The light heavyweight division is arguably the UFC’s strongest division. With all the talent available, it would be nice to examine which fighters are in the title hunt, which fighters are in the gray area, and which fighters are not in the title hunt. Although not meant to be a true ranking of light heavyweights, these categories can help us determine who is closest to the title and who is farthest away.

In title contention:

Rampage Jackson: Jackson is the most obvious choice. After all, he’s the champion. He won big at UFC 75, earned himself a coaching spot on The Ultimate Fighter, and remains as entertaining as ever.

Forrest Griffin: After some back and forth efforts earlier in his career, Forrest rebounded in a big way with a slick submission victory over top ranked Mauricio Rua. This earned him a spot coaching next to Rampage and a title shot following TUF 7.

Lyoto Machida: Machida proved that he is the real deal with a quick submission of newcomer Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at UFC 79. He’s been beating opponents up in the UFC for a few months now but due to his methodical style, not many fans have taken notice. They should now.

Chuck Liddell: The Iceman represents the first in a slew of contenders about one win away from legitimizing a title shot. Although he suffered a bad loss to Rampage and was decisioned by Keith Jardine, Liddell dominated Wanderlei Silva during their bout at UFC 79. He’s definitely back on the upswing.

Dan Henderson: Henderson didn’t lose too badly to Rampage and it’s a shame that his introduction to UFC fans was in defeat. However, before the big Wanderlei knockout, Hendo was known as “Decision Dan.” He’ll have to shed that moniker and rack up a win or two before being considered for another shot at gold. Of course, now that he’s dropping down to the middleweight division, will Henderson ever compete again at light heavyweight?

Keith Jardine: A big win over Liddell was nice, but his devastating knockout loss to Houston Alexander is still too fresh in fan’s minds. He’s definitely in the title picture, but he also needs a win or two for serious consideration. He’s also not as marketable as Liddell or Henderson, which is why they would get title shots before him.

Rashad Evans: “Sugar” hasn’t done anything wrong (winning TUF, beating Bisping), but then again, he hasn’t really done anything right. Since he hasn’t lost yet, he has to be recognized as a title contender, but he could really use an exciting win or two.

Gray:

Mauricio Rua: Formerly considered the #1 light heavyweight in the world (and still #3 on my list), Rua has a good amount of work to do in convincing UFC fans that he is the real deal. In their eyes, his only fight was an embarrassing loss to Griffin in which he looked out of shape and overmatched. He needs to come out firing if he wants to be mentioned in the same breath as Rampage, whom he soundly beat in PRIDE.

Wanderlei Silva: Silva is in a similar situation as Rua. More fans are aware of his pre-UFC successes, but he’s now in the midst of a three-fight losing streak. That kind of performance won’t get you anywhere in MMA, and it’ll get you even less on a list with this kind of talent. Silva needs to turn his bus around, fast.

Matt Hamill: Poor Matt Hamill. He probably would have won his season of TUF if not for an injury and he did win his fight against Bisping, although his record doesn’t reflect it. He’s tough to market and is coming off a loss to a middle of the road, former light heavyweight in Bisping. He’s a good fighter and has tremendous potential, which is why he’s not completely out of the picture.

Out:

Tito Ortiz: Before this flurry of PRIDE fighters entered the UFC, Tito Ortiz was the #2 draw at this weight. Since then, he’s fought to a draw against Rashad Evans (is there anything worse in sports than a tie?) and hasn’t been booked again. Rumors have him matched up against Rua sometime next year, but even that will put him at a year in between fights. How can you be in contention if you never fight?

Houston Alexander: Yes, he was severely beaten by Thiago Silva at UFC 78, but it wasn’t long ago that Alexander shocked the MMA world with quick knockouts of Jardine and Alessio Sakara. He’ll need to find his winning ways and avoid the ground if he wants to move up on this list. Until then, he’s out of the title picture.

Michael Bisping: Even if it wasn’t for his “win” against Hamill and loss to Evans, Bisping would still be out of the title picture…because he’s dropped to middleweight. Have fun with Anderson Silva!

Stephan Bonnar: He’s coming off two wins, but a steroid suspension, two losses to Forrest, and one to Rashad are enough to put you solidly out of contention. He’ll need a few more years of winning and at least one win over Griffin before he’s in the hunt.

Alessio Sakara: He’s a cool 2-3 in the UFC, with losses to Houston Alexander and lesser-known Drew McFedries. Like Bonnar, it’ll be quite some time before we hear Sakara’s name mentioned in the same breath as Rampage.

Kazuhiro Nakamura: Well, he’s 0-1 in the UFC (a loss to Machida), but never fear, MMA fans! Before that, he was beaten by Mauricio Rua…and before that, he was knocked out by Wanderlei Silva…and before that, he was beaten twice by Antonio Rogerio Nogueira…and before that, well, you get the picture. My guess is that they had 15 light heavyweights and wanted an even number. Nakamura is the 16th and furthest away from the belt.