2012 MMA to-Do List for Each Top-10 Light Heavyweight

UFC 145 marked the merciful end of the UFC's absence from the pay-per-view market. While an event on Fuel TV broke up the promotion's otherwise extended layoff, Jones vs. Evans announced the earnest return of the world's largest fight promotion.

With the action back in full swing and events lined up all the way to July, many of the promotion's top fighters are prepping to make a return to the Octagon.

Nowhere is this more true than in the light heavyweight division, where all 10 of the sport's best 205-pounders are making a living in the UFC.

Here, we'll take a look at what each of the 10 light heavyweights should be striving to accomplish before the calender year comes to a close.  

Still to Come

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2012 MMA to do Lists for Each Top 10 Welterweight

2012 MMA to do Lists for Each Top 10 Lightweight

2012 MMA to do Lists for Each Top 10 Featherweight

2012 MMA to do Lists for Each Top 10 Bantamweight

2012 MMA to do Lists for Each Top 10 Flyweight

Quinton Jackson

Jackson's To-Do List:

Recover from knee injury

Somewhere in the midst of his pleas for release, Rampage revealed that a knee injury would keep him on the shelf for the next several months, rendering him unable to face off against Mauricio Rua.

Before he can even consider addressing the other tasks on his list, Rampage must get healthy and back into fighting shape.

Either fight or don't

Rampage needs to stop threatening to take his ball and go home every time he loses a fight or a member of the media criticizes his performance. 

It would also be nice if he picked a sport to fight in. The American has flirted with making the move from the MMA cage to the boxing ring, and a recent trip to the Philippines to spend some time with Manny Pacquiao has only fanned the flames of Jackson's self-initiated rumors.

Regardless of what it is, he just needs to pick something and do it. Fight in the UFC, get his release and start boxing, or try to make it in Hollywood.

Just pick one.

If you choose to fight, fight hard

Rampage is a good mixed martial artist. Lately, however, he has fought like a bad mixed martial artist. While only Jackson himself knows what has mitigated his success of late, speculation supported by his missing weight in Japan has suggested that his head is no longer in the game.

Though Rampage may decide to remove himself from MMA entirely, if he doesn't, he can't just leave his body there; he has to keep his mind in the sport as well.

Alexander Gustafsson

Gustafsson's To-Do List:

Keep the momentum going

While Dan Henderson is next up for Jon Jones, Gustafsson is next in line. After dissecting Thiago Silva for three rounds in Sweden in April, "The Mauler" is shooting up the 205-pound rankings and is carving out a claim to the No. 1 contender spot.

He cannot lose his next bout. The UFC light heavyweight ladder gets slippery at the top, and the falls come a lot quicker than the climbs.

It has taken Gustafsson a year and a half and five straight wins to get to where he is. He cannot afford to lose his next bout and risk falling from that position.

Don't get cocky

Gustafsson seems to have a good head on his shoulders, but the hype he has received since dismantling Silva in Stockholm is dangerous. Though not misdirected in general, the hype has included ill-advised comparisons to Jon Jones.

Gustafsson needs to keep his focus and approach his next contest with as much dedication and focus as he approached his last one.

Keep rounding your game

Gustafsson is known for his striking prowess but also has a solid submission game. He has been training with Phil Davis to better his wrestling, which is a wise move.

The top of the 205-pound weight class is pretty deadly, and no one can get by with a singular skill. Gustafsson needs to keep developing himself as a complete mixed martial artist if he wants to make a splash in the division sooner rather than later.

Forrest Griffin

Griffin's To-Do List:

Send Tito out on a losing note

Griffin is set to fight the decisive battle in a rubber match with Tito Ortiz this July. The soon-to-be trilogy has produced two split decisions, which speaks to the competitiveness of the series.

However, Griffin was clearly the superior fighter in the second go-around between the two, and the upcoming match is his to lose. If he is able to avoid Tito's takedowns he will cruise to a victory in this one.

Stay active

Griffin has only fought three times in the past three years. It is difficult to accrue any type of momentum at that rate. 

The former TUF champion needs to stay healthy and keep competing in 2012. He isn't terribly old for the sport, but he does have a lot of mileage on his 32-year-old body, so time is of the essence.

Add a wrinkle to your game

Griffin, while having a sold jiu-jitsu game, tends to approach every fight with the intention of kickboxing. While he is fairly good at kickboxing, he would become a far better mixed martial artist if he, say, developed a solid set of takedowns.

Adding such an ability would increase Griffin's success and allow him to avoid damage, thus prolonging his career.

This is of course, more easily said than done, but in an ideal world, Forrest would have been working on this a long time ago.

Ryan Bader

Bader's To-Do List:

Keep rolling

Bader has put together two big wins in a row, but it cannot be forgotten that he is only two fights removed from consecutive losses.

He needs to win another one or two fights before getting into the upper-echelon of the light heavyweight division, and he can do so if he keeps fighting the way he has been lately.

Remain a wrestler first

Bader's most dynamic skill is his wrestling, but from time to time he seems all too willing to stand and bang. He does have good striking and terrific power, which helps him get away with this, but he can be the best Bader possible by mixing in takedowns with his strikes.

He did a nice job of this against Rampage last time out and will continue to have success if he adheres to this strategy.

Make a statement in your next fight

Bader's loss to Tito Ortiz wiped away a lot of his hype. He regained a bit of it by defeating Jackson but would be well served to score a finish in his next bout.

A knockout win would announce the official return of Ryan Bader as a light heavyweight fighter viable for top competition.

Phil Davis

Davis' To-Do List:

Improve striking

Davis has built a pretty solid MMA career around his wrestling and submission skills, almost exclusively. Though an impressive achievement, he'll have to improve his stand-up if he hopes to take the next step.

Think Jake Shields of the 205-pound weight division.

But don't leave the wrestling behind

Sometimes when fighters find new toys to play with they forget about their old ones.

While Davis must develop a better stand-up game, he needs to continue to rely on his wrestling to dictate the pace of his fights.

Beat a big name

Davis holds wins over both Alexander Gustafsson and Brian Stann, but both fights happened before either one of these stars was particularly highly regarded.

"Little Nog" is a solid name to have on his resume, but before the end of the year Davis needs to be out hunting for bigger game.

Lyoto Machida

Machida's To-Do List:

Stop the bleeding

Over his last four fights Machida is 1-3. Right before that stretch began, Machida squeezed out a dubious decision win over Shogun Rua. He is not exactly on fire of late.

It doesn't matter who the opponent is, few other big names in the UFC need a win like Machida does.

If you're so well-rounded then show it

Machida is a very solid mixed martial artist. However, he tends to go with the flow of his fights. While this worked in the beginning, opponents have begun figuring out his style, and the one-dimensional approach is no longer working that well.

Machida would be well served to mix up his back peddling with moments of aggression and, dare I say it, takedown attempts.

Settle the score with Shogun

First, get a win. Then, finish the trilogy with Rua. A win in the rubber match would skyrocket Machida's stock and regain him a bevy of lost credibility.

Mauricio Rua

Shogun's To-Do List:

Get healthy

I can't help but feel a little sorry for Rua. While injuries are part of the game for any fighter, Shogun has been victimized by unhealthy knees for the past several years.

His constant surgeries and rehabbing sessions have sapped his explosiveness and taken away from his performance. 

While it's beyond possible to reanimate the Shogun of the Pride days at this point, Rua needs to get as healthy as possible, no matter how long it takes, and then make one last run at the title.

Beat Machida once more for good measure

While I am in the camp that has Shogun up 2-0 in the series, facts are facts, and the facts say the feud stands at 1-1.

Taking out Machida again would do wonders for boosting Rua up the ladder and would add to his already impressive legacy.

But first, derail Ryan Bader's comeback

Before Rampage bowed out of the competition with a knee injury, he was slated to rematch Shogun. While this made sense from a nostalgic point of view, it was pretty arbitrary contemporary match-making. 

Rua is one fight removed from a title eliminator and Rampage is in self-destruct mode. There was no need for that fight.

Instead, why not give Rua the guy who just defeated Rampage? Why not give him Ryan Bader?

Dan Henderson

Henderson's To-Do List:

Improve cardio

Though he won the war against Shogun Rua, Dan was clearly spent after about three-and-a-half rounds. Luckily for him, Shogun was pretty exhausted himself and was consequently unable to finish the fight in the fifth round, despite having Henderson mounted the whole time.

After watching Jones go five rounds against Rashad Evans without losing much of anything, Henderson better step his cardio up for his impending title fight.

Train with Stretch Armstrong

Jones' reach is going to give Henderson some serious fits. He needs to find out how to nullify the length of Jones if he hopes to sneak inside and land that big right hand of his.

Shock the world

With all Henderson has accomplished during his career, defeating Jon Jones and putting a stunned look on the face of every MMA fan in the world would be his crowning achievement.

Rashad Evans

Evans' To-Do-List:

Understand that it's just a loss

Considering all the emotion that went into his fight with Jon Jones, it may be difficult for Evans to get up for anything else.

He needs to know that his loss to "Bones" is just a bump in the road and believe that he can make it back to the top.

Start strutting down comeback lane

There is no time like the present for Evans to get back into action. The longer he remains dormant, the longer he allows the loss to his arch-nemesis to fester.

Rather than stewing on the sidelines, the best thing for Evans would be to put a win under his belt as soon as he has recovered.

Keep your eye on the prize

While he cannot run the risk of overlooking any opponent on his way back to the top, Evans needs to approach every obstacle as if it were an extension of Jon Jones.

He seemed more motivated for that fight than ever before, and if he applies his long term goal of dethroning Jones to his more immediate challenges, he will be a terror in the 205-pound weight class.

Jon Jones

Jones' To-Do List

Clean out the division

At this point, Jones seems head-and-shoulders above the rest of the division. Still, he needs to beat Dan Henderson, Alexander Gustafsson and perhaps another contender — say, Phil Davis or Ryan Bader if one of them starts reeling off victories.

Putting Evans in his place once more also couldn't hurt.

Consider a move to heavyweight

By no means is this a necessary move for Jones, but he likes to stay active and fighting up a class would allow him to do that.

Furthermore, he wouldn't need to make a permanent jump but could instead mimic what Anderson Silva did a few years back, moving up here and there just to add a little to the resume during divisional downtime.

Such a consideration wouldn't need to happen before the year is out, but it is bound to happen sooner or later. 

Stop with the Ali stuff

If you become an icon of Ali proportions, other people will let you know, because it's kind of a big deal.

Splicing in "the champ is here!" voice-overs into your entrance music does not make you a culture idol.

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2012 MMA to Do Lists for Each Top 10 Heavyweight