Outlook: Before his title shot at UFC 247, the general sense about Dominick Reyes was that he was a powerful, technically sound fighter but not one who could really challenge Jon Jones. Boy, were the doubters wrong. Reyes pushed Jones harder than anyone not named Alexander Gustafsson and left many believing he should’ve received the judges’ nod. That wasn’t reality, though, and Reyes was left wondering what was next and hoping for a rematch. What he got was a second shot at the belt and a chance to usher in the new era in the division, and based on his showing against Jones, Reyes showed he has the power, fight IQ and wrestling ability to take command in the Octagon against the very best to ever do it. Whether he builds on that performance or is discouraged by the result is yet to be seen, but Reyes is definitely a real problem for anyone in the division.

Outlook: One of the bigger sliding-door moments in recent UFC memory stems from Thiago Santos’ left knee exploding in the middle of his back-and-forth contest against Jon Jones at UFC 239. Despite the injury, Santos pushed Jones to a split decision and earned the ever dangerous “what if?” mantra around his title shot. But instead of a belt, Santos underwent surgery and more than a year of rehab. It was a derailing moment for the Brazilian, who had been on a three-fight winning streak after moving up from middleweight to 205 pounds. In his return to the Octagon, Santos was twice slated to fight Glover Texeira, but positive COVID tests have kept that bout from happening. At 36 years old, it’s not certain how much longer Santos has, but because he spent most of his UFC career at 185 pounds, he has plenty of options in terms of fights to take that could propel him back up to a title shot, including a TKO win over title challenger Jan Blachowicz. 

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Outlook: For the better part of the last three years, Jan Blachowicz has lived as the dark horse in the light heavyweight division. Since October 2017, Blachowicz is 7-1 with four finishes over the likes of Luke Rockhold, Corey Anderson and Nikita Krylov. His momentum hit a bump when Thiago Santos beat him in a main event by TKO, but a pair of knockouts (Rockhold and Anderson) and a split decision win over Ronaldo Souza were quality enough to land him in contention for the vacant belt. At 37 years old, this could be Blachowicz’ one chance at the light heavyweight belt. He’s as dangerous as ever and there are still a lot of open matchups for him at 205 pounds, but his long road to the title culminates at UFC 253 against Reyes.

Outlook: It’s undoubtedly wild to see Glover Texeira back in the top five at 40 years old and six years removed from his unsuccessful title shot against Jon Jones at UFC 172. But since January 2019, Teixeira is on a four-fight winning streak with submission wins over Karl Roberson and Ion Cutelaba and a brutal beatdown of Anthony Smith in May 2020. The crazier reality is that Teixeira is really only one or two wins from competing for the title again, and he was primed for that signature win when he was booked against Thiago Santos. COVID complications derailed that matchup, but make no mistake, Teixeira has seen it all and can mix it up anywhere a fight goes at an elite level.

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Outlook: In a year full of Earth-shattering head kick knockouts, Aleskandar Rakic’s first-round finish of Jimi Manuwa in Sweden ranked among the top. It also announced Rakic as a problem in the light heavyweight division, punctuating an 11-fight winning streak. In his biggest test, he fought Volkan Oezdemir to a tough split decision loss, but he displayed a technical proficiency and patience that some of the best fighters possess. He showed it again in a three-round main event against Anthony Smith, essentially shutting “Lionheart” down for the entire fight. It wasn’t the most exciting affair and thus not the statement win Rakic needs to catapult himself into title contention, but he is certainly primed for it. With his long, rangy and strong frame, the 28-year-old Austrian is among the faces in the newer wave of light heavyweights looking to make noise.