UFC 140 Results: Ranking the Top 10 Light Heavyweights in the UFC
On Saturday night, Jon Jones once again faced his toughest test as he took on Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida.
Jones appeared flustered by Machida in the first round, and arguably lost the round 10-9.
However, he came back in full force in the second round, as he was able to submit Machida with a standing guillotine and put him to sleep.
Also on the card, Rogerio Nogueira took on Tito Ortiz in a battle of light heavyweight veterans.
How does the light heavyweight division look now? Let's take a look.
No. 10: Ryan Bader
1 of 10Another conundrum has formed in the light heavyweight division, as Tito Ortiz beat Ryan Bader, Rogerio Nogueira beat Tito Ortiz, and Ryan Bader beat Rogerio Nogueira.
The 10 spot could have gone to Nog or Bader, but I went with Bader because he had the more resounding win over arguably the better opponent.
His next fight will be against Rampage Jackson in Japan.
No. 9: Alexander Gustafsson
2 of 10Next up is Alexander Gustafsson, who has been on a tear through the UFC as of late.
Gustafsson is 4-1 in the UFC—with four finishes—and his only loss came at the hands of Phil Davis, who is considered by many a future title challenger.
Gustafsson was last seen sending Matt Hamill into retirement at UFC 133 and will next face Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC 141.
No. 8: Phil Davis
3 of 10Phil Davis comes in next on this list and I'm sure there will be many people who are upset about his placement this low.
However, if you really look at it, his biggest win was an uninspired performance over Rogerio Nogueira, who has been underwhelming thus far in his UFC tenure.
Davis will now face Rashad Evans in the main event of UFC on FOX 2.
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No. 7: Forrest Griffin
4 of 10Forrest Griffin is slowly on a decline, but he is still one of the best light heavyweights in the world today.
Griffin is a former light heavyweight champion, a title he won after defeating Rampage Jackson via unanimous decision. Before that, Griffin submitted Shogun Rua.
Griffin has a nice resume, but as of late, he doesn't have all that many big victories.
Unfortunately for Griffin, he may be nothing more than a gatekeeper these days.
No. 6: Lyoto Machida
5 of 10On Saturday night, Lyoto Machida faced off against Jon Jones and became the second person to—arguably—win a round from Jones in his UFC career.
However, he didn't have a chance to win a second round, as Jones put him to sleep with a standing guillotine.
Machida is now 1-3 in his last four and will have to look to rebuild himself and come back to the Octagon as a new fighter.
No. 5: Rampage Jackson
6 of 10Rampage Jackson is a former light heavyweight champion and is another fighter who has fallen at the hands of Jon Jones.
Jackson lost via fourth-round submission to Jones at UFC 135.
Jackson will now fight at UFC Japan—also known as UFC 144—where he will face off against Ryan Bader.
No. 4: Mauricio Rua
7 of 10Shogun Rua may have lost at UFC 139, but he has wins over Rampage, Machida and Griffin, so he stays at the number four spot in the light heavyweight division.
Shogun has been wildly inconsistent in his UFC career and has gone 4-4 in eight fights.
At UFC 139, he took an absolute beating in the first three rounds, but came back to win the last two.
After the fight against Jon Jones, some people were talking about Shogun potentially moving down to middleweight.
Perhaps now is the time.
No. 3: Rashad Evans
8 of 10Inactivity has absolutely killed Evans, as he now loses his spot as the No. 2 light heavyweight in the world.
Evans has victories over Rampage Jackson, Tito Ortiz, Forrest Griffin and others and was considered the No. 2 light heavyweight for a long time.
However, now that he has only had one fight in the past 15 months, a case can be made for him not being the second-best light heavyweight.
Evans is still considered the No. 1 contender by Dana White, so should he win his next fight against Phil Davis at UFC on FOX 2, he will finally get his second shot at the light heavyweight title.
No. 2: Dan Henderson
9 of 10Dan Henderson is for real!
I wanted Henderson to get the win on Saturday night, but realistically, I did not think he would. I thought he was winning over subpar competition in Strikeforce and he would get beaten by Shogun.
However, Henderson proved me, along with all the other doubters, wrong as he beat Shogun via unanimous decision.
Henderson now has a plethora of fights he could take next, but we just have to wait and see what's in store for Hendo.
No. 1: Jon Jones
10 of 10No real shocker here having the champ at No. 1.
Not only is Jones the champ, but he is the first light heavyweight champ to uncontroversially defend his belt since Rampage Jackson, and the first one to defend it more than once since Chuck Liddell.
Jones is viewed by many as the future of MMA and the light heavyweight division, and after his win on Saturday, he is well on his way.
Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 140. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the Dec.10 fight card, including results and post-fight analysis.
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