Due to the loss of Chuck Liddell and the impressive win from Forrest Griffin there is a drastic change to the Light Heavyweight division top 4 list. Liddell is now off my top 4 list. That’s something I probably wouldn’t believe if you told me that six months ago. Forrest is now ranked third for beating the once ranked #1 fighter, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua. Now Rua is bumped from the top spot to fourth.
Some may wonder how Forrest could jump so high up on the ladder. The reason being is that Forest is a strong and dynamic fighter and has proved his ever evolving fight game since his TUF show. His recent loss came to a hair-thin close decision to Tito Ortiz and a 1st round KO from Keith Jardine where he was winning round until the KO. When Forrest beat Rua he beat him convincingly in rounds 2 and 3. There was no doubt that Forrest was the better fighter that night.
Fighters on my list that are barely holding on to their spot at the moment are Fedor Emaliananko and Mirko ‘Cro Cop’. The last time Fedor fought an actual heavyweight was against Mark Hunt at New Year’s Eve. Fedor has not signed with any organizations yet, but if he still wants to retain his number 1 status he’ll need to fight someone who’s in the top 8 in his division soon. In order to do that he’ll need to sign.
Mirko is coming off two losses back to back. That’s a first for his career. One more loss to anyone whether they’re to the top ranked 3 fighters or not he will be off the list. He hasn’t been impressive as of late and Mirko will need to do something right away otherwise his ‘CroCop’ legacy in MMA is something only hardcore MMA fans will be discussing on the internet in an obscure chatroom.