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 may have to replicate his feat this summer, as the wheels are in motion for 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, it does appear the Hawaiian will get a chance to regain the lightweight mantle in a summer rematch at UFC 118 in Boston.

3. Gilbert Melendez (18-2)
The Strikeforce lightweight champion notched the biggest 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 (23-5, 1 NC)
Dream’s lightweight king said that if he failed to defeat Gilbert Melendez in the Strikeforce cage on April 17, Japanese MMA would become “a colony of the USA.” In that case, consider it annexed. Aoki had no answer for “El Nino” and was dominated from bell-to-bell in their 25-minute affair.

5. Eddie Alvarez (20-2)
Alvarez’s May 6 meeting with veteran Josh Neer was supposed to be a solid stay-busy fight for the Bellator champion, as he waited for the promotion’s lightweight tournament to resolve. However, Alvarez got little challenge out of the affair, as he steamrolled Neer for seven minutes before choking him unconscious in his fifth straight submission win.

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 divisional gold, “Ken Flo” will have to take out the unbeaten Gray Maynard in August, when they meet at UFC 118 in Florian’s Boston backyard.

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 now looking more likely for UFC 118 in August, Maynard-Florian looks to be a perfect co-feature compliment when Zuffa rolls into Beantown this summer.

8. Tatsuya Kawajiri (26-5-2)
It was not a barnburner, but Kawajiri’s New Year’s Eve performance against a tough and underrated Kazunori Yokota was thorough and dominant. However, the real fight for the “Crusher” continues to be a potential showdown with Dream lightweight champion Shinya Aoki.

9. Sean Sherk (33-4-1)
Sherk’s injury woes persist. After pulling out of multiple fights in the last few months, another undisclosed injury forced him to withdraw from a bout with Clay Guida at UFC on Versus 1 in March.

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

Other contenders: Gesias Cavalcante, Tyson Griffin, Mizuto Hirota, Jim Miller, Diego Sanchez.