UFC Light Heavyweights: Ranking Each Former Champ's Chances of Another Title Run

UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage will feature the light heavyweight championship bout between two of the division’s best fighters ever.

We can argue until we’re blue in the face about where they rank exactly, but the bottom line is that these two champions are extremely dangerous and should put on a great fight for the fans.

Jackson himself is a former UFC light heavyweight champion and many believe he is still at the top of his game. He has been in the right place at the right time to get the first shot at Jones’ championship after an injury put off Rashad Evans’ opportunity, but it is his own hard work and ability to “sell” himself to fans that has really given him this chance at Jones.

But is Rampage the man to beat Jones?

There are plenty of up-and-comers in the stacked light heavyweight division, but it may be one of the former champions who actually has the best chance of beating the current champion. There are a handful of former champions who currently sit within or right near the top-10 in the division, but their chances of becoming champion dwindles down each day as they get older.

So which former champion does have the best chance of winning the UFC light heavyweight championship in the future? Read on as we count down each of the 10 former champions and assess their chances of holding the title again.

10. Chuck Liddell

Won title: April 16, 2005 (UFC 52)

Length of reign: 770 days

Successful defenses: Four

Lost title to: Rampage Jackson

We’ll start things off with arguably the greatest 205-pound fighter in the history of the sport, and certainly the most recognizable face of the light heavyweight division in the UFC: Chuck Liddell.

Liddell retired on December 29, 2010 and has since moved on to take a position within the UFC as the Vice President of Business Development. His emotional retirement and success outside the cage has made it pretty obvious that he won’t be fighting again.

0-percent chance of becoming champion again

9. Frank Shamrock

Won title: December 21, 1997 (UFC Japan)

Length of reign: 703 days

Successful defenses: Four

Lost title to: Vacated

The very first UFC light heavyweight champion was crowned back in the UFC’s Japanese debut back in 1997, when Frank Shamrock submitted Kevin Jackson by armbar just 16-seconds into their first bout.

He would go on to defend the title four times, including defeating future champion Tito Ortiz, but eventually vacated the title after citing a lack of competition within the promotion.

Shamrock remains the only light heavyweight champion who vacated the title.

Shamrock finally seems to be truly retired, and has not fought since back-to-back losses in 2008 and 2009. Add in the fact that even those fights took place at 185 pounds, not 205 pounds, and you’ll see why Frank Shamrock will not be holding the UFC light heavyweight title again.

0-percent chance of becoming champion again

8. Randy Couture

Won title: September 26, 2003 (UFC 44) and August 21, 2004 (UFC 49)

Length of reign: 127 days and 238 days

Successful defenses: Zero

Lost title to: Chuck Liddell

UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture is the only fighter to have ever held both the heavyweight and light heavyweight titles, and many believe him to be in the conversation as one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in MMA history.

Though he is the only two-time champion in the history of the division, Couture did not make a successful title defense in either run as champion. Nevertheless, his impact of the 205-pound division will always be remembered.

He has now retired following his UFC 129 loss to Lyoto Machida, but it’s hard to completely count Couture out, as he has retired before and come back to win a championship.

1-percent chance of becoming champion again

7. Vitor Belfort

Won title: January 31, 2004 (UFC 46)

Length of reign: 203 days

Successful defenses: Zero

Lost title to: Randy Couture

Perhaps the most forgotten about former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort.

After leaving the UFC for almost four years following his victory over Wanderlei Silva at UFC Brazil, Belfort returned to the organization to fight Chuck Liddell at in June 2002.

Though he lost that fight, he would go on to crush Marvin Eastman in his next fight, earning himself a shot at then-champion Randy Couture.

Belfort’s sister had gone missing earlier in the month, but he used that raw emotion (and a seam in his glove) to open a cut on Couture’s eye. The cut would force a referee’s stoppage just 49-seconds into the bout, declaring Belfort the new champion.

An immediate rematch was in order and Belfort went on to lose that fight by doctor’s stoppage to Couture, ending his first and only run as the champion without a successful defense.

Belfort is now fighting as a middleweight and it appears unlikely that he will ever return to the light heavyweight division, but he may change his mind as he gets older and doesn’t want to cut as much weight (ala Dan Henderson).

5-percent chance of becoming champion again

6. Forrest Griffin

Won title: July 5, 2008 (UFC 86)

Length of reign: 175 days

Successful defenses: Zero

Lost title to: Rashad Evans

Who would have thought during first season of The Ultimate Fighter, that the goofy kid from Ohio would end up being a future UFC light heavyweight champion?

Practically no one, and that’s part of what has made the Forrest Griffin story so great.

Of course, it helps that he was a part of what has to be considered, at this point, arguably the most important fight in the company’s history against Stephan Bonnar, but Griffin has come a long way since winning TUF. Not only has he matured as a person and become a celebrity outside of the Octagon, but his technique is certainly significantly better than it was back in 2006.

All of that came to a head when he fought Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Griffin surprised just about everyone as he came in an underdog, but picked his opponent apart with leg kicks and jabs on his way to becoming the UFC light heavyweight champion at UFC 86.

Unfortunately, Griffin would go on to lose the title in his first title defense.

Including that loss, Griffin has gone just 2-3 in his past five fights, with one of the two wins coming in somewhat controversial fashion by way of a split decision victory over Tito Ortiz.

Griffin’s dedication to the sport has been questioned over the past week as he has admitted to not enjoying fighting (and training) as much as he used to. That showed when he was knocked out in just 1:53 by Shogun at UFC 134.

He still has a lot of heart and shows it every time he steps into the Octagon, but it just doesn’t feel quite the same anymore.

10-percent chance of becoming champion again

5. Tito Ortiz

Won title: April 14, 2000 (UFC 25)

Length of reign: 1260 days

Successful defenses: Five

Lost title to: Randy Couture

Haters can say whatever they want, but there is no denying the fact that Tito Ortiz holds the record not only for the longest reign of any light heavyweight champion at well over three years, but also the most title defenses with five.

Though the competition he fought was not on the level of most of the future champions, Ortiz’s accomplishments as champion go deeper than that. He was what many consider to be the most important fighter in the UFC during his championship run and helped carry the company through their darkest days.

Though he is not what he was before.

Ortiz’s victory over Ryan Bader proved that he still has what it takes to beat high-level opponents. It’s going to be hard for him to go on another winning streak to earn a title shot in the first place, let alone beat whoever the champion ends up being.

But one thing is for sure—his ultimate goal is to win back the UFC light heavyweight title before he retires.

10-percent chance of becoming champion again

4. Shogun Rua

Won title: May 8, 2010 (UFC 113)

Length of reign: 315 days

Successful defenses: Zero

Lost title to: Jon Jones

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was expected by many to step right into the UFC’s light heavyweight division and earn himself a shot at the title. But after a few less-than-stellar performances to start his career, many were calling Shogun a product of an overrated Japanese 205-pound division.

That is, until he knocked out former champion Chuck Liddell at UFC 97.

Shogun’s performance in that fight and his prior victory over Mark Coleman earned him a title shot at Lyoto Machida’s title at UFC 104.

The bout was a back-and-forth clash, but many have since called the judges’ decision one of the worst of 2009–as Machida was awarded a unanimous decision over his fellow Brazilian challenger.

The fight was so controversial, in fact, that the UFC almost immediately booked a rematch between the two for UFC 104.

The outcome would be much different, though, as Shogun left it out of the judges’ hands by knocking Machida out in the first round, becoming the first man to ever defeat “The Dragon.”

Though Shogun was subsequently crushed by current champion Jon Jones in his first title defense, there is still a belief among the MMA community that he has another title run in him if he can stay healthy and continue to work hard. He possesses tremendous knockout power as he has shown against Forrest Griffin, Lyoto Machida and Chuck Liddell, but nagging injuries have seemingly kept him from staying at an elite physical level for a long period of time.

25-percent chance of becoming champion again

3. Rampage Jackson

Won title: May 8, 2010 (UFC 71)

Length of reign: 406 days

Successful defenses: One

Lost title to: Forrest Griffin

The fighter with the first opportunity to defeat Jon “Bones” Jones will be Quinton “Rampage” Jackson when he fights the champ at UFC 135 later this month.

Though he is a +430 underdog against Jones, Jackson has the talent to be a champion again. The question seems to be his work ethic and, well, sometimes chaotic actions outside the cage.

If he is unsuccessful against Jones, Jackson still could win the title if someone else does eventually beat the current champ. It’s interesting how matchups work in MMA and Jackson has smacked around some of the best in the world.

30-percent chance of becoming champion again

2. Lyoto Machida

Won title: May 23, 2009 (UFC 98)

Length of reign: 350 days

Successful defenses: One

Lost title to: Shogun Rua

Lyoto Machida’s karate skills are perhaps the best in the entire sport and he has transitioned it perfectly into a frustrating style for his opponents. He is arguably the most difficult fighter in the sport to prepare for and had run up an undefeated 16-0 career record prior to losing his title to Shogun Rua at UFC 113.

As if his first loss to Rua was a wake-up call for “the Dragon,” a second in a row came when he dropped a bout to Rampage Jackson at UFC 123.

Though the loss came in the form of a controversial split decision that even Jackson himself disputed, it was a loss nonetheless. There were even rumors that Machida was going to be cut by the UFC if he lost a third straight fight.

Thankfully for him, his career got back on track quickly with a punishing knockout victory over Randy Couture in the form of a Karate Kid-like jumping front kick.

Whether he will get another title shot anytime in the near future remains to be seen after unexpectedly demanding “Anderson Silva money” for the opportunity to replace Phil Davis in his UFC 133 fight against Rashad Evans.

But if he does get back into the UFC’s good graces, Machida has as good of a shot as anyone to defeat just about any potential UFC light heavyweight champion.

40-percent chance of becoming champion again

1. Rashad Evans

Won title: July 5, 2008 (UFC 92)

Length of reign: 147 days

Successful defenses: Zero

Lost title to: Lyoto Machida

Rashad Evans is perhaps the most underrated light heavyweight in the world right now.

With a 16-1-1 MMA record, Evans has wins over four of the division’s former champions and is looking to make it five when he gets his shot at the winner of Jones-Rampage in 2012.

Evans had previously been the No. 1 contender who would have fought Shogun Rua at UFC 128, but an injury forced him out of the bout. In stepped his teammate, Jon Jones, who had been springing through the ranks. But when Jones actually won the title, his relationship with Evans had a major falling out.

Jackson has since left Jackson’s Submission Fighting in favor of Imperial Athletics and crushed Tito Ortiz in the main event of UFC 133. There is a very good chance that he will be fighting for the title within the next six months.

If Jones wins, Evans has an advantage over other competitors. He has been training with the guy since practically the beginning of his career and may have inside knowledge on his tendencies as well as his weaknesses as a fighter.

If Rampage wins, Rashad has the mental advantage of holding a win over him already.

Either way, Evans is the most likely former UFC light heavyweight champion to become a champion again in the UFC.

45-percent chance of becoming champion again