411's MMA Rankings 09.25.08: Light Heavyweight Rankings
Posted by Dustin James on 09.25.2008
It's time again for the staff here at 411mania.com to rank the best light heavyweight fighters in the world. How far has Rashad Evans moved up after that impressive win over Chuck Liddell? Is he ranked higher than Wanderlei Silva? Shogun Rua? Rampage Jackson? Or even Lyoto Machida? 411's Dustin James gives you all the answers inside......
Yes, yes, YES! It's time again for your weekly dose of sexiness otherwise known as "411's Official MMA Rankings" brought to you by the one and only.....Sir Dustin James. You have no doubt been in anticipation of these rankings ever since you saw Rashad Evans KO Chuck Liddell's ass into oblivion. Well, Evans fans, don't get too excited. Sure the man beat Chuck Liddell, but so has Keith Jardine. So don't look for Evans to go SKY ROCKETING to #2 or anything crazy like that. There are still plenty of talented fighters ahead of Evans that he would need to defeat in order to jump up that high. That "draw" with Tito Ortiz goes over like a fart in church with our staff. But anyways, enough with the shenanigans. I know you are dying to see it and if you haven't scrolled down already....this here is our top 10 in the light heavyweight division.
411's MMA Ranking Rules
- If a fighter hasn't fought in a year, he can not be ranked. It's not fair to people who are fighting to not be ranked because a fighter is taking a year off. However, if a fighter schedules a fight he is still eligible for being ranked.
- If you wish to complain about a fighter's ranking in the comments section, then please include an objective reason as to why you don't like the ranking, and include your own set of rankings if you would!
- 411's MMA Rankings are voted on by the staff of 411mania. Therefore, if you don't like where a fighter is ranked you have to hate the 411 MMA staff as a whole. But we can take it, we are men. But remember that some of us are sensitive and don't like being called names like "Kansas City Chiefs" fans. (And the sad news is, I really AM a Chiefs fan!)
411's Official MMA Rankings: Light Heavyweight Division
Light Heavyweight Division (205 lbs)
1) Forrest Griffin (16-4)
Height: 6'3
Currently Fighting With: UFC
Last 5 fights:
- vs. Quinton Jackson - Win by decision (unanimous) - UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin - July 5, 2008
- vs. Mauricio Rua - Win by submission (rear naked choke) - UFC 76: Knockout - September 22, 2007
- vs. Hector Ramirez - Win by decision (unanimous) - UFC 72: Victory - July 16, 2007
- vs. Keith Jardine - Loss by TKO (punches) - UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz 2 - December 30, 2006
- vs. Stephan Bonnar - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 62: Liddell vs. Sobral - August 26, 2006
Next scheduled appearance:
- Currently unknown
Comments: All signs are pointing towards a possible Rashad Evans vs. Forrest Griffin fight for the UFC light heavyweight title at the December UFC PPV. Evans looked damn impressive in his win over Chuck Liddell, a win that would have meant that much more had it happened two years ago. Either way, we are looking at a dream scenario for the UFC. A fight that will see the winner of "The Ultimate Fighter" season 1 and season 2 squaring off against each other for a title in what is possibly the UFC's best division. Congratulations Dana White, your "TUF" experiment has worked tremendously thus far.
2) Quinton Jackson (28-7)
Height: 6'1
Birthday: June 20, 1978
Currently Fighting With: UFC
Last 5 fights:
- vs. Forrest Griffin - Loss via decision (unanimous) - UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin - July 5, 2008
- vs. Dan Henderson - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion - September 8, 2007
- vs. Chuck Liddell - Win via TKO (strikes) - UFC 71: Liddell vs. Jackson - May 26, 2007
- vs. Marvin Eastman - Win via TKO (strikes) - UFC 67: All or Nothing - February 3, 2007
- vs. Matt Lindland - Win via decision (split) - WFA - King of the Streets - July 22, 2006
Next scheduled appearance:
- vs. Wanderlei Silva - UFC 93: St. Pierre vs. Penn - January 31, 2009 *RUMOR*
Comments: The big rumor going around is that we will see the third fight between Quinton Jackson and Wanderlei Silva at UFC 93 in 2009. This is a huge fight for Rampage as he finally has the chance to get a win over Silva. Silva is currently 2-0 against Rampage and if he is able to defeat him again, this could put Rampage back more than a few pegs on the UFC's light heavyweight ladder. Talk about a must need win for Jackson if the fight is officially announced.
3) Lyoto Machida (13-0)
Height: 6'1
Birthday: May 3, 1978
Currently Fighting With: UFC
Last 5 fights:
- vs. Tito Ortiz - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 84: Ill Will - May 24, 2008
- vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou - Win via submission (arm triangle choke) - UFC 79: Nemesis - December 29, 2007
- vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 76: Knockout - September 22, 2007
- vs. David Heath - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 70: Nations Collide - April 21, 2007
- vs. Sam Hoger - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 67: All or Nothing - February 3, 2007
Next scheduled appearance:
- vs. Currently unknown
Comments: Machida recently hit a string of bad luck when his opponent for UFC 89, Thiago Silva, had to pull out of the fight due to an injury. Instead of giving Machida a new opponent, the UFC decided to remove him from the card altogether. Bummer deal for Lyoto. I really wanted to see this battle between the two undefeated light heavyweight studs. The good news is that this fight could be happening in January of 2009 now. Good news for us. Machida also made waves recently by mentioning that he would like to face Rashad Evans with the winner of that fight facing Forrest Griffin. As much as I would personally love to see that happen, it won't. The UFC is pretty set in stone that it will be Griffin vs. Evans sometime in the near future.
4) Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1-1)
Height: 5'11
Birthday: July 3, 1976
Currently Fighting With: UFC
Last 5 fights:
- vs. Keith Jardine - Win via KO (punches) - UFC 84: Ill Will - May 24, 2008
- vs. Chuck Liddell - Loss via decision (unanimous) - UFC 79: Nemesis - December 29, 2007
- vs. Dan Henderson - Loss via KO (left hook) - PRIDE 33: The Second Coming - February 24, 2007
- vs. Mirko Cro Cop - Loss via KO (head kick) - PRIDE Final Conflict Absolute - September 10, 2006
- vs. Kazuyuki Fujita - Win via TKO (strikes) - PRIDE - Critical Countdown Absolute - July 1, 2006
Next scheduled appearance:
- vs. Quinton Jackson - UFC 93: St. Pierre vs. Penn - January 31, 2009 - *RUMOR*
Comments: See: Jackson, Quinton
5) Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (16-3)
Birthday: November 25, 1981
Currently Fighting With: UFC
Last 5 fights:
- vs. Forrest Griffin - Loss via submission (rear naked choke) - UFC 76: Knockout - September 22, 2007
- vs. Alistair Overeem - Win via KO (strikes) - PRIDE 33: Second Coming - February 24, 2007
- vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura - Win via decision (unanimous) - PRIDE Shockwave 2006 - December 31, 2006
- vs. Kevin Randleman - Win via submission (kneebar) - PRIDE 32: The Real Deal - October 21, 2006
- vs. Cyrille Diabate - Win via TKO (stomps) - PRIDE - Final Conflict Absolute - September 10, 2006
Next scheduled appearance:
- vs. Currently injured
Comments: Nothing new going on with Shogun. The guy is still injured and aiming for a December return. If he doesn't have a fight scheduled by next time we do these rankings he will be ineligible. And before some of you get technical, we vote on these a week before they are posted.....so Shogun was eligible to be ranked this go-round. There is a weak rumor going around that Shogun could face Lyoto Machida in December. I for one would be jazzed to see that. But as of now I will file that rumor under "believe it, when I see it".
6) Rashad Evans (12-0-1)
Height: 5'11
Birthday: September 25, 1979
Currently Fighting With: UFC
Last 5 fights:
- vs. Chuck Liddell - Win via KO (punch) - UFC 88: Breakthrough - September 6, 2008
- vs. Michael Bisping - Win via decision (split) - UFC 78: Validation - November 17, 2007
- vs. Tito Ortiz - Draw - UFC 73: Stacked - July 7, 2007
- vs. Sean Salmon - Win via KO (high kick) - UFC Fight Night 8 - January 25, 2007
- vs. Jason Lambert - Win via KO (punches from mount) - UFC 63: Hughes vs. Penn - September 23, 2006
Next scheduled appearance:
- vs. Currently unknown
Comments: Before all you "Sugar" fans get your panties in a bunch about where Evans lands in these rankings. Let me explain something to you. Evans ranking would be much higher if he would have defeated Chuck Liddell two years ago. While it still is impressive to get a victory over Liddell, a lot of people look at Chuck as an over-the-hill fighter now. Liddell has lost 3 of his last 4 fights, and while the Evans one may have been the most impressive, it doesn't move Evans into the top 5 light heavyweights in the World. He hasn't beaten the kind of competition that Shogun, Rampage, or Wanderlei has. He has a draw with Tito Ortiz on his record which resembles a zit on prom night. If Evans can secure a win over Forrest Griffin and become the new UFC light heavyweight champion, then we will start talking about him being a top 5 fighter. Because as of today, I would favor Shogun, Lyoto, Griffin, Rampage and Wandy in a fight over Rashad. Sorry, but I'm not alone in that line of thinking.
7) Thiago Silva (13-0)
Height: 6'1
Currently Fighting With: UFC
Last 5 fights:
- vs. Antonio Mendes - Win via submission (punches) - UFC 84: Ill Will - May 24, 2008
- vs. Houston Alexander - Win via TKO (strikes) - UFC 78: Validation - November 17, 2007
- vs. Tomasz Drwal - Win via TKO (strikes) - UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion - September 8, 2007
- vs. James Irvin - Win via TKO (knee injury) - UFC 71: Liddell vs. Jackson - May 26, 2007
- vs. Tatsuya Mizuno - Win via KO (soccer kick) - Pancrase - Rising 2 - February 28, 2007
Next scheduled appearance:
- vs. Currently injured
Comments: Like I mentioned above when speaking about Lyoto Machida. The biggest loser in the whole cancellation of the Machida/Silva fight is us, the fans. This had the chance to be an epic battle and we would have gotten to see it FREE on Spike TV! Now with Silva getting injured, we will probably have to wait until UFC 93 in January on a card that should be headlined by BJ Penn vs. GSP. Either way, this is a fight that we TRULY need to see.
8) Chuck Liddell (21-6)
Height: 6'2
Birthday: December 17, 1969
Currently Fighting With: UFC
Last 5 fights:
- vs. Rashad Evans - Loss via KO (punch) - UFC 88: Breakthrough - September 6, 2008
- vs. Wanderlei Silva - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 79: Nemesis - December 29, 2007
- vs. Keith Jardine - Loss via decision (split) - UFC 76: Knockout - September 22, 2007
- vs. Quinton Jackson - Loss via TKO (strikes) - UFC 71: Liddell vs. Jackson - May 26, 2007
- vs. Tito Ortiz - Win via TKO (punches) - UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz II - December 30, 2006
Next scheduled appearance:
- vs. Currently unknown
Comments: If there was ever a fighter who needed to change up his style of fighting, it is this man. Rashad Evans was able to receive some excellent information from Keith Jardine about how to beat Liddell. Apparently you just need to read Chuck Liddell's facial expressions and you will get the win. Chuck needs to head back into camp and try to come up with something new, otherwise we might be seeing the last of Liddell in these rankings. Chuck say's he still plans on getting back that UFC light heavyweight title, but the truth is, the younger fighters may have passed Chuck up and it doesn't look like he can keep up with them. What's in Liddell's future? Who knows, but if you ask me.....it doesn't look good.
9) Keith Jardine (13-4-1)
Height: 6'2
Currently Fighting With: UFC
Last 5 fights:
- vs. Wanderlei Silva - Loss by KO (punches) - UFC 84: Ill Will - May 24, 2008
- vs. Chuck Liddell - Win by decision (split) - UFC 76: Knockout - September 22, 2007
- vs. Houston Alexander - Loss by KO (punches) - UFC 71: Liddell vs. Jackson - May 26, 2007
- vs. Forrest Griffin - Win by TKO (punches) - UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz 2 - December 30, 2006
- vs. Wilson Gouveia - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC - Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale - June 24, 2006
Next scheduled appearance:
- vs. Brandon Vera - UFC 89 "Bisping vs. Leben" - October 18, 2008
Comments: We are only a few weeks away from seeing Brandon Vera vs. Keith Jardine at UFC 89. This is a must win for Jardine, not only to save his UFC job, but because he faces the threat of losing 3 out of his last 4. Can he do it? We shall see.
10) Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (5-2)
Birthday: April 18, 1984
Currently Fighting With: UFC
Last 5 fights:
- vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura - Win via TKO (leg injury) - UFC 84: Ill Will - May 24, 2008
- vs. Lyoto Machida - Loss via submission (arm triangle choke) - UFC 79: Nemesis - December 29, 2007
- vs. Ricardo Arona - Win via KO (punch) - PRIDE 34: Kamikaze - April 8, 2007
- vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira - Win via TKO (strikes) - PRIDE 33 - Second Coming - February 24, 2007
- vs. Glover Teixeira - Loss via TKO (strikes) - WEC 24: Full Force - October 12, 2006
Next scheduled appearance:
- vs. Luiz Cane - UFC 89: "Bisping vs. Leben" - October 18, 2008
Comments: Speaking of another guy who needs a huge win in the UFC, that would be Sokoudjou. He is currently 1-1 in the UFC, and really needs this victory to keep his momentum going. I for one would love to see it as I'm a huge fan of Soko.
On the bubble:
(On the bubble includes fighters who almost cracked the Top 10. These fighters remain serious threats in their current division)
Tito Ortiz (15-6-1)
Height: 6'2
Birthday: January 23, 1975
Currently Fighting With: Free Agent
Last 5 fights:
- vs. Lyoto Machida - Loss via Decision (unanimous) - UFC 84: Ill Will - May 24, 2008
- vs. Rashad Evans - Draw - UFC 73: Stacked - July 7, 2007
- vs. Chuck Liddell - Loss via TKO (punches) - UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz 2 - December 30, 2006
- vs. Ken Shamrock - Win via TKO (punches) - Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter - October 10, 2006
- vs. Ken Shamrock - Win via TKO (strikes) - UFC 61: Bitter Rivals - July 8, 2006
Next scheduled appearance:
- vs. Currently unknown
Vladimir Matyushenko (21-3)
Height: 6'1
Birthday: January 4, 1971
Currently Fighting With: IFL
Last 5 fights:
- vs. Jamal Patterson - Win via TKO (strikes) - IFL: New Jersey - April 4, 2008
- vs. Alex Schoenauer - Win via decision (unanimous) - IFL - World Grand Prix Semifinals - November 3, 2007
- vs. Tim Boetsch - Win via decision (unanimous) - IFL - 2007 Semifinals - August 2, 2007
- vs. Aaron Stark - Win via TKO (punches) - IFL - Everett - June 1, 2007
- vs. Justin Levens - Win via TKO (strikes) - IFL - Los Angeles - March 17, 2007
Next scheduled appearance:
- Currently unknown
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (14-3)
Height: 6'2
Birthday: June 2, 1976
Currently Fighting With: Affliction
Last 5 fights:
- vs. Edwin Dewees - Win via TKO (punches) - Affliction: Banned - July 19, 2008
- vs. Todd Gouwenberg - Win via TKO - HCF - Destiny - February 1, 2008
- vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou - Loss via TKO (strikes) - PRIDE 33: The Second Coming - February 24, 2007
- vs. Alistair Overeem - Win via TKO (strikes) - PRIDE Critical Countdown Absolute - July 7, 2006
- vs. Mauricio Rua - Loss via decision (unanimous) - PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005 - June 6, 2005
LoL, can you PLEASE use a better picture of Lyoto for these rankings!!
Posted By: daniel (Guest) on September 25, 2008 at 02:39 AM
"Evans ranking would be much higher if he would have defeated Chuck Liddell two years ago. While it still is impressive to get a victory over Liddell, a lot of people look at Chuck as an over-the-hill fighter now. Liddell has lost 3 of his last 4 fights, and while the Evans one may have been the most impressive, it doesn't move Evans into the top 5 light heavyweights in the World. He hasn't beaten the kind of competition that SHOGUN, RAMPAGE, or WANDERLEI has"
If this a huge APRIL FOOL JOKE Dustin James ?
Shogun and Rampage are BOTH coming out of a HUGE LOSS at the hands of the champ himself and have done NOTHING the past months out of remaining on the injury list for the former and getting arrested and making a giant fool out of himself for the latter.....
And you're ranking them ABOVE of a guy who comes out of TWO HUGE VICTORIES AND is still UNDEFEATED ?
You're definitively ridiculized yourself when you're naming Wanderlei here , the guy has lost THREE of HIS LAST FOUR MATCHES like the guy you're calling a "has been" THE ICEMAN AND have been DEFEATED by the same "over the hill" LIDDELL while EVANS totally MURDERED him in the best KO Of THE YEAR.....
Who are you KIDDING and FOOLING OUT HERE with such BIASED and PATHETIC STATEMENTS ?
Posted By: Guest#9447 (Guest) on September 25, 2008 at 04:51 AM
How can you rank Wanderlei Silva at number 4 when in the past 2 years his record is 1-3?
Two of those losses, he got dismantled(Liddell and Cro Cop).
Posted By: Guest#2516 (Guest) on September 25, 2008 at 08:57 AM
So, explain this: you say Evans' ranking would be higher had he beat Liddell two years ago yet Wanderlei, a guy who lost to Liddell not a year ago, is ranked higher than him? You make no sense.
Posted By: HBK (Guest) on September 25, 2008 at 10:06 AM
actually, other than soku i don't find any of this objectionable...i still think that soku needs to do a little more before being a consensus top ten fighter, but eh, whatever...it's not like the guys on the bubble are making that much of a case for themselves.
Posted By: romano (Guest) on September 25, 2008 at 11:51 AM
Copied from the top of the list: "411's MMA Rankings are voted on by the staff of 411mania. Therefore, if you don't like where a fighter is ranked you have to hate the 411 MMA staff as a whole."
Dustin just compiles the results, so give him a break. You can still go on loving your favorite fighter despite this list...
Posted By: Scott Kuczkowski (Registered) on September 25, 2008 at 02:12 PM
"Dustin just compiles the results, so give him a break. You can still go on loving your favorite fighter despite this list..."
No we won't give him a break for the simple fact that HE IS the one who started out the whole argument of
"Before all you "Sugar" fans get your panties in a bunch about where Evans lands in these rankings. Let me explain something to you. Evans ranking would be much higher if he would have defeated Chuck Liddell two years ago. While it still is impressive to get a victory over Liddell, a lot of people look at Chuck as an over-the-hill fighter now. Liddell has lost 3 of his last 4 fights, and while the Evans one may have been the most impressive, it doesn't move Evans into the top 5 light heavyweights in the World. He hasn't beaten the kind of competition that Shogun, Rampage, or Wanderlei has. He has a draw with Tito Ortiz on his record which resembles a zit on prom night. If Evans can secure a win over Forrest Griffin and become the new UFC light heavyweight champion, then we will start talking about him being a top 5 fighter. Because as of today, I would favor Shogun, Lyoto, Griffin, Rampage and Wandy in a fight over Rashad. Sorry, but I'm not alone in that line of thinking."
Which is absolutely LAME
Evans has draw with former Champ Ortiz AND Murdered A TOP 5 Fighter in the name of former champ Chuck Liddell .
Again what have Shogun, Wandy and Rampage done to deserve to be AHEAD of the NUMBER ONE CONTENDER the past months ?
Ah yes NOTHING
Again PURE BIAS from James and Co
Posted By: Guest#8867 (Guest) on September 25, 2008 at 07:04 PM
The only thing stopping Lyoto from being #1 is matchmaking.
Wanderlei is ranked too high. A KO of the most inconsistent of the top 10 LHWs does not erase his three losses. He should be ranked behind Chuck.
Thiago Silva is another victim of matchmaking. His ranking reflects his record not his skill.
Shogun's ranking clearly reflects everybody's adoration of him. We all love Shogun, but we should face the fact that he couldn't back up his hype against Forrest. He won't be able to back it up against any top 10 fighter in his return. He needs to face an easier opponent if he wants a win after his injury. Shogun will never be the same.
Posted By: KSti (Registered) on September 25, 2008 at 10:00 PM
Guess its a good thing these ranking don't really matter to anybody but you because Rashad ranked at 6 is crazy. Wanderlei has lost 3 of his last 5 fights(2 by KO) and you got him ranked 4.
I think Brian Griffin said it best "Can I buy some pot from you?"
Posted By: Guest#7375 (Guest) on September 26, 2008 at 03:54 AM
Scott "the Defender" Kuczkowski once again rears his ugly head. Dude if u spent a lil more time on your column instead of constantly defendin ppl in others you *might* just become a better writer.
Posted By: appl_jacks (Guest) on September 26, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Do you put the worst picture your have of theese guys on purpose?
Posted By: Omar (Guest) on September 27, 2008 at 08:20 AM
I wonder why Tito's win over #1 Forrest isnt on his last fights list? hmmmm
Posted By: BigAl6a (Guest) on September 27, 2008 at 12:23 PM
i agree with everyone dustin james you suck at life and should be fired
Posted By: 411 manias enemy (Guest) on September 28, 2008 at 09:37 AM
dont get it twisted i love dustin james as a writer and he's one of my favorites here on this site. I just think he and the other writers have messed up thinking when it comes to Rashad Evans and his ranking
Posted By: appl_jacks (Guest) on September 29, 2008 at 01:10 PM
TITO!!! Are you kidding. Really! How is that possible? Even as an honorable mention.
"On the bubble includes fighters who almost cracked the Top 10. These fighters remain serious threats in their current division"
Threat to Whom? Last time I EVER visit this site.
Posted By: Rumble 1975 (Guest) on October 08, 2008 at 01:25 PM
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