{"id":7446,"date":"2010-07-02T20:33:54","date_gmt":"2010-07-03T03:33:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/?p=7446"},"modified":"2010-07-02T20:35:18","modified_gmt":"2010-07-03T03:35:18","slug":"inside-the-fight-game-top-mma-fighters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/?p=7446","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Fight Game: Top MMA Fighters"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mauricio "Shogun" Rua is the number one ranked MMA Light Heavyweight<\/p><\/div>\n

By George Hernandez<\/p>\n

With MMA\u2019s Light Heavyweight division being\u00a0so stacked it was impossible to keep it at 20 so I bumped it up to 25. You\u2019ll still see the regulars at the top like \u201cShogun\u201d, Rampage, and Griffin. Also I included my Top 10 area amateur fighters. These are fighters that have been on MIDVALLEYSPORTS.COM and that I have seen fight. If you have a fighter or fighters that you think should be included on this list email me at MVS_FightGame@yahoo.com.<\/p>\n

Top 25 MMA Light Heavyweights:<\/p>\n

1. Mauricio \u201cShogun\u201d Rua (19-4, UFC LHW Champ) – Showed the Machida loss was a fluke; now looks to take out Evans.<\/p>\n

2. Rashad Evans (18-1-1) – After a lackluster win over Rampage, Evans gets his shot at the red hot champ \u201cShogun\u201d.<\/p>\n

3. Quinton \u201cRampage\u201d Jackson (30-8) – A disappointing loss to Evans keeps him out of the title match but a win will put him right back in it against \u201cLil Nog\u201c at UFC 119. The winner faces winner of Shogun\/Evans.<\/p>\n

4. Lyoto Machida (16-1) – After suffering the first loss of his career will \u201cThe Dragon\u201d bounce back?<\/p>\n

5. Forrest Griffin (17-6) – Win over Ortiz put him back on track for another big bout and then a title shot.<\/p>\n

6. Muhammed Lawal (7-0, Strikeforce LHW Champ) – Could show he\u2019s the best in the world if he was in the UFC\u2019s light heavyweight division; Will face \u201cFeijao in first title defense.<\/p>\n

7. Randy Couture (18-10) – Toney isn\u2019t going to get him any higher in the rankings, but it will be his third straight win.<\/p>\n

8. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-3) – After almost losing to Brilz some of the \u201cLil Nog\u201d hype was lost but he\u2019s a Nogueira and he\u2019ll come back with a vengeance. A win over Rampage at 119 means he\u2019ll get a shot at the winner of Shogun\/Evans.<\/p>\n

9. Rich Franklin (28-5) – Wins over Wandy and Liddell in his last three fights could put him closer to a title shot then people think.<\/p>\n

10. Gegard Mousasi (28-3-1) – After losing his belt to \u201cKing Mo\u201d Mousasi will try to get back on track in the Dream light heavyweight grand prix.<\/p>\n

11. Thiago Silva (14-2) – Could be the light heavyweight wild card after an injury cost him a win against Evans, maybe he should be getting the title shot.<\/p>\n

12. Jon Jones (10-1) – The most hyped fighter in the UFC gets a real test against Matushenko at UFC on Versus 2.<\/p>\n

13. Ryan Bader (11-0) – Bader looks better every fight as he\u2019s worked his way to the top tier of fighters.<\/p>\n

14. Matt Hamill (9-2) – With the best wrestling in the division and striking getting better every bout Hamill could beat anybody in the division.<\/p>\n

15. Vladimir Matushenko (24-4) – Hardcore MMA fans know \u201cThe Janitor\u201d is a great fighter. A win over Jones would prove how good he is.<\/p>\n

16. Rafael \u201cFeijao\u201d Cavalcante (9-2) \u2013 After training with the Nogueira\u2019s and Anderson Silva, does anything else need to be said? He gets first crack at \u201cKing Mo\u201d.<\/p>\n

17. Chuck Liddell (21-8) – Three straight knockout losses to top light heavyweights, but \u201cThe Iceman\u201d is still a legend and can knockout anyone in the game.<\/p>\n

18. Cyrille Diabate (16-6-1) – Knockout win over former top prospect Cane shoots him up the rankings.<\/p>\n

19. Jason Brilz (18-3-1) – Great showing against \u201cLil Nog\u201d. Some think he should have got the W.<\/p>\n

20. Luiz Cane (10-3) – Two straight losses put him in the bottom of the UFC\u2019s food chain.<\/p>\n

21. Brandon Vera (11-5) – What Vera will show up the next time?<\/p>\n

22. Richardo Arona (14-5) – Could he be the next to sign with the UFC?<\/p>\n

23. Tito Ortiz (16-7-1) – Backing out of his fight with Liddell looked like a good choice. What\u2019s next for the former champ?<\/p>\n

24. Mike Kyle (15-7-1) – Can never count out a puncher like \u201cMAC\u201d.<\/p>\n

25. Keith Jardine (15-9-1) – Released after four straight UFC losses, could be a great pick up for Strikeforce.<\/p>\n

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Chris Fajardo is the number one ranked area MMA Amateur Fighter<\/p><\/div>\n

Top 10 Area MMA Amateur Fighters:<\/p>\n

1. Chris Fajardo (Ring of Fire) – Has shown his well rounded skills in all of his fights and is ready to make the next step after the IFS tournament.<\/p>\n

2. Max Garibay (Ring of Fire) – Probably didn\u2019t see the best \u201cBeanie Boy\u201d at Quake in the Cage but still pulled off the win against at tough opponent.<\/p>\n

3. Edward Chavez (Submission Factory) – Fighting out of El Monte Chavez came in as a last second replacement and faced Vega at \u201cQuake in the Cage\u201d and still got the win.<\/p>\n

4. Anthony Hernandez (Fight Academy) \u2013 Showed a great stand up game against Mike Green just has to let those hands go.<\/p>\n

5. Beto Rodriguez (Team Florez) – Fighting out of La Puente Rodriguez is probably the best striker on the list. With some more takedown defense he could move up the rankings fast.<\/p>\n

6. Israel Flores (Sling\u2019em MMA\/Team Florez) – Former Mountain View Viking with only self training he hasn\u2019t tasted defeat yet. He\u2019s now working with Alan Florez and Mark De La Cruz at Team Florez, \u201cIzzy\u201d should make his way up the rankings.<\/p>\n

7. Paul Uhl (Ring of Fire) – Former Temple City Ram had a tough loss after an injury at \u201cQuake in the Cage\u201d but \u201cLil Hulk\u201d showed heart through the whole fight, and will be back with a vengeance.<\/p>\n

8. Anthony Olivas (Blood Bank MMA) – This Arroyo Knight is getting ready for his July 30th fight. He\u2019s coming off a win and should be hungry for another one.<\/p>\n

9. Danny Vega (Ring of Fire) – The toughest of the bunch. He showed he is well rounded against a more experienced fighter at \u201cQuake in the Cage\u201d and he wants to jump right back in the cage.<\/p>\n

10. Eric Villages (Ring of Fire) \u2013 Will be fighting July 10th<\/sup> and with the training partners he has he should put on a show.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By George Hernandez With MMA\u2019s Light Heavyweight division being\u00a0so stacked it was impossible to keep it at 20 so I bumped it up to 25. You\u2019ll still see the regulars at the top like \u201cShogun\u201d, Rampage, and Griffin. Also I included my Top 10 area amateur fighters. These are fighters that have been on MIDVALLEYSPORTS.COM […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[779,3315,3314,1702,3269,3223,3310,2176,3308,126,3224,3309,3311,3312,3316,3317,1791,3318,1695,1698,2236,3313],"class_list":["post-7446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-anthony-olivas","tag-beto-rodriguez","tag-chris-fajardo","tag-chuck-liddell","tag-edward-chavez","tag-eric-villegas","tag-forrest-griffin","tag-keith-jardine","tag-mauricio-shogun-rua","tag-mma","tag-paul-uhl","tag-quinton-rampage-jackson","tag-randy-coture","tag-rich-franklin","tag-ring-of-fire","tag-slingem","tag-strikeforce","tag-team-florez","tag-thiago-silva","tag-tito-ortiz","tag-ufc","tag-vladimir-matushenko"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7446"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7450,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7446\/revisions\/7450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}