LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (205-185)
1. Quinton Jackson (Pictures) (28-6-0)
"Rampage" has worked past the troubles that haunted him after a tough series of fights in PRIDE, the last of which saw him go down in defeat to "Shogun" Rua. The exciting and flamboyant UFC light heavyweight put himself on the map by blasting out Chuck Liddell (Pictures) in less than two minutes. He followed that with a hard-fought victory over Dan Henderson (Pictures) on Sept. 8. With an injured hand, Jackson likely won't fight until next spring. "Rampage" takes the No. 1 spot with Rua's loss.
2. Dan Henderson (Pictures) (22-6-0)
Undersized for the division, Dan Henderson (Pictures) is not a known name amongst many casual MMA fans. A scrappy former Olympic wrestler who's worked hard to integrate a dangerous striking game, punctuated by one of the best right hands in the sport, Henderson has continually defied the odds against heavier opposition. His 25-minute war against Jackson is indicative of how tough the 37-year-old Henderson can be. Henderson slides up two spots.
3. Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) (31-7-1, 1 NC)
The Brazilian mauler enjoyed one of the best stretches of any fighter in the history of MMA from 2000 through 2004, including two brutal stoppages over current UFC champion Quinton Jackson (Pictures). Known for an aggressive fighting style and a penchant for KOs, Silva reigned as the 205-pound PRIDE champion until February of this year, when Dan Henderson (Pictures) dominated the fight in Las Vegas to win by knockout. Silva will likely make his UFC debut sometime before the end of the year. Silva benefits from the losses of Shogun and Liddell to move to No. 3.
4. Keith Jardine (Pictures) (13-3-1)
Proof that a good game plan and a quality fight camp can get you far in MMA, Keith Jardine (Pictures) enjoyed the benefits of both on Sept. 22 in out-pointing former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell (Pictures). Like Liddell, "The Dean of Mean" was returning to the ring for the first time since suffering a brutal knockout loss. But Jardine showed no ill effects in winning. He goes from unranked to No. 4 on the strength of the Liddell decision and a destruction of Forrest Griffin (Pictures) at the end of last year.
5. Forrest Griffin (Pictures) (15-4-0)
Tough. To be so is an important trait for a fighter, but alone it's usually not enough to find someone ranked amongst the elite. Griffin has taken his toughness and added to it over the years. That hard work, done recently in Randy Couture (Pictures)'s gym in Las Vegas, paid huge dividends on Sept. 22 when the unranked "The Ultimate Fighter 1" winner submitted Mauricio Rua (Pictures), who topped most rating lists at 205 pounds. Though Griffin has had his ups and downs -- a brutal KO loss to Jardine and a controversial decision loss to Tito Ortiz (Pictures) -- he jumps into the fifth spot based on the effort against Shogun.
6. Mauricio Rua (Pictures) (16-3-0)
Rua had nothing for the previously unranked Griffin in their Sept. 22 UFC fight. Following the choke-out loss, Rua falls from No. 1 to 6. The Brazilian earned his reputation by winning in Japan, where he demolished current UFC champion Quinton Jackson (Pictures) and captured the prestigious PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix. With his exciting fighting style and world-class skill, the Chute Boxe fighter was poised to become a star in the United States. At just 25 years of age, he can rebound from the Griffin defeat, but it will take excellent performances for him to find the top spot any time soon.
7. Chuck Liddell (Pictures) (20-5)
Liddell saw his stretch as the baddest light heavyweight in the UFC come to an end when Quinton Jackson (Pictures) won early in the first round of their May bout. Most expected him to bounce back strong against Keith Jardine (Pictures), but "The Iceman" failed to answer a game plan that saw his opponent move his head and stay out of range. Two losses in a row apparently have Liddell contemplating retirement, though big fights still loom for the star UFC fighter if he wants them. Liddell falls from 3 to 7.
8. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (Pictures) (4-1-0)
Africa's top mixed martial artist exploded upon the world stage in 2007 with early knockouts of top-10 light heavyweights Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pictures) and Ricardo Arona (Pictures). The accomplished judoka has relied on his hands, but he's also paid the price for slugging it out, suffering a stoppage loss last October to Glover Teixeira (Pictures), a training partner of Chuck Liddell (Pictures). Inactivity and a flurry of action in the top five push Sokoudjou down from 6 to 8.
9. Ricardo Arona (Pictures) (13-5-0)
A dominant grappler, Arona amassed an impressive record with just two defeats (Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) in 2000 and Quinton Jackson (Pictures) in 2004) before becoming the first light heavyweight in five years to defeat Wanderlei Silva (Pictures). However, three losses (Silva, Shogun and Sokoudjou) have come in his last four fights, with the only win a stoppage over Alistair Overeem (Pictures). Arona is a tough match-up for anyone in the division. He drops from 7 to 9 in the latest ranking.
10. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pictures) (12-3-0)
"Minotoro" has just three fights in three years, and is 1-2 during that span, but a record that features wins against the likes of Guy Mezger (Pictures), Kazuhiro Nakamura (Pictures), Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures), Alistair Overeem (Pictures) and Dan Henderson (Pictures) means Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures)'s twin brother is pretty good. His loss in the PRIDE 205-pound Grand Prix to Mauricio Rua (Pictures) was perhaps the fight of the year. In February, Sokoudjou stunningly knocked out Nogueira. After concentrating on boxing and representing Brazil in the Pan-American Games, Nogueira will return to MMA in Canada's Hardcore Fighting Championship later this year.
Note: Rashad Evans (Pictures) (9) and Jason Lambert (Pictures) (10) fall out of the top 10 with the inclusion of Jardine and Griffin.
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