#4 - The Epic Fight Maker: Shogun
Mauricio Rua (21-6) is one of the surviving remains of the once dominant PRIDE era. Other legends from those days, like Wanderlei, Fedor, Crocop, Rampage - they're no longer relevant if not completely off the stage. For his fights against Overeem, Jackson, Little Nog, and others, Shogun will always be playing with house money when it comes to love from the fans. But the hard truth is that Shogun's prime is long behind him. He is plagued with injuries, probably from fighting through them in the torturous Japanese circuit as well as an apathetic training focus. Exhibit 1: Forrest Griffin beat him. Forrest Griffin! He's been in just too many wars, too many battles. Yet one thing remains, Shogun has the ability to absorb incredible amounts of damage while gamely trudging forward with his Chute Boxe patented muay thai. The Dan Henderson fight was epic, clearly fight of the year (2011). The Vera fight was brilliant and even Brandon Vera burst into tears with appreciation of the scrap. So here we are. We've got a fading legend with the heart of a champion, the damage tolerance of Jason Vorhees, and the killer instinct of a Great White Shark. I don't care if they wheel Shogun out in his 80s and just dump him into the cage with two prosthetic hips, the man is going to put on epic fights.
#3 - The Nemesis: Alexander Gustafsson
I don't care if you hate Sweden. I don't care if you hate tall, gangly white guys. I don't care if you're the biggest Shogun fan on the planet. You need to cheer for an Alexander Gustafsson (14-1) win this Saturday. Why? Because he is the only Light Heavyweight that matches up with Jon Jones' freak body. And we're not even considering the reach. If Jones is going to be challenged in the LHW division, then it has to be Alexander to do it. Or Stefan Struve needs to develop an immediate case of anorexia. Our Swede is young (25) with brilliant stand-up and a proven ability to fend off wrestlers (Vladimir Matyushenko, Matt Hamill). With Rashad seemingly on permanent Injured Reserve and contemplating a move down in weight class and Phil Davis exposed in his last fight, the rest of the Top 10 minus Alexander and Jones rings in at an average age of 34. The geriatric LHW division is hurting for talent, any talent. Jones has devoured the older fighters in the division with less remorse than Kanye West and a pack of fish sticks. And if anyone says Chael Sonnen, I will go outbreak monkey on their face. We need Alexander Gustafsson to take the leap from prospect to elite. And doing it against Shogun would announce his arrival in spectacular fashion.