Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings
Lightweight
Jun 19, 2008
1. B.J.
Penn (Pictures) (13-4-1)
With his return to the division, many proclaimed Penn the world's best lightweight. His dominant victory to retain the UFC lightweight championship against Sean Sherk (Pictures) validated those claims. With a Roger Huerta (Pictures)-Kenny Florian (Pictures) eliminator on tap for August, and his desire to rematch Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) made vocal, Penn's future should certainly prove exciting.
2. Takanori Gomi (Pictures) (28-3-0, 1 NC)
Gomi will return to action on the next Sengoku bill on Aug. 24 against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. More importantly, the card will also feature an eight-man lightweight clash featuring the likes of Eiji Mitsuoka (Pictures), Satoru Kitaoka (Pictures), Kazunori Yokota (Pictures), Rodrigo Damm (Pictures) and Duane Ludwig (Pictures), with the tournament winner likely challenging Gomi for the first Sengoku lightweight championship.
3. Shinya
Aoki (Pictures) (16-2, 1 NC)
It was a bit of a headache to schedule, but Aoki finally got into the ring with Katsuhiko Nagata (Pictures) for their Dream lightweight tournament quarterfinal and the dynamic grappler notched a nasty submission win with a mounted gogoplata. Aoki will now meet veteran Caol Uno (Pictures) on July 21 in the grand prix semifinals at Dream 5.
4. Gesias Cavalcante (Pictures) (14-2-1, 1 NC)
Calvancante came out on the losing end of things in his April 29 rematch with Aoki at Dream 2. Now, "JZ" will be on the shelf for three or four months recovering from a torn ACL.
With his March 29 lopsided beatdown of Gabe Lemley (Pictures) behind him, Melendez will risk his Strikeforce title on June 27 in a long-anticipated clash with Josh Thomson (Pictures). It could be a fight-of-the-year candidate.
6. Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures) (22-4-2)
On what is shaping up to be one of the year's best cards, perhaps the most action-guaranteed bout at Dream's July 21 event will be the lightweight grand prix semifinal between Kawajiri and Eddie Alvarez (Pictures). While the "Crusher" has a chance to be Dream's lightweight king, if nothing else, he may be looking at being one half of the fight of the year.
7. Sean Sherk (Pictures) (32-3-1)
Ten months of torture were punctuated in painful fashion when Sherk was thoroughly handled by Penn in their lightweight title clash at UFC 84. However, the possibilities are numerous for Sherk, who has only fought three times at lightweight in the Octagon, making plenty of matchups with the UFC's young, talented lightweights possible.
8. Caol Uno (Pictures) (25-10-4)
After turning in a vintage performance in May, where he shockingly finished off Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures) to march into the Dream lightweight tournament's final four, Uno will have his hands full on July 21, when he takes on Shinya Aoki (Pictures) in the semifinals of the tournament.
9. Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures) (16-4-1)
Most expected Ishida to use his active top game to take out Uno in the Dream lightweight tournament's quarterfinals. Instead, after being knocked off by Uno, Ishida will now be resigned to rooting for his friend and training partner, Kawajiri, on July 21 when the lightweight grand prix concludes.
10. Joe Stevenson (28-8-0)
After earning a well-deserved title opportunity in January at UFC 80, Stevenson was dismantled by Penn. However, he will be back in action against quality opposition July 5, when he meets tough Brazilian Gleison Tibau (Pictures) on the undercard of UFC 86 "Jackson vs. Griffin."
With his return to the division, many proclaimed Penn the world's best lightweight. His dominant victory to retain the UFC lightweight championship against Sean Sherk (Pictures) validated those claims. With a Roger Huerta (Pictures)-Kenny Florian (Pictures) eliminator on tap for August, and his desire to rematch Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) made vocal, Penn's future should certainly prove exciting.
2. Takanori Gomi (Pictures) (28-3-0, 1 NC)
Gomi will return to action on the next Sengoku bill on Aug. 24 against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. More importantly, the card will also feature an eight-man lightweight clash featuring the likes of Eiji Mitsuoka (Pictures), Satoru Kitaoka (Pictures), Kazunori Yokota (Pictures), Rodrigo Damm (Pictures) and Duane Ludwig (Pictures), with the tournament winner likely challenging Gomi for the first Sengoku lightweight championship.
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It was a bit of a headache to schedule, but Aoki finally got into the ring with Katsuhiko Nagata (Pictures) for their Dream lightweight tournament quarterfinal and the dynamic grappler notched a nasty submission win with a mounted gogoplata. Aoki will now meet veteran Caol Uno (Pictures) on July 21 in the grand prix semifinals at Dream 5.
4. Gesias Cavalcante (Pictures) (14-2-1, 1 NC)
Calvancante came out on the losing end of things in his April 29 rematch with Aoki at Dream 2. Now, "JZ" will be on the shelf for three or four months recovering from a torn ACL.
5. Gilbert Melendez (Pictures) (14-1-0)
With his March 29 lopsided beatdown of Gabe Lemley (Pictures) behind him, Melendez will risk his Strikeforce title on June 27 in a long-anticipated clash with Josh Thomson (Pictures). It could be a fight-of-the-year candidate.
6. Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures) (22-4-2)
On what is shaping up to be one of the year's best cards, perhaps the most action-guaranteed bout at Dream's July 21 event will be the lightweight grand prix semifinal between Kawajiri and Eddie Alvarez (Pictures). While the "Crusher" has a chance to be Dream's lightweight king, if nothing else, he may be looking at being one half of the fight of the year.
7. Sean Sherk (Pictures) (32-3-1)
Ten months of torture were punctuated in painful fashion when Sherk was thoroughly handled by Penn in their lightweight title clash at UFC 84. However, the possibilities are numerous for Sherk, who has only fought three times at lightweight in the Octagon, making plenty of matchups with the UFC's young, talented lightweights possible.
8. Caol Uno (Pictures) (25-10-4)
After turning in a vintage performance in May, where he shockingly finished off Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures) to march into the Dream lightweight tournament's final four, Uno will have his hands full on July 21, when he takes on Shinya Aoki (Pictures) in the semifinals of the tournament.
9. Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures) (16-4-1)
Most expected Ishida to use his active top game to take out Uno in the Dream lightweight tournament's quarterfinals. Instead, after being knocked off by Uno, Ishida will now be resigned to rooting for his friend and training partner, Kawajiri, on July 21 when the lightweight grand prix concludes.
10. Joe Stevenson (28-8-0)
After earning a well-deserved title opportunity in January at UFC 80, Stevenson was dismantled by Penn. However, he will be back in action against quality opposition July 5, when he meets tough Brazilian Gleison Tibau (Pictures) on the undercard of UFC 86 "Jackson vs. Griffin."
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