Gomi did what was expected in stopping Duane Ludwig (Pictures) in his return to action March 5. With Dream's star-studded tournament underway and the upcoming Sherk-Penn bout looming, though, whether Gomi can find any worthwhile opponents and maintain his stature as the sport's top lightweight is the real question. Nonetheless, "The Fireball Kid" will likely be back in action for World Victory Road's June Sengoku card.
2. Gesias Calvancante (Pictures) (14-1-1, 1 NC)
The ongoing drama with Shinya Aoki (Pictures) will be resolved April 29, when the two rematch at the second Dream event. If victorious, Calvancante will move on to the quarterfinals only two weeks later on May 11 to take on former Olympic silver medal wrestler Katsuhiko Nagata (Pictures).
3. Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures) (16-3-1)
After a boring opening-round affair against Bu Kyung Jung (Pictures), Ishida will look to turn things up a notch in the Dream tournament's second round on May 11. In the quarterfinal, he takes on always solid veteran Caol Uno (Pictures), who has been seeded into the tournament after sitting out the opening round in March.
4. B.J. Penn (Pictures) (12-4-1)
There is little left to be said about B.J. Penn (Pictures)'s UFC lightweight title victory over Joe Stevenson -- the Hawaiian's first win over a top-10 lightweight in four years. He fought in the fashion most hoped he would for the duration of his career. If the new Penn shows up with similar motivation, his forthcoming bout with Sean Sherk (Pictures) could be an Octagon classic. A win would almost certainly propel Penn to the top of the division.
5. Gilbert Melendez (Pictures) (14-1-0)
Melendez's March 29 defense of his Strikeforce title against Gabe Lemley (Pictures) was nothing short of the mismatched beatdown that was anticipated. Hopefully the next action for the Cesar Gracie (Pictures) product, expected to come against Josh Thomson (Pictures) in June, is a match more befitting his stature.
6. Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures) (21-4-2)
Up next in Kawajiri's Dream Grand Prix course on May 11 is a rematch with Brazilian Luiz Firmino (Pictures). Kawajiri and Firmino met the first time in July 2005, when the "Crusher" took a unanimous decision.
7. Vitor Ribeiro (Pictures) (19-2)
"Shaolin" had successful eye surgery in September following his destruction at the hands of Gesias Calvancante (Pictures). For Ribeiro, recovery likely can't come fast enough to allow him to erase the memories of his dreadful performance in the Hero's semifinal.
8. Sean Sherk (Pictures) (32-2-1)
With his steroid saga behind him, Sherk can now focus on his opportunity to regain the UFC lightweight title he believes should still be his. The ever-game fighter faces an enormous challenge against the ultra-talented Penn in what should be a hotly anticipated encounter.
9. Joe Stevenson (28-8-0)
After earning a well-deserved title opportunity in January, Stevenson was dismantled. However, he will be back in action against quality opposition July 5, when he meets tough Brazilian Gleison Tibau (Pictures) on the undercard of Jackson-Griffin.
10. Kenny Florian (Pictures) (9-3-0)
Florian was dominant in his April 2 display against Joe Lauzon (Pictures) and made a smooth transition into the commentary booth as well for UFC 83 in Montreal. With his only loss in his last eight bouts coming to Sean Sherk (Pictures), Florian's resume coupled with Frank Edgar (Pictures)'s loss to Gray Maynard (Pictures) sees "Ken Flo" debut in the rankings at No. 10.