Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Light Heavyweight

1. Jon Jones (22-1)

Jones’ pre-UFC 200 test failure for a pair of anti-estrogenic agents has left the career of arguably the greatest MMA fighter ever in yet another quagmire. “Bones” recently took to Instagram to proclaim that his defense would in some form exonerate him from the failure and that he would be back in the UFC sooner than expected; however, because of Jones’ track record, he will need to actually find his way into the Octagon on a Saturday night before we can believe he is back for real.

2. Daniel Cormier (18-1)

Even though he is now technically the UFC light heavyweight champion, all Cormier wants is a rematch with Jon Jones. However, owing to his rival’s ongoing legal drama and his blown United States Anti-Doping Agency test, Cormier has to keep waiting. “DC” will run back the fight that initially earned him a slice of UFC gold in May 2015, when he faces Anthony Johnson in a rematch at UFC 206 on Dec. 10 in Toronto.

3. Anthony Johnson (22-5)

Johnson landed a few licks on Daniel Cormer back at UFC 187 in 2015 year but was ultimately broken down and tapped out in the third round. Since then, Johnson has used his legendary power to absolutely savage Jimi Manuwa, Ryan Bader and Glover Teixeira to earn a shot at Cormier’s UFC light heavyweight title in a headlining rematch at UFC 206 on Dec. 10 in Toronto.

4. Alexander Gustafsson (17-4)

On Sept. 3 in Hamburg, Germany, Gustafsson pounded out a 15-minute verdict over Poland’s Jan Blachowicz, which set him up for a Nov. 19 date against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Unfortunately, Gustafsson’s dreams of another UFC light heavyweight shot took another hit when the Swede suffered an undisclosed injury. Now, Ryan Bader will step into his place.

5. Ryan Bader (21-5)

Bader had his five-fight winning streak brutally snapped in just 86 seconds by Anthony Johnson in January but rebounded with a nasty knockout of his own on Sept. 3 in Germany, clobbering Ilir Latifi with a savage second-round knee. Bader is clearly keen to rebuild his previous hot streak: “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8 winner has now stepped in for an injured Alexander Gustafsson on Nov. 19 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where Bader will rematch Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, whom he shut out on the cards back in September 2010.

6. Phil Davis (16-3, 1 NC)

Davis’ hotly disputed May decision win over Muhammed Lawal installed him as Bellator’s top light heavyweight contender, and now “Mr. Wonderful” has a date for his title challenge: The longtime UFC vet will go for Bellator gold against unbeaten champ Liam McGeary at Bellator 163 on Nov. 4 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.

7. Glover Teixeira (25-5)

Almost 15 years ago, Teixeira was pounded out by Eric Schwartz in his pro MMA debut. From there, Teixeira went 28 fights and over 14 years without being stopped in mixed martial arts. That all changed at UFC 202, violently and in a scant 13 seconds, as a massive Anthony Johnson uppercut knocked the Brazilian unconscious and out of the UFC light heavyweight title picture.

8. Jimi Manuwa (16-2)

Having suffered a slew of injuries and nasty knockout losses to Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Johnson, it looked like the window might have been closing on the 36-year-old Manuwa as a notable 205-pound contender in the UFC. Instead, at UFC 204 in Manchester, England, Manuwa dealt a brutal KO of his own, clobbering Ovince St. Preux in the second round to put himself back on the light heavyweight map.

9. Ovince St. Preux (19-9)

St. Preux entered UFC 204 as a favorite against Jimi Manuwa but found himself on the business end of a second-round left hook from “The Poster Boy” that left St. Preux splayed out on the mat. “OSP” has now lost three of his last four bouts over the last 13 months, albeit with defeats to Manuwa, Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira.

10. Nikita Krylov (21-4)

Since his unsuccessful 205-pound UFC debut against Ovince St. Preux in March 2014, the 24-year-old Krylov has won five straight bouts, all by stoppage, and shown marked improvement along the way. The next step for “The Fighting Al Capone” to establish himself as a legitimate light heavyweight contender is fellow hot prospect Misha Cirkunov, the man Krylov will face at UFC 206 on Dec. 10.

Other Contenders: Quinton Jackson, Ilir Latifi, Liam McGeary, Tomasz Narkun, Mauricio Rua

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