UFC 144 Results: Ryan Bader and the Top 10 Light Heavyweights in the UFC

On Saturday night, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson made his return to the Octagon and got to fight in Japan, where he became famous in Pride so many years ago.

Standing across the Octagon from Rampage was the Season 8 winner of The Ultimate Fighter, Ryan Bader.

Rampage came into this fight looking to put on a show for the Japanese fans, and he was even looking to slam Bader—a feat that he accomplished.

However, in the end, Ryan Bader took home the unanimous decision after controlling Rampage on the ground any time the fight went there.

Let's take a look at how the light heavyweight division looks now after the big win by "Darth" Bader.

10. Alexander Gustafsson

First up is Alexander Gustafsson, who has been on a tear through the UFC as of late.

Gustafsson is 5-1 in the UFC—with five finishes—and his only loss came at the hands of Phil Davis, who is considered a future title challenger by many.

Gustafsson was last seen knocking out Vladimir Matyushenko in the first round.

He will now face Antonio "Rogerio" Nogueira at UFC on Fuel 2.

9. Phil Davis

Next up is Phil Davis, who was last seen losing a lopsided unanimous decision to the former light heavyweight champ, Rashad Evans.

Many were heralding Davis as "the next big thing" in the light heavyweight division, but Evans put the kibosh on those plans.

Davis remains a top 10 fighter, and his win over Gustafsson is still a quality victory.

He'll certainly be back in the mix at some point.

8. Rampage Jackson

Unfortunately for Rampage, he lost a unanimous decision to Ryan Bader on Saturday night, and he's now lost his last two fights in a row.

Rampage is 1-2 in his last three and hasn't looked the same in the Octagon for quite some time now.

We aren't sure how much Rampage's injury really affected him, but he'll have his back to the wall in the next fight, as he'll be looking to avoid three losses in a row.

Maybe we'll get to see him score a big knockout one more time.

7. Ryan Bader

Ryan Bader scored the biggest win of his career on Saturday night, as he handed the former light heavyweight champion, Rampage Jackson, his second straight loss.

Bader has now won two straight fights, giving him an overall record of 14-2.

Bader is primed to make some serious waves in the light heavyweight division in 2012.

6. Forrest Griffin

Forrest Griffin is slowly on a decline, but he is still one of the best light heavyweights in the world today.

Griffin is a former light heavyweight champion, a title he won after defeating Rampage Jackson via unanimous decision. Before that, Griffin submitted Shogun Rua.

Griffin has a nice resume, but as of late he doesn't have all that many big victories.

Unfortunately for Griffin, he may be nothing more than a gatekeeper these days.

5. Lyoto Machida

At UFC 140, Lyoto Machida faced off against Jon Jones and became the second person to—arguably—win a round from Jones in his UFC career.

However, he didn't have a chance to win a second round, as Jones put him to sleep with a standing guillotine.

Machida is now 1-3 in his last four and will have to look to rebuild himself and come back to the Octagon as a new fighter.

4. Mauricio Rua

Shogun Rua may have lost at UFC 139, but he has wins over Rampage, Machida and Griffin, so he stays at the No. 4 spot in the light heavyweight division.

Shogun has been wildly inconsistent in his UFC career and has gone 4-4 in eight fights.

At UFC 139, he took an absolute beating in the first three rounds but came back to win the last two.

Shogun remains a top fighter, and a threat to anyone in the division.

3. Dan Henderson

At UFC 139, Henderson had one of the greatest fights of all time against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, where he earned a unanimous decision victory.

With Rashad Evans' win at UFC on Fox 2, Henderson drops from the No. 2 spot down to the No. 3 spot.

After Rashad fights for the title at UFC 145, Henderson will likely get the next shot at Jones.

No. 2: Rashad Evans

Rashad Evans has victories over Rampage Jackson, Tito Ortiz, Forrest Griffin and others, and he was considered the No. 2 light heavyweight for a long time. He once again has that title.

Evans is the No. 1 contender in the light heavyweight division. He will finally get a second shot at the title, and, more importantly, a shot at Jon "Bones" Jones.

Evans has suffered from injuries, bad timing and inactivity over the past two years, but it all worked out for the best in the end.

Evans and Jones will fight at UFC 145 on April 21.

1. Jon Jones

No real shocker here, having the champ at No. 1.

Not only is Jones the champ, but he is the first light heavyweight champ to uncontroversially defend his belt since Rampage Jackson, and he's the first one to defend it more than once since Chuck Liddell.

Jones is viewed by many as the future of MMA and the light heavyweight division, and after his wins over Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida and Shogun Rua, he is well on his way.

Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow him on twitter @TimMcTiernan.