Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Light Heavyweight

1. Mauricio Rua (19-4)
“Shogun” underwent another knee surgery, stemming from an injury suffered in his May 8 title capture against Lyoto Machida. Recovery and rehab will postpone his slated title defense against former champion Rashad Evans, which will now be pushed back until early 2011.

2. Lyoto Machida (16-1)
Despite his father, Yoshizo, announcing that he would like to see his son retire, Machida will do just the opposite. Coming off his brutal knockout loss to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in May, Machida will get right back into the 205-pound fray later this year. He expects to face another former UFC champion, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, in the main event of a yet-to-be-announced UFC card tabbed for Nov. 20.

3. Rashad Evans (15-1-1)
It has now become a waiting game for Evans. With his May win over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Evans earned another crack at the UFC light heavyweight title. However, with champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on the shelf until early 2011 with yet another knee surgery, the real question for Evans remains whether or not he will be placed into an interim title bout while he waits for Shogun to heal.

4. Quinton Jackson (30-8)
Coming off a tough decision loss to rival Rashad Evans in May, Jackson will stay right in the hottest fires at 205 pounds. In the main event of a yet-to-be-announced UFC card slated for Nov. 20, “Rampage” figures to take on fellow former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.

5. Forrest Griffin (17-6)
Griffin was set for a co-main event bout with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 114 before a shoulder injury forced the original winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” out of the bout. Shoulder injuries continue to be an ongoing concern for the former UFC light heavyweight champion, who had shoulder surgery in late 2007.

6. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-3)
After narrowly escaping with an iffy split decision win in his May bout with Jason Brilz, Nogueira now has another tough wrestler on his hands. “Minotoro” will meet unbeaten “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8 winner Ryan Bader in the co-feature at UFC 119 on Sept. 25.

7. Muhammed Lawal (7-0)
Still riding high after an April upset of Gegard Mousasi in which he took the Strikeforce light heavyweight title, “King Mo” faces his first title defense this month. Lawal will put his strap on the line for the first time on Aug. 21, when he takes on Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante in Houston.

8. Gegard Mousasi (29-3-1)
In a thoroughly pointless exercise, Mousasi needed a mere 31 seconds to force an overweight, late-notice Jake O’Brien to tap to a guillotine at Dream 15. The win sets up the former Strikeforce champion for another likely lopsided bout, as he will meet Tatsuya Mizuno for the vacant Dream light heavyweight title later this year.

9. Jon Jones (11-1)
Stepping up in competition, Jones met well-respected veteran Vladimir Matyushenko UFC Live 2 and positively mauled “The Janitor” with minimal effort in the first round. UFC president Dana White has assured the MMA world that elite opposition is on the way for the 23-year-old wunderkind, who continues to look like a future champion.

10. Thiago Silva (14-2)
Silva was set for a return to the Octagon at UFC 117 on Aug. 7. However, his bout with Tim Boetsch fell by the wayside when his nagging back injuries flared up again, leaving the Brazilian on the sidelines indefinitely as he continues to heal.

Other contenders: Ryan Bader, Randy Couture, Rich Franklin, Vladimir Matyushenko, Renato “Babalu” Sobral.

* With the entry of ninth-ranked Jon Jones, formerly 10th-ranked Rich Franklin falls to the contenders list.