L.A. Times August MMA Rankings

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Heavyweight

1. Brock Lesnar

2. Cain Velasquez

3. Junior Dos Santos

4. Fabricio Werdum

5. Fedor Emelianenko

6. Alistair Overeem

7. Shane Carwin

8. Frank Mir

9. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

10. Antonio Silva

Junior Dos Santos’ victory over Roy Nelson at UFC 117 solidified his position as the next challenger for the UFC heavyweight title after October’s Lesnar-Velasquez showdown. Dos Santos showcased impressive takedown defense in addition to his excellent striking but raised questions about his cardio for a five round title fight against a tireless opponent.

Light Heavyweight

1. Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua

2. Lyoto Machida

3. Rashad Evans

4. Quinton Jackson

5. Forrest Griffin

6. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

7. Thiago Silva

8. Jon Jones

9. ‘King Mo’ Lawal

10. Gegard Mousasi

Jon Jones looked stellar again in a quick victory over veteran Vladimir Matyushenko. His next fight will come against a more high profile opponent. King Mo returns to action for Strikeforce on August 21.

Middleweight

1. Anderson Silva

2. Chael Sonnen

3. Jake Shields

4. Nate Marquardt

5. Dan Henderson

6. Yushin Okami

7. Vitor Belfort

8. Demian Maia

9. Jacare Souza

10. Cung Le

Chael Sonnen actually moves up a spot following a title loss to Anderson Silva. Sonnen utterly dominated Silva for the vast majority of their fight but was caught with a submission in the final round. Sonnen should receive an immediate rematch given the other potential choice, Vitor Belfort, has done little to earn his title shot. Yushin Okami also impressed in a quality win over the dangerous Mark Munoz.

Welterweight

1. Georges St. Pierre

2. Jon Fitch

3. Josh Koscheck

4. Nick Diaz

5. Thiago Alves

6. Dan Hardy

7. Martin Kampmann

8. Matt Hughes

9. John Hathaway

10. Paulo Thiago

Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck will fight for the UFC welterweight title in December. Jon Fitch is potentially in line to face the winner but might decline the title shot if his friend and training partner Koscheck wins. That could open up an opportunity for Jake Shields, who returns to the welterweight division against Martin Kampmann in October.

Lightweight

1. Frankie Edgar

2. B.J. Penn

3. Gilbert Melendez

4. Eddie Alvarez

5. Gray Maynard

6. Kenny Florian

7. Shinya Aoki

8. George Sotiropoulos

9. Tatsuya Kawajiri

10. Evan Dunham

Frankie Edgar and B.J. Penn will rematch for the UFC lightweight title August 28. Gray Maynard and Kenny Florian will fight each other on the same show with the winner likely in line for the Edgar-Penn winner.

Featherweight

1. Jose Aldo

2. Urijah Faber

3. Bibiano Fernandes

4. Manny Gamburyan

5. Hatsu Hioki

6. Mike Brown

7. Marlon Sandro

8. Josh Grispi

9. Rafael Assuncao

10. Takeshi Inoue

Jose Aldo is close to cleaning out the WEC 145 pound division. If he continues to win, he might be moved to UFC’s 155 pound division. His speed and skill make him a tricky opponent for anyone.

Bantamweight

1. Dominick Cruz

2. Joseph Benavidez

3. Brian Bowles

4. Miguel Torres

5. Takeya Mizugaki

6. Wagnney Fabiano

7. Scott Jorgensen

8. Masakatsu Ueda

9. Damacio Page

10. Eddie Wineland

Dominick Cruz and Joseph Benavidez will fight for the WEC bantamweight title on August 18. That bout is a rematch of Benavidez’s only loss. Strangely, UFC continued to advertise Urijah Faber for that card throughout the weekend of UFC 117, despite the fact Faber pulled out a full month ago.

--Todd Martin