Post UFC 135: Ranking the 10 Best Strikers at Light Heavyweight

These last three pay-per view events have been very significant in the light heavyweight picture.  

Rashad Evans secured his title shot by finishing Tito Ortiz, Shogun Rua rebounded from his loss to Jon Jones with a first-round knockout over Forrest Griffin and Jon Jones outworked Rampage and submitted him to keep his title.

For a long time, the light heavyweight division has boasted some of the best strikers in the sport.  In light of the recent activity in the division, I've decided to rate the division's 10 best strikers.

The list assumes fighters are fighting at their best, and is based primarily on how good the striker's striking has looked—rather than being based primarily on win/loss.

Here are the top 10 strikers in the light heavyweight division.

10. Thiago Silva

Thiago Silva has been on a rough patch as of late, but is still one of the more lethal strikers at 205.

Of his 14 wins, 11 are by knockout and one is by submission due to strikes.

He would end up being soundly defeated by Machida and decided to avoid the standup exchange with Brandon Vera. Between those bouts, though, his striking looked good against Rashad Evans, who he rocked and nearly finished in the 3rd round of their fight.

He hasn't beaten as many high-level strikers as the other fighters on this list, which keeps him from being higher.  But once he starts racking up wins again, he'll have more opportunities to prove himself.  

He's currently on suspension for steroid use, and it is unknown who his next opponent will be.

9. Rich Franklin

It's easy to forget that Rich Franklin is a dominate striker after seeing him get manhandled by Silva twice.  Then again, just about everyone on this list would get handled by Silva.

The fact is, he's a very strong striker with good technique and underrated power.  Of 28 career wins, five are by KO and 10 are by TKO.  He is tied for the fourth most knockdowns in UFC history, at 10.

He is not extremely proficient at any one striking discipline, but is very versatile on the feet.  There are not many fighters who can boast having a TKO via body kick.  Only Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida have been able to outclass him on the feet.

He was supposed to fight Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 133, but injuries forced both fighters out of action.  It is unknown when he'll be back in action.

8. Forrest Griffin

Forrest Griffin has fallen on some hard times.  He rebounded from dual knockout losses to Rashad Evans and Anderson Silva with wins over Tito Ortiz and Rich Franklin, but was out of it in his fight with Rua—and was easily finished.

Still, his striking is very good.  He lacks the knockout power that other fighters have, but he makes up for it with good combinations and powerful leg kicks.

After getting the better of an injured Shogun Rua, he was given a shot against Rampage. Not many people gave Forrest a chance, but he proved the doubters wrong when he won a unanimous decision in a five-round war.

He has suffered throughout his career due to poor striking defense, and a chin that's far from outstanding.  He wins plenty of rounds with his striking, but ultimately finds himself finished with punches.  

Still, he's a threat to anyone on the feet and shouldn't be taken lightly.

7. Antonio Rogerio Nogueria

Nogueira has never boasted incredible KO power, but his technical boxing is some of the best at light heavyweight.

He's fairly credentialed, having won a bronze medal for boxing in the Pan-American games, and a gold in the South American games.

In his prime, he was one of the best light heavyweights on the planet.  He outclassed most of his opponents on the feet, and those who took him down found themselves in trouble against his guard.  In Pride, he nearly bested Shogun Rua on the feet in one of the best LHW matches in MMA history.

His weakness to strong wrestlers has been exposed, but he still beat those two wrestlers in the stand-up battle.

He hasn't fought a top 10 striker in a while, which keeps him from being higher on this list.  He was originally supposed to fight Rich Franklin at UFC 133, but injuries forced both fighters off the card.  

But he was a dominant striker in Pride, and hasn't yet been outstruck in the UFC, securing this spot.

He will fight Tito Ortiz at UFC 139.

6. Dan Henderson

Since losing consecutive bouts to Rampage Jackson and Anderson Silva, Henderson has accumulated a 6-1 record with four KO wins.

His overhand right, commonly referred to as "the H-Bomb", is perhaps the most powerful single punch in all of MMA.

He has never been a particularly technical striker on the feet, but he's been getting better with age.

He sets up his H-Bomb very effectively, and has beaten many dangerous strikers in his recent outings.

His next bout will be against famed striker Shogun Rua.  Rua's striking will be the most dangerous of anyone Henderson has faced since Silva, but Shogun would be foolish to underestimate the durability and power of Dan Henderson.

5. Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson possesses some of the best knockout power and best technical boxing skills in the light heayvweight division.  

While he hasn't been able to get the KO as of late, he reminded the world that he is still a force to be reckoned with when he outclassed Matt Hamill on the feet en route to a dominant decision victory.  

He holds two historic knockouts over Chuck Liddell, perhaps the most dominant LHW champion in UFC history.

He has rarely been outstruck, but he has shown weakness to fighters with unorthodox styles and powerful leg kicks.  This problem was seen again in his most recent fight against the current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

That said, he was still able to land more clean blows on Jones than anyone else has yet.

4. Rashad Evans

There was a time when Rashad Evans was considered a one-dimensional fighter.  A standard lay'n'pray artist.  Aside from one spectacular head-kick knockout, he never accomplished much on his feet.

Then he knocked out Chuck Liddell.

Liddell's career was starting to die down around that time, but the victory was still impressive nonetheless.

He then fought Forrest Griffin for the title.  After two competitive rounds with Griffin taking the slight edge, he rocked Griffin after catching a kick in the third, and finished him.  Since losing his belt, he was able to rock Rampage and easily dominate Ortiz on the feet.

The one thing working against Evans is his weak chin and non-outstanding striking defense.  In three of his last four fights he ended up getting rocked at some point.  But his solid boxing and great power have usually been able to compensate for this deficiency, in spectacular fashion.

His next fight will be against Jon Jones for the championship belt.

3. Jon Jones

Jones has now had two consecutive strikes against high-level strikers.  Jones easily beat up Shogun Rua on the feet, but Rua wasn't healthy going into the fight.

But no such excuse could be made this time.  Jackson came in as motivated as he had ever been before, and without injury.  He looked as good as he ever had, but Jones still beat him on the feet.

His combination of reach, unorthodox attacks and reasonable power have allowed him to dominate all of his foes without taking much damage of his own.

His striking defense and precision are some of the best at light heavyweight.

He will next be seen defending his title against Rashad Evans.

2. Lyoto Machida

Machida uses his elusive style and incredible ability to cover distance to beat up his enemies.  

He also has big power, holding the second most knockdowns of any light heavyweight in UFC history (tied with Rich Franklin).

On the feet he has completely outclassed good strikers such as Rashad Evans, Thiago Silva, and Rich Franklin.  He was also the first man to give any of those men losses, and finished all of them.

After his first fight with Rua, Machida appeared to have trouble getting back on track.  He was highly aggressive in his next fight, and ran straight into Rua's right hook.  

Against Jackson, he was less reluctant to engage than usual, only coming out in the last round.  It was a fight he won on damage but lost on points.

That said, it appears he has found his rhythm again with his fight against Randy Couture.  Machida did solid damage to Couture while avoiding any real damage, and knocked him out with a jumping front kick, something that isn't commonly seen in the UFC.  

No one has any idea when he's fighting next.

1. Shogun Rua

A healthy Shogun Rua is one of the most dangerous men on the planet.  

In Pride he was a nearly unstoppable.  He defeated many great strikers in his pride run, including Quinton Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueria and Allistar Overeem (twice).

He has had some lackluster performances, but when he's in shape he's incredible.  He was the first man to best Machida in a five round technical-striking war, and even though Machida was awarded the victory, it was clear that Shogun got the better of Machida that night.  

In the second fight, Rua knocked out an uncharacteristically aggressive Machida out in the first round.

Rua's injuries have kept him from unleashing his incredibly dominant striking in some of his UFC outings.  But the fact remains that, when uninjured, he is the best striker in the UFC.  

His striking will next be on display against Dan Henderson at UFC 139.