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Light Heavyweight

1. Jon Jones (15-1)

So much for taking five months off: Instead of resting for the first half of 2012, the UFC’s 24-year-old light heavyweight ace will be back to work in the first quarter of the year. Jones’ sensational submission of Lyoto Machida on Dec. 10 once again set up a twice-canceled showdown with former training partner and ex-champ Rashad Evans, now slated for April 21 at UFC 145 in Atlanta.

2. Dan Henderson (29-8)

Henderson appears to have his sights set solely on gold. UFC President Dana White recently said that the 41-year-old turned down an April fight against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, instead preferring to wait for the winner of the April 21 Jon Jones-Rashad Evans title bout. “Hendo” will ride an impressive four-fight win streak into his next bout, including a rousing, five-round November decision over Mauricio Rua.

3. Rashad Evans (17-1-1)

The former champ is once again a step away from reclaiming his UFC title after a Jan. 28 routing of previously unbeaten prospect Phil Davis. Evans has seen multiple title shots pass due to injury, including two tentative meetings with current champ Jon Jones. The pair will hope the third time’s the charm as they’re slated to clash April 21 in the main event of UFC 145.

4. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (20-6)

The former UFC light heavyweight champ is still without a return date following his heartbreaking decision loss to Dan Henderson in November, but change is nonetheless afoot. In February, Rua announced a split from manager Eduardo Alonso and stated that he will return to training with Andre “Dida” Amado in Curitiba, Brazil.

5. Lyoto Machida (17-3)

Things were looking up for Machida in his Dec. 10 title confrontation with Jon Jones. The Brazilian karateka’s unorthodox style was proving an apt foil to the young champ until a second-round guillotine detached Machida from consciousness and dashed his hopes of once again holding the UFC light heavyweight title.

6. Phil Davis (9-1)

On Jan. 28, Davis returned from a 10-month layoff and went straight into the toughest bout of his nascent career. It also proved his longest outing, as “Mr. Wonderful” was outclassed across 25 minutes by former UFC champ Rashad Evans en route to a unanimous decision loss.

7. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (20-5)

Injury derailed Nogueira’s second UFC main event, which was to come against Swedish up-and-comer Alexander Gustafsson on April 14. Instead, “Lil Nog” will undergo surgery for an injured patella and watch from the sidelines as Gustafsson meets Thiago Silva.

8. Alexander Gustafsson (13-1)

Sweden’s top export was primed for the biggest fight of his career on April 14, and he’ll still get it, only not against the man he thought. With original opponent Antonio Rogerio Nogueira injured, “The Mauler” will take on the returning Thiago Silva in the main event of UFC on Fuel TV 2 in front of a partisan crowd in Stockholm.

9. Ryan Bader (14-2)

Bader grinded out the biggest win of his career on Feb. 26, a unanimous decision victory over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in his foe’s old stomping grounds of Saitama, Japan. The 28-year-old wrestler from Arizona State is now 2-0 since his shocking loss to Tito Ortiz, with wins over Jackson and Jason Brilz.

10. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (32-10)

What might have been a grand homecoming for the onetime Pride star turned out to be a one-sided drubbing, as Jackson fell to Ryan Bader via unanimous decision Feb. 26 in Saitama, Japan. Just one week later, Rampage took to Twitter and declared himself finished with the UFC -- which, according to him, stands for “U Fight Cheap” -- though he plans to continue fighting.

Other contenders:

Rafael Cavalcante, Forrest Griffin, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, Vladimir Matyushenko, Gegard Mousasi.

With the re-entry of Ryan Bader, previously 10th-ranked Forrest Griffin falls to the contenders list.

Continue Reading » MMA Middleweight Rankings