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 sometime in 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 UFC 123 main event on 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 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 UFC 123 main event on Nov. 20, “Rampage” figures to take on fellow former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.

5. Forrest Griffin (17-6)
While his shoulder rehab continues, Griffin is more prominent right now for his new book, “Be Ready When the Sh*t Goes Down: A Survival Guide to the Apocalypse.” Though many MMA fans seem to have their hearts set on a potential Jon Jones clash, the fight remains just a bright idea at this point.

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

8. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (10-2)
The world expected Muhammed Lawal to affirm his place as one of MMA’s hottest prospects on Aug. 21 in Houston. “Feijao” was not particularly content with that storyline. Cavalcante started fast and wound up halting Lawal early in the third round to take the Strikeforce light heavyweight title.

9. Muhammed Lawal (7-1)
“King Mo” had his crown taken by Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante on Aug. 21 in Houston. A slow start and an overreliance on his stand-up saw Lawal play right into Cavalcante’s game. That got him stopped just 74 seconds into the third round, as he suffered the first loss of his MMA career.

10. Gegard Mousasi (29-3-1)
In a pointless exercise, Mousasi needed a mere 31 seconds to force an overweight, late-notice Jake O'Brien to tap to a guillotine choke 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 at Dream 16 on Sept. 25.

Other contenders: Ryan Bader, Randy Couture, Rich Franklin, Vladimir Matyushenko, Thiago Silva.

* With the entry of eight-ranked Rafael Cavalcante, formerly 10th-ranked Thiago Silva falls to the contender list.