Light heavyweight has been a glamor division for the UFC essentially since its inception, with some of the biggest names and stars in the history of the sport having made their way through or held the championship belt.
Over the lineage of the division, a total of 16 fighters have held the 205-pound title. That number could grow Saturday when reigning champ Alex Pereira puts his belt on the line against Khalil Rountree in the UFC 307 main event at Delta Center in Salt Lake City (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+).
Pereira, a former middleweight champion, has quickly crafted a legacy for himself at this weight, and a third title defense of 2024 against Rountree would do wonders for his stock. But for now, where does Pereira rank among the greatest champions the division has ever seen?
Former titleholder and UFC Hall of Famer Rashad Evans gave his take while ranking the top 10 light heavyweight champions of all time on “The Bohnfire” podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn.
Check out Evans’ list below, which is subject to change depending on the UFC 307 main event outcome.
10
Glover Teixeira
Glover Teixeira
“The way he was able to do it to me was very impressive. I was really just impressed with being one of the oldest champions out there and how he adjusted his game from being a guy who would stand and trade and bang to somebody who leaned more on his grappling and really started to evolve his game. Despite having been through so many wars, he finished out pretty good. For me, I love to watch Glover fight so I have to give a spot to Glover.”
9
Mauricio Rua
“It’s easy to overlook ‘Shogun’ because in the UFC he wasn’t what he was in PRIDE. Granted, in the UFC he did some work. He had a great rivalry with (Lyoto) Machida. He’s put on some great fights in the UFC, but I feel like when I’m looking and putting ‘Shogun’ on the all-time list, I’m really putting him on the all-time for just who he was when he fought in PRIDE and things like that. In PRIDE he was the scariest man ever. He was phenomenal. He had a perfect marriage of violence, of patience and just brilliance inside that cage.”
8
Alex Pereira
Alex Pereira
“I wanted to put Alex Pereira higher, but here’s the thing about it: I feel as if this era of light heavyweight isn’t what it once was. Not saying that it’s weak, but it’s just not the strongest that it’s been. I don’t say that to really throw shade on Alex, but I just need to see more from him. As far as when it comes to being all-time, I think his legacy is on the trajectory to where if he can make it through UFC 307, I would definitely put him within the top five. I still need to see more and I still need to be able to believe he can go in there with a skilled grappler and not only stand up to the grappling challenges, but then able to impose his will. He’s got a lot of good momentum, but in order to be an all-time, you need a little bit more than momentum.”
7
Lyoto Machida
“Machida was one of the best in his era, during my era. One thing that really stands out to me with Machida was the fact that he had a style that really hadn’t been seen in the UFC up until that point. He was a karate guy, and he made karate cool. He made karate effective. Lyoto Machida showed you that not only it works in a fight, but that everybody should be doing God damn karate.”
6
Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock
“He was that guy who really, to me, was foreshadowing what fighters would be in the future when it comes to being able to fight smoothly from striking to wrestling to jiu-jitsu. His transitions were sick. I feel like it just foreshadowed the kind of athlete that was to come in mixed martial arts.”
5
Randy Couture
Randy Couture
“Two-division champion, and what he did at light heavyweight, he was there at a time with Chuck Liddell, and he was just so memorable and so instrumental at a time in UFC history at that division where his ability to just rag-doll you. He wasn’t the best striker, but what he was as far as ground-and-pound and the patented wall-and-brawl that he would do, it would just really annihilate his opponents.”
4
Daniel Cormier
Daniel Cormier
“We’re talking about a guy in DC who, in my opinion, had Jon Jones not had any special kind of help, I think DC might’ve beat him. I feel as if he had a great fights with Jones, but even after there was a domination that DC had where he was clearly just head and shoulders above the competition. And that was at a time where light heavyweight wasn’t an easy division. He made minced meat out of Anthony Johnson, God rest his soul. Two times. DC doesn’t get all the credit that he deserves in the light heavyweight division.”
3
Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
“He doesn’t get enough credit. People don’t give him the credit he deserves and they forget the fact that before anybody really dominated the division, there was Tito Ortiz. He was straight dragging people. He was the face. He was the man for the longest time and his domination of the light heavyweight division, it was something that struck fear in his opponents.”
2
Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell
“When it came down to it, Chuck Liddell was so much for the division. He was the face of it. He really went out there and when you watched him fight live, he really did something spectacular. He captivated your imagination. He terrified you. When he went on his streak and beat Randy Couture, Babalu (Sobral), Tito Ortiz – all those dudes. He arrived and it looked like it was automatic.”
1
Jon Jones
Jon Jones
“A lot can be said about Jon being No. 1. A lot of people can say because he has blemishes on his drug testing history it doesn’t really put him in there, but I give him the No. 1 spot.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login