It was a big weekend for the lightweights in MMA, with Eddie Alvarez winning the Bellator lightweight tournament on Friday night (above) and Diego Sanchez beating Clay Guida by split decision in a fight of the year candidate Saturday at the Ultimate Fighter Finale.
So what's next for Alvarez and Sanchez? Bellator will have to work hard to attract some top-notch lightweights to challenge Alvarez in their second season (I'm hoping they sign Joachim Hansen), while Sanchez thinks he's earned a shot at the UFC lightweight belt (but I think he should fight Gray Maynard first). My list of the Top 10 lightweights in MMA is below.
1. B.J. Penn
2. Kenny Florian
3. Shinya Aoki
4. Eddie Alvarez
5. Joachim Hansen
6. Gray Maynard
7. Frank Edgar
8. Diego Sanchez
9. Sean Sherk
10. Josh Thomson
The big lightweight fights coming up this summer include Shinya Aoki vs. Vitor Ribeiro at Dream 10 on July 20, B.J. Penn vs. Kenny Florian at UFC 101 on August 8, and Josh Thomson vs. Gilbert Melendez at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg on August 15.