Guest Editorials
GUEST EDITORIAL: The MMA Stock Exchange - A Look at the Rising and Falling in the UFC's Light Heavyweight Division
Jan 3, 2012 - 9:45:43 PM GUEST EDITORIAL: The MMA Stock Exchange - A Look at the Rising and Falling in the UFC's Light Heavyweight Division

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The following guest editorial was submitted by MMATorch reader Brad Walker.

Here is a brief summary of what I will be doing here; I'm going to look at the current champ from each division and label them "now." Then I will look at who I feel has the best change to dethrone that champ and label them "next." Next I will select two each of the following: fighters with rising stock, fighters with stagnant (not-changing) stock, and fighters with dropping stocks. I will give explanations as to why I feel each one is placed where they are, and feel free to give me any feedback you believe would be a credible argument, after all analysis is partially opinion, now let's roll our sleeves up and dig in.
 
Light Heavyweight
 
Now: As if anyone needs to be told, Jonny "Bones" Jones. The 24 year old (technically) undefeated Champion. I say technically, as his only loss was via DQ against Matt Hamill for illegal elbows. Jones has torn through the division in quick fashion, and was granted a title fight as a replacement, but did what no one expected and decimated Shogun Rua. Jones, simply put, is a monster in the division at 6'4" and with an astounding 84 inch reach. We're talking about a light heavyweight with the height and reach above that of most heavyweights. His chin from what we've seen is solid, and his ground game is crippling to opponents. He may in the future prove himself to be the best pound for pound fighter in the world of mixed martial arts.

Next: Dan Henderson. The exact opposite of Jones, a body fitted perfectly for light heavyweight, and going strong at 41 years old. Hendo has come out of his shell since suffering a decision loss to Jake Shields in his Strikeforce debut. In his 37 fight career he has lost only eight times, five by decision and three by submission. Also, while he has gone toe to toe with some of the heaviest hitters in MMA, he has never been knocked out. This is a light heavyweight who knocked out the previously un-KOd Fedor in the first round. He has hit his stride, winning seven of his last eight, including that memorable war with Shogun. His right hand is probably the most deadly in all of MMA, and his wrestling is Olympic level. I'm not saying that he WILL beat Jones; I'm simply saying that I believe he has the best chance.

Rising Stock: Rashad Evans. Ok folks, bear with me here. Rashad has still lost only once in his entire career and that was at the hands of UFC's most extravagant striker, Lyoto Machida. Although sidelined consistently between bouts, Evans has always come back and reminded us why he's one of the best. He outwrestled Rampage Jackson beyond comprehension, and nearly knocked him out in the first round. Let's not forget to mention this is a guy who won The Ultimate Fighter at heavyweight, which in itself is quite a feat for someone who could probably fight at middleweight. In his first marquee matchup he clocked Chuck Liddell so hard I thought he wouldn't get back up. Rashad is an exciting fighter that, for some reason, doesn't get a lot of fan support, but his stock will continue to rise after he defeats Phil Davis in Chicago at UFC on Fox 2.
 
Rising Stock: Alexander Gustafsson. The young Swede with a very similar frame to Jon Jones has exploded of late.  His level of competition has been lacking, but the man has some serious punching power, and I doubt you'd find a single opponent aside from Phil Davis who would disagree. Having lost only one bout in his career to Davis, he has finished every fight except one, most recently an incredible TKO over Vladimir Matyushenko this past Friday. Despite being 6'5" his reach is not as incredible as Jones, but I believe the size would make for a hell of a matchup in the cage. We are yet to see much of his BJJ at which he holds a purple belt, but for his next match how about we give him a legitimate threat, maybe a Rich Franklin or the winner of Bader vs. Rampage?
 
Stagnant Stock: Rampage Jackson. There is not a whole lot about Rampage I can tell you that you wouldn't already know. He's a monster, which for some reason seems to have been caged as of late, and believes that it's the fault of the American UFC fans for not getting into his fights enough. I'm not one to poke a stick in the cage, but shouldn't you be ready to fight in any scenario, fans or not? That is the description of being a mixed martial artist, fighting opponents until the referee stops you. I haven't seen a flash of the real Rampage Jackson since his first round KO over a not-so-game Wanderlei Silva in 2008. If he shows up and decimates Ryan Bader in Japan, and truly believes it's the fans, maybe it's time for him to find a home in DREAM, because there's no way Dana White is going to let him only fight on cards in Japan. Until he proves that he can show up to fight in the US in top form, he's standing still.
 
Stagnant Stock: King Mo. Yes, the flashy dude from Strikeforce with the gold shoes. He has a near spotless record at 8-1, but in his loss to Cavalcante, he looked awful. He was gassed, he was sloppy and he earned every bit of that loss. We saw him come back with force knocking out Roger Gracie last September, but I can't help but think anytime Mo sees the late rounds of a fight, he's going to get sloppy and tired. That's not a very good way to make it into the UFC. I can't complain too much about his quality of opponents, because after all it's Strikeforce, and their light heavyweight division is lacking any real solid talent. His upcoming fight against Lorenz Larkin to me is essentially cosmetic, he's going to steamroll Larkin, and until he gets to bang with some good competition, he's stuck.
 
Falling Stock: Tito Ortiz. That name being here probably doesn't surprise anybody, even Tito. He has won only one of his last eight fights, and that covers a five year time span. For measure, Jon Jones has won 15 fights in that time span. Tito is very painfully past his prime, and his last two fights ending in TKO from body shots has only served to give people a new way to stop him. Tito has declared his next fight his last and I couldn't be happier as a human being and a fan, because Tito deserves to move on from being in the cage, to teaching others what he knows. His stock has technically been falling since 2005, but now it's nearing rock bottom.
 
Falling Stock: Forrest Griffin. The original Ultimate Fighter winner has come full circle from Champion to flash in the pan. His last two victories have done nothing to show us what he's capable of in the Octagon aside from squeaking out a decision against a less-than wily vet. Rashad, Anderson Silva, and Shogun have all put Forrest on his back with vicious KOs, and he tends to appear helpless. I know in his match with Shogun he had other things on his mind, but I truly believe at this stage Forrest has more to offer us on play by play than from within the confines of the cage. He's a truly funny guy when he's doing interviews and interacting on twitter (rape jokes aside) so why not use him where he's not going to get hurt. His day is past, let's get him in that last fight with Tito and call it a day.
 
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