UFC 129 Results: Ranking the Top 10 Light-Heavyweights in the UFC

Last night was one of the best events in UFC history.

I sat here watching the first fights on Facebook, saw a flying triangle choke, and the tone for the evening was set.

Seven fights had finishes, and each one was spectacular.

Flying triangle chokes, spinning back fists and flying crane kicks ran abound.

Speaking of flying crane kicks, Lyoto Machida seemingly ended the career of Randy Couture with one. And just a little bit before that, Vladimir Matyushenko beat down Jason Brilz in just 20 seconds.

So where do they all sit in the rankings now? Did Machida move up? Did Matyushenko crack the top 10?

Read on to find out.

Note: Thiago Silva will not be included due to his drug suspension and Randy Couture will not be included, as he is retired.

10. Alexander Gustafsson

With Randy Couture and Thiago Silva not on the list, it opens it up to new fighters.

Alexander Gustafsson (11-1) was last seen at UFC 127, where he defeated James Te-Huna via rear-naked choke in the first round.

Many may not have heard of Gustafsson, but his only loss is to Phil Davis, so that's not too bad.

Of his 11 wins, he has finished his opponent in 10 of them. This kid is 24, and he's gonna make some noise in the division.

9. Ryan Bader

Ryan Bader (12-1) is the season eight winner of The Ultimate Fighter.

Before his fight against Jon Jones at UFC 126, he had been undefeated, with wins over Keith Jardine and Rogerio Nogueria.

Bader is currently set up for a fight against Tito Ortiz at UFC 132 in what will hopefully be a quick knockout that sends Tito into retirement.

8. Phil Davis

Phil Davis (9-0) finds his way onto this list after his three round unanimous decision over Antonio Rogerio Nogueria.

Davis is another young kid, a former National Champion wrestler, who is going to make noise in the LHW division for years to come. I hope him and Jon Jones get the chance to have an epic rivalry.

Jon Jones was originally set to defend his title against Rashad Evans at UFC 133, but now that Jones is out with an injury, Phil Davis has stepped up and will fight Rashad Evans at UFC 133 in what is going to be the biggest test of his young career.

7. Matt Hamill

Matt Hamill (10-2) is currently on a five-fight win streak.

In Hamill's last fight at UFC 121, he won a unanimous decision over his former TUF coach, Tito Ortiz.

After Thiago Silva was pulled from UFC 130 with his dirty drug test, Matt Hamill asked for Rampage Jackson.

Well, ask and ye shall receive.

Hamill and Rampage are set to fight in the co-main event of UFC 130.

Rampage doesn't appreciate being called out.

6. Forrest Griffin

Forrest Griffin (18-6) is the season one winner of The Ultimate Fighter and a former UFC Light Heavyweight champion.

In Griffin's last fight at UFC 126, he won a unanimous decision over Rich Franklin in which he used his size to control Franklin for most of the fight.

Griffin is now set up to have a rematch with a man he welcomed to the Octagon, and another former LHW champion, Shogun Rua.

Not only is it a big fight for Forrest, but it is going to be at UFC 134, also known as the UFC's return to Brazil card.

Forrest will be going into unfriendly territory, which, as a fan favorite, is something he is not used to.

5. Lyoto Machida

Welcome back, Lyoto Machida!

Machida (17-2) scored one of the best knockouts I've ever seen, when he "flying jump front crane kicked" Randy Couture into retirement.

I'm not officially sure what the kick is being called, but I've seen variations of each of those, so I just put them all together.

Machida has a lot of matchmaking options for his next fight.

Winner of Rua-Griffin. Winner of Rampage-Hamill. Loser of Evans-Davis.

A lot of options.

4. Mauricio Rua

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (19-5) is a former UFC Light Heavyweight champion.

At UFC 128, Shogun became another victim of the meteoric rise of Jon "Bones" Jones.

Shogun will have to start his ascent back up the ladder if he wants to get the belt back.

He's going to start climbing back up when he takes on Forrest Griffin at UFC 134: Rio.

3. Rampage Jackson

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (31-8), is a former UFC Light Heavyweight champion, and he sits at the No. 3 spot on the list.

Rampage is coming off a controversial split-decision win over Lyoto Machida at UFC 123.

Rampage's next fight was originally going to be against Thiago Silva, then Rashad Evans, but once the dust settled, it was decided that Rampage would fight Matt Hamill at UFC 130.

If Rampage wins, look for him to keep the number three spot on the list.

Unless this next guy loses.

2. Rashad Evans

Rashad Evans (15-1-1) is a former UFC Light Heavyweight champion and winner of season two of The Ultimate Fighter.

Evans was originally set to fight Shogun for the title at UFC 128, but a knee injury forced him out, and allowed his teammate, Jon Jones, to step in and fight for the title.

We all know that Jones won, and Rashad has now left Greg Jackson's camp. Jones and Rashad will put aside their friendship and fight.

Oh that's right, they won't because Rashad got screwed out of a title shot again.

Jones has an injury in his hand that has forced him out of a proposed fight at UFC 133.

I don't even like Rashad, but you've gotta feel bad for the guy.

Instead of waiting this time, he's going to fight Phil Davis at UFC 133. Win, and keep the No. 1 contender spot. Lose, and lose it all.

1. Jon Jones

Jon Jones (13-1) is the current UFC Light Heavyweight champion and the number one light heavyweight in the world.

Jones has torn through the UFC, and at the age of 23, with only three years of MMA training, he is the world champion and the youngest UFC champion in history.

Jones was going to fight Rashad Evans at UFC 133, but a hand injury forced him out of that matchup, and he is targeting a return in late 2011.