Strikeforce Grand Prix: Where Would Roger Gracie Rank in the UFC?

The Gracie name is perhaps the most important in the history of mixed martial arts. With one word, an entire fighting style gained notoriety and has become a staple of some of the greatest fighters in the world, even as we inch closer to 20 years from the first UFC event won by Royce Gracie.

Today, a new Gracie is carrying on the family name. His name is Roger Gracie, and he brings his unbelievable 65-7 jiu-jitsu and grappling tournament record into MMA.

He currently sits as one of the top up-and-comers in the light heavyweight division within Strikeforce, but with all of the top talent headed from Strikeforce to the UFC, one has to wonder how long it will be before he shows up in the Octagon.

And if he did, where exactly, would the undefeated up-and-comer fit in within the current UFC 205-pound division?

This is what the UFC light heavyweight division rankings might look like if Roger Gracie were to sign with the company. 

10. Roger Gracie

Roger Gracie will fight “King Mo” Muhammad Lawal at this Saturday’s Strikeforce event. Though it is not one of the two co-main event fights involving the heavyweight grand prix tournament, many believe that this light heavyweight showdown will actually be the best fight on the card.

Stylistically, Gracie and Lawal are almost polar opposites with Gracie’s jiu-jitsu being matched against Mo’s wrestling, but that should make for an interesting battle between two fighters who will try to impose their will.

Gracie has been absolutely dominant in his four professional MMA fights, earning a perfect record which includes submissions in all four fights. But while he holds wins against a couple opponents that fans have heard of before, he has not really been challenged yet in an MMA fight.

If he is able to defeat Lawal this Saturday night, one could justify putting him higher than this on the UFC light heavyweight rankings list, but as it stands right now, No. 10 might even be a generous ranking for Gracie. 

9. Tito Ortiz

At 36 years old, Tito Ortiz proved he can still hang with the top up-and-comers in the business when he defeated Ryan Bader at UFC 132. The victory came as a surprise to most as Ortiz had not actually won a fight since all the way back in 2006 when he beat Ken Shamrock in back-to-back fights.

But Ortiz’s victory over Bader may be quickly forgotten as he took a short-notice fight against Rashad Evans just a month later at UFC 133. Though Tito made it nearly through two rounds, Evans smashed him relatively easily, ending the fight at 4:48 in the second round.

There are likely only a couple fights left in Ortiz’s body, but his mind his still as sharp as ever.

8. Forrest Griffin

Though he got absolutely crushed in his most recent fight against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 134, Forrest Griffin shouldn’t be so easily dismissed as he has been by some critics.

Griffin is still 3-2 in his last five fights and his wins over Rich Franklin and Tito Ortiz are at least against credible opponents. He may not be the athletic specimen that Jon Jones is or the elusive striker that Lyoto Machida is, but no one can match this guy in terms of heart. 

7. Thiago Silva

Thiago Silva might actually be higher on this list if he hadn’t been suspended for submitting a falsified drug after his most recent fight against Brandon Vera in January.

The São Paulo, Brazil native is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, but is much better known for being an absolute beast on the feet. Other than his one knockout loss against Lyoto Machida at UFC 94, Silva has completely crushed almost every opponent he has faced while the fight has been standing.

Silva is still yet to get a signature win against a consensus top opponent, but he should get another chance soon. 

6. Phil Davis

If it wasn’t for an injury sustained by Phil Davis prior to his UFC 133 fight against Rashad Evans, we may be talking about Davis being the No. 1 contender for Jon Jones’ UFC light heavyweight championship.

A former NCAA Division-I national champion wrestler at Penn State University, Phil Davis has transitioned into mixed martial arts with relative ease, compiling an impressive 9-0 professional record that includes wins over top talents like Brian Stann, Tim Boetsch and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

Not only does Davis have a tremendous wrestling background, but he is also a former No Gi Grappling World Jiu-Jitsu Champion when he won the super heavyweight (221 pound) title as a blue belt in 2009.

Many believe that Phil Davis may just be the future of the light heavyweight division.

5. Lyoto Machida

A former undefeated UFC light heavyweight champion himself, Lyoto Machida knows what it’s like to be praised the way that current champion Jon Jones has been in recent months.

But unlike Jones, Machida has also gone through some trials and tribulations in his career that have made him come out a better, more polished and well-rounded fighter.

Machida lost back-to-back fights against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in 2010 before he bounced back into the elite of the 205-pound division with a thunderous jumping front-kick knockout on Randy Couture which helped send the legend into retirement.

Though some question if he can ever get back the title now that he has fallen to two of the division’s top stars, the truth is that he has just as good of a chance as anyone else. His style is almost impossible to replicate in the gym and he has the capability of ending just about any fight in the blink of an eye.

4. Rampage Jackson

Over three years after losing his UFC light heavyweight championship to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will finally have a chance to hold the UFC gold again when he fights Jon Jones later this month at UFC 135.

Jackson has gone an impressive 4-1 since losing the title, losing just one fight to Rashad Evans, by decision, along the way. His back-to-back victories over Lyoto Machida and Matt Hamill in 2010 were good enough to get him in the title picture again.

He is the underdog against Jones, but if there is anyone who knows something about defeating opponents whom some have called “unbeatable,” it’s Jackson, who shocked the world by knocking out then-UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell at UFC 71.

3. Shogun Rua

A back-and-forth MMA career in recent years has caused some to question whether Mauricio “Shogun” Rua truly is as good as he was once advertised to be, but Rua hopes that a strong 2012 will get him back in the title hunt.

The Brazilian split fights against Lyoto Machida at UFC 104 and 113, but ended up leaving 113 as the UFC light heavyweight champion. It looked as if it was going to be a long run as champion for Shogun who had just dominated the man whom many believed was the best 205-pounder in the world at the time.

A good percentage of fans would even say that he should have been given the decision in their first fight, thus bringing his record against Machida to 2-0, but that didn’t really matter in the end.

What did matter, though, was that Shogun was completely crushed his very first title defense against the young prospect Jon Jones, who almost effortlessly out-struck the heavy-handed Rua who has now ended 17 of his 20 career victories by knockout. It was on this night that there were even some critics who questioned whether Rua should continue fighting.

But Shogun bounced back at UFC 134 this past month when he knocked out Forrest Griffin, proving that he was not done just yet.

2. Rashad Evans

“Suga” Rashad Evans is already set as the next contender for the UFC light heavyweight championship and will fight the winner of the Jon Jones vs. Rampage Jackson fight later this month.

Evans holds a 16-1-1 career MMA record that includes victories over a plethora of fellow top contenders including Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Forrest Griffin, Thiago Silva and Quinton Jackson.

His resume is perhaps more stacked than any fighter on this entire list and if it weren’t for a string of bad luck, we could be talking about him, not Jon Jones, as the current UFC light heavyweight champion.

1. Jon Jones

The undefeated (unless you count a disqualification in a fight he was clearly dominating as a “loss”) UFC light heavyweight champion has been so dominant thus far in his MMA career that there really isn’t even a debate as to who should be sitting at No. 1 in the rankings.

Jones hasn’t really even been challenged yet and has totally manhandled numerous high-quality opponents in the Octagon. His victories over Stephan Bonnar, Brandon Vera, Vladimir Matyushenko and Ryan Bader were memorable for the innovative striking and wrestling mixture that he brought into the cage.

But it was the way he destroyed then-champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128 that will go down as Jones’ biggest MMA moment to-date.

Jones will have a chance to defend his championship at UFC 135 later this month when he fights Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. If he is successful in his first defense, he will tie Jackson and Machida with the most successful defenses of the belt (one) since Chuck Liddell won the title back in April 2005.

The championship has bounced around the division like a ping-pong ball, but many believe that it is here to say with the 24-year old champion.