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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. After a pair of postponed bouts due to positive COVID-19 tests — one for each man — Santos will return from knee surgery to face Glover Teixeira in the headliner of a UFC event on Nov. 7.3. Jan Blachowicz (27-8) [3]
Somewhat of an overlooked commodity heading into UFC 253, Blachowicz became the 13th light heavyweight champion in promotion history, as he dispatched Dominick Reyes via second-round technical knockout in the evening’s co-headliner in Abu Dhabi on Sept. 26. After beginning his UFC tenure 2-4, the 37-year-old Polish star has won eight of his last nine Octagon appearances, with his latest triumph ushering in a new era in the light heavyweight division. UFC president Dana White recently confirmed that a champion vs. champion superfight against Israel Adesanya would be next for Blachowicz.4. Dominick Reyes (12-2) [4]
After a narrow loss to Jon Jones in a fight that many believed he deserved to win, Reyes believed he was already the uncrowned champion heading into his UFC 253 showdown with Jan Blachowicz. Whether that translated into overconfidence is unknown, but Reyes never pulled the trigger before falling by technical knockout to his Polish opponent in the second round of the Sept. 26 co-headlining bout. After beginning his career with 12 straight triumphs, “The Devastator” must pick up the pieces following back-to-back defeats. That road begins with a matchup against former Rizin champ Jiri Prochazka on Feb. 27.5. 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 will face Melvin Manhoef in the Bellator 251 main event on Nov. 5.6. 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 two COVID-19-related postponements, a pivotal showdown with Thiago Santos has been rescheduled to headline a UFC event on Nov. 7.7. 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. He’ll get a chance to add a significant name to his resume when he locks horns with two-time title challenger Dominick Reyes on Feb. 27.8. 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. 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.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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