Lyoto Machida (left) and Joe Rogan: Sherdog.com
Exit “The Dragon.”
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida has left the list of MMA’s pound-for-pound best following a narrow split decision loss to fellow ex-titleholder Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 123 on Nov. 20 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Mich.
Despite a third-round surge by the Brazilian karateka, Jackson’s aggression in the first two stanzas won over the judges, leading to a verdict that few predicted and many would question. Nonetheless, Machida’s second career loss, coupled with his brutal dispatching at the hands of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in May, caused his ouster from the rankings. As a result, UFC 205-pound title contender Rashad Evans and Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez each move up one spot.
Filling the void left by Machida’s absence is WEC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, who enters the list at No. 10. Currently ranked as the world’s top 135-pounder, Cruz stuck-and-moved his way to a five-round split decision title defense in his August rematch against Joseph Benavidez. The Alliance MMA product has tasted defeat just once in 17 bouts, having been submitted in 2007 by Urijah Faber -- a man who he could very well meet again in the future now that “The California Kid” has dropped to 135 pounds.
Undeniably the UFC’s greatest middleweight and arguably its most
dominant champion of all-time, Silva has notched an unprecedented
seven consecutive defenses of his 185-pound crown. In his latest,
at UFC
117, “The Spider” pulled out an almost inconceivable
come-from-behind win, submitting Chael Sonnen
with a triangle armbar after four and a half rounds of being
dominated by the wrestler. On the mend from a rib injury, which he
carried into that bout, the Brazilian already has a pair of
challengers queued up for his return. On Feb. 5, Silva will meet
countryman Vitor
Belfort at UFC
126. Should that defense prove successful, he would next face
Yushin
Okami in a rematch of their infamous 2006 bout, which the
Japanese fighter won by disqualification.
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Since entering
World Extreme Cagefighting in June 2008, Aldo has laid waste to
every challenger put before him, embarking on an 8-0 run through
the 145-pound division, with seven wins via stoppage. Most
recently, the Brazilian dynamo disposed of top contender Manny
Gamburyan with a sound knockout in his second title defense.
During a ceremony at UFC 123, Aldo was formally crowned the first
UFC featherweight champion, a title he was slated to put on the
line for the first time against Josh Grispi
at UFC
125 until a back injury forced him off the bill.
On Aug. 28 in Boston, Edgar proved that, no matter the controversy
surrounding his April UFC title win against B.J. Penn, he
is definitely the sport’s top lightweight. For five rounds, Edgar
was the superior fighter, ahead of “The Prodigy” every step of the
way, standing and on the ground. However, in spite of two massive
wins, fans are unlikely to be too taken with Edgar’s
accomplishments until he gets through his next challenger --
Gray
Maynard. The only man to beat Edgar, Maynard outpointed “The
Answer” in April 2008.
While not one to cause a stir with outrageous interviews, Fitch has
nonetheless proven a polarizing figure due to his wrestling-based,
results-oriented style of fighting. The former Purdue Boilermaker’s
resume speaks for itself, however, with 13 wins and only one defeat
inside the UFC’s ever-deepening 170-pound division. The
American Kickboxing Academy standout’s path will not get any
easier in February, as he faces former two-division UFC champion
B.J. Penn at UFC 127 in
Sydney, Australia.
Rua’s current resume remains a far cry from where it was in 2005,
when he tore through four Top 10 opponents in half a year. Though
he now holds the UFC title in one of the sport’s deepest divisions,
his problem remains the catastrophic knee injuries he seems to
suffer with regularity. Coming off his May knockout of Lyoto
Machida, Shogun’s third serious knee surgery in three years has
postponed a fight with former champion Rashad Evans until March
2011. The pair will reportedly meet in the United Arab Emirates at
the as-yet-unannounced UFC 128.
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Evans’ win over rival Quinton “Rampage” Jackson on May 29 did not
exactly set the world on fire, though he walked away with a
unanimous decision. “Suga” will have the chance to take his resume
from strong to exceptional in the near future, as his win over
Jackson installed him as the UFC’s top 205-pound contender. The
real issue for the former champion has become inactivity, as he
will have to wait until UFC 128 in March 2011 to get a shot at
rehabbing champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
In the biggest lightweight bout that could have been made outside
of the UFC, Melendez thumped on Dream champion Shinya Aoki
for five lopsided rounds on April 17, earning the most significant
and outstanding win of his career. The major challenge going
forward for the 28-year-old Cesar Gracie student will be securing
major fights within the confines of Strikeforce.
To that end, “El Nino” could be looking at a rubber match against
former sparring partner Josh Thomson
next, though rumors of a rematch with Aoki in Japan also
persist.
Cruz furthered his reputation as the world’s top 135-pound fighter
on Aug. 18, edging out a split decision win in his five-round WEC
title defense against Joseph
Benavidez. Up next for Zuffa’s lightest champion is another
title bout, this time against Scott
Jorgensen at the final WEC show on Dec. 16. The winner will be
crowned the first-ever UFC bantamweight champion.
* With his Nov. 20 split decision loss to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, previously eighth-ranked Lyoto Machida exits the top 10.
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