Tim Sylvia is fighting Andrei Arlovski under the Pro Elite banner this November 5th. Dave Herman vs. Mike Russow scrapped from UFC 136 card due to an injury for Herman. Leonard Garcia vs. Nam Phan.
Tim Sylvia is fighting Andrei Arlovski under the Pro Elite banner this November 5th.
Dave Herman vs. Mike Russow scrapped from UFC 136 card due to an injury for Herman. Leonard Garcia vs. Nam Phan II now promoted to main card.
UFC 140‘s planned match of Lyoto Machida vs. Phil Davis is definitely a no-go. Davis didn’t even know it was a prospect.
Georges St. Pierretraining with Dan Hardy for his upcoming UFC 137 main event with Carlos Condit.
UFC 139 headlined by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Dan Henderson with co-maint event, Wanderlei Silva vs. Cung Le. But you won’t find San Jose residents, Jon Fitch or Josh Koscheck on the card unless there is a “vs.” sign between their two names, according to Dana White.
In case you missed it, here is that picture of Michael Jackson after he passed away that was submitted in court yesterday in the case of his doctor Conrad Murray‘s wrongful death trial.
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.
Despite looking in the best shape he’s been in a long time, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, 32-9 (7-3 in the UFC) became another victim of Jon Jones at UFC 135. After being picked apart for the better part of three rounds, Jackso…
Despite looking in the best shape he’s been in a long time, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, 32-9 (7-3 in the UFC) became another victim of Jon Jones at UFC 135.
After being picked apart for the better part of three rounds, Jackson was forced to tap after getting caught in a rear naked choke.
Jones became the first person to stop Jackson inside the Octagon.
Although the door may be closed for Rampage to get the UFC title, here are some fights he could take to get right back on track.
UFC fans have yet to see Lyoto Machida compete in the Octagon since his knockout victory over Randy Couture at UFC 129.One of the most talented light heavyweights in the world, Machida has been left on the outside looking in, while in the prime of his …
UFC fans have yet to see Lyoto Machida compete in the Octagon since his knockout victory over Randy Couture at UFC 129.
One of the most talented light heavyweights in the world, Machida has been left on the outside looking in, while in the prime of his career. But “The Dragon” is content with that, for now.
In an interview with TATAME.com, Machida said he is remains without an opponent but is willing to wait before his next bout is announced.
“I guess I’ll fight later in November or in December, even so I could have time to get ready, but the guys (from UFC) haven’t mentioned anything,” Machida said.
The former UFC light heavyweight champion was in attendance at UFC 134, where he said he tried to negotiate a deal, but nothing materialized despite his best efforts.
Rumors regarding a bout between Machida and Phil Davis have caught the Brazilian’s attention and although he is interested, he said the UFC have yet to make him an offer.
“People have been talking a lot, but nobody from UFC talked to me, so,” he said.
Machida still has a considerable amount of potential in the light heavyweight division, but the fact that he remains without an opponent seems like a waste of an opportunity. Perhaps it is bad karma following his attempt to negotiate for more money in a proposed bout with Rashad Evans, but that incident has passed and all has been forgotten.
And whether the UFC is already exercising their plans for Machida is anybody’s guess, but it doesn’t look like they intend on acting on the situation any time soon.
It turns out Phil Davis’ knee injury was a lot more serious than he previously thought. As a result, his return date is unknown at this time. Davis, who spoke to MMAWeeklyRadio, confirmed the injury and discussed the severity of it while training …
It turns out Phil Davis‘ knee injury was a lot more serious than he previously thought. As a result, his return date is unknown at this time.
“I thought for sure I just twisted my knee, like ‘oh yeah, that kind of stung.’ It turns out I did a little bit more than twist it,” Davis said.
“The final diagnosis was a partial ligament tear, which isn’t the end of the world.”
While the diagnosis isn’t as serious, the injury will prevent “Mr.Wonderful” from training on a regular basis. The sudden news comes as a disappointment to Davis, who, like any professional athlete, trains daily and considers it a part of his lifestyle.
For now, Davis expects to make a full recovery, but he isn’t so sure on an exact return to the UFC just yet.
“I would love to be back in 2011. It’s really like ‘will I be back?’ Well, let’s hope the rest of my recovery goes as planned, and in a couple of weeks when I go back into training everything goes well also and I don’t re-injure it,” he said.
“That needs to happen first. After that starts going well, then we can start talking about 2011.”
Lyoto Machida (17-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) may not have an opponent yet, but the man he was asked to replace at UFC 133 could very well be his next opponent.According to Machida’s manager, Jorge Guimarães, he is already in talks about the matchup between…
Lyoto Machida (17-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) may not have an opponent yet, but the man he was asked to replace at UFC 133 could very well be his next opponent.
According to Machida’s manager, Jorge Guimarães, he is already in talks about the matchup between Machida and young up-and-comer, Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis (9-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC).
“We already contacted them and we’ll be able to talk more about that soon. He [Davis] is the most concrete option in the division,” Guimarães said in an interview with Yahoo! Sports Brazil. “He’s be a huge opponent for Lyoto, who’s one of the biggest idols of the sport in Brazil and needs to fight again soon.”
Machida also discussed the possibility of fighting Davis.
“It’d be a clash of styles. Davis is a wrestler, who keeps a strong rhythm on all the rounds until the end. I would need to adjust some aspects in my training to fight him, but this technical change always were one of my best characteristics. I won’t have any problems,” said Machida.
Davis would be coming off of a knee injury that forced him to withdraw from a fight with Rashad Evans at UFC 133. Davis was last seen in the octagon pulling off a unanimous decision victory over Machida’s Blackhouse teammate, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, at UFC Fight Night 24.
Machida was last seen knocking out Randy Couture in jaw-dropping fashion at UFC 129. Machida was asked to replace Davis at UFC 133, but demanded “Anderson Silva money” to take his spot on short notice.
For unfunny jokes, MMA news and reaction from events, you can follow me on Twitter: @SalDeRoseMMA.
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