With his Greasegate protests lingering, Penn has accepted the offer to defend his UFC 155-pound crown against Kenny Florian. The long overdue lightweight matchup is set for UFC 101 on Aug. 8.
2. Shinya Aoki (20-4, 1 NC)
Coming off his crushing loss against Hayato Sakurai in April, Aoki hasn't opted for a soft touch. He will take on returning lightweight standout Vitor Ribeiro at Dream 10 on July 20.
3. Eddie Alvarez (18-2)
Alvarez ended the Cinderella run of likely "Submission of the Year" winner Toby Imada on June 19, choking him out in the second round. A rumored bout against Gesias Cavalcante didn't come to fruition, but Bellator's lightweight champion will have the luxury of courting high-quality opponents from both Bellator and Dream in the near future.
4. Joachim Hansen (19-7-1)
Despite the attention given to his New Year’s Eve rematch with Gesias Cavalcante, the bout was nixed at the last minute when a pre-fight medical test revealed an undisclosed head injury to Hansen.
5. Kenny Florian (11-3)
Almost an afterthought in the current frenzy of MMA news, "Ken Flo" will take on UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn at UFC 101 on Aug. 8. It will be the fighter-cum-analyst's second crack at UFC gold.
6. Satoru Kitaoka (25-8-9)
Kitaoka’s Pancrase homecoming on June 7 was every bit as predictable as expected, as he leglocked an overmatched Yukio Sakaguchi in 86 seconds. The real challenge for Sengoku’s lightweight champion will come Aug. 2, when he makes the first defense of his title against Mizuto Hirota.
7. Tatsuya Kawajiri (24-5-2)
Tatsuya Kawajiri showed the MMA world he still has a pulse when he took a clear unanimous verdict over Gesias Cavalcante in May. Unfortunately for the "Crusher," he was unable to make good on his promise of defeating superstar striker Masato under K-1 rules, as he was knocked out in one and a half lopsided rounds on July 13.
8. Gray Maynard (7-0, 1 NC)
Maynard has continued to rack up one-sided wins inside the UFC, but talk of a title shot has been elusive for the former Michigan State Spartan. Maynard's next chance at impressing fans and UFC brass alike will come Sept. 16 in Oklahoma City, when he meets returning Roger Huerta on a Spike TV telecast.
9. Frankie Edgar (10-1)
Not wanting to hear any more discussion about him cutting to 145 pounds, Edgar made a strong statement that he can hang against elite lightweights, staying a step ahead of former UFC lightweight champ Sean Sherk for the full 15 minutes of their May 23 bout.
10. Sean Sherk (33-4-1)
A deflating loss to Frank Edgar in May left Sherk with no clear place in the UFC's lightweight division. In order to stay afloat and remain relevant, the former UFC lightweight champion will need to knock off tough Brazilian Gleison Tibau, a fighter who shares his predicament, at UFC 103 on Sept. 19.
Other contenders: Gesias Cavalcante, Gilbert Melendez, Eiji Mitsuoka, Josh Thomson, Jamie Varner.