light-heavyweight division in UFC

heres my rankings for light-heavyweights in the ufc

1. Rampage
2.machida: very underrated
3. Forrest Griffen
4.Shogun: still good despite loss
5. Houston Alexander
6. Evans
7. ortiz
8. Liddell
9. Silva.
10. jardine
11.bisping


with some important light-heavyweight matchups coming up next week at UFC 78 here are some matchups that should happen

jardine vs. machida
shogun vs. ortiz
forrest vs. jardine II
rampage vs. griffen
rampage vs. bisping/evans winner
machida vs. rampage
shogun vs. machida
ortiz vs. jardine
evans vs. alexander

give me ur opinions on ur rankings and possible future matchups

I disagree with some of you're rankings. Because Rampage has the belt, you have to put him at the top, but that, IMO, won't last too long. I think he'll defend the title maybe one or two more times, and he'll lose the belt. I do think that Machida is underrated, but I wouldn't put him at # 2. No way. Shogun needs to redeem himself. I give Forrest all the credit in the world for that win, but we all know that the Shogun we saw fight Forrest wasn't the same Shogun we saw fight in Pride. We'll see what happens there because I think he has the potential, talent, youth, athleticism, and skill to be the best LHW and one of the best pound-for-pound MMA fighters in the world.
Houston Alexander is not # 5. Wait until after a couple of more fights before you give him too much credit.
Tito's a shell of what he once was. The Tito that once beat Wandy would now be killed by him.
Even though Chuck has lost his last two fights, and may lose agaisnt Wandy, I still would put him higher than Ortiz!! I know that because of losses you have to change rankings, but still, this is ranking of what we believe, and I believe, no, I know, Chuck is better than Tito.
Rashad Evans shouldn't be above Chuck or Wandy. That's absurd.
Bisping got beat up by Hammil, plain and simple, I don't care what the judges said. And I want to see Matt Hammil fight again because that fight was damn good. I had my doubts about him because on TUF he whined a little about "Ouch, that hurts!!," or whatever, but he really impressed me in the cage.
I think with another couple of fights, he could easily be in the top ten. Personally, I thought Bisping would really dominate the standup in that fight, seeing as how Hammil's a damn good wrestler. But that wasn't the case. They were in England, and so the judges went Bisping's way, but all who saw the fight know the truth.

Also, will Brandon Vera know drop down to LHW??
Will Rich Franklin step up to LHW??

These are both good questions that have the potential to change to map of the LHW division.
Vera could easily make 205, and Rich is a HUGE 185-pounder, and could (and has) go up to 205. He might as well, he can't get past Anderson Silva.

The division has no real clear cut way to rank it right now. So many have won some and lost some that it's nigh impossible. All we know for sure is that rampage is number 1.

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posted by MMAnomale
Because Rampage has the belt, you have to put him at the top, but that, IMO, won't last too long.

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Mark my words, Page will still be champ this time next year.

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Posted by ricoj3323

heres my rankings for light-heavyweights in the ufc

1. Rampage
2.machida: very underrated
3. Forrest Griffen
4.Shogun: still good despite loss
5. Houston Alexander
6. Evans
7. ortiz
8. Liddell
9. Silva.
10. jardine
11.bisping

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Those rankings are EXTREMERLY controversal IMO!!!!

Rampage at #1 NICE

Machida at #2????????? Who has the guy beaten IN THE UFC? He beat Nakamura. Big wow, he ain't top 10. He beat Sam Hoger, So? His best wins are over to people in a COMPLETE different weight class.

Forrest Griffin at #3 , he's #2 to me for submitting my former #1.

Shogun at 4, it's only controversal if you have him over Griffin.

Houston at #5??? I have him at #6 behind Wandy because I think Wandy would destroy him.

6. Evans??? he should have lost to Tito and you have him over him? He's like 9 or 10 in mine I forget...

Ortiz at 7 IN FRONT of Liddell who beat him twice, Jardine who F**cked Liddell up, and in front of Wandy who WILL F Chuck up?

LIDDELL AT 8 because you have him over Wandy & Jardine who are and Have already F**cked him up.

Silva at 9???

WHERE IS DAN HENDERSON!!!!????

Mine go as CURRENT achievements. I ain't no Chuck Liddell nuthugger(Not saying you are)because he beat KO'd people he's already beaten and that's most his title defenses. Here are mine....

1. Rampage(Champ)
2, Forrest(Beat my former #1)
3. Dan Henderson(Went the distance with Rampage and kills the rest IMO)
5. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua(it was just one fight, He'll be back, mark my words)
6. Wandy(Has struggled in his last two fights but he lost to the BEST at that time)
7. Houston Alexander(Still want him to earn this spot, but he looks for real)
8. Keith Jardine(He F**cked up Liddell, most peoples MMA god)
9. Thiago Silva(He's a monster, looks semi-unbeatable,Needs better GP though)
10. Chuck Liddell(Past his prime, has been, ect.)

Anybody who ain't on there and you ask why? It's because IMO anybody on that list could F em' up....

OK I need to ask a sorta off topic question..... What the Hell does IMO mean??
People keep saying it and it would really help me understand these posts better if I knew what it meant..... anyone??

Huston at number 5? the guys only beaten an average fighter in sakara and keith jardine, who while i totally respect his skills, its being abit over rated since he beat liddell. I cant justify having huston in and so high, and not having soko in. Theyv both won their last 2 fights in matches they were expected to loose, but i think everybody would agree sokos opponents were of alot higher caliber. Id also struggle to rate tito ortiz above the ice man.

P.s, IMO= In my opinion. At least thats what i use it for anyways lol

i agree with aarron that houston is way too high. yes he is an exciting fighter, but he has to prove himself just a little but more before he reaches my top 7. his fight w/ thiago will be a good benchmark for him. as for tito, no way in hell is he above chuck after the way chuck just dominated him twice, not a chance.

My rankings:

Quinton Jackson

Dan Henderson

Forrest Griffin

Mauricio Rua

Wanderlei Silva

Keith Jardine

Chuck Liddell

Tito Ortiz

Houston Alexander

Rameau Sokoudjou

Ok, I don't get it, you guys have forrest soooo high, and then jardine at like 6-8, your rational for for having forrest that high is that he beat shogun, but jardine smashed forrest, sooooo should he not then be higher then forrest if your all ranking based on who beat who? Thats exactly why you guys have to look at who they've beat on top of the who beat who, because your top 5 would be houston, jardine, tito, forrest, oh wait chuck smashed tito, so chuck has to be in there, rampage has to be in there, but oh shogun smashed rampage, so he has to be in there, haha try and figure out a top 5 with only who beat who's like your doing....

imo
1.wanderlei
2.rampage
3.hendo (but if he goes to MW hes my num1)
4.sogum
5.forrest
6.chuck
7.tito
8.keith
9.houston
10.rashad (becouse i needed ten)


agree or disagree i think any one of these guys vs each other would be a good fight worth watching but with so much talent theres no way we will have alon time champ. especially considering how young a lot of these guys are

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Posted by ricoj3323

heres my rankings for light-heavyweights in the ufc

1. Rampage
2.machida: very underrated
3. Forrest Griffen
4.Shogun: still good despite loss
5. Houston Alexander
6. Evans
7. ortiz
8. Liddell
9. Silva.
10. jardine
11.bisping

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Posted by NatedawgThaM

Those rankings are EXTREMERLY controversal IMO!!!!

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I agree totally with them being controversial. Some I agree with some I don't.

Like everyone should I have Rampage at #1. Even though I believe Forrest (because he's at extreme couture, or was last I checked) is the better fighter now, I can't overlook his lost to Jardine, and therefore I put Keith Jardine at #2 and Forrest at #3. I still believe in Chuck to some degree, and therefore I have him at my #4. If this next guy decides to stay in the LHW division, then I could easily change him and Liddell around, but right now I have Dan Henderson at #5. Almost beating Rashad Evans warrants keeping Tito above Rashad, therefore I gave Tito the #6 spot, and Rashad the #7. Like him or not, he's still undefeated, and that counts for something, and it did for me, so I put Bisping at #8. To round out the top 10, because of their performances against non top ten guys, i've given Houston Alexander the #9 spot, and Ryoto Machida the #10.

#1. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
#2. Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine
#3. Forrest Griffin
#4. Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell
#5. "Dangerous" Dan Henderson
#6. Tito "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Ortiz
#7. "Sugar" Rashad Evans
#8. Michael "The Count" Bisping
#9. Houston Alexander
#10. Ryoto "Lyoto" Machida

Now, i'm going to get grief for not having Wanderlei, Shogun, or some others on my top ten list. Well in the case of Wanderlei, as pertained my rankings rules. You need to fight in the octagon (and not like ten years ago), before you can get ranked. As for Shogun, losing to a guy on the top ten list doesn't get you a spot on the top ten list. Beating someone on the top ten list since debuting in the UFC does. He hasn't, so he doesn't get on there. Now for my Honorable Mentions.

Honorable Mentions:
#11. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
#12. Matt "The Hammer" Hamill
#13. Stephan "The American Psycho" Bonnar
#14. Thiago Silva

And of course, Wanderlei Silva, is somewhere on my list.

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Posted by cmill21

Ok, I don't get it, you guys have forrest soooo high, and then jardine at like 6-8, your rational for for having forrest that high is that he beat shogun, but jardine smashed forrest, sooooo should he not then be higher then forrest if your all ranking based on who beat who? Thats exactly why you guys have to look at who they've beat on top of the who beat who, because your top 5 would be houston, jardine, tito, forrest, oh wait chuck smashed tito, so chuck has to be in there, rampage has to be in there, but oh shogun smashed rampage, so he has to be in there, haha try and figure out a top 5 with only who beat who's like your doing....

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i understand your logic, and your argument is 100% correct...but that is not the reason i have forrest so high. i always had forrest at number ten/nine, i feel he beat tito who is a top LHW, he beat jardine, who i feel is a top 10 LHW and he beat the former #1 LHW. he stumbled against jardine, but his win over shogun is huge. i know he is a little high, but i just can't have him lower than shogun at this point. jardine just was careless against houston and i always liked him, beating liddell raised him a few spots so thats why i have him that high. i know that shogun shouldn't drop that far, but when it all came down to it, my rankings are just who i feel is the best right now.

Like everyone should I have Rampage at #1. Even though I believe Forrest (because he's at extreme couture, or was last I checked) is the better fighter now, I can't overlook his lost to Jardine, and therefore I put Keith Jardine at #2 and Forrest at #3. I still believe in Chuck to some degree, and therefore I have him at my #4. If this next guy decides to stay in the LHW division, then I could easily change him and Liddell around, but right now I have Dan Henderson at #5. Almost beating Rashad Evans warrants keeping Tito above Rashad, therefore I gave Tito the #6 spot, and Rashad the #7. Like him or not, he's still undefeated, and that counts for something, and it did for me, so I put Bisping at #8. To round out the top 10, because of their performances against non top ten guys, i've given Houston Alexander the #9 spot, and Ryoto Machida the #10.

it all sounds good and i agree with you except for the part about hendo you said shogun and wandy wernt put in becouse they dont have wins against ppl in the octagon (in the past 10 years) yet hendo falls into that catagory also but hes riht below the former champ. im not sure how you got to that. i mean dont get me wrong do i think he belongs there i sure do but i dont understand your rational thats all

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Posted by aaa9erh8er

Like everyone should I have Rampage at #1. Even though I believe Forrest (because he's at extreme couture, or was last I checked) is the better fighter now, I can't overlook his lost to Jardine, and therefore I put Keith Jardine at #2 and Forrest at #3. I still believe in Chuck to some degree, and therefore I have him at my #4. If this next guy decides to stay in the LHW division, then I could easily change him and Liddell around, but right now I have Dan Henderson at #5. Almost beating Rashad Evans warrants keeping Tito above Rashad, therefore I gave Tito the #6 spot, and Rashad the #7. Like him or not, he's still undefeated, and that counts for something, and it did for me, so I put Bisping at #8. To round out the top 10, because of their performances against non top ten guys, i've given Houston Alexander the #9 spot, and Ryoto Machida the #10.

it all sounds good and i agree with you except for the part about hendo you said shogun and wandy wernt put in becouse they dont have wins against ppl in the octagon (in the past 10 years) yet hendo falls into that catagory also but hes riht below the former champ. im not sure how you got to that. i mean dont get me wrong do i think he belongs there i sure do but i dont understand your rational thats all

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You don't even have shogun in your top 10...Wheres wanderlei? They both smashed your #1 guy(wand did it twice). If you guys want to move forrest up so friggin high, then you should just put him at #1 since his win over shogun apperently means he now owns all of shogun's wins...

Forrest was BEATING Jardine the whole fight until the very last 10 seconds....

so my rankings stand...

1. Rampage(Champ)
2, Forrest(Beat my former #1)
3. Dan Henderson(Went the distance with Rampage and kills the rest IMO)
5. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua(it was just one fight, He'll be back, mark my words)
6. Wandy(Has struggled in his last two fights but he lost to the BEST at that time)
7. Houston Alexander(Still want him to earn this spot, but he looks for real)
8. Keith Jardine(He F**cked up Liddell, most peoples MMA god, beat Forrest but lost to unranked Houston at time)
9. Thiago Silva(He's a monster, looks semi-unbeatable,Needs better GP though)
10. Chuck Liddell(Past his prime, has been, ect.)

If you disagree with my rankings it's because IMO anybody in there can beat(Yes still Chuck) anybody I did not list. And anybody above anybody is because I think the person higher can beat them AT THIS CURRENT POINT IN TIME BASED ON LAST FEW PERFORMANCES!!!

Machida ain't in my top 10 because Nakamura wasn't even top 15 to me, his really only big win IMO was over Randleman. Machida beat Hoger in the UFC. WOW and his two biggest wins are over people who have been UFC champs but are in different weight classes(Franklin, Penn)....

Why do you consider ortiz a better fighter than liddell? He should be at the bottom if on the list at all.

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Posted by ricoj3323

heres my rankings for light-heavyweights in the ufc

1. Rampage
2.machida: very underrated
3. Forrest Griffen
4.Shogun: still good despite loss
5. Houston Alexander
6. Evans
7. ortiz
8. Liddell
9. Silva.
10. jardine
11.bisping


with some important light-heavyweight matchups coming up next week at UFC 78 here are some matchups that should happen

jardine vs. machida
shogun vs. ortiz
forrest vs. jardine II
rampage vs. griffen
rampage vs. bisping/evans winner
machida vs. rampage
shogun vs. machida
ortiz vs. jardine
evans vs. alexander

give me ur opinions on ur rankings and possible future matchups

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How is Ortiz higher than Liddell when Liddell destroyed Tito, how is alexander
above Liddell when Liddell is a pioneer and one of the most dominant fighters
in history, although i do agree that Machida is very underrated and could beat
alot of the guys on that list. But Bisping should not be up there, Matt Hammil
should be up there.....Hammil got robbed and he actually won that fight.


There is only one matchup i am really interested in and that matchup is already going to happen, Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva

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Posted by MMAnomale

I disagree with some of you're rankings. Because Rampage has the belt, you have to put him at the top, but that, IMO, won't last too long. I think he'll defend the title maybe one or two more times, and he'll lose the belt. I do think that Machida is underrated, but I wouldn't put him at # 2. No way. Shogun needs to redeem himself. I give Forrest all the credit in the world for that win, but we all know that the Shogun we saw fight Forrest wasn't the same Shogun we saw fight in Pride. We'll see what happens there because I think he has the potential, talent, youth, athleticism, and skill to be the best LHW and one of the best pound-for-pound MMA fighters in the world.
Houston Alexander is not # 5. Wait until after a couple of more fights before you give him too much credit.
Tito's a shell of what he once was. The Tito that once beat Wandy would now be killed by him.
Even though Chuck has lost his last two fights, and may lose agaisnt Wandy, I still would put him higher than Ortiz!! I know that because of losses you have to change rankings, but still, this is ranking of what we believe, and I believe, no, I know, Chuck is better than Tito.
Rashad Evans shouldn't be above Chuck or Wandy. That's absurd.
Bisping got beat up by Hammil, plain and simple, I don't care what the judges said. And I want to see Matt Hammil fight again because that fight was damn good. I had my doubts about him because on TUF he whined a little about "Ouch, that hurts!!," or whatever, but he really impressed me in the cage.
I think with another couple of fights, he could easily be in the top ten. Personally, I thought Bisping would really dominate the standup in that fight, seeing as how Hammil's a damn good wrestler. But that wasn't the case. They were in England, and so the judges went Bisping's way, but all who saw the fight know the truth.

Also, will Brandon Vera know drop down to LHW??
Will Rich Franklin step up to LHW??

These are both good questions that have the potential to change to map of the LHW division.
Vera could easily make 205, and Rich is a HUGE 185-pounder, and could (and has) go up to 205. He might as well, he can't get past Anderson Silva.

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good post i agree with most of what you said except that bisping got beat up by hammil no matter what the judges said. i didnt root for either of them but the fight was very close. whenever the fight is very close objective poeple can see it differently. in my mind no one won that fight and no one was beaten up. i personally didnt think it was that good of a bout. i really dont need a breakdown of who won each round and why because i have seen the fight twice and it was up for grabs. i can see why hammil and his fans were disappointed with the judges but if it went the other way bisping and his fans would be saying the same thing.
that being said i think the author of this tread had bisping way too high as well. i agree that tito would be lucky to crack the top ten.
also wheres dan? i disagee with almost every position on his top 10