Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Light Heavyweight

1. Jon Jones (23-1)

The king is back. In his first bout in 15 months, Jones finally rematched Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 in Anaheim, California. “Jonny Bones” topped his first win over Cormier at UFC 182 in January 2015, devastating his chief rival with a beautiful head kick in the third round. The win gives the 30-year-old the UFC light heavyweight title for a second time and, in true Jones fashion, has led to his calling out former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar for a future showdown.

2. Daniel Cormier (19-2)

Cormier's greatness just was not good enough to top nemesis Jon Jones and hang onto the light heavyweight crown at UFC 214. After a competitive opening 10 minutes, Cormier ate a head kick in the third frame that put him down and out. At 38 years old and having suffered two losses to Jones -- the only defeats of Cormier's pro MMA career -- it is unclear what comes next for the American Kickboxing Academy captain.

3. Alexander Gustafsson (18-4)

The events of UFC 214 were positive for Gustafsson. Streaking contender Jimi Manuwa was knocked out by upstart Volkan Oezdemir, while Jon Jones has no clear contender for the first defense of his latest UFC title reign. Having come closer to beating Jones than anyone -- Matt Hamill excluded, of course -- in their 2013 “Fight of the Year,” Gustafsson's back-to-back wins over Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira, as well as his competitive history with Jones, might lead “The Mauler” to another title bid.

4. Ryan Bader (23-5)

Bader spent nearly nine years on the UFC roster, going 15-5 in one of MMA's marquee divisions during that time. However, a series of ill-timed losses always seemed to cripple Bader's chances at vying for -- and winning -- a major MMA title. Those days are over: At Bellator 180, Bader notched another win over former NCAA national wrestling champion Phil Davis and took the Bellator light heavyweight title in his first bout with his new promotion.

5. Volkan Oezdemir (15-1)

Six months ago, Oezdemir was a largely anonymous Bellator MMA veteran. He made his UFC debut on short notice in February, upsetting Ovince St. Preux via questionable split decision. Since getting his foot in the door, Oezdemir has not looked back. “No Time” has taken out St. Preux, Misha Cirkunov and, now, big-hitting Brit Jimi Manuwa at UFC 214. Ciruknov and Manuwa lasted a combined 70 seconds in the cage with the surging Swiss fighter.

6. Phil Davis (17-4, 1 NC)

Davis thought his first Bellator light heavyweight title defense would come against Muhammed Lawal at Bellator 180, but instead, “King Mo” withdrew from the contest and was replaced by recent free agent signing Ryan Bader, the last man to beat Davis back in January 2015. Inside Madison Square Garden on June 24, Davis lost a nip-tuck decision to Bader over 25 minutes, relinquishing his title and dropping another verdict to “Darth Bader.”

7. Jimi Manuwa (17-3)

Back-to-back knockouts of Ovince St. Preux and Corey Anderson had Manuwa on the doorstep of a potential UFC title shot, provided he could get by Switzerland's Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 214 in Anaheim, California. Now, the 37-year-old “Poster Boy” is going to have to work his way back up through the light heavyweight division, as Oezdemir sat down Manuwa in a mere 42 seconds to author another upset victory inside the Octagon.

8. Glover Teixeira (26-6)

It was not the single flash of brutality that his 13-second knockout loss to Anthony Johnson last summer was, but Teixeira took a beating from Alexander Gustafsson in their UFC Fight Night 109 main event in Stockholm. The 37-year-old Brazilian was pasted on the feet for four rounds by “The Mauler,” who then crushed Teixeira to the mat with a brutal series of uppercuts and a right hook. Teixeira is now 4-4 in his last eight starts.

9. Misha Cirkunov (13-3)

Cirkunov rolled into Stockholm on May 28 having won eight straight fights, all by stoppage, with the last four in the Octagon. The Latvian-Canadian's hot streak was extinguished in a hurry, however, as he ran into Switzerland's Volkan Oezdemir -- or at least Oezdemir's right hook -- in just 28 seconds at UFC Fight Night 109. A small silver lining: At least Cirkunov signed a new deal with the UFC beforehand.

10. Nikita Krylov (22-5)

In his first post-UFC bout, Krylov was scheduled to face former Bellator MMA champ Emanuel Newton at Fight Nights Global 68 on June 2. “Al Capone” instead wound up facing late replacement Stjepan Bekavac of Croatia and promptly choked him out with a standing guillotine in just 53 seconds. After 27 pro fights, the Ukrainian has still never been to a decision.

Other Contenders: Ilir Latifi, Liam McGeary, Mauricio Rua, Ovince St. Preux, Linton Vassell.

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