UFC: An Inside Look at The Declining State of the Light Heavyweight Division

Once considered to be one of the deepest divisions under the UFC banner, the Light Heavyweight division has been on a decline ever since Jon Jones has taken over the championship.

Viewing the division from afar would indicate that the roster includes several tough veteran fighters and a young class of upcoming stars that provide a promising future. Taking a deeper look however, would indicate that even though the division has big names, the division is in shambles resulting from losses, injuries and suspensions such as Thiago Silva.

Though most spectators would argue that the Top Five of the division is talent-rich, I seem to think the Top Five of the division is in talent-decline. There really isn't anyone that stands out as a contender because everyone is about the same in terms of recent success.

This is a division where Jon Jones now reigns as champion at 24 years of age, yet no one can foresee anyone in the current UFC Light Heavyweight division being able to defeat him.

Tito Ortiz

It is amazing the way people change their thoughts on Tito Ortiz. Almost everyone gave Tito no chance of defeating Ryan Bader but he pulled off an amazing submission victory. Now there seems to be a 50/50 split of whether or not he can defeat Rashad Evans.

Ortiz has been on a slide but has not been dominated in any of his losses recently, which is what most people have overlooked.

Tito's overall game is improved and he remains a top competitor in the division but you cannot ignore the fact that he is 1-4-1 in his last six fights and he is being considered as a possible No. 1 contender if he can defeat Rashad Evans.

Most would think that Tito is many fights away from a championship bout but due to the weak state of the division, a title shot is a real possibility.

Phil Davis

Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis is primarily a wrestler that almost earned himself a No. 1 contender bout with Rashad Evans after being named as an injury replacement. Unfortunately for Davis, he too suffered an injury and lost his opportunity.

Davis really has done nothing overly impressive to date in his career but has been receiving a heavy push from fans and UFC management.

Davis has a lot of improvement to make in his overall game to be a serious contender in the division but at age 26, he has time on his side.

As of today though, I don't really see him as a Top 10 fighter in the division, at least until he defeats another Top Ten fighter.

Ryan Bader

Ryan Bader was one of the up-and-comers that showed a ton of promise after defeating Keith Jardine and Antonio Rogerio Noguiera.

Since then he has lost his last two fights to future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones, and Tito Ortiz.

The former Ultimate Fighter series winner is now on the cusp of having his services with the UFC placed in jeopardy with another loss.

Bader does have age on his side, being only 28  with a record of 12-2. Though if he doesn't expand his training and venture into different fight camps, he may never achieve his full potential.

Rich Franklin

Franklin has been a UFC mainstay and has been the man towing the company line for some time now. Franklin is entering the twilight of his career with a record of 28-6 at age 36.

Franklin is far from a title shot as his last fight resulted in a loss to Forrest Griffin but he remains a top fighter in the division even though he is a natural middleweight.

Franklin would like to make another run at the title but given his age and his nature as a Light Heavyweight, it is highly unlikely that he will get a title shot before he retires from the sport.

Though he can still be competitive. he is a fighter that is long past his prime and more than likely will never be considered a Top Five fighter in this division.

Mauricio Rua

Shogun has been considered the best Light Heavyweight on the planet and has been of the UFC's biggest disappointments.

Shogun did indeed defeat Lyoto Machida for the Light Heavyweight Championship but that has been his only real highlight in the UFC.

Shogun entered the UFC by losing to Forrest Griffin, having a lackluster performance against Mark Coleman, and knocking out the zombie-like Chuck Liddell when the Iceman was in horrible decline. After beating Machida two times, once officially, he was utterly dominated by Johnny "Bones" Jones.

At 19-5 many still consider Rua to be one of the division's best but his performances tell another story.

Lyoto Machida

Machida was on top of the Light Heavyweight division when it was considered possibly the best division in the UFC.

Machida gets credit for defending the championship against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in a losing effort before being knocked out by Rua in a rematch.

Machida has went on to not impress anyone by losing to Rampage Jackson and defeating a regressing, near 50-year-old Randy Couture to save his job inside the UFC.

"The Dragon" had a golden opportunity offered to him to square off with Rashad Evans for a No. 1 contender position but the MMA Diva declined, citing that he wanted to be paid Anderson Silva money.

Forrest Griffin

Forrest Griffin's reputation as a top tier fighter ended in many observers' eyes when he was knocked out by Anderson Silva. This is something that I cannot explain because Forrest is one of the best Light Heavyweights in the game today and losing to Anderson Silva by challenging him at his strongest attribute is nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about.

Forrest has the size and experience to make yet another title run and is one of the few bright spots left in the division. At 18-6 with wins over some of the division's biggest names, Griffin shows promise after coming off of a long injury with his most recent win over Rich "Ace" Franklin.

Griffin has another opportunity to defeat Mauricio "Shogun" Rua for a second time as he attempts to climb the ladder in the division. A win over Rua should place Griffin in the Top Three of the division.

Rashad Evans

Rashad Evans is another MMA Diva among the UFC Light Heavyweight ranks. Evans talks a big game but rarely backs it up the way he openly states he will. Such an example is the build-up to his fight with Rampage Jackson where he decided to lay-n-pray instead of attempting to knock out Jackson like he said he would do.

After losing his title to Lyoto Machida, Evans won a single fight against Thiago Silva to make him the No. 1 contender yet again. Rashad then decided to sit out for almost a year and wait for a title shot that never came instead of competing. When the opportunity came around for his title fight, he had to back out due to his own injury.

Rashad has earned a chance to be considered the top contender in the UFC Light Heavyweight Division with his matchup against former champion, Tito Ortiz. The trash talk has been flying back and forth but if Evans wants to lose his Diva reputation, he might want to try and back up his talk.

Quinton Jackson

Rampage has been widely considered as one of the best light heavyweights in the history of mixed martial arts. What has been in question recently has been his dedication to the sport.

Rampage has openly criticized the new wave of fighter in MMA and hasn't looked nearly as impressive as he once was. At 32-8 in his career, he is the current No. 1 contender for Jon Jones' championship after going 2-1 in his last three with no spectacular finishes to his credit since his fight with Wanderlei Silva in December of 2008.

No one doubts that a determined Rampage Jackson can still be a relevant fighter but at 33, Jackson may be on the downside of his career and hasn't shown the capability of the brutal finishes that made him one of the most feared competitors in MMA history.

Jon Jones

One cannot doubt the talent of Jon Jones as he reigns atop the Light Heavyweight division. Jones can take advantage of the big names in a division that is in need of some serious overhauling. As it stands today, Jon Jones is the saviour of the division and future of the UFC.

Jones has the reach and size to be dominant for a very long time, which depends on whether he can stay focused as a fighter and a champion should.

Jones is already being compared to Anderson Silva because of his dominant performances during his tenure with the UFC. Without a doubt he has the ability to be as, if not more successful than any MMA fighter in history. But will the man live up to the hype? So far nothing indicates that he won't.

Up next for Jon Jones is light heavyweight legend, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson for his first title defense.

Outside Potential

There is a lot of potential outside of the UFC that they can take advantage of.

This include fighters such as Mike Kyle, Roger Gracie, Mo Lawal, Gergard Mousasi, Rafael Cavalcante, Renato Sobral. 

The biggest addition could be current Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Dan Henderson.

Not every one of these fighters could be Top Five but they could provide much needed depth for every top 10 fighter on the UFC roster.

In addition, all of these fighters are under the Zuffa-Strikeforce banner so it is possible that some, if not all of these competitors could soon move over to the UFC.

Let me know what you think and thank you for reading!