Ennis' Take
ENNIS: Lay of the Land - The Light Heavyweight Division - October 2011 (part two)
Nov 21, 2011 - 6:13:28 PM ENNIS: Lay of the Land - The Light Heavyweight Division - October 2011 (part two)

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By: Shawn Ennis, MMATorch, Senior Columnist

[NOTE: This was originally published October 4. With Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida less than three weeks away, we've bumped it in case you missed it or want to take another look.]

It's been a while since part one, so if you need a refresher - Click For Part One
   

The light heavyweight division is pretty top heavy, but there are a few things going on here in the pool.  We'll start, as we usually do, with the fighters who have fights coming up.  Just a few days away is the return to the UFC for Brandon Vera (11-5, 1 NC), whom we last saw in January losing a lopsided decision to Thiago Silva (14-2-1, 1 NC), which of course was overturned when Silva was popped for banned substances.  Vera takes on Eliot Marshal (10-3), who was knocked out by Luiz Cane (12-4) in March.  Marshal seems to be a TUF alum who can't hack it against upper-tier competition, so if Vera loses here (or even wins in unimpressive fashion), it can't bode well for him.
   
At UFC 138, Cyrille Diabate (17-7-1) will face off against Anthony Perosh (11-6).  Diabate started off his UFC campaign by perpetuating the downward spiral of the aforementioned Luiz Cane and then falling victim to the skyrocketing Alexander Gustafsson (12-1).  He then brutalized now-middleweight Steve Cantwell for three rounds.  Diabate shouldn't have any problem finishing off Perosh's second UFC run.  Perosh is a nice story, coming in on short notice to fight Cro Cop and then getting a nice gimme fight in his home country of Australia, but when it comes down to it, Perosh simply can't hang in the UFC light heavyweight division.  Gustafsson has a fight of his own coming up against the suddenly hot Vladmir Matyushenko (26-5) at UFC 141.  "The Janitor" has two straight first round stoppages since being steamrolled by Jon Jones (his last first round stoppage was in 2007 in the IFL), and he'll provide a stiff challenge to the rising Swede.
   
Matyushenko's most recent victim, Jason Brilz (18-4-1), really could have used a different result in that fight.  Coming off of a hotly disputed split decision loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-5), Brilz would have benefited greatly from a statement win.  The cards didn't fall in his favor on that night, but he'll have another chance to show he belongs in the upper-middle tier of the UFC when he fights the falling golden boy Ryan Bader (12-2) at UFC 139.  This could be a pivotal fight for both men, as Bader was submitted by Tito Ortiz (16-9-1) in his last outing and was smoked by the champ for his first career loss in February.  A third loss could spell disaster for the once-highly-touted prospect.  A loss for either man would be his third straight, and that never adds up to happiness.  Ortiz and Nogueira, for their part, will square off at UFC 140 in a battle of old guys who aren't really old but can't so much hang with the young guys anymore.
   
Also at UFC 139, we've got Stephan Bonnar (13-7) fighting Kyle Kingsbury (11-2) in what should actually be a sneaky interesting fight. Bonnar is coming off of two straight wins for the first time since 2007, winning his rematch with Krzysztof Soszynski (22-11-1) (can I tell you how much I love writing that name?) and taking a decision over fearsomely-named (with a 2-3 UFC record) Igor Pokrajac (23-8).  Kingsbury has won four straight since losing his UFC debut to Tom Lawlor in 2008.  He looked like an absolute monster against Ricardo Romero (11-3), destroying him in under 30 seconds. That was the first of two straight under-a-minute losses for Romero after enjoying a six-fight winning streak and looking quite impressive in his UFC debut against Seth Petruzelli (14-6). Kingsbury then went on to take a close decision win over Fabio Maldonado (18-4) despite taking a pretty decent beating. Maldonado could have rightfully been included in the Up and Comer section, but unfortunately he didn't occur to me at the time, so there you go.  Let the record show that he's one to watch.  But back to Bonnar-Kinsbury:  the winner here will probably get a pretty decent fight next time – Thiago Silva's return fight comes to mind, or maybe the winner of Bader-Brilz.  In a battle of previously-mentioned hard-to-spell names, Soszynski and Pokrajac will square off at UFC 140.  I can't imagine Pokrajac sticking around with a loss, but stranger things have certainly happened.  Soszynski is a good utility guy to have around, so I imagine he's on a pretty long leash.
   
The last fight that we haven't discussed yet won't get much play now either.  It's Aaron Rosa (16-4) taking on the debutingMatt Lucas (14-2) at UFC 140.  And believe it or not, that doesn't leave me with very many more guys to talk about.  There are three veterans in Quinton Jackson (32-9), Forrest Griffin (18-7), and Rich Franklin (28-6), who are all coming off of a loss and don't currently have fights scheduled.  Franklin is out for a while with an injury, but I'm not familiar with any other restrictions on Griffin and Jackson.  Am I the only one interested in seeing a rematch between these two?  Perhaps in a five-round main event?  Neither is likely to get a title shot any time soon, but they had a heck of a fight in their first meeting, which was of course a title fight that Griffin won, and I scored it a draw.  I wouldn't mind at all seeing these two throw down again.
   
This is about the shortest version of the pool that I can remember doing, which makes me think I'm forgetting someone, but I will soldier on.  Moving to guys outside the UFC, we've got a few guys who are likely headed to the Octagon from Strikeforce sooner rather than later.  Or at least they won't be in Strikeforce much longer.  I guess it remains to be seen whether or not they'll be brought over.  Anyway, there is one more significant light heavyweight fight coming up in December for Strikeforce, and that's up-and-comer Ovince St. Preux (11-4), who is riding an eight-fight win streak, taking on former DREAM and Strikeforce Champion Gegard Mousasi (31-3-2).  St. Preux hasn't really beaten any light heavyweights of note (Benji Radach is a notable middleweight, mind you), so Mousasi will be a very significant test for him.  "The Dreamcatcher" looked like a murderer for a while, rattling off 15 straight wins between 2006 and 2009 against mid to upper tier competition.  He was brought back to Earth in a title loss against Muhammed Lawal (8-1) last year, but he hasn't lost since.  Lawal is associated with the other two significant names in the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight division, having dropped his title to Rafael Cavalcante (11-3), who would lose it to Dan Henderson's right hand, and coming back in a big way against Roger Gracie (4-1) with an impressive knockout victory.  Lawal could be the most intriguing name to come out of Strikeforce when it's all said and done, though it will also be interesting to see how (or if) Mousasi handles wrestlers in the UFC.  Of course, there's the chance that Mousasi won't make it there at all due to his management, but time will tell.  Strikeforce doesn't have a lot of little-known prospects, though a guy like Lorenz Larkin (12-0) can certainly make things interesting.
   
Bellator doesn't have a lot of promise in their 205 division; having your champion, Christian M'Pumbu (18-4-1), lose a decision to Travis Wiuff isn't the best validation of the division as a whole.
   
So that's about it.  Did I miss anyone?  Let me know what you think in the comments, shoot me an email at ennistorch(at)gmail(dot)com, or hit me up on Twitter - @shawnennis.  Oh, and check out the title history below.  Did you know that the submission win for Jon Jones against Rampage Jackson was the first time that a Light Heavyweight Title fight ended in a submission since Tito Ortiz tapped out Yuki Kondo in 2000?  You learn something new every day.
   
   
History of the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
   
   
*Bold indicates title changing hands
   
   
12/21/97 – F. Shamrock def. K. Jackson (Submission)
   
   
3/13/98 – F. Shamrock def. I. Zinoviev (KO)
   
   
5/15/98 – F. Shamrock def. J. Horn (Submission)
   
   
10/16/98 – F. Shamrock def. J. Lober (Submission due to strikes)
   
   
9/24/99 – F. Shamrock def. T. Ortiz (Submission due to strikes)
   
   
*Shamrock vacates title*
   
   
4/14/00 – T. Ortiz def. W. Silva (Decision)
   
   
12/16/00 – T. Ortiz def. Y. Kondo (Submission)
   
   
2/23/01 – T. Ortiz def. E. Tanner (KO)
   
   
6/29/01 – T. Ortiz def. E. Sinosic (TKO)
   
   
9/28/01 – T. Ortiz def. V. Matyushenko (Decision)
   
   
11/22/02 – T. Ortiz def. K. Shamrock (TKO)
   
   
*Ortiz leaves the UFC due to contract dispute*
   
   
6/6/03 – R. Couture def. C. Liddell (TKO)
   
   
9/26/03 – R. Couture def. T. Ortiz (Decision) - Unification
   
   
1/31/04 – V. Belfort def. R. Couture (TKO due to cut)
   
   
8/21/04 – R. Couture def. V. Belfort (TKO)
   
   
4/16/05 – C. Liddell def. R. Couture (KO)
   
   
8/20/05 – C. Liddell def. J. Horn (TKO)
   
   
2/4/06 – C. Liddell def. R. Couture (KO)
   
   
8/26/06 – C. Liddell def. R. Sobral (TKO)
   
   
12/30/06 – C. Liddell def. T. Ortiz (TKO)
   
   
5/26/07 – Q. Jackson def. C. Liddell (KO)
   
   
9/8/07 – Q. Jackson def. D. Henderson (Decision)
   
   
7/5/08 – F. Griffin def. Q. Jackson (Decision)
   
   
12/27/08 – R. Evans def. F. Griffin (TKO)
   
   
5/23/09 – L. Machida def. R. Evans (KO)
   
   
10/24/09 – L. Machida def. M. Rua (Decision)
   
   
5/8/10 – M. Rua def. L. Machida (KO)
   
   
3/19/11 – J. Jones def. M. Rua (TKO)
   
   
9/24/11 – J. Jones def. Q. Jackson (Submission)
   
   
Longest Title Reign: Tito Ortiz – 952 Days
   
   
Most Title Defenses:  Tito Ortiz – 6
   
   
Current Title Reign:  Jon Jones – 222 Days
   
   
Definitions/Parameters:
   
   
The Champ:   Self-explanatory
   
   
The Contenders: Fighters who could fight for the title immediately and be taken as legitimate contenders. Fighters coming off of a loss will not typically be in this category.
   
A Step or Two Away: Fighters who could be in contention for a title with another victory or two over legitimate competition.
   
Up and Comers: Fighters who have no more than three fights in the UFC, who have shown promise.  They're not always undefeated, but they have potential.
   
The Pool: Other fighters of note within the division, who could work their way into the top three categories by going on a run and/or proving themselves/proving themselves again in the Octagon.  Also those outside the UFC who could make an impact.