10 Most Anticipated Light Heavyweight Title Fights in UFC History

UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage marks the first defense of newly crowned Light Heavyweight Champion Jon "Bones" Jones. Despite dominating very credible fighters like Brandon Vera, Ryan Bader and most recently, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, many believe Quinton "Rampage" Jackson to be a huge test for Jones.

A majority of fans have already jumped on board the Jones bandwagon, believing him to be the future of the division for many years to come but, his performance against a veteran like Rampage could go a long way in convincing the rest of the mixed martial arts populace.

With this incredibly interesting match up just days away, let's look at some of the most anticipated light heavyweight title fights in the history of the UFC.

Randy "The Natural" Couture vs. Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell I

Randy Couture had just lost back to back fights at heavyweight to Josh Barnett and Ricco Rodriguez, getting finished in both bouts.

While Randy Couture no longer seemed like a credible threat at heavyweight, his jump down to light heavyweight made for an extremely interesting fight with Chuck Liddell at UFC 43.

Liddell was on a ten fight win streak with wins over Murilo Bustamante, Vitor Belfort, and a vicious knockout of Renato "Babalu" Sobral.

There wasn't too much stock in Randy Couture's ability to handle a striker of Liddell's caliber, but not only was Couture able to stand and trade with "The Iceman"—he was able to take him down and finish him via TKO in the third round, winning the Interim Light Heavyweight Champioship in the process.

Forrest Griffin vs. "Suga" Rashad Evans

Forrest Griffin had shocked the world in two straight bouts. He choked out Shogun and beat up on Rampage. He'd come such a long way from being a self-proclaimed "dog" that would just fight anyone to being the top light heavyweight in the world.

While Rashad Evans had come off of a huge knockout victory over Chuck Liddell, Forrest finally had a seemingly winable fight in front of him. Evans didn't appear to have the same dangerous skill-set as Griffin's previous two opponents.

Forrest was one of the most popular fighters on the planet and all his fans were excited to see him defend his belt for the first time at UFC 92.

Two rounds in, Forrest looked to be in control. In the third, Evans forced the mixed martial arts world to see one of its most beloved fighters unconscious yet again. 

Jon "Bones" Jones vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

Despite Jon Jones having such dominant wins over the course of his young career, many still don't believe he's done enough to prove himself as the future of the division. His critics will remind us that many were ready for the "Machida era" just a short time ago and that Jones has never been hit by a man with the power of Rampage.

It was an extremely interesting match up and if Jones had yet another one of his stellar performances, it'll be hard to deny his place atop the light heavyweight ladder as one that he could potentially hold for a long time.

On the other hand, Jackson is attempting to prove that he isn't past his prime and that he is fully motivated for this bout. With his brief foray into acting, many believe he hasn't spent enough time focusing on his mixed martial arts career.

Despite the power that Rampage has in his hands, he's only knocked out one man—Wanderlei Silva—in his last seven fights.

The fact that both fighters have pressure on them and questions to answer makes this bout very intriguing.

Randy "The Natural" Couture vs. Tito "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Ortiz

While it's crazy to think of Randy Couture as old at 40 years old, particularly since he was fighting Lyoto Machida at 47, it was still unexpected for him to dominate the young Chuck Liddell in the way that he did at UFC 43.

At UFC 44, Couture was getting a shot at Tito Ortiz—still the longest running light heavyweight champion in UFC history.

There wasn't much reason to believe that "The Natural" had much of a chance against "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy," but the fight resulted in a lopsided decision for Couture in which he quite literally spanked his opponent.

With wins over the top two light heavyweights in the world in back to back fights, Couture had revived his career and found a new home at 205.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Jon "Bones" Jones

With Rashad Evans out, Jon Jones was given a title shot immediately following his impressive win over Ryan Bader at UFC 126.

His match up with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua was set for UFC 128, just six weeks away. Shogun was in a similar position to Jones earlier in his career—running through opponents in PRIDE.

It was the experienced legend taking on the young phenom.

It took just six weeks for Jon Jones to go from "unproven prospect" to UFC champion as he methodically and effortlessly beat down the No. 1 light heavyweight in the world.

"Suga" Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida

Rashad Evans was coming off of two huge knockouts over two fan favorites. Most of the mixed martial arts world with the exception of Rashad's family was waiting to see him get beat up and the undefeated Lyoto Machida was the man for the job.

Most of the Rashad hate is pretty unjustified—was he supposed to lose to Chuck and Forrest? Still, "The Dragon," who was coming off of a devastating knockout of his own over the previously undefeated Thiago Silva, had a lot of fans on his side.

Machida dominated the fight at UFC 98, knocking out the champion and setting off the "Machida era," which would last for only one questionable defense.

Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

With the addition of several big names from PRIDE, Chuck Liddell was going to have to deal with the only man to have a win over him that he hadn't avenged.

Jeremy Horn submitted him back at UFC 19, but "The Iceman" proved his dominance in his first title defense at UFC 54. Randy Couture finished Liddell at UFC 43, but Liddell managed to knock out "The Natural" in their next two meetings.

Rampage had the last win over Liddell, finishing him via TKO in the second round of their Pride Middleweight Grad Prix Semifinal bout.

It took Jackson just 1:53 into the first round to end Liddell's reign of terror over the UFC's light heavyweight division.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin

After an entire season of The Ultimate Fighter, in which fans got to watch Forrest Griffin hear about how he was going to get his butt whooped by Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, the time for the actual fight was an extremely exciting moment.

Forrest, despite coming off of a submission victory over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, was still a huge underdog going into this bout.

The fight was a back and forth war that resulted in Griffin shocking the world for a second straight fight to win the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.

Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua II

When Mauricio "Shogun" Rua received his first shot at Lyoto Machida at UFC 104, there weren't many that believed he actually deserved it or had a chance in the fight. He was, after all, coming off of a disappointing performance against Mark Coleman and a knockout of an aging Chuck Liddell.

Five extremely close rounds and a controversial judge's decision later, fans realized that Shogun was certainly worthy of his title shot.

Shogun got his immediate rematch with Machida in a bout he vowed to make more decisive this time around. He did precisely that, finishing the undefeated champion with a devastating knockout in the first round.

Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell vs. "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz II

Despite ten straight win, Chuck Liddell couldn't manage to get a shot at Tito Ortiz when Ortiz held the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. When they finally fought at UFC 47, Liddell scored a Knockout of the Night, but still lacked the title.

Their second meeting at UFC 66, Liddell had defended his belt three times and the highly anticipated rematch was finally taking place.

"The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" lasted a bit longer this time around, but ultimately succumbed to the heavy hands of "The Iceman," getting finished in the third round via strikes.