TOP 10 LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT MMA FIGHTERS

We at TLOS want to compile the most comprehensive set of Top 10 lists ever known to MMA fans!!

WE ARE NOW ON TO THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION!

Chris Fries and The JDH have both submitted their Top 10 Light Heavyweight lists and now is your opportunity to give us yours.

We will compile all of the lists and come up with ONE comprehensive Top 10 list and post it on www.thelightsoutshow.com this weekend!!!


CHRIS FRIES’ TOP 10 LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHTERS

1. Forrest Griffin
2. Rampage Jackson
3. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
4. Lyoto Machida
5. Rashad Evans
6. Thiago Silva
7. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
8. Chuck Liddell
9. Dan Henderson
10. Wanderlei Silva




THE JDH’S TOP 10 LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHTERS

1. Forrest Griffin
2. Quinton Jackson
3. Mauricio Rua
4. Rashad Evans
5. Lyoto Machida
6. Thiago Silva
7. Wanderlei Silva
8. Chuck Liddell
9. Dan Henderson
10. Anderson Silva*****

CHRIS FRIES' TOP 10 LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS AND WHY...

1.Forrest Griffin – I actually did a lot of digging to find someone else. I mean the light heavyweight division, especially in the UFC is so deep. So I figured there had to be someone else more worthy of a #1 spot. Well, the answer is no. Forrest has beaten the best in MMA in recent history with stunning victories against Shogun Rua, who at the time was one of the most feared fighters on the planet, and then over Rampage Jackson. Against all odds, and afraid of no one, Forrest Griffin is tops. He may not be the most skilled, but no one has a bigger heart nor works harder.

2.Rampage Jackson – Life is full of ups and downs, and Rampage has been riding more downs personally and professionally as of late, but let’s not be too distracted by the facts. He won 6 in a row before his loss to Forrest, and that included wins over Henderson, Liddell and Lindland. Seriously, do I need to say anything more? The only question is how will he do with his new fight team Wolfslair. But that’s a question for the future. Presently, he’s still a “bad man”.

3.Mauricio “Shogun” Rua – Some of you may be wondering why I put Shogun so high. Sure, he looked bad against Forrest, but Forrest is our #1 boy, so there’s no shame in that, and Rua hasn’t fought since then because of injury, which was a year ago, but you don’t lose ranking position in my book for an injury. He was one of the most feared fighters around. He won 13 of 14 fights prior to Forrest, only losing to Marc Coleman from a fluke elbow injury. He owns wins in that span over Alistair Overeem, Kaz Nakamura, Ricardo Arona, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Rampage and others. His next fight, which we’ve been teased with several different potential matchups, will be key to see where he is and where he’s going.

4.Lyoto Machida – The best kept secret in MMA isn’t so much of a secret anymore. Insiders knew this guy had some serious skills, and now the rest of the MMA world is realizing it. He’s undefeated with wins over Tito Ortiz, Sokoudjou, David Heath, Kaz Nakamura, Stephan Bonner, Vernon White, even BJ Penn. His upcoming fight with Thiago Silva will be epic with the winner getting the fast track to the front of the line for a shot at the title.

5.Rashad Evans – A big jump for Rashad was earned by the big win over Liddell. But of course you can’t be a top 5 guy without a decent body of work over his recent history. Well, with the cherry on top of Liddell, it’s looking pretty good now with wins over Bisping, Sean Salmon, Stephan Bonnar, Brad Imes and Jason Lambert along with a draw to Tito Ortiz. And now, he’s got his title shot. You’ll be seeing another big jump if he wins there.

6.Thiago Silva – I’m already feeling the heat from all of you with this pick. I hear statements like, “Where’s Wanderlei, Chuck Liddell, or Dan Henderson?!” Well, be patient with them. They’re coming. But lets’ face it, Henderson seems content in middleweight, Wanderlei has been inconsistent of late and Liddell is clearly starting to slip away here. Thiago is the future and that future starts now. He’s building a nice resume with wins over Antonio Mendes, Houston Alexander, Tomas Drwal, and James Irvin. He’s got hands of stone, and many people don’t realize that he can more than hold his own on the ground – a very highly underrated ground game. Watch out Lyoto!

7.Antonio Rogerio Nogueira – The lesser known twin brother of Rodrigo, Rogerio is quiety kicking people’s asses. The only problem is the competition is a bit thin where he’s fighting. Most of the top light heavyweights are in the UFC, so Rogerio is left with the table scraps, but let’s look at his track record. He’s beaten Edwin Dewees, Todd Gouwenberg, Alistair Overeem twice, Dan Henderson, Kazushi Sakuraba and Kaz Nakamura to name a few. His losses to Sokoudjou and Shogun are nothing to be ashamed of, that’s for sure. Hopefully, the fights will be there for him to continue to challenge him.

8.Chuck Liddell – He’s down, but he’s not yet out. Yes, he’s lost 3 of his last 4 to Jardine, Evans and Rampage, but his long time standing as the badest man in the division still carries weight for now, and his win over Wanderlei helped out too. I don’t need to talk about how great Chuck once was. We all know, but if he loses one more fight he not only will fall out of my top 10, he should seriously consider retiring. I say that only because I like the guy and don’t want to see him fighting well past his prime. I prefer to remember the Chuck of 2+ years ago.

9.Dan Henderson – Even though it appears he’s going to be fighting in the middleweight division more, he’s one of the few guys who can hang in the top 10 of both weight class rankings. You’ll definitely see him again in my middleweight ranking. But for now, it’s important to focus on his light heavyweight work. His more recent wins over Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort keep Dan hanging on in this top 10. He’s one of the toughest guys on earth, and will fight anyone, anytime, as his resume shows, but time is no longer on Dan’s side. He’s still highly respected, but you’ve got to wonder how much gas is left in the tank.

10.Wanderlei Silva – Almost on reputation alone, he hangs on to make the cut. But let’s face it. He’s lost 3 of his last 4, and 4 of his last 7. His lone recent win is over Keith Jardine who, as far as I can tell, is an enigma. And as you can see, enigmas don’t make my top 10. But with wins over Fujita, Nakamura, Yoshido, Kondo and Rampage twice, he remains on the cliff of top 10 greatness. One more loss, however, and there’s nothing more I can do.

THE JDH’S TOP 10 LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHTERS AND WHY...

1.Forrest Griffin – No matter how you look at it, Forrest should be #1 on the list. I am still a little upset about the decision victory over Rampage (because I believe you have to BEAT the Champ to become the Champ… not eak out a controversial decision)… but it is what it is and I am really excited about Griffin vs. Evans!

2.Quinton Jackson – Still the Champ in my eyes! I am a little concerned about Rampage without Juanito and all the other distractions surrounding him right now, but he still has all the tools to be one of the best ever!

3.Mauricio Rua – One bad fight doesn’t make Shogun a bad fighter. He will be healthy in his next fight and will show the world what all PrideFC fans always knew… Shogun is possibly the best ever!

4.Rashad Evans – Rashad is a winner! How many times has he been counted out of fights and ended up the victor?... every time (other that the draw to Tito). His knock out victory over Chuck showed the MMA world that Rashad has the power to end fights spectacularly.

5.Lyoto Machida – A MMA tactician and could soon be the Light Heavyweight Champ… He could be un-beatable, I just wish he were a little more exciting.

6.Thiago Silva – There is no retreat in Thiago, he maintains a pace that few fighters can match! Something is going to give when he fights Machida… a win will garner a title shot!

7.Wanderlei Silva – Very rarely if ever has a boring fight. Gives 100% and the MMA fans worldwide love him for it. He domination of Keith Jardine shows he’s ready for even better competition!

8.Chuck Liddell – Chuck is one of the most exciting fighters ever to step into the Octagon. He still has the one punch knock out power, he just needs his game to be a little… okay a lot more, well rounded.

9.Dan Henderson – Great fighter who has seen only the best fighters since entering the UFC. Dan has still got it and needs to prove it when he fights Rich Franklin!

10.Anderson Silva – Come on, he’s Anderson Silva… give him a couple of fights and he’ll be much further up on this list!

1) Forest Griffin
2) Quinton Jackson
3) Thiago Silva
4) Rashad Evans
5) Lyoto Machida
6) Chuck Liddell
7) Wanderlei Silva
8 ) Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
9) Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
10) Luis Arthur Cane

As much as I would like to put Shogun in the Top 10 list.. I just can't. He hasn't had a win in over 19 months.. and his last fight was just over a year ago. We'll also see how well Thiago Silva recovers from his injury in January. I was tempted to put Rich Franklin up there as well, since he made his move to the light heavyweight division. He has a chance to take over the weight class there.. as long as Anderson Silva stays in the 185 lb. weight class, hehe. I would like to see Rich and Chuck fight. I didn't list A. Silva there, because he is not technically a light heavyweight.. he's just had one fight there, and said that he wants to stay at middleweight. I also didn't list Dan Henderson, because he is staying at middleweight as well.

Dr. MMA's TOP 10 LHW's.

1. Forrest Griffin
2. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
3. Lyoto Machida
4. Rashad Evans
5. Dan Henderson
6. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
7. Thiago Silva
8. Wanderlei Silva
9. Keith Jardine
10. Chuck Liddell

Shogun better fight soon or else I'll drop him out of the TOP 10 for inactivity in the weight class for more than 365 days.

Ok, here goes....

1- Forrest Griffin- I'm with JDH on this, I want to put someone else on top, but I just can't figure out who. By no means do I consider him number 1 simply due to being the UFC champion, but he has got to be one of the toughest SOB's in the octagon. He can take a beating and keep on coming. I don't see him holding the title long, but he will always be one or two fights away from the championship again, for years to come!

2- Rashad Evans- I hate typing this pick more than any other. I have never been a fan of Rashad, and can't ever really see myself becoming a fan, but he has proven his worth. He hasn't lost in the UFC, and he just got done making the UFC's poster Light Heavy look more like Tommy "the machine" Gunn fighting Rocky with George W. Duke (Dana) cowering in the background!

3- Lyoto Machida- This guy is on a ROLL right now. While not the most entertaining, he has a style that has yet to be figured out, and if Thiago doesn't figure it out in there fight, then I say Dana needs to shut his pie hole and give him a title shot. I see absolutely no reason that the Machida/Silva match isn't a number one contender fight already.

4- Thiago Silva- Pretty much see above

5- Shogun Rua- I want to put him higher, but I've got to see what he looks like after his return from injury. Some guys come back stronger than ever, some guys are never the same.

6- Rampage Jackson- Here is for hoping he has overcome the demons and become an unstoppable fighter once more. I think Rampage has got the heart, let's just see how his new training camp has him looking.

7- Wanderlei Silva- I really wanted to move Wanderlei up higher in these ranking as well, however, one win over Jardine isn't enough to boost him up higher when you also consider the recent losses. I do think the fight with Chuck was his big turning point, while he was beat in that fight, he showed which version of Wanderlei the UFC was getting. A big win against Rampage, and Wanderlei makes the top 5 easily.

8- Anderson Silva- True, he has only 1 fight at LH, but it was a completely dominant fight, and you have to consider how dominant he is in the Middleweight class. I really believe he could be a champion at both weight classes at the same time if he really had the determination to do so.

9- Chuck Lidell- I love watching Chuck fight, but I'm afraid the recent loss to Rashad might actually be more of the downhill slide that I don't see Chuck getting himself out of. I would love to see him come back with another title run, but I think age and the partying/socializing that he loves to do, might just be making him age a little quicker than he'd like.

10- Rich Franklin- Ok, this one is really more of hoping. I would love to see "Ace" revitalize his career in the Light Heavy ranks. I know he has only won a single fight at this weight class, but I really think he has always been more suited to this weight. With his height and his build, the weight he could put on with some training would really give him more punching power and make him become a real force to reckon with.

... Ok, there you have my picks. Let's see what everyone else thinks. Reasonable? Laughable? You pick.

Sorry, had to add one thing to my post....

I hate the fact that all 10 of these spots belong to UFC fighters, but who can you throw in from any other organization to compete with the UFC's LHW crop of fighters?

Give me another weight class to rank so everyone who comes here doesn't think I am nothing more than a UFC nuthugger.

GREYFOX wrote:

Give me another weight class to rank so everyone who comes here doesn't think I am nothing more than a UFC nuthugger.

Haha.. I believe they're doing Middleweights next week.

And.. lightweights is the one weight class were most of the best fighters aren't in the UFC.

#1 Forrest Griffin
#2 Quinton Jackson
#3 Lyoto Machida
#4 Rashad Evans
#5 Wanderlei Silva
#6 Mauricio Rua
#7 Chuck Liddell
#8 Dan Henderson
#9 Thiago Silva
#10 Keith Jardine

I just realized I previously pasted the wronng list. Note that this is the "official MMA Ratings list" My personal list is pretty similar, but Machida is #1.

Quinton Jackson
Forrest Griffin
Rashad Evans
Lyoto Machida
Thiago Silva
Rameau Sokoudjou
Rich Franklin
Wanderlei Silva
Chuck Liddell
Dan Henderson

Forrest Griffin-It's obvious why he is at the top of this list. He has the belt in the organization that holds the majority of the fighters on my list. He has also beaten a few of the fighters. To not put him at the top would just be silly.

Lyoto Machida-I put Machida as number 2 because it could be said that he is the uncrowned champion of the UFC. He's beaten some of the top guys, including Franklin (who will be on this list further down...I'll explain, I promise). He's fought some tough tough competition and come out without a blemish to his record.

Quinton Jackson-Whereas I'd LIKE to put him further down on the list, I have to give credit where credit's due. He's fought recently, He took Chuck out like nobody's business, he fought very well against Forrest...I believe the former champ is deserving of the 3rd slot on this list.

Rich Franklin-I have a super hard time placing him higher than Anderson on this, or any list...But the fact is that he has proven himself in the Light Heavy division and holds a win over Yushin Okami (who has one of the 4 wins over Silva during his career...Even though it was due to an illegal kick, which is lame...But true). Please don't slam me for this because it could also be made the argument that stylistically Franklin can beat people that Silva can not. A big strong wrestler could possibly do well against Silva. Take their fights with Lutter, for example. Lutter did jack squat against Franklin but he had Silva on his back for a while...Even mounted, no matter how briefly it was. Lutter was dehydrated and out of shape for his fight with Silva and it could STILL be argued that he did much better against Silva than Franklin did (especially in his first fight). Also, I believe Lutter showed Silva's poison, that being pressure on the ground. Henderson also proved this in the first round of their fight. Silva is slick, but he can be out wrestled.

Antonio Rogerio Noguiera-Minotoro has some great wins under his belt such as Overeem (somebody else who is on my list...I'll explain...) and Dan Henderson (who is no longer on this list because, c'mon...He's a middleweight). Overall, he is a very good fighter and, I think, if he were to come to the UFC he'd mess some fools up!

Mauricio Rua-I'd love it if I could throw Rua up higher on the list but he just didn't perform in his last fight. True, it went (almost) the distance and, true, he took out some of the other folks on this list BUT he just hasn't had a win in too long. He's been out for injuries and it isn't a sure thing that he comes back as strong as he's been in the past. For now, I hold out hope...But only time will tell me if I can relieve the nausea I feel for having to put him below all these fighters.

Anderson Silva-We all think that sooner or later this guy will be much higher up on this list, but, we don't know that for sure. We don't know how many fights he'll have in the the division. We also don't know how many fights are left in his career. He did take out Irvin in BEAUTIFUL fashion, but that isn't necessarily the most noteworthy man in the division. Silva has everything a fighter needs to be successful in the game and has beaten some top guys. He took out Franklin (twice) and he took our Henderson. I think he could take out a fighter like Machida. They are both super methodical and patient fighters, but, silva is much more dynamic and powerful than Machida is.

Rashad Evans-I'm really not sure whether I like him on this list or not. The "tie" he had with Ortiz was a bit silly and I still believe Toto won that fight (as do most of us). I can't deny the fact that he was able to beat Liddell and Bisping, however, and his "undefeated" record makes it necessary to consider him a top fighter. Also, who else can we throw up here? Wanderlei? Shoot, we can't do that just because he beat Jardine...I love him, but he has to redeem himself a little more.

Alistair Overeem-I honestly think Alistair is much better than the credit he receives. He is 4 in 5 of his last fight (Because, c'mon...he beat Cro cop). True, he has a loss to Chuck...But it just was too long ago to matter considering Chuck's recent record.

Thiago Silva-Honestly, I had Chuck here up until I started typing. Thiago is a great fighter who has a great record. I'm not sure he's beaten the names that earn him a spot up here but, given Chuck's recent history, I just can't justify him being in the top ten. Silva is 13-0 and he has walked through almost all of his opponents in the past. He dismantled Houston Alexander (which doesn't impress me much). Hell, he's only gone to a decision one time and took it unanimously. I think he deserves to be mixing it up with the big dogs, but, he needs to fight one of the bigger names in order to secure his spot.

I need to fix the "toto" and change it to "tito" in the spot where I was talking his fight with Rashad.

lol.. you should keep it as "Toto"

I think I'm gonna. I just realized that you can actually edit your posts and I didn't have to go in and post a reply to correct myself...Jake feels stupid...

You can edit your posts.. isn't there an "edit" button near the "quote" button on your posts?

yeah, I was just saying I didn't notice it before