He lost his title when he was involved in a felony hit and run wherein he hit a pregnant woman with his rental car then ran away, only to come back to the scene a few minutes later to get some cash from his car then go back to fleeing. He was subsequently arrested and stripped of his title. He was allowed to fight again and won his title back.
Another time he was caught with suspicious testosterone levels which he alleged was due to contaminated Cialis. He was suspended for a year.
He was again caught for using a banned substance, turinabol (steroids), which overturned his title defense against Anthony Cormier. This marked the third time he was stripped of his title.
Then AGAIN it all came up when he tested positive for trace amounts of turinabol while doing drug testing in Nevada.
And none of this is even considering that he got a DUI, was arrested for battery of a cocktail waitress, and another DWI but this time he fired a gun off in his car while drunk.
A lot of guys do drugs in the UFC or get involved with the wrong side of the law, but he’s done it repeatedly even after being given multiple second chances. If he wants to still fight in some capacity maybe that’s fine, but he doesn’t deserve to hold the title when he’s proven time and again that he cheats and lies whenever possible. As far as I’m concerned, given his record we can’t know which wins are legitimate.
Most would agree that enough years have passed to reevaluate the greatest fighters each division has seen. Let us discuss what the standings are as of 2018, and what changes maybe possible in the upcoming years. And given the landmark fight upcoming for this division, this maybe the perfect time to look back at it's history.
For a division that receives some criticism for being shallow, it has given some of the sport's most memorable stars.
Some names that usually come up in the discussion are:
- Jon "bones" Jones
- Daniel "DC" Cormier
- Chuck "Iceman" Liddell
- Wanderlei Silva, "The Axe Murderer"
- Jacob "Tito" Ortiz
- Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
- Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
- Anthony "Rumble" Johnson
- Alexander Gustafsson
- Dan "Hendo" Henderson
- Rashad evans
- Lyoto "The dragon" Machida
- Frank "The Legend" Shamrock
- Randy Couture
How have their legacies aged? Who do you consider can claim to be among the top 5 light heavyweights in MMA History? Anyone you consider capable of joining these ranks soon?
If you're interested in discussing other divisions, here's the discussion for top 5 heavyweights
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