Jon Jones and the Top 10 Light Heavyweights in the UFC

Jon Jones has proven all the hype to be true.

It's been said after his last four wins that he has lived up to expectations. At this point, though, people can no longer deny the immensity of what he has done.

Jones earned a unanimous decision over Rashad Evans on Saturday night, and has now defeated four former champions and hasn't been in much trouble—if any—at all during that stretch.

At this point, what's left for Jon Jones?

He has beaten five of the top-10 light heavyweights, with one more on his immediate radar.

Let's see where all of them stand now, after UFC 145.

No. 10: Alexander Gustafsson

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

Gustafsson is 6-1 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 earning a unanimous decision victory over Thiago Silva in the main event of UFC on Fuel 2.

A top contender is likely for Gustafsson's next fight.

No. 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.

No. 8: Quinton "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.

No. 7: Ryan Bader

Ryan Bader scored the biggest win of his career at UFC 144, 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.

No. 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 Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

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

Forrest will face off against Tito Ortiz in the third fight of their trilogy and Ortiz's final fight, at UFC 148.

No. 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.

No. 4: Mauricio "Shogun" 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.

No. 3: Rashad Evans

Rashad Evans was able to last longer with Jon Jones than any man before him, and he can hang his hat on that.

Unfortunately, just "hanging in there" wasn't enough to beat Jones. For 25 minutes, Rashad hung in there, still with a fighting chance at regaining the light heavyweight title.

However, after the bell rung for the end of the fifth round, it was clear who had won the fight, and it wasn't Rashad.

No. 2: 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 dropping the decision to Jones, Henderson moves into the No. 2 spot in the light heavyweight division, and he'll be next for a shot at the title.

Look for the Jones-Henderson fight to be very interesting.

No. 1: Jon "Bones" Jones

Jon Jones will always have his doubters and haters.

There will be people who claim that Shogun was rusty, Rampage didn't care anymore and that Machida didn't deserve the title shot.

What will their excuses be for Rashad?

Rashad was not overworked or dealing with ring rust, he still cares and is in the prime of his career, and nobody could doubt that he deserved the shot.

Jones has now defended his title three times, beaten four former champions in a row and has proven that he is one of the best fighters on the planet.

Nobody can deny it any longer.

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