I even thought Jones was in the slightest bit of trouble. Jackson is a great fighter who appeared to be in good shape and ready for a big fight, but he simply wasn’t on Jones’s level. I don’t think anyone is.
2. Rashad Evans (2): Evans is finally close to the title shot that he’s been waiting on for more than a year, but I don’t think he has much of a chance of getting his belt back. Against Jackson, Jones did a great job of using his long legs to effectively fight at a distance, and if anything Jones will have an even greater reach advantage over Evans. It’s hard to see anywhere that Evans has an advantage over Jones. That title fight will not go well for Evans.
3. Shogun Rua (3): Shogun has a very big fight ahead of him against Dan Henderson at UFC 139, and if he wins that he’ll have a strong case that he’s the No. 2 light heavyweight in MMA. But given how thoroughly Jones beat Rua, it’s almost impossible to see the UFC giving Rua another shot at the title.
4. Lyoto Machida (4): Of all the light heavyweights in the sport, Machida is probably the one whose unorthodox stand-up style would present the greatest threat to Jones. If Machida wins his next fight, he’d make a lot of sense as an opponent for Jones in 2012.
5. Rampage Jackson (5): There have been times in Jackson’s career when it was fair to question his motivation and preparation, but UFC 135 was not one of those times. Jackson was well prepared for the Jones fight, he’s just nowhere near as good as Jones.
6. Dan Henderson (6): Henderson has left his Strikeforce light heavyweight title behind and will return to the Octagon to face Rua. A victory over Rua would give Henderson an excellent claim that he deserves a title shot against Jones, although as much respect as I have for Henderson I have an extremely hard time envisioning any way Henderson wins that fight.
7. Forrest Griffin (7): Griffin fights nothing but a who’s who of the all-time greats in the sport: His last seven fights consist of two battles with Shogun sandwiched around bouts against Rampage, Evans, Anderson Silva, Tito Ortiz and Rich Franklin. The biggest question for Griffin now is whether he wants to keep doing battle with the sport’s truly elite, or if now that he’s in his 30s and a husband and a father, he’d rather take a step down in quality of competition. Griffin will always be a fan favorite and a draw for the UFC, but he may no longer be prepared to fight in the upper echelon of the UFC’s light heavyweight division.
8. Rafael Cavalcante (10): Feijao looked very good in his victory over Yoel Romero Palacio on the September Strikeforce card. As long as he’s with Strikeforce, Feijao’s options for big fights are limited, but in the UFC there are any number of big fights for him at 205 pounds. MMA fans who just want to see the best fight the best should hope one of those big fights gets booked soon.
9. Phil Davis (8): The 27-year-old Davis was a great college wrestler who’s a lot of fun to watch, and he seems destined to take on Jones some day. The problem is that for as young and talented as Davis is, Jones is even younger and more talented.
10. Thiago Silva (9): We’re finally getting close to the end of Silva’s one-year suspension for taking performance-enhancing substances. I hope he’s stayed in shape and comes back hungry, because he’s a 28-year-old who’s a good enough striker that he can be a threat to anyone. He should be involved in some big light heavyweight fights in 2012.
Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Rankings, Light HeavyweightsJon Jones is the undisputed champion of the light heavyweight division, but figuring out who deserves to be No. 2 at 205 pounds is tough.
Is it Rampage Jackson, who gets the next crack at Jone…
Jon Jones is the undisputed champion of the light heavyweight division, but figuring out who deserves to be No. 2 at 205 pounds is tough.
Is it Rampage Jackson, who gets the next crack at Jones’ title? Is it Shogun Rua, the previous champion? Is it Rashad Evans, who beat Jackson? Is it Lyoto Machida, who beat Evans? Is it Dan Henderson, who ran through the Strikeforce light heavyweight division and then beat an opponent who outweighed him by 16 pounds in Fedor Emelianenko?
Good arguments can be made for any of them. So who do I have at No. 2? Find out below.
1. Jon Jones (1): Jones was in Denver on July 19, his 24th birthday, for a press conference promoting his upcoming fight with Rampage Jackson. Jones said several times that now that he’s 24 he doesn’t think anyone should call him young anymore, but the reality is that Jones is both the best fighter in the division and the youngest in the Top 10. His age is an important part of why people are so excited about what he can do: He could be a long-reigning champion in a division that has seen a great deal of turnover at the top.
2. Rashad Evans (4): Evans’ impressive victory over Tito Ortiz at UFC 133 moves him back up to No. 2 in my book. Evans looked as good as he’s ever looked, and it was especially noteworthy that he looked physically stronger than he ever had before. The way he picked Ortiz up and slammed him down with a minute left in the first round was particularly impressive. Whether Jones or Jackson is the light heavyweight champion after their UFC 135 fight, Evans will be a very worthy opponent.
3. Shogun Rua (2): We’ll learn a lot about Shogun when he takes on Forrest Griffin at UFC 134. If Rua can avenge the loss to Griffin from four years ago and come out of the fight healthy, he’ll be in the mix (as Dana White likes to say) for a shot at the light heavyweight title some time in 2012. But Rua’s knees have given him so many problems that it’s hard not to wonder, even though he’s only 29, if he’s on the down side of his career.
4. Lyoto Machida (3): Machida’s decision to turn down a fight with Evans was a surprise, because Machida thoroughly whipped Evans when they fought two years ago. If Machida had accepted that fight and won, he’d probably be next in line for a title shot. Now he may be sidelined for an extended period of time, as most of the other top light heavyweights already have fights lined up.
5. Rampage Jackson (5): Jackson looked sluggish in his UFC 130 victory over Matt Hamill, and at age 33 he doesn’t seem to have the punching power he once had: In the last four years, Rampage has fought 23 rounds inside the Octagon, and other than his knockout of Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92, he’s never been particularly close to finishing anybody. If we’re going to see an upset of Jon Jones at UFC 135, we’re going to have to see a much better Rampage than we’ve seen recently.
6. Dan Henderson (6): Henderson is the Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, but his impressive win over Fedor Emelianenko was probably his last fight in Strikeforce: His return to the Octagon is likely coming soon. Machida would be a good opponent for him in his UFC return.
7. Forrest Griffin (7): Griffin will have a great chance to move up in the rankings when he takes on Shogun Rua at UFC 134. A win over Rua, whom Griffin has already beaten once, would vault Griffin into the Top 5 and probably put him only another win away from another shot at the light heavyweight title.
8. Phil Davis (8): A knee injury forced the 9-0 Davis to pull out of his scheduled UFC 133 fight with Evans, and there’s no word yet on when he’ll return to the Octagon. With five UFC wins in less than 14 months from February of 2010 to March of 2011, Davis had been building up a lot of momentum that this injury slowed down. But he’ll be back and quite likely fighting for the light heavyweight title by the end of 2012.
9. Thiago Silva (9): Silva is currently serving a one-year suspension for using a banned substance and cheating on his UFC 125 drug test. Some will drop him from the rankings for that, but Silva’s record (14-2 with 11 wins by knockout, two wins by submission and losses only to Evans and Machida) is strong enough that I don’t think you can put together a list of the Top 10 light heavyweights without him.
10. Rafael Cavalcante (10): The former Strikeforce champion, Feijao will face a largely untested opponent, the 4-0 Olympic wrestling silver medalist Yoel Romero, in his return to the cage on September 10.
Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Rankings, Light HeavyweightsThe Jon Jones Era, as you’ve surely heard, has begun: Jones is the new UFC light heavyweight champion, and everyone who follows MMA agrees that he’s going to be the champion for a long, long ti…
The Jon Jones Era, as you’ve surely heard, has begun: Jones is the new UFC light heavyweight champion, and everyone who follows MMA agrees that he’s going to be the champion for a long, long time.
However, the light heavyweight division is so talented that it’s been nearly impossible for anyone to hold the belt for long: Chuck Liddell lost it to Rampage Jackson, who lost it to Forrest Griffin, who lost it to Rashad Evans, who lost it to Lyoto Machida, who lost it to Shogun Rua, who lost it to Jones. We’ve had seven different champions in the last four years, so why is everyone so sure that Jones is going to hold onto the belt for so long?
The biggest reason, I think, is Jones’ age. With the exception of Evans losing to Machida, every champion I mentioned above lost the belt to someone younger than him. But there aren’t any contenders on the horizon younger than the 23-year-old Jones. Not only is Jones already the best, but he’s going to keep getting better as the rest of the Top 10 light heavyweights in mixed martial arts get older.
So as I list the Top 10 light heavyweights below, I’ll talk about how I’d like their chances against Jones — even though I expect Jones to reign over all of them for a long time.
Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Light HeavyweightsThe last time I ranked the Top 10 light heavyweights in mixed martial arts, I wrestled with the question of who’s the No. 2 fighter in the weight class: Lyoto Machida, Rampage Jackson or Rashad Evans?
The last time I ranked the Top 10 light heavyweights in mixed martial arts, I wrestled with the question of who’s the No. 2 fighter in the weight class: Lyoto Machida, Rampage Jackson or Rashad Evans?
Now I have the answer: None of the above.
Jon Jones put on his fourth consecutive spectacular performance in beating Ryan Bader at UFC 126, and I can no longer put Jones below anyone other than champion Shogun Rua. With just about any other fighter of Jones’ age and experience I’d say the UFC is rushing him into a title shot in this situation, but with Jones I can’t argue: He has proven that he deserves to be considered the second-best light heavyweight in the sport.
So I’ve got Shogun and Jones, who will meet in the main event at UFC 128, at 1-2 in our light heavyweight rankings. Find out where the rest of the division stacks up below.
Other than 
The 
Jon Jones
The Jon Jones Era, as you’ve surely heard, has begun: Jones is the new UFC light heavyweight champion, and everyone who follows MMA agrees that he’s going to be the champion for a long, long time.
The last time I ranked the Top 10 light heavyweights in mixed martial arts, I wrestled with the question of who’s the No. 2 fighter in the weight class: Lyoto Machida, Rampage Jackson or Rashad Evans?