A look at the UFC's money division

It seems almost ridiculous in hindsight, but it wasn't until the end of 1997 that the Ultimate Fighting Championship instituted weight classes. And almost from the day the light heavyweight title (originally called the middleweight title) came into being, it was the company's marquee division.

The impetus behind adding an under-200 pound weight class (moved to 205 pounds a few years later when a 185-pound division was added) was because UFC had signed 1992 Olympic freestyle gold-medal winning wrestler Kevin Jackson. Jackson, who was still in competition and among the world's elite in his sport, had been signed by Extreme Fighting Championships, UFC's rival, and looked tremendous in his early matches.

With the sport in a purgatory of sorts, the idea that one of its champions was an Olympic gold medalist seemed like a good counter to the perception that UFC fighters were bar-fighting thugs.

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE HISTORY • Dec. 21, 1997: Frank Shamrock def. Kevin Jackson in :14 of round one with an armbar in Yokohama, Japan to become the first UFC middleweight (Under-200 pounds) champion. • Sept. 24, 1999: Shamrock beat Tito Ortiz in Lake Charles, La., then vacated title due to a contract impasse. • April 21, 2000: Tito Ortiz def. Wanderlei Silva via decision in Tokyo to win vacant title (division was soon renamed light heavyweight, weight limit moved to 205) • June 6, 2003: After Ortiz refused to sign a match with Chuck Liddell and was in a contract dispute, the UFC created an interim championship as Randy Couture def. Liddell via ref stoppage at 2:40 of the third round due to strikes on the ground in Las Vegas • Sept. 26, 2003: Couture def. Ortiz to unify the championship via decision in Las Vegas • April 16, 2005: Liddell knocked out Couture in 2:06 of round one in Las Vegas to win championship • May 26, 2007: Quinton Jackson knocked out Liddell in 1:57 of round one in Las Vegas to win championship

But in the division's debut match Dec. 21, 1997, in Yokohama, Japan, Frank Shamrock armbarred Jackson in 14 seconds.

Shortly afterward, Randy Couture, who won the heavyweight championship for the first time on the same show, quit the promotion in a money dispute. As the heavyweight division floundered over the next few years, it was Shamrock who carried the promotion during what were the dark ages of the sport. But, for almost an entire decade, through reigns of Tito Ortiz, Couture, Chuck Liddell and now Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, light heavyweight has been the company's money division.

It looked like 2007 would be when the heavyweights would take the spotlight. Couture won the heavyweight title, and people started talking about the potential of matches with Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fedor Emelianenko, but, like a decade earlier, the division unraveled.

In 2008, UFC's heavyweight and middleweight divisions could use more depth. The welterweights have a dominant performer in Georges St. Pierre and a champion he's chasing in Matt Serra, and a solid crew trying to claw their way into contention. The lightweights are filled with names who can and do regularly give incredible matches. But the biggest money matches are still at light heavyweight.

The main match comes in the summer. Current champion Jackson and Forrest Griffin soon start filming as opposing coaches on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show. After three months of television, which starts airing April 2, they'll fight, probably in July.

But Liddell remains UFC’s biggest moneymaker. His match with Wanderlei Silva on Dec. 29 drew the second largest live gate in UFC history (behind only Liddell's 2006 title defense against Tito Ortiz), and whatever tarnish his image may have had from two consecutive losses was rehabbed, at least in fans' eyes, by scoring a solid decision over a legitimate Hall of Fame fighter.

It is no secret if there is a record-breaking match on the horizon, it would be Jackson vs. Liddell. The problem is justifying it. Jackson solidly beat Liddell twice, once in Japan in 2003 and again when he knocked him out in just 1:53 to win the title May 26.

UFC has yet to decide what is next for Liddell, but the two most viable options are a rematch with Keith Jardine, who upset Liddell via split decision Sept. 22, or coming right back with another match with Silva, with the odds stronger in the direction of the latter match.

The decision will be based on a number of things. Among the questions are who will produce the best box office (likely Silva); what will be the most exciting match (hard to say as both matches were exciting but based on first encounters, the edge goes to Silva); and what win will mean the most in selling people on the idea the old Liddell is back (again the edge is to Silva). The other note is that with a Silva match, there is a definite place to go next. A Jardine win would knock Liddell out of contention and out of money matches, and would set up Jardine as an opponent for the Jackson-Griffin winner. A Silva win would knock Liddell out of contention but set up two possibilities: a third Liddell-Silva match or Silva challenging the winner, particularly Jackson, since Silva beat Jackson twice in Japan.

There are another nine fighters who come into the year with hopes of doing damage in the division. Not all are true title contenders, but they are all part of the top-tier mix:

HOUSTON ALEXANDER

After knockouts of Jardine and Alessio Sakara, fans were ready to anoint Alexander as the next superstar of the division. But a dose of reality hit Nov. 17 against Thiago Silva. Alexander took the fight to the ground, a clear mistake because he seemed outclassed, and was quickly knocked out. At 36, time is running out to shore up that weakness, but he would still make a viable opponent for a number of fighters on this list. While not signed, the current plan is for him to face James Irvin on March 8 in Manchester, England.

STEPHAN BONNAR

Best known for his loss to Forrest Griffin in the first Ultimate Fighter finale, a bout that legitimately could have gone in his direction, the 14-4 Bonnar is in something of a sink-or-swim position when he faces Matt Hamill on the April 2 Spike TV special from Denver.

RASHAD EVANS

At 16-0-1, Evans is coming off a win over Michael Bisping (who is moving to middleweight) and a draw with Tito Ortiz. His stand-up is solid and his wrestling is good. He's not flashy, which hurts him when it comes to being mentioned in top company. But he's a quality opponent for anyone on the list.

MATT HAMILL

At 5-1, Hamill is the example of someone who became a bigger star in losing than he ever did in winning. The deaf fighter introduced on the Ultimate Fighter lost a decision that almost everyone who wasn't judging the fight thought he had won against Michael Bisping on a Spike TV show Sept. 8 from London. What made it bigger is that it ended up as the third-most watched MMA fight ever in the U.S., and the American got robbed against a Brit in England. Knee surgery stopped him from following up on all his positive momentum. Hamill is a strong wrestler who surprisingly held his own striking with an experienced stand-up fighter. Bonnar will provide a test as to where he really stands.

LYOTO MACHIDA

At 12-0, Machida, a Brazilian of Japanese ancestry, is an interesting case. He has been completely dominant in every UFC fight thus far. He's dominated Olympic judo hopefuls like Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Kazuhiro Nakamura on the ground, and nobody has touched him standing. But Machida's point karate style fighting, where he throws a bunch and then backs off, doesn't make for exciting fights. Stylistically, he's the one guy they probably want to keep away from Liddell and thus there is no movement going in that direction. The current plan is for Machida to face Tito Ortiz in the spring, but Ortiz has yet to accept it. If he were to beat Ortiz, a title shot would be imminent.

TITO ORTIZ

There is a saying in boxing and wrestling that fits Ortiz – "He's money." Some people love him. Others love to hate him. Ortiz headlined the two biggest non-boxing sports PPV events in history (fights with Liddell and Ken Shamrock in 2006) and with the exception of Liddell, is the best known fighter in the division. At 15-5-1, Ortiz hasn't been the same fighter since back problems started plaguing him in 2003. He's in the last fight of his contract and his problems with UFC president Dana White are legendary. Clearly, a fight with Machida is designed as a big name opponent to stamp Machida as a star to the American public. But it's the classic win/win for the promotion, because a strong Ortiz, like him or not, can headline against any fighter on this list and through the rub, make them a bigger star to the buying public. And if he can put together a winning streak, he would once again draw huge numbers for a title match.

MAURICIO "SHOGUN" RUA

The 16-3 Rua was considered by many the best fighter in the world in the division before being choked out by Griffin on Sept. 22 in Anaheim, Calif. Rua did go in with a knee that needed surgery, but Griffin went in needing shoulder surgery. Rua is talented at every facet of the game, but with Griffin, he ran into a bigger and stronger opponent who had trained harder. There is a big difference between UFC and Pride – different rules, different mentality, cage vs. ring, stricter drug testing and bigger guys who cut hard to make a weight class. Shogun should be back in a few months, and time will tell if he learned a lesson from his loss. But he handed Jackson the most one-sided loss of his career and still may be the most talented all-around fighter in the division.

THIAGO SILVA

At 12-0, Silva knocked out Alexander on the ground in his last match. Silva's a well-rounded fighter but has not been tested by upper-tier competition. He will almost surely be tested by the end of the year.

RAMEAU THIERRY SOKOUDJOU

After knockout wins over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona in the dying days of Pride, the Cameroon native seemed like the next big thing in the division. But the Machida loss made him look like a beginner. Sokoudjou has a lot of rebuilding to do. Unlike Alexander, who is in the same position, at 23, he has plenty of time for it.

Dave Meltzer covers mixed martial arts for Yahoo! Sports. Send Dave a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

Updated on Friday, Jan 11, 2008 3:10 pm, EST

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