UFC 126 Results: Top 10 Light-Heavyweights In The UFC

Four top ranked Light Heavyweight fighters duked it out at the stacked UFC 126 event.  

The results carried major implications in the notoriously deep and high profile weight division.  

Champion Mauricio Rua has his hands full with a number of superstars nipping at his heels.

No one has been able to hold onto the light heavyweight belt for a very extended period of time, but at UFC 126, we just might have witnessed someone who could.

10. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

The veteran, and twin brother of Rodrigo Nogueira, was on a strong 7-fight win streak before losing a tightly contested battle to Ryan Bader last September.

He has a chance to rebound as he headlines against former champion Tito Ortiz at a 'UFC Fight Night' card in March.

Ortiz has not won a fight in over four years, but he still battles gamely against top competition.  

With a win over Ortiz, Nogueira can keep his name in title contention and overcome his struggle with wrestlers which has been his biggest issue since joining the UFC.

9. Ryan Bader

Ryan Bader is still a young star with a lot of potential, but he was blown out of the water by Jon Jones at UFC 126.  Hopefully he will come back stronger than before.

A power puncher with excellent wrestling, Jones showed that Bader still needs to work on adapting his grappling game to MMA.  

He has wins over veterans Rogerio Nogueira and Keith Jardine so Bader is not going off the radar just yet.  If he can advance his game and win a couple of big fights, he could find himself approaching contender status yet again.

8. Matt Hamill

His disqualification win over Jon Jones does not hold any water, but regardless, Matt Hamill is riding a 5-fight win streak against solid UFC competition.  

Hamill is an excellent wrestler with a dangerous stand up game.  That is a proven recipe for success and Hamill is a testament to that, but if he does not expand his game he will find himself getting shutdown against the elite.

Phil Davis is his next opponent, a dangerous and dynamic young opponent.  Hamill risks his spot in the top 10 against Davis, but should he prevail, Hamill will be deserving of a top-5 opponent.

7. Thiago Silva

After dropping a close to decision to Rashad Evans, Thiago bounced back with a dominant performance against Brandon Vera.

A striker who has some of the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the division, Silva utilized his proficient grappling skills to maintain the advantage over Vera.

That kind of fighting IQ shows the maturity level of Silva and he looked ready to fight some of the very best in the division.

He will receive that honor when he squares off again the light heavyweight powerhouse known as Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 130.

6. Forrest Griffin

Forrest Griffin is back.  

After losing his title in 2008, Griffin looked like he was simply going through the motions in his subsequent fights.

At UFC 126, however, Griffin came back from a long injury layoff and put together his best overall performance since winning the belt.

Instead of going through the motions, Griffin used his size advantage to control the striking range and to bully Rich Franklin on the ground.

In the face of ring rust he put together a great win against a big name opponent.  It will be exciting to see what kind of matchup Forrest gets next.

5. Jon Jones

This marks the point where the top fighters separate from the pack.  

Jones dominated top 10 Ryan Bader at UFC 126 and looked like he very well might be the man to beat in the division.  

Fortunately for Jones and the fans, he will get the opportunity to prove that as he has been leap frogged into the championship fight against Mauricio Rua in a little over a month.

At only 23 years old, Jones has the tools to emerge as a dominant champion.  Toppling the champion will be no easy task as it will by far be the biggest challenge of Jones' young career.

4. Lyoto Machida

Lyoto dominated the division in route to winning the championship in 2009.  Mauricio Rua made Lyoto look vulnerable in taking away the belt by removing Machida from his senses.

In his rebound fight, Machida lost a very close split-decision to fellow former champion, Quinton Jackson.  Machida looked good in the 3rd round of that fight, but did not press the action enough to seal the first two rounds.  

Despite the two losses in a row, he still has all the tools that made him a champion.  His next test is against Randy Couture.

If Machida's mental game is strong, he will be able to take victory from the legend and align himself back on the fast track to the title.

3. Quinton Jackson

Former champion Jackson has perpetually been knocking on the door of #1 contender status since losing his belt in 2008.  

Last May he dropped a decision to rival Rashad Evans, but rebounded with a close decision over Lyoto Machida, who was ranked #2 at the time.

With the win over Machida, Jackson is still pounding at the door to the title.  If he can defeat dangerous challenger Thiago Silva at UFC 130, he will almost certainly be booked to fight winner of UFC 129's championship fight.

2. Rashad Evans

With only 1 loss in in 12 UFC fights, former champion Evans is one of the preeminent forces in the UFC light heavyweight division.

After losing the belt, Evans won a fight over Thiago Silva and then Quinton Jackson to solidify himself as the #1 contender.

By injuring himself right before UFC 126, Evans allows his friend and teammate Jon Jones to take his place fighting for the title in an interesting twist.

Should Jones prevail and become champion, Evans might fit into an interesting gate-keeper role as he would unlikely desire to fight his teammate.

It's a potentially sticky situation, but all we can do is hope that he feels better and gets back into action soon.

1. Mauricio Rua

Champion Rua is not even 30 years old yet and he is in the debate for the greatest light heavyweight fighter of all time.  His résumé is that deep.

When fighting at his best, he looks like the best on planet, but that might be restricted to before the events of UFC 126.

With rising superstar Jon Jones destroying top 10 Ryan Bader at UFC 126, Jones may make a claim to looking like the best fighter in the division.

Thankfully for us, we will get to find out for sure as the two stars are on a collision course for the title at UFC 129.

Rua seems to be in his prime, so a loss to Jones could leave him without a certain direction.  A win, on the other hand, could cement him as the dominant champion the light heavyweight division has been missing.