Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Light Heavyweight

1. Lyoto Machida (16-0)
The rematch will happen a few months later than expected, but when Machida’s hand has fully healed, the UFC light heavyweight champion expects to meet fellow Brazilian Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on May 1 in Montreal.

2. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (18-4)
Though Rua would undoubtedly have preferred to get his rematch with Lyoto Machida in January, “Shogun” will have his chance to right what many observers see as one of 2009’s most egregious wrongs on May 1 in Montreal.

3. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (30-7)
As expected, Quinton Jackson's bite from the acting bug has healed up, and he's back to the fight game. "Rampage" is expected to finally square off with Rashad Evans at UFC 113 on May 1 in Montreal, finally wrapping up the tenth season of "The Ultimate Fighter."

4. Rashad Evans (14-1-1)
In the headliner of UFC 108, Rashad Evans did enough to outpoint Thiago Silva, but underwhelmed onlookers. More will be expected come May 1, when he finally gets his date with rival Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 113.

5. Forrest Griffin (16-6)
Much like his first encounter with Tito Ortiz, Griffin went nip-and-tuck until the final bell with the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” at UFC 106. Once again, the fight ended in a split decision. This time, though, the cards favored Griffin, who earned a much-needed victory and moved toward putting his embarrassing loss to UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva behind him.

6. Gegard Mousasi (27-2-1)
Mousasi further showed a fighting maturity that belies his years, as the 24-year-old took apart Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in their Nov. 7 meeting on CBS. The real question surrounding Mousasi has now become whether Strikeforce can find worthwhile challengers to his 205-pound title in a division largely owned by Zuffa.

7. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (18-3)
Coming off of a sensational knockout win over Luis Arthur Cane in his September UFC debut, Nogueira was slated for action against Brandon Vera at UFC 109 in February. Unfortunately, as quickly as it was announced, the bout fell apart due to an ankle injury “Minotoro” suffered in training.

8. Thiago Silva (14-2)
Following UFC 108, word came out that Thiago Silva entered his main event bout with Rashad Evans carrying a back injury. It would go a long way to explaining the lethargic performance from the Brazilian, save for his one salvo late in the third round, which was too little too late.

9. Luis Arthur Cane (10-2)
Cane stood on the cusp as a potential UFC light heavyweight title contender heading into UFC 106. That was before Antonio Rogerio Nogueira laid waste to him in less than two minutes, sending “Banha” back into the general population at 205 pounds.

10. Rich Franklin (25-5)
On the brink of becoming a light heavyweight contender, Franklin was victimized by a first-round knockout from Vitor Belfort in the UFC 103 headliner. Though Belfort will now move to 185 pounds to campaign, the loss leaves Franklin without a clear direction in the UFC’s 205-pound division.

Other contenders: Keith Jardine, Vladimir Matyushenko, Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell.