Post UFC 114: Official B/R MMA Light Heavyweight Fighter Rankings

Last night, at UFC 114, the main event was presented as a title eliminator to determine who would get the next shot at champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

After relying mostly on his wrestling and conditioning, Rashad Evans was able to pull out a unanimous decision win.

Other than the main event, two other bouts were at 205 pounds, both of which might have impacted the light heavyweight rankings.

One was a meeting of Luiz Cane and Cyrille Diabate. If Cane were able to look very impressive, he might have sneaked into the No. 10 spot in the rankings.

As it was, he was knocked out in the first round and pushed further from contender status.

The second was supposed to be a showcase for Rogerio Nogueira, but in a match with Jason Brilz, he was barely able to edge out a split decision.

Here are the new official Bleacher Report rankings for light heavyweight.

10. Thiago Silva

Record: 14-2

Last fight: Unanimous decision loss to Rashad Evans 1/2/2010

Next fight: TBA

Thiago is 2-2 in his last four, with an impressive first-round knockout over Keith Jardine two fights ago.

Before that fight, he had been knocked out in the first round by Lyoto Machida, in what was his first career defeat.

In his most recent effort, Thiago was out-wrestled by Rashad Evans and lost a unanimous decision, though he did manage to badly hurt Rashad in the last round.

Thiago will need a good win in his next appearance if he plans to remain in the top ten. Ryan Bader is at No. 11, trying to steal his spot.

9. Jon Jones

Record: 10-1

Last fight: First-round TKO over Brandon Vera 3/21/2010

Next fight: Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC on Versus 2 - Aug. 1

Nobody has captured the attention of MMA fans in the last year as much as Jon Jones. Since his breakout performance against Stephan Bonnar, Jones has put together three spectacular performances.

However, his match with Matt Hamill, which Jones was dominating in brutal fashion, was ruled a loss by DQ due to an illegal elbow landed on Hamill.

It was a bogus ruling, since the fight was stopped due to Hamill's dislocated shoulder resulting from a Jones slam, not the illegal elbow.

Nonetheless, Jones looks better every time you see him, and his most recent destruction of Brandon Vera is likely just a sample of things to come.

He will be a big favorite this August against Vladimir Matyushenko, and could move up a spot with a win.

8. Gegard Mousasi

Record: 28-3-1

Last fight: Unanimous decision loss to Muhammed Lawal 4/17/2010

Next fight: TBA

After going on a 15-fight win streak including winning the Strikeforce light heavyweight title, Gegard Mousasi was upset by Muhammed Lawal in April.

The bout showed a weakness towards wrestling from Mousasi that he will need to work on if he plans to continue his ascent in the sport.

Mousasi is still young and can certainly recover from the disappointing loss. He was simply out-wrestled, and was not broken in the fight.

If the fight hadn't been so dull, there would be more of a chance for a rematch. One interesting option is a bout with Dan Henderson.

7. Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal

Record: 7-0

Last fight: Unanimous decision win over Gegard Mousasi 4/17/2010

Next fight: TBA

Muhammed Lawal is only rated this high due to his recent win over Gegard Mousasi. Before that, his best win was a first round knockout over Mike Whitehead.

While he is undefeated, if Lawal loses his next fight, he will be out of the top ten.

How interesting would a bout between him and Jon Jones be?

6. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

Record: 30-8

Last fight: Unanimous decision loss to Rashad Evans 5/29/2010

Next fight: TBA

After an uninspired performance last night against Rashad Evans, Quinton Jackson's chances of getting back to title contention seem further away than ever.

In the final round, when he had a chance of winning the fight, he let Rashad off the hook because of what looked like a lack of conditioning.

Even if you're exhausted, you throw your hands when you got a guy dazed. He hurt Rashad, and stopped throwing for basically the rest of the fight. I'm forced to question Quinton's drive in the sport.

Nonetheless, if Quinton can pick himself up and put together some wins, he will always be in the mix.

A rematch with Forrest Griffin or a fight with Jon Jones later this year would be interesting.

5. Forrest Griffin

Record: 17-6

Last fight: Split-decision win over Tito Ortiz 11/21/2009

Next fight: TBA

As low as back-to-back knockout losses to Rashad Evans and Anderson Silva may put Forrest Griffin, he can always fall back on his previous wins over Mauricio Rua and Quinton Jackson.

His recent win over former foe Tito Ortiz keeps Forrest in the top five. It was a good fight, and despite the claims from certain Tito fans, Forrest clearly won. I would like to see them settle the score in a rubber match at some point.

Forrest was supposed to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira last night, but was forced to pull out with a shoulder injury.

Likely, that fight will still take place at a later date, and the winner would possibly be next in line for a title shot.

4. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Record: 19-3

Last fight: Split-decision win over Jason Brilz 5/29/2010

Next fight: TBA

The look on Rogerio Nogueira's face when the decision was being read last night said it all. With his eyes closed and mouth clinched, he prayed for the last judge to lean his way.

That judge did, and what was expected to be a showcase performance, turned out to be a life-or-death struggle with Jason Brilz.

Rogerio remains as one of the top contenders at 205 pounds, even though some of the muster behind a rematch with Mauricio Rua is gone.

Personally, I'd love to see him against Randy Couture, with the winner getting a title shot. It would be an attractive fight for all parties.

Likely though, he will face Forrest Griffin as was originally scheduled for last night before Griffin pulled out.

Wins over Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson, Vladimir Matyushenko, and Luiz Cane cement him in the top five until he loses.

3. Rashad Evans

Record: 15-1-1

Last fight: Unanimous decision win over Quinton Jackson 5/29/2010

Next fight: TBA

The former champion with the shortest reign of all time earned himself another title shot last night when he shut out Quinton Jackson for the majority of three rounds.

He will now face Mauricio Rua for the UFC championship.

His only loss remains his knockout defeat to Lyoto Machida, last year. After the loss, he rebounded to score a unanimous decision over Thiago Silva, and now Jackson.

Evans will no doubt be an underdog to Rua, but it will be a very interesting fight nonetheless.

2. Lyoto Machida

Record: 16-1

Last fight: First round knockout loss to Mauricio Rua 5/8/2010

Next fight: TBA

Back-to-back tough fights against Mauricio Rua have diminished the reputation of Lyoto Machida. For a short time he was seen as unbeatable, but "Shogun" blew the whistle on that notion.

Now he will take a break from the sport to heal both mentally and physically from his first career loss via first-round knockout.

To earn the title, he knocked out two top-ten light heavyweights in Thiago Silva and Rashad Evans, so one loss will not drop him far.

Still, he will need to recover from this impressively if he wants to save any of his former hype.

1. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

Record: 19-4

Last fight: First-round knockout win over Lyoto Machida 5/8/2010

Next fight: TBA

The new UFC light heavyweight champion is quite possibly the best fighter to ever hold the title.

Five years after he won the 205-pound Grand Prix in PRIDE, he is now on top of the UFC as well after taking the belt via first round knockout of Lyoto Machida.

Many think Shogun should have won the title in his first fight with Machida, but the judges disagreed with most everyone that watched the fight.

Nevertheless, he righted the wrong, and will now defend his belt against Rashad Evans.

It is a tremendous comeback, as Shogun was No. 1 on this list in 2007, before coming to the UFC injured and losing to Forrest Griffin in his debut.

Shogun will be a large favorite against former champion Rashad Evans later this year.