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Light Heavyweight
1. Jon Jones (26-1, 1 NC) [1]
The competition is catching up to Jones, but it hasn’t surpassed him just yet. “Bones” survived by the skin of his teeth at UFC 247, as he edged Dominick Reyes in a unanimous verdict in the evening’s headliner at the Toyota Center in Houston. In a fight that many observers scored in favor of Reyes, Jones was able to sway the judges’ scorecards with consistent forward pressure and a strong push in the championship rounds. The hard-fought triumph gives Jones 14 victories in championship fights, the most in the history of the Las Vegas-based promotion. After some public back-and-forth with the UFC and Dana White, Jones vacated his light heavyweight strap in August, signaling a new era for the division. A move to heavyweight appears to be looming, but a timetable for Jones’ debut is currently unclear.2. Thiago Santos (21-7) [2]
Santos gave Jon Jones all he could handle for five rounds at UFC 239. “Marreta” punished the legs of his opponent throughout the contest, so much so that Jones needed assistance returning to the locker room after their bout. Still, Jones was the more efficient fighter for most of the contest, which allowed him to capture a narrow split-decision triumph. Santos had a four-fight winning streak snapped in defeat, but he must nonetheless feel encouraged by the fact that he was the first Jones foe to win a scorecard against the pound-for-pound great. The Brazilian will return from knee surgery to face fellow contender Glover Teixeira on Oct. 3.3. Dominick Reyes (12-1) [3]
In giving Jones arguably his most difficult test since the champion’s first bout with Alexander Gustafsson in 2013, Reyes earned his respect as a worthy title challenger. However, it could’ve been so much more, as many unofficial scorecards had him winning the fight’s first three rounds. Reyes’ length, power and athleticism were a handful for Jones, but he faded just enough down the stretch for Jones to get the nod on the scorecards. With Jones vacating the 205-pound belt, “The Devastator” will lock horns with Jan Blachowicz for the title in the UFC 253 co-main event on Sept. 26.4. Jan Blachowicz (26-8) [4]
Blachowicz has come a long way since the beginning of his UFC tenure, which he began with losses in four of his first six bouts. The Polish light heavyweight has since gone 7-1, punching his ticket to a title shot with a first-round knockout of Corey Anderson in a rematch in the UFC Fight Night 167 headliner at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, N.M. Blachowicz’s has shown his formidable power in recent wins over Anderson and Luke Rockhold, and he’ll look to continue his run when he meets Dominick Reyes in the UFC 253 co-headliner on Sept. 26.5. Corey Anderson (14-5) [5]
Anderson had a chance to earn a shot at the light heavyweight crown with a victory over Jan Blachowicz at UFC Fight Night 167. Instead, “Overtime” paid dearly for throwing an ill-advised low kick, as he was knocked cold by a short right hand from Blachowicz in the opening stanza at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, N.M. It was a far different result than UFC 191, when Anderson controlled Blachowicz with his wrestling for three rounds to win a unanimous verdict. After requesting his UFC release, Anderson signed with Bellator MMA, where he looks to be an immediate player in the light heavyweight title picture.6. Glover Teixeira (31-7) [6]
Teixeira demonstrated that he still has plenty left in the tank at UFC Fight Night 171, where he defeated Anthony Smith via fifth-round technical knockout in the evening’s headliner at VyStar Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 13. After weathering a strong start from Smith, the 40-year-old Brazilian put a lopsided beating on his opponent that proved to be difficult to watch at times before the stoppage. After an up-and-down stretch from 2016 to 2018 that saw him alternate wins and losses in six Octagon appearances, Teixeira has reeled off four consecutive wins in UFC competition. After testing positive for COVID-19, Teixeira’s proposed headlining bout against Thiago Santos was moved from Sept. 12 to Oct. 3.7. Jiri Prochazka (27-3-1) [7]
A step up in competition was no problem at all for Prochazka, who wowed in his Octagon debut with a second-round knockout of former light heavyweight title challenger Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 251. The former Rizin Fighting Federation champion has won his last 11 professional bouts, with all but one ending inside the distance.8. Vadim Nemkov (12-2) [8]
Nemkov brought Bellator’s light heavyweight division into a new era in emphatic fashion, as he claimed the title with a second-round head-kick knockout of Ryan Bader in the Bellator 244 headliner on Aug. 21. The 28-year-old Russian has a legitimate claim to being one of the sport’s most underrated 205-pound talents with a resume that includes victories over the likes of Bader, Rafael Carvalho, Phil Davis, Liam McGeary and Philipe Lins.9. Volkan Oezdemir (17-5) [9]
Oezdemir welcomed Jiri Prochazka to the Octagon at UFC 251, but it was the former Rizin light heavyweight champion who made the statement, winning via knockout 49 seconds into Round 2 of their clash on July 11. That halted a modest two-bout winning streak for Oezdemir, who was coming off quality wins over Aleksandar Rakic and Ilir Latifi. The former 205-pound title challenger has already experienced his share of ups and downs while facing some of the best competition the division has to offer.10. Aleksandar Rakic (13-2) [10]
It wasn’t the most entertaining performance, but Rakic was nonetheless dominant in sweeping the judges scorecards against Anthony Smith in a three-round headliner at UFC Fight Night 175 on Aug. 29. The 28-year-old Austria resident has won five of six in the Las Vegas-based promotion – his only setback was a narrow split decision loss to Volkan Oezdemir – and his already eyeing his place at the table in the 205-pound title discussion. “Rocket” will likely have to add a little more excitement to his next appearance to gain momentum with UFC brass, however.Other Contenders: Phil Davis. Anthony Smith, Alexander Gustafsson, Ilir Latifi, Nikita Krylov.
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