Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Lightweight

1. Frankie Edgar (12-1)
It was the most controversial MMA moment of 2010 so far, but “The Answer” walked out with a unanimous decision victory and the lightweight title in his fight with B.J. Penn at UFC 112. However, the Toms River, N.J., native will have to replicate his feat this summer, as he faces a rematch with Penn at UFC 118 in August.

2. B.J. Penn (15-6-1)
Screw job? Sinus infection? Whatever case Penn backers and “The Prodigy” himself make for his April 10 defeat to Frankie Edgar, the Hawaiian will get a chance to regain the lightweight mantle in a summer rematch at UFC 118 in Boston on Aug. 28.

3. Gilbert Melendez (18-2)
The Strikeforce lightweight champion notched the most significant win of his career in Nashville, Tenn., as he dominated Dream titleholder Shinya Aoki for all 25 minutes of their bout on network television and entrenched himself as one of the sport’s elite at 155 pounds.

4. Shinya Aoki (24-5, 1 NC)
Skepticism swirled around Aoki’s status as an elite lightweight after his April drubbing at the hands of Gilbert Melendez. However, the thrilling grappler picked up yet another brilliant victory on July 10, leg locking Tatsuya Kawajiri in less than two minutes to retain his Dream lightweight title in impressive fashion.

5. Eddie Alvarez (20-2)
Bellator’s second season lightweight tournament was the first to wrap, meaning Alvarez was the first Bellator champion to know his first challenger. The Philly product will take on upstart Pat Curran this summer when Bellator begins its third season.

6. Kenny Florian (13-4)
Florian has fallen short in two previous cracks at the UFC lightweight title. In order to have a third opportunity to take division gold, “Ken Flo” will have to take out the unbeaten Gray Maynard in August, when the pair meets in August in Florian’s Boston backyard at UFC 118.

7. Gray Maynard (9-0, 1 NC)
After Maynard called out Kenny Florian following his victory over Takanori Gomi, Maynard-“Ken Flo” became an obvious must-have match in the UFC lightweight division. With a Frankie Edgar-B.J. Penn rematch locked in for UFC 118 in August, Maynard-Florian looks to be a perfect compliment when Zuffa rolls into Beantown this summer.

8. Tatsuya Kawajiri (26-6-2)
Many tabbed Kawajiri to be the next Dream champion, figuring he had exactly the right skill set to replicate what Gilbert Melendez did to Shinya Aoki in April. However, on July 10, Kawajiri spent most of the night fending off foot locks, until finally tapping out to Aoki less than two minutes into the first round.

9. Evan Dunham (11-0)
It has been a precipitous rise to lightweight relevance for Dunham. Ten months ago, he was preparing for a bout with Marcus Aurelio. Fast forward to today, and the Oregon native holds a 4-0 mark in the Octagon after soundly out-grappling Tyson Griffin to a well-appointed decision win at UFC 115 on June 12.

10. Benson Henderson (12-1)
An 11-fight winning streak, with nine finishes, has seen Henderson pick up the WEC lightweight crown. He defended with shocking ease against Donald Cerrone at WEC 48, tapping the Greg Jackson product with his patented guillotine choke in less than two minutes. Now, the issue for “Smooth” will be fighting the perception that he remains a big fish in a small pond.

Other contenders: Gesias Cavalcante, Tyson Griffin, Mizuto Hirota, Jim Miller, George Sotiropoulos.