State of UFC’s Light Heavyweight Division

It has been over two years since the long reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones stepped away from the sport and relinquished his title.  Since then, the division has been in turmoil.  The title belt has already been passed through three sets of hands – a similar state of affairs to what the division went through in the period between Chuck Liddell losing the title and Jones finding his way to the top. It may be a while before we have another dominant champion at 205 lbs.  If you are a bettor, this could mean some unpredictable results, but if you have a knack for predicting fights, you can try your luck betting on UFC with crypto at Cloudbet. In the meantime, let’s look at the current top fighters in the division, and their prospects in the near future.

[#1] (C)  Jiri Prochazka 

The current UFC champion hails from Czech Republic and holds a record of 29-3-1, with only one of his fights going to a decision. Prochazka has a wild, aggressive fighting style.  This generally leads to exciting fights and earned Jiri a title shot in his third fight with the promotion, after scoring knockouts over Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes. Prochazka was in some trouble in a war with the previous champ Glover Teixeira, but against all odds managed to submit Glover with a rear naked choke in the last minute of the fight. Jiri’s offense-heavy style may ultimately cost him the title but he is sure to deliver enterntaiment while on top. Prochazka expressed interest in facing Jan or rematching Teixeira for his first defense.

[#2] Jan Blachowicz 

The ‘Legendary Polish Power’ of Jan Blachowicz helped him earn the UFC title after it was vacated by Jon Jones, in a second round knockout of Reyes. His tactical combination of striking and wrestling led to a successful defense against the middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, however Glover Teixeira made short work of Jan in his next fight. Blachowicz defeated Alexandar Rakic in his most recent outing, when Rakic suffered a knee injury in the third round. The  nature of the stoppage could mean that Jan would have to win one more fight before getting another title shot.

[#3]  Glover Teixeira

Glover Teixeira has had a long MMA career, and has earned a title shot at Jon Jones back in 2014. Teixeira failed to defeat the champion and had to grind his way back for another seven years, before finally capturing the title at the age of 42, making him the second oldest UFC champion in history after Randy Couture. He came up short in his first defense, tapping out to Jiri Prochazka in what was the first submission loss of his career for the legendary grappler. Glover holds a record for most submissions in the divisional history, and while he doesn’t have long left in the sport, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to see him holding the belt once again before long. A rematch with Blachowicz or Prochazka are likely options for Teixeira’s next fight.

[#7] Magomed Ankalaev

The Dagestani fighter has racked up eight consecutive wins in UFC after losing his debut to Paul Craig – and is taking on Anthony Smith next in what is being billed as the top contender fight by UFC president Dana White. Winning nine in a row is surely worthy of a title shot; however Ankalaev’s tactical striking has lead to some dull performances in his last few wins – something that may hold him back in favor of more exciting fighters. The clash of styles between the careful and defensive Ankalaev and the powerful and reckless striking of Jiri Prochazka will make for an interesting match-up, if it comes to pass.

[#9] Aleksandar Rakic

Aleksandar ‘Rocket’ Rakic hails from Austria and holds a respectable 6-2 record in the UFC, however the knee injury he suffered in his most recent outing against Jan Blachowicz could be a serious setback to his career.  There’s currently no timeline for his return – and the light heavyweight Top 10 may look very different by the time Rakic is ready to fight again.

[#10] Dominick Reyes

‘The Devastator’ was hailed by many as the next champion after a 6-0 start to his UFC career. Unfortunately he has had a rough run as of late – after losing a controversial decision to then champion Jon Jones, he has been suffered consecutive knock out losses to Jan Blachowicz and Jiri Prochazka. Three straight losses is a difficult hurdle to overcome for a contender and Reyes is facing a long road back to the top of the division.

[#11]  Thiago Santos

Thiago ‘Marreta’ Santos started out as a middleweight in the UFC but eventually found more success at 205 lbs, peaking with a title shot against Jones in 2019. Though Santos went the distance with Jones, he suffered ligament tears in both knees during the fight, which has led to a noticeable decline in his performances after this fight. It looks like the 38-year-old is on a downward slide, winning only one out of four fights after his encounter with Jones. Thiago is taking on the hard hitting Jamahal Hill next, and a loss here could mean an end to his run with the promotion.

[#12]  Anthony Smith

Similar to Thiago Santos, Anthony ‘Lionheart’ Smith is a former middleweight who moved up a division late in his career, to earn a title shot against Jones but come up short on the judges scorecards. He’s had a few uninspired performances after that loss but managed to put together a three-fight win streak which earned him another #1 contender fight against Magomed Ankalaev. Smith is a +300 underdog against Ankalaev and rightfully so, however we have seen him surprise the oddsmakers before.

[#13] Paul Craig

Paul ‘Bearjew’ Craig has a rather unusual nickname, but he is most known for his ability to take a beating only to come back and submit his opponent. This approach worked for Glover Teixeira so there’s no reason to think that Paul Craig won’t eventually get a crack at the gold. He is currently riding a streak of four stoppage wins, and is facing Volkan Oezdemir in his next bout.

[#14]  Jamahal Hill 

One of the more exciting prospects in the division, Jamahal ‘Sweet Dreams’ Hill is 4-1 (1 NC) in the Octagon to date, with three wins coming by brutal T/KOs.  Hill has very heavy hands and puts a mauling on his opponents in the striking range; his ground game and submission defense could use some work as evidenced by his loss to Paul Craig.  Hill is taking on Thiago Santos next, a fight which should produce fireworks and likely add to Jamahal’s highlight reel.

[#15]  Ryan Spann

Last but not least on this list is the 30-year-old Ryan Spann. ‘Superman’ won his first four UFC bouts but then has alternated wins and losses in his next four. A well-rounded fighter who has came up through Dana White’s Contender Series, Spann is coming off a submission victory over Ian Cutelaba and will be looking to climb the rankings in his next fight.