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By Marc Staehling

Of the ten(the list started at eleven, but as I accurately predicted, Jake O’Brien lost) active fighters with unblemished octagon records, four are them are from the light heavyweight division. For several years the 205 lb. class has been the prestige division. Guys like Liddell, Ortiz, and Couture are responsible for the biggest shows(from an economic standpoint) in the company’s history. These four “UFC Warriors”, as Bruce Buffer would say, show the depth and diversity of the UFC’s marquee division.

Light Heavyweight

Thiago Silva

Overall Record: 11-0 UFC Record: 3-0

Thiago presents just as many questions as he does answers. His biggest UFC win to date is easily his drubbing of Houston Alexander at UFC 78(his other two victories being over James Irvin and Tomas Drwal), who himself was a bit of an unknown commodity, and was “exposed” by Silva. What we do know about Silva is that he is a BJJ black belt, and brings a ferocious muay thai-based striking game to the table. The win over Irvin ended early when Irvin hurt his knee on a takedown, while the Drwal fight was a slugfest with both fighters being utterly exhausted by the end of the first stanza. While Silva has some excellent tools, and obvious talent, he hasn’t been in the octagon with a top fighter…..yet.

Silva was originally scheduled to face Rashad Evans in May, but that is no longer the case, as Evans has stepped up to face Chuck Liddell in June. Who’s left to challenge the undefeated Silva? The pickings are pretty slim right now, seeing as how the May, June and July PPV’s are stacked to the gills with top light-heavyweight bouts. The winner of the Matt Hamill/Tim Boetsch bout in April would be a suitable fit. In the meantime Silva remains a very strong prospect, but until he faces a true top-ten fighter, it’s hard to judge just how far he will go in the sport

UPDATE: Silva is facing Antonio Mendes.

Rashad Evans

Career Record: 11-0-1 UFC Record: 6-0-1(9 wins if you count TUF 2)

Like many fans I’ll admit to underestimating Rashad Evans. I didn’t think he had a hope winning TUF 2. He was under-sized and inexperienced, but he prevailed to win the heavyweight tournament after beating Tom Murphy, Mike Whitehead and Keith Jardine. I didn’t really become sold on Evans as the real-deal until he dominated the tough Jason Lambert, mounting him and pounding him out at UFC 63. Since then he’s decapitated Sean Salmon, drawn Tito Ortiz, and looked merely average in a decision victory over Mike Bisping.

Easily the biggest fight of Evans’ career takes place June 7th in London, as he faces former champ Chuck Liddell. While Evans striking has improved over the last few years, I think he’s going to be seriously outgunned by Liddell. The “Iceman” is nearly impossible to take down with double-leg takedowns, which is Evans’ bread and butter. Another important factor will be size. Evans is not a large light heavyweight, while Chuck is, further complicating any attempt to take the fight to the floor. This fight very well could send Evans packing to the middleweight division.

Lyoto Machida

Career Record: 12-0 UFC Record: 4-0

Lyoto Machida is a scary individual. He is a BJJ black-belt, and is arguably the most technically proficient, albeit somewhat unorthodox, striker in the game today. Since arriving in the UFC from the defunct WFA in early 2007, Machida has been dominant. Winning all four of his fights in convincing fashion(despite three of them going to the judges). One of the amazing things about Machida, is that he pretty much doesn’t get hit. You can literally count the amount of clean shots opponents have landed on him in the UFC on one hand. While his defensive stylings have alienated some fans, the skill level is there, and if his dominant win over Sokoudjou is any indication, Machida has more weapons than just his karate-based strikes.

Machida has never faced a large wrestler. On May 24th that’s going to change, when in one of the featured bouts of UFC 84, he faces Tito Ortiz. This is a very intriguing match-up. A Machida win would put him on the doorstep of a title shot later in the year, and it looks like this fight will be Ortiz’s swansong with the organization, as he has publicly stated he”ll be leaving the company after this fight. This is a very tough fight to call, and will answer the major questions about Machida’s legitimacy as a top five fighter in the weight class.

Quinton Jackson

MMA Record: 29-6 UFC Record: 3-0

“Rampage” is the king of the UFC light heavyweights. Like Machida, he debuted at UFC 67, after the collapse of the WFA. There, he dispatched Marvin Eastman, then proceeded to annihilate Chuck Liddell in May to win the title, then went to war with Dan Henderson for five rounds, successfully defending the title in September of ‘07.

In July he finally returns to the Octagon to face Forrest Griffin. I see now way that Jackson’s winning ways come to an end in this bout. Griffin’s only big UFC win to date, and the key to him getting the title shot, was his victory over Mauricio Rua in September. The keys to his victory were the fact that Shogun had the cardio of a sixty year old man, and his size and strength advantage, and even then, he lost the first half of the fight before Shogun utterly gassed. Jackson’s gas tank was put to the test against Hendo, and he is a freakishly strong, not to mention large light heavyweight, that won’t be bullied by Griffin. Forrest has a huge heart no doubt, and I think this will be a very entertaining bout, but I don’t see Griffin taking the win, barring him landing a massive(i.e. lucky) strike.

So looking past this big July 4th weekend tilt, what does the future hold for “Rampage”, and who could possibly unseat him? The prospect of a third Liddell fight does not interest me at all. If Liddell beats Evans, then beats another top guy, by all means give him the title shot against whoever the champ is. An immediate shot after Evans would be very disappointing(if Chuck and Wanderlei both win, a second fight between them would be great). Jackson’s most recent losses(to Shogun, and Silva twice) were finished in the standing position. A strong striker, with good movement, could cause “Rampage” some issues, although his stand-up was looked very crisp as of late. The light heavyweight belt could be Quinton’s for a long time to come.

In the News 

-Third time’s a charm? Marquardt and Leites scheduled for UFC 85

-No soccer-kicks for you. Dream rules finalized. 

-Tamura defending title at Shooto: Back To Our Roots 8 on 3/28