Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Lightweight

1. B.J. Penn (13-4-1)
Always on the lookout for marquee challenges, the UFC’s lightweight champion will return to the welterweight division to rekindle his rivalry with Georges St. Pierre at UFC 94 on Jan. 31. However, when Penn returns to 155, there should be no shortage of suitors in the UFC's red-hot lightweight division.

2. Eddie Alvarez (15-1)
Although he was forced to bow out of the Dream lightweight grand prix due to injury, Alvarez will have the chance to end a banner year with a bang and entrench himself as the world's best lightweight not from Hilo. He'll take on fellow top-10 lightweight Shinya Aoki at K-1 Dynamite on New Year's Eve.

3. Joachim Hansen (19-7-1)
"Hellboy" surprised the world by re-entering Dream's lightweight grand prix as a reserve and smashing Shinya Aoki. On Dec. 31 at K-1 Dynamite, he'll get the opportunity to acquire another major scalp when he rematches Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante, whom he took a razor-thin majority decision over in July 2004.

4. Shinya Aoki (18-3, 1 NC)
Although he had challenged Yoshihiro Akiyama and Badr Hari for New Year’s Eve, Aoki will still be in for a tough evening as he takes on Eddie Alvarez in a high-stakes lightweight affair at K-1 Dynamite.

5. Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante (14-2-1, 1 NC)
Back in 2004, a green 21-year-old Cavalcante took entrenched lightweight star Joachim Hansen to a hotly contested majority decision. On New Year's Eve, "JZ" will have a shot to avenge his first loss when he meets his Norwegian nemesis at K-1 Dynamite.

6. Sean Sherk (33-3-1)
The last year has not been kind to Sherk. However, in his first action since his May thumping at Penn’s hands, the Minnesotan put on his most entertaining performance in recent memory, taking a well-deserved unanimous decision over a high-caliber fighter in Tyson Griffin.

7. Kenny Florian (11-3)
Florian affirmed his status as the top contender to B.J. Penn's UFC lightweight crown with his complete dismantling of Joe Stevenson at UFC 91. Florian's first-round blowout victory earns him re-entry into these rankings and, more than likely, the second UFC title bid of his career.

8. Josh Thomson (16-2, 1 NC)
On Nov. 21, Strikeforce's lightweight champion was given the chance to atone for his August 2004 highlight-reel KO loss to Yves Edwards. Unfortunately, Thomson tore ligaments in his toe, which forced him out of the bout and put him on the shelf.

9. Sergey Golyaev (12-6-0)
After a shocking albeit dubious split decision over Takanori Gomi on Nov. 1, Golyaev will have the chance to prove he's for real when he takes on ever-tough Eiji Mitsuoka on Jan. 4. The fight amounts to a title eliminator to meet the winner of Sengoku's lightweight title bout between Gomi and Satoru Kitaoka.

10. Takanori Gomi (29-4-0, 1 NC)
Gomi’s no stranger to falling victim to upsets. In 2003, an unknown Hansen dethroned the then-undefeated Gomi to take his Shooto title, and, in 2006, he was shockingly dispatched by Marcus Aurelio. Now, add to those a shocking split decision loss to Golyaev. Nonetheless, Gomi will have the chance to quickly atone for the loss, as he will meet Sengoku lightweight grand prix champion Satoru Kitaoka on Jan. 4.