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GOODMAN COLUMN: Ranking the Light Heavyweights
Nov 24, 2008 - 8:05:25 PM GOODMAN COLUMN: Ranking the Light Heavyweights

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Goodman's Top Ten Light Heavyweight Ranking:

1. Forrest Griffin (16-4, 7-2 UFC, 3 (T)KOs, 7 Subs) - He is the current UFC Light Heavyweight champ; in a division loaded with talent, especially within the UFC, that is huge accomplishment. Along with Diego Sanchez, he was the winner of TUF season 1. Griffin has two losses in the UFC, a split decision to Tito Ortiz (which I think he actually won) and a TKO loss to Keith Jardine. Since the Jardine fight, Griffin has stepped it up, dominating former top ten contender, Mauricio Rua, and coming in with a great game plan for his title win against Quinton Jackson. He has become a solid, well rounded fighter; good at striking, excellent with his kicks and impressive on the ground. Perhaps his only flaw is his punching power (or lack thereof). He is the favorite heading into his title fight next month against Rashad Evans, but I would not be surprised to see the challenger take it. Win or lose, though, Griffin is in the title picture for awhile.

Up Next: UFC 92, December 27th vs. Rashad Evans

2. Quinton Jackson (28-7, 3-1 UFC, 13(T)KOs, 7 Subs) - The former PRIDE and UFC Light Heavyweight champion has had quite the ride the last few months (no pun intended). He lost the title to Griffin at UFC 86 on July 5th, in one of the best fights of the year, then was arrested, July 15th, for suspicion of felony reckless driving and felony hit and run. And hey how was your summer? Jackson came into the UFC strong, with big KOs against Marvin Eastman and Chuck Liddell. He then "unified" the PRIDE and UFC light heavyweight title with a win against Dan Henderson. His next fight will be his third against Wanderlei Silva. His first two were just brutal beatings which you can check out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNu9Lu8j6Sc
I'm surprised Jackson is up for this fight, it's almost like Rich Franklin wanting to fight Anderson Silva for a third time. But who knows, maybe third times the charm.

Up Next: UFC 92, December 27th vs. Wanderlei Silva.

3. Lyoto Machida (13-0, 5-0 UFC, 3(T)KOs, 2 Subs) - A training partner of Anderson Silva and Antonio Nogueira, he has wins over big names like Rich Franklin and B.J. Penn. Machida is a karate expert and a counter striker. His drawback is that because of his style most of his fights go to decision. Many consider his fights "boring", but it's all in how you look at it. Some people like baseball when there is a lot of scoring and plenty of home runs, while others can appreciate the game of chess between a pitcher and hitter. Machida is MMA's "Bobby Fischer"; his style truly puts the art in mixed martial arts. If he can get by Thiago Silva he will probably become the number one contender. If you like technical fights, his fight against Silva should be awesome.

Up Next: UFC 94, January 31st vs. Thiago Silva.

4. Rashad Evans (12-0-1, 7-0-1 UFC, 4(T)KOs, 2 Subs) - Evans was the TUF season 2 winner, along with Joe Stevenson. Since winning TUF he has slowly worked his way up the ladder. A two-time All-State wrestler in high school and a solid wrestler at Michigan state, Evans has been criticized in the past for his lackluster performances. He does own two of my all time favorite KOs, a head kick against Sean Salmon, at UFC Fight Night 8, and an overhand right against Chuck Liddell, at UFC 88. He is undefeated, but got a lucky draw against Tito Ortiz at UFC 73 when Ortiz was deducted a point for holding the fence. He has the chance to become "The Ultimate Ultimate Fighter" when he fights season one winner, Griffin, next month.

Up Next: UFC 92, December 27th vs. Forrest Griffin.

5. Chuck Liddell (21-6, 15-5 UFC, 13(T)KOs, 1 Sub) - Liddell is a legend. One of the all time greats that helped bring MMA to the masses, but as a current fighter he is going to have to evolve if he still wants to be relevant in the sport. He has lost to Jackson, twice, and Evans (my number two and four contenders respectively) and I can't see him beating Griffin or Machida (my number one and three contenders) so his time as a light heavyweight champ may have come and gone. The silver lining in this cloud for Liddell, though, is that there is now talk of moving him to the heavyweight division to fight Randy Couture.

Up Next: TBD.

6. Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1, 1 No Contest, 2-3 UFC, 23(T)KOs, 3 Subs) - After losing three in a row Silva got back on track with a 36 second knock out of Keith Jardine. He fights Rampage Jackson next and, as I mentioned above, he owns two big wins over him. If he happens to lose I would like to see Silva move down to the middleweight division.

Up Next: UFC 92, December 27th vs. Quinton Jackson.

7. Thiago Silva (13-0, 4-0 UFC, 10(T)KOs, 2 Subs) - He has a black belt in bjj and some serious knock out power. The quality of opposition he has faced in the UFC has not been top ten material, but it will be next time when his faces Machida. I'm looking forward to that fight perhaps more than the main event. If he beats Machida (a huge if) I don't know if they will give him a title shot, but regardless, the winner of that fight will be a serious threat to the title.

Up Next: UFC 94, January 31st vs. Lyoto Machida.

8. Keith Jardine (14-4-1, 6-3 UFC, 6(T)KOs, 2 Subs) -
Jardine is a yo-yo, he beats the future champ Griffin then loses to Houston Alexander, he beats the former champ Liddell, then loses to Wanderlei Silva. He just beat Brandon Vera in October so if the pattern stays the same he should be losing his next fight. There are a lot of Jardine haters out there, but I like the guy. He is said to be a great strategist and good teammate at Greg Jackson's camp in Albuquerque. I like his character too, when he was booed in his last fight, although taken aback by the response, he still thanked the crowd and did his best imitation of a "Mick Foley cheap pop" to get the fans back on his side. His two huge wins against Griffin and Liddell can never be taken away from him, but I don't think he is ready for any title considerations. I would let him fight Luis Cane next. If they both stand and trade it could make for an exciting fight and if Jardine loses we know we will have an entertaining KO.

Up Next: TBD.

9. Luis Arthur Cane (9-1, 2-1 UFC, 8(T)KOs, 1 Sub) - A fighter that may not be in most top ten lists. The heavy handed Cane is a rising superstar. His only loss is from being disqualified against James Irvin because of a knee to the head while Irvin was down. None of his wins are by decision, in fact most of his fights don't go past the first round. I would like to see the Brazilian finally face a top ten contender next, maybe another fighter that would stand and bang with him like Keith Jardine.

Up Next: TBD.

10. Renato Sobral (31-7, 6-4 UFC 3(T)KOs, 16 Subs) - Another fighter that is probably not on most people's top ten list. However, "Babalu" has won fourteen of his last sixteen fights, including a victory this past weekend over Bobby Southworth to become the new Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion.

Up Next: Affliction: Day of Reckoning, January 24th vs. Matt Lindland.

Goodman's Honorable Mentions:

If we had a top 15 (in no particular order):

Rich Franklin (24-3, 11-2 UFC, 13(T)KOs, 9 Sub) - Had his first light heavyweight fight in several years.

Dan Henderson (23-7, 3-2 UFC, 10(T)KOs, 1 Sub) - He beat Rousimar Palhares for his first UFC win in ten years, but it was at middleweight.

Vitor Belfort (17-8, 11 (T)KOs, 2 Subs) - Has three wins in a row. I was very close to putting him in the top ten, but because of his quality of opposition I chose the others.

Vladimir Matyushenko (21-3, 7(T)KOs, 7 Subs) - Another fighter I was very close to putting in the top ten, he was awesome in the IFL. In the end I chose not to include him because of inactivity. Perhaps after his fight in January on the Affliction card my mind will change.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (15-3, 3(T)KOs, 5 Subs) - He has three wins in a row, yet another close call.