MMA Top 10 Light Heavyweights: Don't Forget Thiago Silva

I don't think we've all given enough credit to Thiago Silva.

To review, Silva is 14-1 in his MMA career, and the only loss is to the undefeated undisputed champion of the light heavyweight division, Lyoto Machida. Of Silva's 14 wins, he's finished 10 opponents in the first round, the most recent of which was Keith Jardine Saturday night at UFC 102.

And yet the UFC's light heavyweight division is so stacked that on my list of the Top 10 light heavyweights in MMA, there are eight UFC fighters ahead of Silva. The full list is below.

Top 10 light heavyweights in MMA
1. Lyoto Machida: Makes his first title defense against Shogun Rua in October.

2. Anderson Silva The middleweight champion is the second best light heavyweight in the world. Unfortunately, he says he'll never fight Machida.

3. Rampage Jackson When I was in Bristol last week, an ESPN producer told me that Rampage, more than any other MMA fighter, is the kind of character who attracts mainstream sports fans.

4. Rashad Evans He'll be a great foil to Rampage on The Ultimate Fighter, and a great opponent for him in December.

5. Forrest Griffin Tough to know what's next for Griffin after Anderson Silva destroyed him. Perhaps a rematch with Jardine?

6. Shogun Rua I'm not picking him to beat Machida, but I do think he's the UFC light heavyweight with the best set of skills to match up with Machida.

7. Dan Henderson He says he'll fight at light heavyweight if he doesn't get the next crack at Silva's middleweight belt. Even though I think he's a very good 205-pounder, I'd like to see him take on Nate Marquardt at 185 pounds.

8. Rich Franklin His battle with Vitor Belfort at UFC 103 is the biggest MMA fight in a slow September.

9. Thiago Silva Who's next? I'd like to see him get someone in the Top 10, but most of the guys above him have full dance cards.

10. Gegard Mousasi UFC President Dana White would love to sign Mousasi. As long as Mousasi is with Strikeforce, Dream and M-1 Global, it's hard to see who can challenge him at 205 pounds.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

9-01-2009 @ 8:59AM

easy7179 said...

the div. to me is not as stacked as it has been in the past(still very solid) i would love to see couture come back down to 205 and fight some of the guys on the back end of the div. mousasi really needs to come to ufc if he wants the best possible fights at lhw. theres more for him at mw in strikeforce

9-01-2009 @ 9:25AM

Eric said...

I can't argue with your list because I sure you formed it based on what fighters have done, not who they could beat or how good we "think" they are ... if I were to put together a top 10, listing fighters based on who I think is the best regardless of past accomplishments, it would be as follows:

Machida
Anderson
Mousasi
Rampage
Shogun
not very important from here down...

9-01-2009 @ 10:54AM

imshortyk said...

Good list, Eric, but I'd have to replace Rampage with Rashad. If you're not basing it off past accomplishments, then I believe Rashad would be there. I really like both fighters, they're dynamic and explosive, but Rashad is MORE so, and he's most likely the better wrestler and actually throws and checks kicks. I think he's going to pick Rampage apart in the bout in December, but we'll see.

9-01-2009 @ 4:08PM

Have you seen Rampage's fight against Randleman? Rampage's takedown defense is incredible.

I think it's gonna be one hell of a fight.

9-01-2009 @ 4:17PM

johnnynumber5 said...

Rampage and Rashad are two of my top 3 favorites of all time (BJ Penn being the other one) and I see this fight ending very ugly for Rashad. I think he gets hit with a couple of those big bombs and it's lights out for Rampage. The best case scenario for Rampage is to have Shogun beat Machida and set up a Rampage vs Shogun grudge match from the old Pride days for the LHW title. As much as I like Rampage I don't see him being successful against Machida.

9-01-2009 @ 9:36AM

Forgot to mention ...

If Anderson won't agree to fight the best at 205 (Machida), then the UFC shouldn't make fights for him at 205 & we shouldn't recognize him as a member of the top 10 at 205 ... just my 2 cents.

9-01-2009 @ 11:37AM

RJ said...

Mousasi ranked at #10 is way to low. He would wipe the floor with half the guys ranked ahead of him.

Also having Forrest Griffin at #5 is absolutely laughable.

9-01-2009 @ 1:03PM

richardbikle said...

how can you overlook vitor, easily one of the most talented fighters out there. i see him beating franklin soundly.

9-01-2009 @ 2:39PM

I agree with you about Vitor, I can see Franklin possibly getting knocked out in that fight, but do you think he should be on this list given that his last 2 fights have been against middleweights.

9-01-2009 @ 3:34PM

they're fighting at a catch weight aren't they... i forgot. Actually i could see vitor on both lists, MW & LHW. I actually think he can beat Silva.

9-01-2009 @ 4:34PM

This entire list is damn near a complete jome in my opinion. Where is Rogerio Noguiera? Mousasi ranked below Griffin, Franklin, Henderson? Seriously?

A more accurate list -

1. Machida
2. Mousasi
3. Rampage
4. Rua
5. A. Silva
6. Noguiera
7. Evans
8. T. Silva
9. Henderson
10. Sobral or Cane

Jardine, Franklin, Griffin, W.Silva and Liddell don't deserve to be in any top 10 rankings anywhere. Why should Anderson Silva be ranked second when he has barely beaten anyone in the division?

All of the lists done here on MMA Fanhouse always give more credit to Zuffa fighters than fighters in other organizations.

How can anyone in the right mind convince themselves that there are 9 fighters in the world at LHW that are better than Gegard Mousasi? Not only is he the second best LHW in the world he is also one of the top 5 best P4P fighters in the world if you look at his accomplishments across multiple weight classes over the last 1.5 years.

9-01-2009 @ 4:48PM

How about Thiago Silva vs Brandon Vera? That would be a super compelling fights with two guys that are certainly on their way back towards the top of the division. I might even revise my top 10 LHW list and put Vera at number 10 ahead of Cane and Sobral.

9-01-2009 @ 4:58PM

Cane is a bad dude. I see him as a dark horse in the 205 division. I'd love to see him against Thiago Silva.

Vera hasn't impressed me since his first few UFC fights at heavyweight. He is unable to pull the trigger, and fights with too much caution IMO.

9-02-2009 @ 3:03AM

winky87 said...

The Forrest rank at #5 seems very high as others said. I mean he got knocked out by Jardine (which looks even worse now) and then wins 2 fights and then wins the title on a decision...then loses convincingly 2 times in a row and he's #5??? I love the guy, but #5 is unreal.

Mousasi should be way higher, yes, probably top 5.

The Rich Franklin debate honestly sucks, and it's because the UFC is throwing him in these catchweight fights and the fans don't even know what to think of them. This Belfort fight should help, but what if it's another split decision or something? I'm a Franklin fan and wish they would just stick him in the middle of the 205-lb-ers and let him work it out. I'd love to see him fight someone like Thiago Silva right now and see if he's for real. At least the winner of that fight will get something out of it...