Champ: Quinton Jackson

Top Contenders:
Forrest Griffin
Keith Jardine
Dan Henderson
Wanderlei Silva
Rashad Evans
Tito Ortiz
Chuck Liddell
Mauricio Rua
Lyoto Machida
Jason Lambert
Houston Alexander

With the recent upsets at UFC 76 and the signing of Wanderlei Silva, the light heavyweight division has become loaded with competitors that are all in the hunt for a title shot. With Rampage not set to defend again until 2008, there is still plenty of time to determine who he will fight next. There is no clear-cut #1 contender at this time, so there could be some exciting matchups in the near future.

Despite losing his last two fights to Cro Cop and Henderson, Wanderlei Silva could be moved into title contention quickly. There are really two options I see for Wanderlei’s first fight in December. Either the UFC hold the long-awated Liddell-Silva match despite their recent losses (which I doubt will happen), or Wanderlei fights either Forrest or Jardine for a title shot.

Despite his loss to Rampage, Dan Henderson is still in the mix if he chooses to remain at LHW. The big question is whether he’ll cut down to 185. That may be better for the UFC, but with the competition being so much better at 205, Henderson may prefer to stay at light heavyweight.

Prior to his draw with Tito Ortiz, Rashad Evans looked like he was on the way to a title fight. With the recent activity in the division and their extended layoff while Tito renegotiates his contract, both Ortiz and Evans have fallen a bit further back in the mix at 205. Still, if either fighter pulls off an impressive win in their rematch, he would be close to a title shot in 2008.

Chuck and Shogun both looked out of their game in their recent losses. Despite their losses, these two were at the top of the division for so long that they could easily be back in title contention with a couple of dominant performances. Chuck needs to pick apart his opponents the way he used to and get back the fire he once had. As for Shogun, he needs to bring his conditioning back to peak form if he wants to make his mark in the UFC.

Lyoto Machida has been criticized for being a boring fighter, but he looked like he was taking a step in the right direction with his win over Nakamura at UFC 76. His style would provide an interesting match for any of the strikers in the division. He may also benefit from cutting down to middleweight (he has a win over Rich Franklin outside the UFC).

Jason Lambert is someone who has fallen off of the radar screen with all the recent activity in the LHW weight class, but his upset win over Babalu back in March pushed him up the ranks of this division. He is in a position to face some top competition, and is well within reach of the top of this weight class.

Houston Alexander has taken the UFC by storm with two impressive knockout wins in his first two fights. He is an exciting striker with heavy hands, but he hasn’t faced anyone with a solid ground game in the UFC yet. If he continues his explosive ways, Alexander could move into title contention, but I think he needs a win against someone like Machida or Tito to prove he can win a fight that goes beyond trading blows and swinging for the fences.