mmanonsTOP 5: Light Heavyweights

By: Brendan Churchin

Last week we took a look at the HW’s, now let’s look at the mmanonsTOP 5 Light Heavyweights in MMA (not named Jon Jones). All five men have tasted defeat by one of the other’s hands, with four of the five relinquishing the title in said bouts. It’s an interesting mix of wrestlers and strikers, and all but one have BJJ black belts to round out their grappling game. Read on to find out more and post your guess as to which LHW does not have his BJJ black belt in the comments section below.
5. Forrest Griffin (18-6) – While he's best known for his famous fight with Stephan Bonnar on the TUF 1 Finale in 2005 and his recent rise to the top of the NY Times best sellers list, what you may not know about Forrest Griffin is that he opened his professional career fighting UFC legend Dan Severn back in 2001. Not a month after losing that fight, Griffin went on a hot streak winning his next eight fights before tasting defeat at the hands (actually the foot) of Jeremy Horn in 2003. Griffin has shown time and again his heart and drive to win. He’s proven that he gets stronger as the fight goes on, and unfortunately for him, it takes a few shots to the kisser to get going, which can be quite costly when facing elite strikers – see Griffin vs. Anderson Silva. Griffin’s career has skyrocketed since being on TUF, and his level of competition has followed suit, just look at who’s he’s faced in the last 3 years: Rampage, Rashad Evans, Anderson Silva, Tito Ortiz and Rich Franklin…all current or ex-UFC champions. Things don’t get any easier for Forrest in his next fight, a rematch with Shogun that is scheduled for this August and the UFC’s return to Brazil.
In order for Forrest to run his way into a title fight, he’ll need to employ a similar strategy as he did when fighting Rich Franklin – strike from distance and use takedowns to control the pace and scoring on the judges cards. This will not be the same Shogun with blown out knees coming off almost a year’s layoff that he faced back in 2007. This is the Shogun who holds a first round KO of Lyoto Machida, and he will be eager to reclaim the LHW title. Griffin’s best shot at victory in this fight will be to drag Rua into the deeper rounds and attempt to slap on another RNC like in the first fight, but I think luck will favor the homebody in this one. I’ve got Rua taking this fight via T/KO rd 2.
4. Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida (17-2) – Coming in at #4 is the crane kicking man of mystery, no not Daniel LaRusso, Lyoto Machida. Formerly known for his elusive and slow-going fight style, The Dragon has cemented his legacy by sending Captain America into retirement with a first round kicking technique made famous in a 1980’s movie trilogy. With a unique blend of Sumo, traditional Shotokan karate and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Machida worked his way to a perfect 16-0 before being completely decimated by Shogun Rua in the first round of their rematch last May. He’s battled with a who’s who of the MMA world from all different weight divisions, including: Stephan Bonnar, Rich Franklin, BJ Penn, Tito Ortiz, Thiago Silva (he also holds a questionable split decision win over Shogun Rua).
Fresh off his victory over Couture and waiting to be booked for his next fight, some feel that The Dragon is not far from his shot to reclaim what is arguably the most elusive title in any MMA organization – aside from Rua/Machida I, Rampage Jackson was the last man to successfully defend this belt in Sept 2007. Currently many of the top 10 LHWs are tied up with other fights – Lyoto could wait to face the winner of the Rampage/Hammil, Tito/Bader, Shogun/Griffin fights, or if Phil Davis gets the better of Rashad, he could be a worthy opponent. However I think the UFC marketing machine would be best served by putting together a rematch with Rich Franklin – the hardcore fans remember he bested Franklin by way of 2nd round TKO in December 2003. Although coming off the loss to Griffin, Franklin would be a great name matchup to keep Machida active in 2011. If this match materializes, I see it going a lot like the first fight – Lyoto would work his angles and speed to get in, strike viciously and get out. Franklin is no slouch, but the Machida that just sent Randy Couture into retirement will be too much. I think it goes the distance this time, and Machida takes the split decision.
3. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (31-8) – Slamming his way into the top 3 is none other than Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, a.k.a. B.A. Baracus. He made his name in the rings of Pride with a famous Powerslam KO of Ricardo Arona (Pride Critical Countdown 2004), and other legendary battles with some of the best fighters to come out of the Chute Boxe Academy before making his way to the UFC and TUF cast. Jackson was the first man to unify the UFC & Pride LHW Championships (he defeated Chuck “Iceman” Liddell at UFC 71 and Dan “Hollywood” Henderson at UFC 75 in 2007, respectively) after only three fights in the UFC. Coming off his split decision victory of Lyoto Machida in this past November, he was originally set to face Thiago Silva at UFC 130 but he now finds himself squaring off with TUF 3 alum Matt “The Hammer” Hammill in hopes to earn a title shot – or a rematch with Rashad, whichever comes first.
If Rampage can beat The Hammer down he will be riding a two fight win streak into a potential title fight. To do this he will need to utilize his superior boxing and movement to keep distance from Hammill and avoid any takedown attempts that may come his way while mixing in some takedowns of his own to secure the rounds. Rampage needs to score a decisive victory in this fight, and I can see that happening in the late 2nd or early 3rd round. Hammill has a tendency to push his opponents early in the fight to try and dictate his pace, but he also tends to drop his hands more and more as the fight goes on and with Rampage’s heavy hands, I smell a KO coming. After he beats The Hammer look for Rampage to howl for his title shot.
2. ”Suga” Rashad Evans (15-1-1) – TUF 2 HW winner and Michigan State’s 2000 National Jr College wrestling champion at 165lb, Evans has found his way to the top of the UFC’s LHW division using a ferocious blend of KO’s and a superior top game. Rashad achieved stardom after shocking the world with his brutal KO of Chuck Liddell at UFC 88, and subsequently defeating Forrest Griffin at UFC 92 to claim the championship. However, he didn’t have the belt long thanks to a long layoff due to coaching TUF against Rampage and their fight falling through. Evans is since riding a two fight win streak (Thiago Silva and Rampage Jackson) coming into his next fight with the fast rising Phil Davis at UFC 133 in Philadelphia.
For Rashad to earn his title shot, he needs to first derail the train known as “Mr. Wonderful” – no easy task by any means. Davis is ranked #8 on my list of top LHW, and was the NCAA 2008 wrestling champ (197lb) while at Penn State. Having not fought since a yawnable decision win over Rampage in May 2010, and with a new opponent and a new fight camp, Evans will need to get back to his roots and remember what got him to the top of the heap in the LHW division: his wrestling combined with his speed. I don’t see experience playing a factor in this one; his fight will be more tactical than anything given the wrestling pedigree of both fighters. Suga Rashad will need to put together a solid gameplan with his new team, one that will allow him to use his speed to get inside Davis’s long reach and try to turn this into more of a dirty boxing and grappling match. On paper, Evans has the advantage in the grappling department but he needs to be weary of where he puts himself when in the cage with Davis. As we’ve seen in recent outings, Davis is no slouch on the ground; he has the frame and brut power to muscle his opponents into peculiar, and painful positions. Given Davis’ hot streak and Evans’ extended vacation, not to mention his twitter-war with Jon Jones, this one ends before the final bell – in an upset Davis, takes the fight by early 3rd round T/KO from strikes.
1. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-5) – He is the man who solved the enigma that was The Dragon and brought an abrupt halt to the Machida/Karate Era era with some of the finest Muay Thai ever to come out of the Chute Boxe Academy. Known for his wild and aggressive style, he frequently utilized stomps and soccer kicks to downed opponents while reaking havoc on the Pride middleweight division alongside his teammate and then-champ Wanderlei Silva. Like the others in this list, Shogun holds victories over MMA’s elite LHWs in fighters such as: Kevin Randleman, Rampage, Lil Nog, Alistair Overeem, and Ricardo Arona – and that’s before he entered the UFC. His successes since joining the UFC include his KO of Liddell, avenging a loss to Mark Coleman, and his dismantling of Machida after losing their highly controversial first fight (split decision). Everything hasn’t been so nice and smooth for Rua though, he lost his UFC debut to the bigger man in Forrest Griffin, and most recently was picked apart by Jon Jones in March at UFC 128 in Newark, to relinquish the title in his first defense. Things aren’t going to get any easier either, up next for Rua is a rematch with Griffin (Aug 27th in Rio de Janiero) – only this time, Rua will have a full camp with “healthy” knees, homefield advantage, and he won’t be coming off an extended layoff with surgery.
Shogun’s fastest path to reclaiming the LHW title from Jon Jones has an added incentive, being that it’s through the first man to defeat him in the UFC, Forrest Griffin. In their first fight, Rua started strong by stalking and taking the fight to the larger Griffin and dictating the pace, even taking Griffin down at times. However, as the fight progressed so too did Griffin’s energy level. The man that many considered to be the world’s top light heavyweight was slowly being worn down by a reality show superstar, and would eventually succumb to a rear naked choke in the final 15 seconds of the fight. Shogun has gone back to his roots for this fight, reuniting with famed Chute Boxe Academy coach Rafael Cordeiro. This fight will be much of the same, only with a new ending. This fight ends middle of the 2nd by way of Rua enacting some sweet revenge (not by RNC, that’s not his style), by way of brutal hammerfists after he catches Forrest with a slick counter-combination right hook (see Rua/Machida II).
August can’t get here soon enough!!
Come back next week as we take a look at the Middleweight division and examine who will pose the biggest threat to the “Spider’s” web.
Brendan Churchin will examine the Top 5 fighters in each weight class and is featured exclusively on MMANonstop.com. Follow him at twitter.com/bchurchin48