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Light Heavyweight
1. Jan Blachowicz (28-8) [1]
Ever the underdog, Blachowicz once again silenced the doubters at UFC 259, where he ended Israel Adesanya’s dreams of two-division dominance with a unanimous decision triumph at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on March 6. After beginning his promotional tenure with an underwhelming 2-4 mark, the Polish standout has won nine of his last 10 outings, besting the likes of Adesanya, Dominick Reyes, Corey Anderson, Ronaldo Souza, Luke Rockhold and Jared Cannonier, to name a few. A showdown with surging veteran contender Glover Teixeira awaits next at UFC 267 on Oct. 30.2. Corey Anderson (16-5) [2]
Anderson relied on his bread-and-butter to dispatch Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov at Bellator 257, as he ended his opponent’s eight-fight winning streak with punches and elbows from mount in the third round of their light heavyweight grand prix quarterfinal. Anderson, who has won six of his last seven outings, advances to the semifinals, where he will square off against fellow UFC veteran Ryan Bader on Oct. 16.3. Glover Teixeira (32-7) [3]
Even at 41 years old, Teixeira keeps finding ways to win. The veteran Brazilian managed to avoid prolonged standup exchanges with Thiago Santos in the UFC on ESPN 17 main event en route to a third-round submission victory. That makes five straight victories for the rejuvenated Teixeira, who will face Jan Blachowicz for 205-pound gold at UFC 267 on Oct. 30.4. Jiri Prochazka (28-3-1) [4]
After a wild back-and-forth slugfest, Prochazka secured his 12th consecutive triumph with a highlight-reel spinning back elbow KO of Dominick Reyes in the UFC on ESPN 23 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on May 1. Perhaps just as impressive as Prochazka’s offensive arsenal is the fact that his chin was able to hold up after absorbing some heavy artillery from Reyes. With stoppages of a pair of former title challengers in his first two Octagon appearances, the ex-Rizin champion likely awaits the winner of the Jan Blachowicz-Glover Teixeira showdown at UFC 267.5. Vadim Nemkov (13-2) [5]
Nemkov retained his title and advanced in the light heavyweight grand prix at Bellator 257, where outpointed Phil Davis over five rounds at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut on April 16. In addition to improving to 2-0 vs. “Mr. Wonderful,” the 28-year-old Fedor Emelianenko protégé has won his last eight fights overall. Nemkov will square off against Anthony Johnson in the semifinals on Oct. 16.6. Dominick Reyes (12-3) [6]
Reyes was plenty game against Jiri Prochazka in the UFC on ESPN 23 main event, but he simply couldn’t go blow-for-blow with his Czech opponent, and the end result was knockout loss 4:29 into the second round of their May 1 bout. The Californian’s future seemed bright following a contentious decision loss to then 205-pound champ Jon Jones at UFC 247, but back-to-back KO defeats at the hands of Prochazka and Jan Blachowicz have changed that outlook for the time being.7. Volkan Oezdemir (17-5) [7]
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. That halted a modest two-bout winning streak for Oezdemir, who was coming off quality wins over Aleksandar Rakic and Ilir Latifi. Oezdemir was supposed to square off against Nikita Krylov in the UFC Fight Night 180 co-main event before a knee injury forced him to withdraw from the bout.8. Aleksandar Rakic (14-2) [8]
Rakic didn’t take any chances at UFC 259, but he did do just enough to capture a unanimous verdict over former title challenger Thiago Santos. “Rocket” has rebounded from a contentious split-decision defeat against Volkan Oezdemir with back-to-back wins over Santos and Anthony Smith. Rakic, who has been victorious in six of seven Octagon appearances overall, will likely need to author a more entertaining performance to move into the top tier of 205-pound contenders.9. Thiago Santos (21-9) [9]
Santos suffered his third consecutive defeat at UFC 259, as he dropped a tepid three-round verdict against Aleksandar Rakic at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on March 6. The Brazilian seems far removed from a competitive split-decision loss to then-champ Jon Jones at UFC 239, and moving forward it’s going to be an ongoing question how much the 37-year-old will be affected by the multiple knee surgeries he had to undergo after that bout. “Marreta” will attempt to rebound when he faces Johnny Walker on Oct. 2.10. Ryan Bader (28-6) [10]
Bader took his first step toward regaining the Bellator light heavyweight crown with a decision victory over Lyoto Machida in the opening round of the promotion’s 205-pound grand prix on April 9. Not only did the Power MMA Team product avenge a loss to “The Dragon” that occurred under the UFC banner in August 2012, but he set up an intriguing showdown with Corey Anderson in the semifinals in his home state of Arizona on Oct. 16.Other Contenders:, Phil Davis, Anthony Smith, Magomed Ankalaev, Nikita Krylov, Johnny Walker.
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