Top 10 Light Heavyweights: Unsigned Talent
Light Heavyweight – 205 pounds
1. Glover Teixeira (12-2)
Glover Teixeira may be the most talked about fighter on the underground forums, who does not fight for a major promotion. Teixeira’s popularity goes all the way back to his appearance on Tapout’s reality series, where Teixeira was a training partner of Chuck Lidell at the Pit. Teixeira has not fought in the United States since 2008 due to visa issues. Despite being married to an American, constant delays have wreaked havoc on his mixed martial arts career. Teixeira is currently on a 10-fight winning streak and will face Jiu-Jitsu legend Marcio Cruz in a catchweight bout. Teixeira has knockout power to go with a solid ground game and many predict that he would be an instant title contender in whatever promotion he signs with. His only question marks are his conditioning and wrestling.
2. Marcos Rogerio De Lima (8-0)
Marcos”Pezao” Lima gained a following after his clear-cut 3-round decision win over Paulo Filho. Lima is currently undefeated, but has yet to face many true tests at 205. Lima lacks the contacts to debut stateside at this juncture, as he fights at Barbosa MMA, which produces predominantly local Brazilian talent. Lima’s striking makes him one of the top prospects in all of MMA, and looks to have solid takedown defense. He has not competed in 2011 and there is no word yet of any upcoming fights. Hopefully, Lima can find solid representation to bring him stateside or at least fighting regularly on the bigger fight cards in Brazil.
3. Vinny Magalhaes (8-5)
Vinny Magalhaes has a love him or hate him type of personality. Those that dislike Vinny mainly remember his confrontation with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on the Ultimate Fighter 8, but Vinny has shown to be quite a fan favorite on the underground forums. Vinny’s Jiu-Jitsu conquests speak for themselves, as he is one of the most talented ground fighters in the world. His striking and uneven record led to his release from the UFC, as many felt he won his last fight in the promotion against Eliot Marshall and was cut too early. Following knee surgery and a few wins on the independent scene, Vinny signed with controversial promoter M-1 where he quickly captured their light heavyweight championship.
4. Ryan Jimmo (15-1)
Ryan “Big Deal” Jimmo is currently the MFC light heavyweight champion. Jimmo has won 15 straight fights since losing his debut fight. A loss not officially on his record though, was to Antwain Britt at the Ultimate Fighter 8 preliminary fights to enter the house. Following his unsuccessful attempt at getting on the Ultimate Fighter Jimmo returned to Canada and has made the most of his opportunities. Despite Jimmo’s winning streak, he has been dangerously close to losing a few decisions and doesn’t fight with much incentive to finish. Nonetheless, Jimmo has solid wins over Wilson Gouveia, Dwayne Lewis, and Emanuel Newton. He has very little left to accomplish in his native Canada, so he has to have his eyes set on the UFC or Bellator.
5. Emanuel Newton (14-6-1)
Emanuel Newton’s career is on the upswing following three losses in 2009. Those three losses to Ryan Jimmo, Raphael Davis, and a 5-round war with Trevor Prangley showed that Newton still had some developing left to do. Newton possesses solid wrestling which has paved the way for recent victories over Rodney Wallace and Dwayne Lewis. He was recently set to face Ryan Jimmo for the MFC light heavyweight championship, but was forced out of the fight with an injury. Newton has the skills to compete at the highest level, but will likely need a win over Jimmo to get a shot at the big show.
6. Rodney Wallace (11-4)
Wallace entered the UFC with a spotless 9–0 record, including wins over Antwain Britt, Marcus Vanttinen, and Ovince St. Preux. Wallace went 0–3 though during his UFC tenure, which left Joe Silva no option, but to release him. Wallace did win fight of the night honors at UFC 111, and showed good potential, but he just lacked the size to come out with a victory. Wallace only stands 5’9, but does carry a lot of muscle on his frame. He ultimately has to make a decision whether 205 is the optimal weight for him to find success in MMA.Wallace has gone 2-1 since being released by the UFC with the loss coming to Emanuel Newton at a recent MFC event.
7. Jamal Patterson (5-3)
Jamal “The Suit” Patterson, fighting out of New York, does not have a long resume of fights, but he does possess solid Jiu-Jitsu, which propelled him to decent success in the IFL. He recently lost his last fight to Tim Carpenter at Bellator 33, which would have granted him entry into their light heavyweight tournament. Following the loss, Patterson may be running out of options at 37 years old. He has made it clear that MMA is not his sole goal, which may explain why he has never really made it on the big stage.
8. Ricardo Arona (14-5)
Ricardo Arona, commonly remembered for his duels with Wanderlei Silva and other Chute-Box fighters, has been sidelined for almost 2 years. Despite meeting with UFC president Dana White last year, Arona has yet to show any sign that he is ready to step back on the big stage. His only fight in the last three years was a close decision win over Marvin Eastman. A combination of injuries, inactivity, and conditioning issues have left a big question mark as to Arona’s ability to compete at the highest level once again. Last word on Arona, is that he is commonly sighted surfing the waves of Brazil, and supposedly training for a fight this fall in his native country. Of course there was a similar story about six months ago, so it is truly unknown as to what his current status is.
9. Goran Reljic (8-3)
Croatian Goran Reljic debuted in the UFC in 2008, where he defeated veteran Wilson Gouveia in a back and forth fight. The hype quickly grew around Reljic, an undefeated prospect with thundering kicks and a solid chin, but Reljic ran into back problems and was forced to the sidelines for almost 2 years. When he returned, he came back at 185, but after an 0-2 run there, he returned to light heavyweight where he lost the a decision to Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 122. Reljic was released shortly thereafter, and it is not known if he has any upcoming fights scheduled or even if he is actively training. It is unfortunate that he has faded into obscurity because at only 27 years old he seems to hold a lot of promise.
10. Robert Drysdale (2-0)
Jiu-Jitsu extraordinaire Robert Drysdale completes our top 10 light heavyweights not signed to a major promotion. Drysdale is just 2-0 in his MMA career, but in his debut win over Bastien Huveneers, he quickly showed his adept ground game and took out a tough opponent in lightning-fast fashion. Drysdale has been a hallmark of the Las Vegas fight scene, as he is commonly sought out by top fighters to work on their respective ground games. Drysdale has a big fight coming up with UFC veteran Mike Nickels on June 18th. With a win over Nickels expect Drysdale to be on the UFC’s radar.
Update: Dyrsdale submitted Mike Nickels in the 1st round.
