Quinton Jackson returned as the focal point of the light heavyweight division among MMA fans in December. With the Ultimate Fighter Season 10 Finale taking place on Spike TV and Rashad Evans heading at the time towards a January showdown with Thiago Silva, fans continued to have a strong interest in seeing the two coaches go head to head in the Octagon. Falling from the top spot was Tito Ortiz who dropped to sixth in the buzz rankings after a loss to Forrest Griffin. Jon Jones surged up the divisional rankings following his dominant display of skills in his fight against Matt Hamill. Full Top 20 rankings are below.
Tapology’s Buzz Rankings measure fan interest in individual MMA fighters based on online searches and pageviews for information about each athlete. The rankings are not a measure of a fighter’s skill or competitive standing within their division, but rather how much activity or “buzz” surrounds them (positive or negative).
Top 20 Light Heavyweight Buzz Rankings for recent months:
- November 2009 (#1 Rank: Tito Ortiz)
- October 2009 (#1 Rank: Lyoto Machida)
- September 2009 (#1 Rank: Quinton Jackson)
December 2009 Light Heavyweight (205 lbs) Rankings
| December Rank | Light Heavyweight Fighter | November to December Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quinton “Rampage” Jackson | Up 6 |
| 2 | Rashad Evans | Up 4 |
| 3 | Lyoto Machida | Up 1 |
| 4 | Jon Jones | Up 16 |
| 5 | Chuck Lidell | No Change |
| 6 | Tito Ortiz | Down 5 |
| 7 | Thiago Silva | Up 4 |
| 8 | Randy Couture | Down 6 |
| 9 | Forrest Griffin | Down 6 |
| 10 | Gegard Mousasi | No Change |
| 11 | Mauricio “Shogun” Rua | Up 1 |
| 12 | Keith Jardine | Up 5 |
| 13 | Matt Hamill | Up 5 |
| 14 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | Down 5 |
| 15 | Mark Coleman | Down 1 |
| 16 | Brandon Vera | Down 8 |
| 17 | Rich Franklin | Down 2 |
| 18 | James Irvin | Up 8 |
| 19 | Ryan Bader | Up 6 |
| 20 | Gary Goodridge | Up 17 |
Dropped out of Top 20:
Kevin Randleman (#21), Stephan Bonnar (#22), Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (#27)
[...] allowed him to keep his belt after 25 minutes in the Octagon with Shogun Rua on Saturday night. …December MMA Buzz Rankings: Light Heavyweight DivisionQuinton Jackson returned to the top of the light heavyweight buzz rankings in December, having not [...]
[...] 20 Light Heavyweight Buzz Rankings for recent months: – December 2009 (#1 Rank: Quinton Jackson) – November 2009 (#1 Rank: Tito Ortiz) – October 2009 (#1 Rank: Lyoto Machida) – September 2009 (#1 [...]