Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Lightweight

1. B.J. Penn (14-5-1)
Penn will make the next defense of his UFC lightweight crown on Dec. 12 at UFC 107 in Memphis, Tenn. There, he will take on another solid contender in Diego Sanchez, who remains unbeaten as a lightweight. That will make for two title defenses in just four months for “The Prodigy,” countering his history of wanting to venture outside the lightweight division.

2. Shinya Aoki (22-4, 1 NC)
The biggest fight of his career yielded a finish for Aoki, as the Japanese submission stalwart armbarred Norwegian rival Joachim Hansen in the dying moments of their Oct. 6 rubber match. The victory gave Aoki a 2-1 win in the trilogy, along with Dream’s lightweight title.

3. Eddie Alvarez (19-2)
In an entertaining and tougher-than-expected bout with Japanese prospect Katsunori Kikuno, the sure-fisted Alvarez continued to flaunt his grappling prowess, submitting the karateka with an arm-triangle in the second round. The victory moved Bellator's lightweight champ to 4-0 on the year with four submissions.

4. Kenny Florian (11-4)
Coming off of his August loss in a title bid against B.J. Penn, Florian did not have to wait long to find another opponent. The fighter-turned-analyst will take on divisional motor fighter Clay Guida at UFC 107 on Dec. 12.

5. Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2)
It was perfunctory and meaningless, but Kawajiri had little trouble smashing an overmatched Melchor Manibusan on Oct. 6. The real question remains whether Kawajiri will get the Dream title fight he so richly desires against Shinya Aoki come New Year’s Eve.

6. Gray Maynard (8-0, 1 NC)
Gray Maynard is viewed by many as the UFC's lightweight title challenger in waiting. However, the former Michigan State wrestler will need to clear another hurdle before he can challenge the winner of the December B.J. Penn-Diego Sanchez bout, when he takes on Nate Diaz in the headliner of the promotion's Jan. 20 "Fight Night" card.

7. Frankie Edgar (10-1)
In order to continue ascending in the UFC lightweight division, Edgar will need to dispatch one of his New Jersey brethren when he fights fellow Northeasterner Kurt Pellegrino at “The Ultimate Fighter 10” finale on Dec. 5.

8. Sean Sherk (33-4-1)
The former UFC lightweight champion was scheduled to meet tough Brazilian Gleison Tibau at UFC 103. Instead, Tibau wound up facing and defeating Josh Neer after Sherk was forced out of the bout due to a shoulder injury.

9. Mizuto Hirota (12-3-1)
The first defense of Hirota's Sengoku lightweight title will come on Dec. 31. His opponent will likely be decided Nov. 7 at Sengoku's "11th Battle" card in a de facto title eliminator between Eiji Mitsuoka and the last man to defeat Hirota, Kazunori Yokota.

10. Joachim Hansen (19-8-1)
After a nearly 15-month layoff, Hansen was game in his Oct. 6 rubber match with Shinya Aoki, but he succumbed to an armbar in the latter stages of the bout, losing the Dream lightweight title and spoiling his return to the ring.

Other contenders: Gesias Cavalcante, Tyson Griffin, Satoru Kitaoka, Gilbert Melendez, Diego Sanchez.