USAT/SBN October MMA Consensus Rankings: Lightweight
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B.J. Penn | 100 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Shinya Aoki | 96 | DREAM | 2 |
| 3 | Eddie Alvarez | 87 | Bellator/DREAM | 3 |
| 4 | Kenny Florian | 80 | UFC | 4 |
| 5 | Frank Edgar | 76 | UFC | 5 |
| 6 | Gray Maynard | 72 | UFC | 8 |
| 7 | Diego Sanchez | 71 | UFC | 7 |
| 8 | Tatsuya Kawajiri | 70 | DREAM | 6 |
| 9 | Joachim Hansen | 56 | DREAM | 8 |
| 10 | Sean Sherk | 45 | UFC | 10 |
| 11 | Tyson Griffin | 34 | UFC | 13 |
| 12 | Mizuto Hirota | 31 | WVR | 15 |
| 13 | Gilbert Melendez | 30 | Strikeforce | 14 |
| 14 | Joe Stevenson | 30 | UFC | 20 |
| 15 | Gesias Cavalcante | 27 | DREAM | 12 |
| 16 | Josh Thomson | 26 | Strikeforce | 11 |
| 17 | Satoru Kitaoka | 22 | WVR | 16 |
| 18 | Eiji Mitsuoka | 22 | WVR | 19 |
| 19 | Kurt Pellegrino | 20 | UFC | 23 |
| 19 | Clay Guida | 20 | UFC | 22 |
| 21 | Jamie Varner | 19 | WEC | 18 |
| 21 | Nate Diaz | 19 | UFC | 24 |
| 23 | Takanori Gomi | 17 | WVR | 17 |
| 24 | Roger Huerta | 15 | UFC | 26 |
| 25 | Donald Cerrone | 14 | WEC | 27 |
Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.
The lightweight division continues to be the biggest rankings dilemma in MMA. There are essentially two major pools of competitors virtually no cross-pollination in the last three years. Since taking the UFC lightweight title, #1 B.J. Penn has made a strong case for being the best in the world at 155 lbs. Until #2 Shinya Aoki beat #9 Joachim Hansen at DREAM.11 to take the DREAM title, the Japanese contingent had produced more of a muddle than a clear champion.
Both Penn and Aoki have furthered muddied the waters by making repeated unsuccessful attempts to move up in weight and fight top welterweights. The outcomes have been as unforunate for the lightweight champs as they were predictable.
#1 B.J. Penn will defend his title against #7 Diego Sanchez at UFC 107. This is one of those instances where rankings just fail to capture the degree to which Sanchez is the biggest threat Penn has faced since winning his title.
That's because rankings capture what a fighter has done rather than how formidable he is. Diego Sanchez, for all his accomplishments in the Octagon just hasn't done that much to impress in his two decision wins at 155lbs.
#3 Eddie Alvarez pulled out a submission win in a squeaker against the unranked Katsunori Kikuno at DREAM.12. Kikuno is a fast rising prospect who will likely rise in the rankings off a loss since he gave Alvarez such a stiff challenge. It will be interesting to see how Kikuno fares against the likes of #26 Mitsuhiro Ishida. It's not clear yet if Alvarez will fight in Japan again before defending his Bellator belt in the spring.
#4 Kenny Florian will face #19 Clay Guida at UFC 107 in a fight that will either cement Florian's position in the top tier of the UFC lightweight division or propel Guida into the upper ranks at long last.
#6 Gray Maynard will fight #21 Nate Diaz at Ultimate Fight Night 20 in January. Maynard will likely get a title shot against the winner of Penn/Sanchez if he can avenge his TUF exhibition bout loss to Diaz.
#8 Tatsuya Kawajiri got a squash match win at DREAM.11 over Melchor Manibusan. He's agitating for a New Year's Eve title fight against Shinya Aoki. It's hard to believe the two have never met. Beating Kawajiri would cement Aoki's status as Japan's top lightweight. But the tough boxing/wrestling style of Kawajiri seems tailor made to beat the champ.
Based on the premise that all MMA rankings are subjective but that it’s still useful and informative to know who the online MMA community as a whole ranks as the best fighters in MMA, we collect and average the rankings of the top MMA websites to produce our consensus rankings.
We compile the top MMA rankings from each of our sources and award 25 points for a first place ranking, 16 for a 10th place ranking, 1 for a 25th place ranking. A formula is used to "normalize" the data so all fighters are awarded points from those lists that do not include a full 25 fighters. This formula ensures that each ranking site awards the same number of total points regardless of how many fighters they choose to rank. Each fighter’s total is divided by the number of possible points to determine their standing in the Consensus Rankings.
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Eddie Alvarez in a squeaker?
Interesting fight review. Kikuno landed one move in a fight, but it was a squeaker? Guess it was eye of beholder. I’ve been put in a neck crank before, it is slightly painful but a very weak and limited move. Kikuno didn’t even have the power to bring him to his knees or down to mat. Outside of that move, Alvarez dominated the match and it wasn’t even close.
Aoki is ranked way to high. I think Guida would beat him fairly easily and i hate it when Guida wins. Maybe there is something im not seeing in him compared to other top lightweights. I have seen him live and people go crazy for him but i think he get very lopsided treatment in Japan. If you dont ko him your gona lose.
Nope. It’s due to rounding.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Oct 29, 2009 7:45 PM EDT up reply actions
He’s actually at 99.8%.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Oct 29, 2009 7:45 PM EDT up reply actions
Let’s start the BJ Penn/ Shinya Aoki comparisons:
Number of currently ranked top 15 LW opponents beaten = 3 for both
Number of LW Division losses = 1 for Penn and 2 for Aoki
Number of losses to opponents in higher weight classes = 4 for Penn and 2 for Aoki
Record against Caol Uo: Penn 1-0-1 Aoki 1-0
Ranking of next opponent: Penn #7, Aoki #8
That looks pretty close on paper. Actually, more favorable towards Aoki. But is he the clear favorite? I would think not.
Forward Ever, Backward Never...
Number of times each fighter would win out of 10- Penn 9, Aoki 1
by ufc4 on Oct 29, 2009 9:41 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Explaining it sucks...
and I could be interpreted as fighter bashing, I was referring to JZ vs Aoki I & II…
That said Aoki is one of my favorites, not bashing…
#1 B.J. Penn will defend his title against #7 Diego Sanchez at UFC 107. This is one of those instances where rankings just fail to capture the degree to which Sanchez is the biggest threat Penn has faced since winning his title.
That’s because rankings capture what a fighter has done rather than how formidable he is. Diego Sanchez, for all his accomplishments in the Octagon just hasn’t done that much to impress in his two decision wins at 155lbs.
I’m a bit confused by this – if Sanchez “hasn’t done that much to impress” then why is he the “biggest threat Penn has faced since winning his title”? This is probably just semantics but this section seems a bit contradictory.

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