Always on the quest for the most marquee challenges, the UFC’s lightweight champion will return to welterweight to rekindle his rivalry with Georges St. Pierre at UFC 94 on Jan. 31. However, when Penn returns to 155 pounds, there will be no shortage of challengers with several high-stakes lightweight affairs in the UFC’s coming months.
2. Eddie Alvarez (15-1)
He was unable to take home championship gold in Dream’s lightweight tournament due to injury, but the gifted Philadelphian will now get the chance to add another piece to the mantle. Alvarez will take on Nick Diaz for EliteXC’s vacant lightweight crown Nov. 8 in Reno, Nev.
3. Joachim Hansen (19-7-1)
With losses to Shinya Aoki, Eiji Mitsuoka and Eddie Alvarez, it seemed the Norwegian nightmare’s days as a top lightweight were finished. However, when the stars lined up and gave “Hellboy” his chance to step back into the Dream lightweight grand prix, Hansen blasted Aoki to gain a measure of revenge, the Dream lightweight championship and his biggest win in years.
4. Takanori Gomi (29-3, 1 NC)
In just his second bout in 18 months, Sengoku’s lightweight ace took a hard-fought decision over the anonymous but underrated Deep lightweight champion Seung Hwan Bang. Gomi has promised better in-ring performance in the future, which he may need, as he will soon face the winner of Sengoku’s lightweight tournament -- Satoru Kitaoka, Eiji Mitsuoka, Mizuto Hirota or Kazunori Yokota.
5. Shinya Aoki (18-3, 1 NC)
Aoki attempted to put July’s brutal loss to Joachim Hansen behind him, as he got a quick and easy submission victory over Todd Moore at Dream 6 on Sept. 23. The bout was Aoki’s sixth bout of 2008 but likely only the penultimate, as he has already began facetiously challenging Yoshihiro Akiyama and K-1 star Badr Hari for New Year’s Eve.
6. Gesias Cavalcante (14-2-1, 1 NC)
Still recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament that he carried in to his April 29 bout with Shinya Aoki, Cavalcante has been missed in Dream’s lightweight division. With the intriguing outcomes of Dream's lightweight grand prix, the potential bouts are numerous for the American Top Team product, who will hopefully see action before the year is out.
7. Josh Thomson (16-2, 1 NC)
The Strikeforce lightweight champ got an easy tune-up in his Sept. 20 smashing of Ashe Bowman at the Playboy Mansion. However, the options get more interesting from here, as Thomson has expressed his desire to meet Dream kingpin Joachim Hansen, as well as Japanese standout Mitsuhiro Ishida.
8. Gilbert Melendez (14-2)
A favorite going into his June 27 title defense against Josh Thomson, Melendez was completely outclassed over five rounds and lost a lopsided decision. What’s next for the talented Cesar Gracie protégé remains uncertain.
9. Tatsuya Kawajiri (22-5-2)
Not unlike his September 2005 mega-clash with Takanori Gomi, Kawajiri threw caution to the wind and fought fire with fire against Eddie Alvarez at Dream 5 in July. While it may eventually earn him “Fight of the Year” honors, it did not earn him a victory, as Alvarez rallied back from adversity to stop Kawajiri on strikes for the first time in his career.
10. Sean Sherk (32-3-1)
A rejuvenated B.J. Penn thwarted plans of lightweight supremacy for Sherk. However, “The Muscle Shark” will have a chance to get into the lightweight mix in a major way at UFC 90 on Oct. 25 in Chicago. There, he will meet surging young lightweight Tyson Griffin in a compelling 155-pound scrap.