After having released my pound-for-pound and heavyweight top 10 rankings, it is time to unveil my first light heavyweight top 10 list.
1. Jon Jones (13-1): Jones is the easy pick as he has destroyed everyone in his path on his way to the UFC championship. Media pundits are quick to label Jones as an unstoppable champion, but those same words were spoken about Lyoto Machida two years ago. Jones has been unbelievable thus far, but we have still yet to see him overcome adversity in the octagon.
2. Rashad Evans (15-1-1): I put Evans in my No. 2 spot as he has just one loss in his career. It was an embarrassing loss to Machida, but I think it was more due to a poor game plan as opposed to the lack of skills to beat him. Evans has quickness with his hands and feet and has a sturdy base with great wrestling ability. He is a hard opponent to game plan for and really his only weakness may be his confidence in his hands. He is next in line to try to figure out the Jones puzzle and reclaim his spot on top of the division.
3. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (31-8): Rampage has been a hard guy to figure out over the last few years. He seems to be suffering slightly from the evolution of MMA into more of a wrestling style. His grappling skills cost him a decision to Evans and were still lacking in his win over Machida. Jackson still has arguably the most powerful hands in the division and his aggressive nature makes him difficult for anyone. Rampage takes on another wrestler next in Matt Hamill at UFC 130, and a win could put him in line for a title shot.
4. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-5): Despite being the guy that dethroned Machida, I still haven’t seen anything real special from Rua in his time at the UFC. He has certainly not been the guy that fought his way to the PRIDE championship. Rua has really struggled with his conditioning in the octagon, and that was a big problem in his loss to Jones. Rua’s edge on Machida may be more about fighting style than talent.
