Sherdog’s Top 10: UFC Light Heavyweight Title Fights

The Ultimate Fighting Championship brought its light heavyweight title to life on Dec. 21, 1997. Twelve men have held the 205-pound championship in the nearly 20 years that have elapsed since, the gold passing from Frank Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture, Vitor Belfort, Chuck Liddell and Quinton Jackson to Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Mauricio Rua, Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier.

Jones and Ortiz have enjoyed the longest stays at the top, their combined reigns totaling more than 2,700 days -- the equivalent of seven and a half years. Ortiz held the title from April 14, 2000 until Sept. 26, 2003, retaining it on five separate occasions. Jones possessed the belt from March 19, 2011 until April 28, 2015, when he was stripped over his involvement in a felony hit-and-run incident after eight successful title defenses.

The latest installment of the Sherdog Top 10 series examines the best of the best among UFC light heavyweight title fights:

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OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio Rua (UFC 104), Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin (UFC 86), Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson (UFC 187), Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz (UFC 66), Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture (UFC 57), Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock (UFC 40), Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida (UFC 98), Mauricio Rua vs. Jon Jones (UFC 128), Jon Jones vs. Vitor Belfort (UFC 152), Tito Ortiz vs. Evan Tanner (UFC 30), Frank Shamrock vs. Igor Zinoviev (UFC 16), Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio Rua (UFC 113), Vitor Belfort vs. Randy Couture (UFC 49), Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson (UFC 210), Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans (UFC 92), Frank Shamrock vs. Kevin Jackson (UFC 15.5), Chuck Liddell vs. Renato Sobral (UFC 62)

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