Current Champion: Jon Jones
 |
| LH Landscape |
Lyoto Machida:
After getting the wrong end of a controversial decision to Davis at UFC 163 Machida looks to drop down to 185 pounds. At this point Machida just wants the quickest route to a title fight. Now that Anderson Silva is no longer champion he might want to have a go with middleweight champion Chris Weidman (should he retain his belt in December). Machida is already scheduled to meet Top 15 middleweight Tim Kennedy on November 6th in Brazil. That's a step in the right direction.
Rashad Evans:
Evans recently snapped a 2-fight losing streak defeating Henderson by split decision. So, a title shot isn't in the immediate horizon for Evans at the moment. Evans instead will be fighting Sonnen at UFC 167 in Las Vegas. I expect Jones to fight Gustafsson and Teixeira before accepting rematches. So while Jones fights off fresh challengers Evans must keep winning in the mean time.
Dan Henderson:
Henderson was scheduled to face Jones at UFC 151 for the LH title but a knee injury forced him out of the fight. Upon returning he opted to stay active instead of continuing to wait for his title shot. By doing so he lost two razor close split decisions to the 2 men ranked above him; Machida and Evans. With back to back losses and at age 43 it's not looking good for Henderson title hopes. Hopefully for him he could turn things around in his rematch with Belfort.
Alexander Gustafsson:
After Jones refused to give Machida a rematch and Machida opted to stay active, Gustafsson gets his wish; a shot at the title. The two will meet on September 21st at UFC 165.
Chael Sonnen:
I don't see Sonnen getting another title shot anytime soon. Sonnen was Jones' easiest title defense of them all and most recent one as well. So the one sided beatdown is still fresh in our minds, even with Sonnen's recent win over 'Shogun'.
'Shogun' Rua:
Mauricio 'Shogun' is on the verge of losing his spot in the top 10. He either needs to regain his form that won him the LH title or fall further down the ladder. By no means will 'Shogun' get a title shot anytime soon but a win over Te Huna this December is a step in the right direction.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira:
Might I say this is the dark horse of the LH division? I think so. Since losing to Davis, Nogueira dominated Tito Ortiz, which avenges his loss to Bader, then upset Evans, which avenges his loss to Davis. Upon returning from his back injury, with proper matchmaking Nogueira could be close to title contention. In the mean time he's flying under the radar.
Phil Davis:
Officially Davis has earned the biggest win of his career, but unofficially most of the mma community thinks he lost to Machida. As a result of this controversial win he's not on the UFC's list of possible title challengers just yet.
Glover Teixeira:
Following his win over Bader, Teixeira was promised the next title shot by the UFC. Now nothing means anything until the cage door shuts, but with no other fresh challenger on a winning streak like him and Gustafsson currently have, who else is left?
Ryan Bader:
If Bader ever wants a title shot he's gonna to have to not just get better, but evolve because what he brings to the table has hit a glass ceiling and its not going to be enough to pick up crucial wins like the Machida and Teixeira fights. It'll be enough to beat Brilz and Matyushenko but there's a reason why those guys aren't in the UFC anymore. So if Bader wants a title shot he needs to pick up some signature wins, in order to do that he needs to evolve plain and simple.
