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Even with nine toes, Jon Jones is a dangerous man.

At UFC 159, the 25-year-old light heavyweight ace steamrolled challenger Chael Sonnen, finishing the two-time middleweight contender in the first frame with furious ground-and-pound. The victory was made all the more impressive by the fact that Jones sustained a shocking open fracture to the big toe on his left foot during the brief encounter.

While few onlookers viewed Sonnen as a legitimate threat to “Bones,” the speed and apparent ease with which Jones dismantled the generally durable wrestler cannot be overlooked. When his foot heals, the champion will return to a division with plenty of talent on the rise, including young prospect Alexander Gustafsson, former Strikeforce champ Gegard Mousasi and old foe Lyoto Machida.

As talent-rich weight classes go, however, it’s hard to top 155 pounds, and the lightweight ranks saw plenty of action in April. While Benson Henderson stayed put atop the food chain with a narrow decision victory over Gilbert Melendez on April 20, a few of Melendez’s fellow Strikeforce imports have infiltrated the ranks. Pat Healy finally cracks the top 10 this month after a sensational submission win against Jim Miller at UFC 159, while Josh Thomson joins on the strength of his stoppage of Nate Diaz, who falls three spot to No. 7.

Further down the scale, hard-hitting bantamweights T.J. Dillashaw and Marlon Moraes enter the 135-pound ranks, bumping Tyson Nam and Marcos Galvao. At flyweight, Legacy Fighting Championship titleholder Will Campuzano takes the place of Yasuhiro Urushitani in the top 10 after Campuzano’s successful April 12 title defense.

Continue Reading » MMA Heavyweight Rankings