Heavyweight Brock Lesnar may be the marquee draw in MMA, but light heavyweight (205 lbs.) is the marquee division. It is a division not dominated by the champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, but by the UFC as a whole. This isn’t a recent phenomenon; the UFC has almost always controlled scores of the world’s best light heavyweights. This is the deepest division that produces the most popular champions in the sport. Unfortunately, the division is in a holding pattern right now, as most of the big name light heavyweights are either hurt, waiting for a title shot, or aren’t scheduled to fight again for a few months.
THE BEST LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT IN THE WORLD
Mauricio “Shogun Rua (19-4)
Fights for: UFC
Next fight: TBA (currently recovering from knee surgery)
Synopsis: Shogun made his name in Japan. He’s the Champion of the most prestigious division of the biggest promotion in the sport, but his biggest career accomplishment came in Japan. As a precocious 23 year old, Shogun won the Pride 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix.
This Grand Prix boasted the most loaded field in the history of MMA tournaments. In April of that year he defeated Rampage by TKO; in June he defeated Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, and in one night in August he defeated both Alistair Overeem (current Strikeforce HW Champion) and Ricardo Arona. The other competitors in the Grand Prix included Kazushi Sakuraba, Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort, Igor Vovchanchyn, and Dan Henderson. Ridiculous.
Shogun joined the UFC in 2007, and was widely considered the greatest LHW in the world. Sporting a lethal Muay Thai based striking game, a black belt in BJJ, good wrestling, solid boxing, and an elite training camp, Shogun was expected to run roughshod over the loaded UFC division. After all, just two years prior, he dominated Rampage Jackson in Pride, and Rampage was holding the LHW strap at this time.
And then he went and got himself choked out by Forrest Griffin in his debut, blew out his knee twice, and looked awful in defeating an elderly Mark Coleman. At this time, people were afraid that Shogun was dead (figuratively), his body too ravaged by knee injuries and cardio issues to ever be the Shogun that the entire sport revered.
And then he knocked out Chuck Liddell and got a title shot. Most observers felt he won his first fight against Lyoto Machida for Machida’s LHW Championship, but Machida retained by Unanimous Decision. Personally, I thought Shogun won 48-47, but I didn’t see it as a robbery. Shogun rendered the debate moot by KO’ing Machida in the first round of their rematch in May, 2010. Shogun is currently on the shelf undergoing yet another knee surgery. When he returns (Frbruary?), he will defend against former UFC Champion Rashad Evans
Notable Victories: Rampage Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem (x2), Ricardo Arona, Kevin Randleman, Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida
Conclusion: Shogun is explosive, fierce, talented, fearless, and supremely aggressive. He is so good that it would be near tragic if the string of surgeries he’s endured saps him of his sublime talent. His highlight reel is as entertaining as almost anyone in the sport’s history.
STRIKEFORCE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (7-0)
Fights for: Strikeforce
Next fight: vs. Rafael Cavalcante, Strikeforce: Houston, August 21
Synopsis: King Mo is the Strikeforce LHW Champion, which is kind of like being the best soccer player on a team of one legged midgets. Lawal won an NCAA Division II wrestling Championship in 2002 wrestling for the University of Central Oklahoma. And that’s his game, wrestling.
He’s elite level in his wrestling, don’t get me wrong, but his other skills are light years behind where they need to be. He’s a master showman with a huge, gregarious personality, but good entrances and one skill in the cage will only take you so far. He won his title by defeating Gegard Mousasi, but he won’t fight the next best Strikeforce LHW because they are training partners (Babalu Sobral).
So even though Dan Henderson is the biggest name in the company and is the only person they could match up with Lawal as a credible challenger who can sell tickets, Strikeforce is putting Lawal up against unranked yet dangerous Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante on August 21. And dumber yet, they’re trying to match Henderson with Babalu Sobral. If King Mo and Babalu each win their next fights, and still refuse to fight one another, this division will have exactly zero contenders.
Notable Victories: Gegard Mousasi
Conclusion: Don’t think for even a second that because King Mo is the Strikeforce LHW Champion and is listed second on this list that he is the second best LHW in the world. He’s not. He is an intriguing prospect, but he’s stuck in MMA hell. He’s bound to a champion’s clause for a company that has very few legitimate contenders.
THE ELITE
Lyoto Machida (16-1)
Fights for: UFC
Next fight: vs. Rampage Jackson, UFC 12x, November 2010
Synopsis: Lyoto Machida started his career 15-0, and never once lost one round on any one judge’s scorecard in any fight during that span. And then in his first UFC LHW Championship defense he met Shogun.
Lyoto was fortunate to leave the Staples Center that October night with the belt that night, as most observers (including myself) felt that Shogun won the fight. Shogun won the rematch with a savage KO in May, 2010.
When Machida won the belt, even the most level-headed observers of the sport were trying to figure out how anyone could compete with Machida. It was rare for anyone to even think about Machida losing the belt, and this is someone who fights in the deepest division in MMA. Machida came into the UFC with zero hype, despite having defeated both B.J. Penn (Penn is a crazy dude) and Rich Franklin in fights outside the UFC early in his career.
Fans didn’t understand what they were seeing when Machida fought, as he fights in a manner that no one else fights. But everything that he does differently from the other fighters is so subtle that it’s impossible for a non-fighter such as me to accurately describe.
He fights from a Shotokan karate base, and uses fundamentals from sumo. Until Shogun figured him out, it wasn’t unusual to see him go entire rounds without getting touched. He’s as elusive as it gets. He came to the UFC light years ahead of the competition he faced, fighting a style that most fans did not fully understand.
It wasn’t until his fourth UFC fight, where he choked out the debuting Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, that people started to understand the sublime talents that Machida possessed. He followed up the Sokoudjou win with a fun destruction of Tito Ortiz, an all time great KO over Thiago Silva, and a memorable second round KO over Rashad Evans to win the LHW Championship.
Conclusion: When Machida fights, pay close attention to his stance and his mobility. He’s likely to clown Rampage Jackson when they fight in November, because Rampage is going to come straight at him. Lyoto is the most technical fighter in the world, and he’s an absolute joy to watch.
Rashad Evans (15-1-1)
Fights for: UFC
Next fight: TBA (Either a title shot vs. Shogun Rua when Shogun recovers, or an interim title fight while Shogun recuperates)
Synopsis: Rashad Evans made his name by winning Season Two of TUF as a Heavyweight, and then immediately dropped down to LHW. Despite winning TUF, he struggled through three post-TUF boring decision victories before putting it all together.
Rashad is still a fantastic wrestler, and has developed KO power, but he is one of the smallest 205 lb in the UFC. He has come into every fight with a superior gameplan, the Machida loss notwithstanding. No shame in that, though, as at the time no one had any idea if there even WAS a game plan with which to handle Machida.
After KOing Chuck Liddell in September of 2008, Evans then defeated Forrest Griffin to win gold with a third round TKO victory. Evans showed grit and determination galore in that fight, as he entered the third round behind on all three score cards. Evans was unable to successfully defend his LHW Championship, but has rebounded from that setback by defeating Thiago Silva and Rampage Jackson (in the best selling UFC PPV of all time that did not feature a UFC Championship fight) to earn another shot at the UFC LHW Championship
Notable Victories: Stephan Bonnar, Michael Bisping, Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Thiago Silva, Rampage Jackson
Conclusion: Rashad Evans is trying his damnedest to crossover, but it just isn’t happening. He fell in love with his standup, which is part of the reason he lost to Machida. He’s responded by going back to hiw wrestling roots, and he does present a unique challenge to Shogun.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (30-8)
Fights for: Money
Next fight: vs. Lyoto Machida, UFC 12x, November 2010
Synopsis: Rampage wasn’t always in the UFC, it just seems that way. He began to create his legend in Pride, where he was pushed as a homeless black man, scavenging for food. Pride, for all its glories, had some serious failings as well. Rampage has bitter feelings about Pride, having accused them of such offenses as cheating him out of money, and fixing tournaments. Of course, the 2003 middleweight Grand Prix, which Wanderlei Silva won, happened by Silva slaughtering Rampage in the final match.
A master at self-promotion, you really have to take everything Rampage says with a grain of salt. But when he says he’s one of the all-time greats, believe it. After a reasonably successful stint in Japan, he made his way over to the UFC. After one tune up fight, he was awarded a UFC LHW title shot against then champion Chuck Liddell.
The build up to Liddell vs. Jackson was insane, built on Jackson’s mouth, the public’s love for Liddell, and the fact that Jackson was the only man in the world to have a victory over Liddell that Liddell had not avenged in a rematch. Less than two minutes into the fight, Rampage became the UFC LHW Champion, and Chuck Liddell would only win one more fight in his career.
Rampage has a wrestling background, but prefers to stand and bang. He has tremendous power in his boxing game, and is very difficult to take to the ground. He seems completely unwilling to add to or change his game in the slightest. He lost to Forrest Griffin because of leg kicks, and the book on him to this day is completely unchanged.
Rampage’s heart is not in fighting. He has said repeatedly that he fights for money and because he’s good at it, not out of any love for the act of fighting itself. No fighter hates training and fight preparation more than Rampage.
He’s been a coach on TUF two different times now, and seems to have hated every minute of it. To hype a fight between himself and mortal enemy Rashad Evans, both men were coaches during TUF’s tenth season. Evans and Jackson didn’t stop yapping at each other for even one second. After taping was complete, Rampage pulled out of the fight with Evans to take the role of B.A. Baracus in The A-Team. He also announced his retirement from MMA during filming; a retirement which lasted until he signed a new six-fight UFC contract approximately 42 seconds after filming had commenced.
Notable Victories: Igor Vovchanchyn, Kevin Randleman, Murilo Bustamante, Chuck Liddell (x2), Ricardo Arona (best KO of all time, go to youtube), Matt Lindland, Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Keith Jardine
Conclusion: He’s the easiest fighter in the world to gameplan for, but he’s so good at what he does that knowing how to beat him is rarely enough to actually beat him. Rampage has tremendous power, but at this stage, that seems to be the only weapon he’s willing to rely on anymore. Which is a shame, because he’s a supremely talented fighter.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-3)
Fights for: UFC
Next fight: vs. Ryan Bader, UFC 119, September 25
Synopsis: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira has an identical twin brother, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who fights in the UFC’s HW division. Rogerio (Little Nog) made his name in Pride, often in the shadow of his brother (Big Nog).
Little Nog’s boxing might be the best in MMA. He has trained with the Cuban national boxing team, has won the Brazilian boxing championships twice, and finished third at the 2007 Pan American games. Top this off with the fact that he is a black belt in BJJ, and he is a scary opponent for anybody.
Nogueira is riding a seven fight win streak that spans more than three years, with a flash KO at the hands of Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou being his last defeat. Nogueira is 2-0 in the UFC, although he looked sluggish and lethargic in his most recent fight, a controversial split decision over unheralded Jason Brilz.
Notable Victories: Kazushi Sakuraba, Alistair Overeem (x2), Dan Henderson, Vladimir Matyushenko, Luiz Artur Cane
Conclusion: Nogueira’s next fight against young Ryan Bader will tell us all we need to know about Nogueira. Is the real Little Nog the one who hasn’t lost in three in a half years, or is he the one who looked old and slow against an unknown Jason Brilz. We’ll know at the end of September.
THE NEXT LEVEL
Forrest Griffin (17-6)
Fights for: UFC
Next fight: TBA
Synopsis: While everyone agrees that Forrest is a hell of a guy, on everybody’s short list of guys they’d love to share a drink or 10 with, there is no such consensus about his place in the LHW division. There are those who swear by his toughness, grit, and solid all-around game.
Then there are those who think he got lucky in victories over Shogun and Rampage, that he doesn’t have enough power to compete, and that he’s living a charmed life. While it’s true he is living a charmed life, it was anything but luck that helped him defeat Shogun (when Shogun was considered by most as the #1 LHW in the world), and Rampage (who was the consensus #1 LHW in the world when Forrest won that fight).
Griffin made his name, and made the UFC quite frankly, on the first season of TUF. His unanimous decision victory over Stephan Bonnar to win Season One of TUF was the #1 most important moment in the history of the sport. Had he never fought again, that fight alone was enough to guarantee him (and Bonnar) a slot in the UFC Hall of Fame.
In 2005, the UFC was bleeding money, the Fertittas were looking to sell, and the UFC seemed to have leveled off at a level too low to sustain itself. As a last ditch hail mary, the UFC paid Spike TV to air The Ultimate Fighter reality show in the timeslot following WWE Raw (good move there, McMahons).
If this venture failed, the future of the UFC was likely doomed. Of course it didn’t fail; the UFC took off and generated a little buzz. But the coup de grace of TUF was that the season concluded with two hours of live fights at the end of the season.
The second fight of the evening was Griffin versus Bonnar, with the winner getting a “six-figure contract” with the UFC. And then Griffin and Bonnar, two fighters who were in the background of the reality show more often than not, took to the cage and showed the viewing audience just how tough, talented, determined, courageous, and passionate someone has to be in order to take to the cage. It is impossible to accurately make the point of how this fight changed everything. The UFC went from the brink of bankruptcy to a multi-billion dollar company, all on the shoulders of this fight.
Notable Victories: Jeff Monson, Chael Sonnen, Stephan Bonnar (x2), Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson, Tito Ortiz
Conclusion: Griffin is recuperating from a shoulder injury which occurred while training for a UFC 114 fight with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. He is rumored to be returning near the end of the year, possibly against Rich Franklin. The two glaring holes in Griffin’s game are a lack of power, and a lack of speed. But in the shark tank that is the UFC LHW division, those are two holes likely to prevent him from another run at the UFC LHW strap.
Jon Jones (10-1)
Fights for: UFC
Next fight: vs. Vladimir Matyushenko, UFC Live on Versus 2, August 1
(this is being written and was posted before the Matyushenko fight)
Synopsis: Jon “Bones” Jones will be the UFC LHW Champion within three years, unless he decides to stop cutting weight at the rate he does. If that is the case, Bones will be the UFC HW Champion within the same timeframe.
There is no more promising of a prospect in the sport, and nobody who is more watchable than Jon Jones. Standing 6’4” and possessing the longest reach in the UFC at an unreal 84”, the 23 year old Jones is athletic, talented, and creative. He trains with the most disciplined coach and camp in MMA (Greg Jackson’s Submission Fighting in Albuquerque), but is electric and wild in the cage.
He has weapons and uses tools that no one else uses, which along with his lanky frame and unbelievable speed makes him impossible to train for. He’s more than just a striker, as he was a state champion high school wrestler, as well as a national JUCO champion as well.
The only loss on his resume was a DQ loss to Matt Hamill. Jones dominated every second of the Hamill fight. After violently throwing the fully deaf Hamill to the mat, and breaking Hamill’s shoulder in the process of the takedown (see animated .gif above), Jones unleashed hell upon Hamill, landing a series of savage unanswered elbows.
Rather than properly stop the fight during the onslaught of elbows, referee Steve Mazagatti stepped in after Jones threw a handful of 12-6 elbow strikes, which are illegal. Seeing that Hamill was in no position to continue (no shit), Mazagatti disqualified Jones and awarded the victory to Hamill.
One could ask why the referee was verbally asking a deaf fighter if he could continue while the fighter was taking elbow after elbow, but what do I know. Like Hamill was going to take time to look at Mazagatti and lip-read while eating thirty elbow sandwiches.
I sincerely hope that Jones loses at least one more fight in his career, so that the MMA community won’t look back at what could have been an undefeated fighter. The fact that it is not unfathomable to think of Jones never losing another fight should tell you all you need to know about his talent. I mean, he is going to lose, and more than once, but it’s fun to daydream about such things.
Notable Victories: Stephan Bonnar, Jake O’Brien, Brandon Vera
Conclusion: Vladimir Matyushenko is the toughest test of Jones’ young career, both in terms of talent and style. Presuming Jones wins the fight, he will be paired with a top 10 type fighter next time out. Don’t expect to ever see him on free TV again, so make sure to watch him tonight.
Rich Franklin (28-5, 1 NC)
Fights for: UFC
Next fight: TBA (recuperating from broken arm)
Synopsis: People like to think of Rich “Ace” Franklin as a legend in MMA, as one of the best and most talented fighters in the short history of the young sport. He’s not. What he is, though, is a damn good fighter, who epitomizes everything you want your favorite fighter to be.
He’s tougher than the toughest, is as smart as it gets both in the cage and out, and he will leave everything he has in the Octagon. Franklin fought against Ken Shamrock in the Main Event of Griffin and Bonnar’s legendary war at the TUF 1 Finale, in the most forgotten fight in the history of main event fights.
Eight weeks later, Franklin dropped down to MW (185) and defeated Evan Tanner to become the UFC’s MW Champion. This fight happened right as people began flocking to the UFC, so Franklin was the UFC MW Champion at the time that many people (self included) became UFC addicts. So it is surprising to many to realize that he was MW Champion for only sixteen months, defending only twice before losing the title to Anderson Silva in October of 2006.
When that fight was announced, I clearly to this day remember thinking that Franklin had been the MW Champion for several years. Not so. Anderson demolished Franklin in one of the most lopsided and brutal fights of all time. Franklin earned a rematch one year and a week later, in his hometown of Cincinnati no less, and was dominated once again, barely making it into the second round in a fight that at times was a complete mirror image of the first fight.
Franklin subsequently moved back to the LHW division. He went 1-1 at LHW (he lost a split decision to Dan Henderson in a fight I thought he won, but it was close), and then took a couple of catchweight fights at 195 lbs., going 1-1 in those fights as well.
Franklin is the ultimate company man, willing to take any fight put in front of him. When Tito Ortiz pulled out of his UFC 115 fight against Check Liddell, Franklin took the fight which was in June of 2010, even though he was on the record prior saying that he didn’t want to fight until August or September.
Smart move, as he got the seminal KO of his career, knocking out Chuck Liddell in the first round of that fight. Franklin, a southpaw, had his left forearm broken in the opening minutes of the fight. He knocked Liddell out with one punch of his right hand, forever answering critics who said he didn’t have KO power. And not that anybody had questions about his grit, but he did cement his place as a tough guy by winning a fight when he had a broken arm.
Notable Victories: Evan Tanner (x2) (sigh), Ken Shamrock, David Louiseau, Jason MacDonald, Yushin Okami, Matt Hammil, Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell
Conclusion: Despite my opening statement, let it be known that Rich Franklin is one of my favorite fighters. I love the guy. If I were ever offered the chance to interview him I would decline, because I would embarrass myself this badly. There’s nobody I want to see win a UFC Championship more than “Ace.”
Gegard Mousasi (29-3-1)
Fights for: Strikeforce
Next fight: Tatsuya Mizuno, Dream 16, September 25
Synopsis: Mousasi is one of the relatively few good light heavyweights that are not under contract with the UFC. Born in Iran of Armenian heritage, and raised in the Netherlands, Mousasi may be the most successful European MMA fighter. Mousasi stormed into public consciousness in 2008 by winning the Dream Middleweight Grand Prix (In Japan now, Middleweight there is the same as Middleweight here. In Pride, Middleweight there was 203 lbs. Japan makes things confusing).
The tournament, which scheduled its semi-finals and final bout on the same evening, concluded with him winning a knocking out Melvin Manhoef and Jacare Souza in a combined 3:43. Upon winning the Dream MW title, Mousasi promptly moved up to LHW and abdicated his title. Mousasi then signed a non-exclusive contract with Strikeforce and won their LHW title, dispatching Babalu Sobral in one minute.
At this point, I was drinking the Kool-Aid, and had anointed him as the #2 LHW in the world. In my defense, he was riding a fifteen fight win streak, and had only gone to decision once (against Hector Lombard, currently a top 10 MW in my opinion) during that entire spell.
He was winning fights over dominant strikers, dominant BJJ guys, and well-rounded opponents who could do everything well. Unfortunately, he hadn’t faced a dominant wrestler until his LHW defense with King Mo in April, 2010. Lawal managed to take Mousasi down about 42 times in that fight, and rode him out to an aesthetically unpleasing dominant decision victory.
Even though King Mo gassed out before the third round started, Lawal was still able to take him down at will. I’ve really never seen such consistently shoddy takedown defense in my entire life. Mousasi had no clue what to do against a dominant wrestler.
Conclusion: It’s obvious what Mousasi needs to do to recapture the buzz that surrounded him until just a few short months ago. He needs cardio, and he needs to learn how to stuff the takedown. Fighting nobodies like Jake O’Brien and Tatsuya Mizuno in Japan is not the way to accomplish that. Mousasi turns 25 today (August 1), so he has plenty of time to learn. The big question is if there is anybody in the Netherlands who can teach him, or will he have to move here full time to train.
Renato “Babalu” Sobral (36-8)
Fights for: Strikeforce
Next fight: Dan Henderson (rumored)
Synopsis: Babalu Sobral is a fantastic BJJ player, with more ink on him than there is on the US Constitution. Babalu came to Strikeforce shortly after being fired by the UFC for refusing to release a choke for several seconds after his opponent tapped out. Considering his place as one of the good guys in the sport, this was highly surprising.
Sobral began his career fighting for small promotions in his native Brazil before going to the Rings promotion in Japan. After an unsuccessful three fight stint in the UFC, Babalu bounced around the smaller shows until returning at UFC 52 in April of 2005.
Three victories later, he was granted a title shot against Chuck Liddell, a fight which Liddell win rather handily. Babalu has fought the cream of the crop, including a 2003 victory over a then 21 year old Shogun Rua. After Babalu defeated Robbie Lawler in June, 2010 at 195 lb., he was offered a Strikeforce LHW title shot with King Mo, but turned it down because they’re friends or something.
Conclusion: If you aren’t fighting for the championship, then why are you fighting at all?
THE LEGENDS
Randy Couture (18-10)
Fights for: UFC
Next fight: vs. James Toney, UFC 118, August 28 (Yes, that James Toney)
Synopsis: Randy Couture is a three time UFC HW Champion, and a two time UFC LHW Champion. He came into the sport one month short of his 34th birthday. Every fight where he challenged the champion for the gold, he entered the cage as an underdog.
At UFC 13, his MMA debut, he won two fights to win the UFC HW Tournament. Two fights later he defeated Maurice Smith to win his first UFC HW Championship. He then left the UFC to fight in Japan, where he suffered the first two losses of his career. He returned to the UFC by winning the HW Championship for a second time at UFC 28.
After defeating Pedro Rizzo in consecutive bouts, he dropped the title to Josh Barnett. Couture soon moved down to LHW where he was expected to be the sacrificial lamb for young buck Chuck Liddell. At UFC 43, in what was then one of the biggest fights in UFC history, a fight which sold all of 49,000 buys by the way, Couture shocked everybody by defeating Liddell.
Couture at this point was sixteen days shy of forty, and was the first (and still only) man to win gold in two different weight classes. Expected to get thrashed by a then spry Tito Ortiz, Couture defeated Tito in a fight which signaled the end of the aura of dominance that surrounded Ortiz.
Couture dropped the title to Vitor Belfort due to a freak cut less than a minute in to his next fight, but he avenged that loss by winning the belt back in his next fight. That win made him a 2 time UFC HW and a 2 time UFC LHW Champion. Not bad for 41 years old.
Couture dropped the belt to Chuck Liddell, and lost again to Liddell in 2006 at UFC 57 and announced his retirement in the cage at the end of the fight. Despite a rather pedestrian 14-8 record, his legacy was secure. The record has to be overlooked because he was never once given a cupcake opponent. So many records are built up with wins over tomato cans that they mean next to nothing.
Couture’s retirement was short lived, as thirteen months after the third Liddell fight, Couture challenged UFC HW Champion Tim Sylvia. Couture, who hadn’t fought as a HW in four and a half years, knocked the 6’8” down with a vicious combination eight seconds into the fight, and rode that momentum to a dominant unanimous decision victory to win gold for the fifth time in the UFC.
After a successful defense against Gabe Gonzaga at UFC 74, and frustrated that the UFC was unable to sign Russian HW Fedor Emelianenko, Couture attempted to leave the UFC so as to arrange a fight with Emelianenko outside of the confines of the organization.
Lawsuits flew for more than a year and yadda yadda yadda; Couture returned to the UFC after fifteen months off of fighting and promptly lost his HW Championship to Brock Lesnar. After losing to legendary HW Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Couture dropped back to the LHW division. While he has defeated Brandon Vera and Mark Coleman in back to back main events, Couture appears to be at the end of the line.
Considering that when he next enters the cage he will be 47 freaking years old, there’s no shame in that. Couture’s game is built on his impressive Greco Roman wrestling game. He is fantastic in the clinch, and utilizes short strikes and dirty boxing in the clinch to damage his opponent. Strong as a bull, he was actually mildly successful at controlling the pace of his fight against the brutish Brock Lesnar. Couture is still very good at controlling how and where a fight will be fought.
Notable Victories: Tony Halme (it’s a meaningless win, but it’s worth researching the story of Tony Halme), Vitor Belfor (x2), Kevin Randleman, Pedro Rizzo (x2), Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Tim Sylvia, Gabriel Gonzaga
Conclusion: Couture fights boxer James Toney on august 28. This is likely the last time we’ll see an impressive performance out of Couture, seeing as how he probably can’t hand with the elite of the division anymore. You owe it to yourself to watch Couture fight before he’s gone.
Chuck Liddell (21-8)
Fights for: UFC
Next fight: TBA (hopefully retired)
Synopsis: Chuck Liddell is the first MMA fighter to cross over and see (some) mainstream success. If “The Iceman” didn’t do Entourage, Rampage Jackson wouldn’t have been considered for the A-Team. Had Chuck not sold a million PPVs at UFC 66 (with Tito Ortiz, mind you), Brock Lesnar wouldn’t have been able to sell a million three different times, including 1.6 million for UFC 100 last year.
Chuck Liddell wasn’t just mainstream; he was also the most dominant fighter in the UFC for an extended amount of time. Once he got his hands on the UFC LHW Championship UFC 52 in 2005, he was untouchable for more than two years. Chuck was the most effective counter-striker that the sport has ever seen, and possessed power in his fists that no one in the sport has been able to match.
Until Rampage beat him at UFC 73, which was Rampage’s second victory over Liddell, Chuck had to that point managed to avenge every loss on his record. The second Rampage loss signaled the beginning of the end for Liddell, as he has only won once since that loss in 2007. He has been on the receiving end of four savage knockouts, and it’s clear that he has no chin anymore. That his KO losses were to the cream of the crop (Rampage, Rashad Evans, Shogun, and Rich Franklin) does not change the fact that his chin is clearly gone.
The shame of it is that in the Franklin fight, Liddell looked better than he had in years. He looked faster, more accurate, and showed more offensive weapons than he had in years. He broke Franklin’s arm with a kick, he was aggressive, and he was easily winning the fight. Had he made it out of the first round, he likely would have won the fight, because hard to believe that Franklin would have been allowed to come out for the second round. But that’s all wishful thinking. Franklin knocked him out with one punch, a punch that would not have had the same result in years past.
Notable Victories: Jeff Monson, Kevin Randleman, Murilo Bustamante, Vitor Belfort, Babalu Sobral (x2), Alistair Overeem, Tito Ortiz (x2), Randy Couture (x2), Wanderlei Silva
Conclusion: If the UFC were to design their own Mount Rushmore, Liddell’s head would be on it. Whereas Dana White’s promotional abilities and the Griffin-Bonnar fight brought people to the sport, The Iceman was key in retaining those fans. Chuck does not want to retire, but Dana White says he won’t allow The Iceman to fight in the UFC ever again. The last thing his fans want to see is to see Chuck fighting on the indy scene against low level fighters.
Tito Ortiz (15-7-1)
Fights for: Himself
Next fight: vs. Matt Hamill, UFC 121, October 23
Synopsis: It is very, very, very difficult to come up anything nice to say about Tito Ortiz. However, it is very easy to recognize his previous greatness. Nobody has more UFC fights than “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” who has fought 22 times inside the Octagon.
He was the biggest star in the UFC during the years between Royce Gracie and Chuck Liddell. Over a period of several years, Ortiz was able to use his dominant wrestling and ferocious ground and pound to strike into the entire UFC roster. Tito won the UFC LHW Championship at UFC 25 by defeating Wanderlei Silva.
Ortiz became the only man in history (still) to defend the LHW title on five occasions, culminating with a win over hated rival Ken Shamrock. The Shamrock win in November, 2002 was the last great moment of Tito’s career.
He dropped his title to Randy Couture, and got beat down by Chuck Liddell in consecutive fights. He did manage to win five fights in a row after those losses, but the impressiveness of those fights is dubious at best. He struggled to beat MW Patrick Cote, who took the fight on 24 hours notice. He won consecutive split decisions over Vitor Belfort and Forrest Griffin (I thought he lost both fights), and then won consecutive fights over an over-the-hill and over matched Ken Shamrock.
Since beating Shamrock almost four years ago, Ortiz hasn’t won one fight since. The fact that people still care about Tito boggles my mind. He’s a shameless self-promoter with an extremely bloated sense of self-worth. After being humiliated by Lyoto Machida and becoming a free agent in 2008, he publically negotiated with every competing company before returning to the UFC.
During that time, he had back surgery and made sure that everybody in the world knew that the only reason he hadn’t been winning was because of his bad back. He was booked in the main event of UFC 106 in November, 2008 against Forrest Griffin. He spent every second of every interview telling the world how great he felt, how his back had been keeping him from fighting the way he used to fight, and that he would be the most explosive Tito Ortiz we’ve ever seen.
He lost to Griffin, and threw exactly zero strikes in the third round of the fight. In the post match interview, he told the world that his back was damaged and that he almost pulled out of the fight, despite conning people into buying the fight based on how healthy he was. Rather than having another operation, he agreed to coach against Chuck Liddell in Season Eleven of TUF, and agreed to fight Liddell at the end of the season at UFC 115. During taping of the show, Tito pulled out of the Liddell fight. It is apparent that he had no intention of fighting Chuck, and that he only took the fight for the exposure that TUF would provide him.
Notable Victories: Guy Mezger, Wanderlei Silva, Evan Tanner , Vladimir Matyushenko, Ken Shamrock (x3), Patrick Cote, Vitor Belfort, Forrest Griffin
Conclusion: Tito hasn’t been relevant in years. The sooner he goes away, the happier I will be.
THE POOL
Ryan Bader won Season Eight of TUF. He’s a fantastic wrestler, extremely strong, and has KO power in his hands. Undefeated in his MMA career, he’s facing a major step up in competition this September when he faces Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Thiago Silva recently pulled out of a fight at UFC 117 due to am injury suffered in training. A hyper-aggressive fighter, Silva has yet to defeat a top 20 LHW.
Matt Hamill was a contestant on Season Three of TUF. He was destined to make the finals, but had to pull out of the show with an injury. Completely deaf, Hamill is an inspiration to anybody who follows the sport. He is a fantastic wrestler, and is slowly developing a solid standup game. Vladimir Matyushenko has seen it all, and fought damn near everybody. He’s a great wrestler, and has only lost to the cream of the crop. He will be the toughest test of Jon Jones’ career.
Stephan Bonnar has a job for life with the UFC. Had he not won his UFC 116 fight, that statement would have been put to the test, as he had lost three fights in a row coming into the fight. Bonnar is a solid B-minus in every skill, with an A for heart. Bonnar can’t hang with the elite of the division, but almost always puts on a memorable performance.
MY CURRENT LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT RANKINGS:
1. Mauricio Rua
2. Lyoto Machida
3. Rashad Evans
4. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
5. Rampage Jackson
6. Rich Franklin
7. Forrest Griffin
8. Jon Jones
9. Muhammed Lawal
10. Gegard Mousasi
UFC LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONS
(This division was known as the Middleweight division until UFC 31)
1. Frank Shamrock
a. Defeated Kevin Jackson at UFC Japan (UFC 15.5) to become first UFC LHW Champion
b. Defeated Igor Zinoviev at UFC 16
c. Defeated Jeremy Horn at UFC 17
d. Defeated John Lober at UFC Brazil (UFC 17.5)
e. Defeated Tito Ortiz at UFC 22 (Shamrock vacated the LHW title and then left the UFC)
2. Tito Ortiz
a. Defeated Wanderlei Silva to win vacant UFC LHW Championship
b. Defeated Yuki Kondo at UFC 29
c. Defeated Evan Tanner at UFC 30
d. Defeated Elvis Sinosic at UFC 32
e. Defeated Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC 33
f. Defeated Ken Shamrock at UFC 40
3. Randy Couture
a. Defeated Chuck Liddell at UFC 43 to become Interim UFC LHW Champion
b. Defeated Tito Ortiz at UFC 44 to become Undisputed UFC LHW Champion
4. Vitor Belfort
a. Defeated Randy Couture at UFC 46 to become UFC LHW Champion
5. Randy Couture (x2)
a. Defeated Vitor Belfort at UFC 49 to become UFC LHW Champion
6. Chuck Liddell
a. Defeated Randy Couture at UFC 52 to become UFC LHW Champion
b. Defeated Randy Couture at UFC 52 to become UFC LHW Champion
c. Defeated Jeremy Horn at UFC 54
d. Defeated Randy Couture at UFC 57
e. Defeated Renato Sobral at UFC 62
f. Defeated Tito Ortiz at UFC 66
7. Rampage Jackson
a. Defeated Chuck Liddell at UFC 73 to become UFC LHW Champion
b. Defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 75
8. Forrest Griffin
a. Defeated Rampage Jackson at UFC 86 to become UFC LHW Champion
9. Rashad Evans
a. Defeated Forrest Griffin at UFC 92 to become UFC LHW Champion
10. Lyoto Machida
a. Defeated Rashad Evans at UFC 98 to become UFC LHW Champion
b. Defeated Shogun Rua at UFC 104
11. Mauricio Rua
a. Defeated Lyoto Machida at UFC 113 to become UFC LHW Champion
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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