Power Ranking the 8 Best Upcoming MMA Main Events

In the upcoming months, many UFC champions will be putting their titles on the line.

UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva defends his title at UFC 134, while UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre puts his title on the line against former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz at UFC 137.

Other champions in action include Dominick Cruz and Jon Jones.

This article will rank the announced main events, including those from UFC 132 through UFC 135, UFC 137 and the Strikeforce event featuring Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson. The two UFC Live events will also be ranked, along with the pay-per-view matchups.

No. 8: Chris Lytle vs. Dan Hardy: UFC Live

Get ready to see a highly entertaining brawl between former welterweight title challenger Dan Hardy and 53-fight veteran Chris Lytle when they meet at UFC Live on Versus, August 14.

Hardy gets one last chance to save his career inside the UFC after suffering three losses in a row, including his title fight against Georges St. Pierre.

Lytle will be there to answer his call, punch for punch and blow for blow.

No. 7: Nate Marquardt vs. Rick Story: UFC Live

After a questionable career decision to move to the welterweight division, Nate "The Great" Marquardt claims he feels better than ever.

He better feel that way if he has any intentions of making it past Rick "The Horror" Story, who is coming off an impressive win over Thiago Alves and is on a six-fight win streak.

Both fighters are durable and hard to finish, and if this fight is going to prove who the next contender is, it's going to be worth it for whoever comes out on top.

No. 6: Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis: UFC 133

Phil Davis is 9-0 and ready to take the next step in his quest for a shot at the light-heavyweight title.

That step comes against former UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans, and it's not going to be an easy task.

Evans only has one loss on his record and was set to fight teammate Jon Jones for the title, but an injury forced "Bones" out of the fight.

Evans doesn't like sitting around and waiting for fights, and he had already been doing so for more than a year after defeating Quinton Jackson at UFC 114.

Davis accepted the replacement spot, and now the fight is on for UFC 133.

No. 5: Jon Jones vs. Quinton Jackson: UFC 135

UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Jon "Bones" Jones makes the first defense of his title against former champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 135.

Jones defeated Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in March to win the title, and he made it look easy, defeating the Brazilian by TKO in three rounds.

Jackson comes off decision wins over Lyoto Machida and Matt Hamill. He has been to a decision in six of his last seven bouts. If he has any intentions of defeating the youngest champion in the history of the UFC, the old "Rampage" will need to emerge on fight night.

No. 4: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson: Strikeforce

Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight Champion Dan Henderson meets former Pride Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko in a heavyweight bout that hardcore fans can't wait for.

It all goes down July 30 on Showtime, and it's going to be a fight that goes down in history, as it features two legends of the sport meeting for the first time.

Emelianenko is currently on a two-fight losing streak, while Henderson picked up one of the biggest victories of his career when he defeated Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante earlier this year.

Could this be the final fight of Emelianenko's career?

No. 3: Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami: UFC 134

In the UFC's second trip to Brazil, it brings current UFC Middleweight Champion and pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva to the octagon to meet Yushin Okami.

Okami is the last man to defeat Silva, and it was nothing to brag about. Silva was disqualified for throwing an up-kick that knocked out the Japanese fighter early in the fight.

This will be a memorable event, and it could quite possibly be Silva's toughest test to date. A title shot has been long overdue for Okami, and he won't let it pass by without a fight.

Silva brings several records into the fight, including the most consecutive victories in the UFC at 13 and the most successful title defenses at eight.

No. 2: Georges St. Pierre vs. Nick Diaz: UFC 137

UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre and former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz couldn't be any more different inside and outside the cage.

The contrast in personalities and fighting styles makes this a very interesting fight, and it could be a career-defining fight for both.

While Diaz throws himself into the fire, St. Pierre does everything he can to avoid it. Still, they both succeed and are currently on extensive win streaks.

St. Pierre has been criticized lately for his lack of finishing ability, but that may change at UFC 137.

No. 1: Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber: UFC 132

UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz makes his UFC debut on July 2, and it will come against no one other than the only man to put a loss on his record, Urijah Faber.

Faber, the former WEC featherweight champion, called Cruz out after defeating Eddie Wineland at UFC 128.

Cruz believes one of Faber’s motives for dropping to 135 pounds is because he is the champion and believes he has the formula to defeat him.

Cruz is currently on an eight-fight win streak, including two successful defenses of the WEC Bantamweight Championship.

Many are anticipating this matchup to be one of the best fights of the year, and it has all the makings to be.