Rampage Jackson Is the Only Champion Not Here to Stay

Let's face it folks. It's gonna be a cold day in hell when you see a new champion in the UFC's Lightweight (BJ Penn), Welterweight (Georges St. Pierre), and Middleweight (Anderson Silva) Divisions.

Let's start with the Lightweight Division's No. 1 contenders. It is clearly one of the most stacked divisions currently in the UFC.

Kenny Florian lost a title fight to Sean Sherk, who was just dismantled by BJ Penn. Sure, Kenflo has moved back up considerably since the loss, but he is still nowhere near BJ's level.

Roger Huerta has more heart and probably some of the best recovery time after taking a ridiculous shot during a fight, but he gets rocked way too frequently. With BJ's improved standup as of late, it won't fair well for him.

Onto the Welterweight Division. Georges St. Pierre looks nearly unstoppable when he's inside the octagon. He had his slip up against Matt Serra, who he later annihilated at UFC 83. St. Pierre has run through a who's who of Welterweights.

In no particular order...Matt Hughes (twice), Josh Koscheck, Karo Parisyan, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, and Frank Trigg. Not to mention BJ Penn and Sean Sherk when they fought as Welterweights.

Jon Fitch is next in line for St. Pierre. They will meet at UFC 87 in August. Fitch is coming in with an impressive 8-0 record in the UFC with wins over the likes of Luigi Fioravanti, Diego Sanchez, and Thiago Alves.

However, St. Pierre seems to edge out Fitch in everything that he has a strength in (much like he does to most WW's).

As for the Middleweight Division, Anderson Silva has come in and made a joke of it. He is 6-0 in the UFC with no fights going past the second round. His list of victims includes Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin (twice), Chris Leben, Nate Marquardt, and Travis Lutter.

Not to mention the competition he has defeated outside the UFC. There is really nobody left in the UFC that really deserves a shot at Silva.

Yushin Okami is 6-1 (four fights won by decision) in the UFC and owns a disqualification win against Silva, but let's be real here folks. He would be dismantled in less than one round. If it does last past the first, it's because of Okami's horribly boring fighting style.

Someone would need to drop down or come up in weight for some sort of catch weight fight. Chuck Liddell or Georges St. Pierre were rumored as candidates, but they won't happen anytime soon since they both have opponents lined up. If Zuffa ever decides to merge the UFC and WEC, then Paulo Filho is a candidate as well, but again it looks doubtful.

The Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Divisions are a completely different story. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has been on a tear lately, but he is very beatable.

Wanderlei Silva got off to a rocky start in the UFC with his decision loss to Liddell, but he finished Rampage twice in their PRIDE days. If Wanderlei gets past Brandon Vera on July 19th (fight is still in the works) and Rampage can get past Griffin, then this fight has a real possibility of happening. Silva via KO, round 2.

Lyoto Machida is undefeated in the UFC (5-0) with wins over the likes of Tito Ortiz and Sokoudjou. He also has wins over Stephan Bonnar, Rich Franklin, and BJ Penn before he came to the UFC.

The main problem with him though is that he is an extremely boring fighter. Four out of his five wins thus far in the in the UFC have come by decision. Machida via death by boredom, round 4...or unanimous decision.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua is another former Chute Box fighter that got off to a rocky start in the UFC with his submission loss to Forrest Griffin. He injured and reinjured his knee and has no timetable for a return to the UFC. He was a standout fighter in his PRIDE days.

He has already defeated Rampage once before, along with a laundry list of other victims. (Alistair Overeem, Kevin Randleman, Ricardo Arona, and Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira). Shogun via strikes, round 2

The Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is one of those fighters that takes an enormous beating then comes from behind to win the fight, much like he did against Tim Sylvia and Heath Herring. However, that is not the recipe to stay champion in any division, no matter how weak the division actually is.

Frank Mir is next in line for Big Nog. Mir is a former champion himself with excellent Brazilian Jujitsu skill. But it is true that he hasn't been the same fighter since his motorcycle accident.

He was able to squeak by with a submission victory over MMA newcomer Brock Lesnar after being pounded early in the first round. It's going to be a straight up BJJ battle for Mir and Nogueira, but I feel Big Nog edges him out here.

Brock Lesnar is currently no problem for Nogueira, as it is obvious that he is still sloppy with his submission defense. Nog would submit him in the first, just like Mir did after taking a little bit of a beating. Give him a year or so of training and he will be quite a force to be reckoned with in the Heavyweight Division.

Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic is a former top Heavyweight in the PRIDE organization. He came to the UFC and went 1-2 with a decision loss to Cheik Kongo and a highlight-reel head kick loss to Gabriel Gonzaga. He has since left the UFC to fight in smaller organizations in Japan (DREAM) to get his confidence back.

He promised a return to the UFC. He has fought against Nogueira and lost via submission back in 2003, but if he gets back into old form then he too can pose problems in the division.

Nogueira's title is safe for now, having beaten the top competition (or lack thereof) in the UFC. Later on down the line though, when the likes of Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin develop a bit more, his title may be in trouble.

We all know that the UFC will not co-promote with any other MMA organization and only signs exclusive contracts, so this will keep all of the top Heavyweights out of the UFC. So say goodbye to Fedor, Arlovski, Sylvia, Couture, Barnett, and all the others who don't want to abide by those rules.

We all know that anything can happen in MMA (Matt Serra), but I can honestly see these champions sitting on their thrones for quite a while.