MMA Top 10 Lightweights: Edgar Is the Best, Maynard on His Heels

By Michael David Smith - Lead Blogger

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No one can doubt Frankie Edgar anymore.

After Edgar beat B.J. Penn by unanimous decision in April, a lot of people believed that the fight was a fluke, that the judges erred, and that Penn was still the best lightweight in mixed martial arts. But now that Edgar has defeated Penn once again at UFC 118, there's no room for debate: Edgar is the undisputed champion.

Except that Edgar has one loss on his record, and that one loss is to Gray Maynard, who has been anointed the next challenger to Edgar's title. Maynard could make a case that he deserves to be considered the top fighter in the division, but unless he makes that case again in the cage, I'm sticking with Edgar at No. 1. The rest of the rankings are below.

(Editor's Note: The fighter's rankings the last time we did lightweights are in parentheses.)

1. Frankie Edgar (1): As perfect as Edgar's striking style was to win a decision with Penn, the most amazing thing to me about UFC 118 was how easily Edgar was able to take Penn down. It's one thing for a bigger, stronger fighter like Georges St. Pierre to take Penn down, but for Edgar to do it with technique rather than pure strength was incredible.

2. Gray Maynard (4): Let's face it, Maynard in a pay-per-view main event is going to be a very tough sell for the UFC. Maynard has two wins this year over two tough guys, Kenny Florian and Nate Diaz, but both fights left the fans booing out of boredom at Maynard's slow-paced style. Maynard may want to do his best Chael Sonnen impression and try to sell the fight with tough talk.

3. B.J. Penn (2): So what's next for Penn? I have a feeling the UFC will match him up with Takanori Gomi, for a rematch between the two best lightweights in MMA history. I think Penn is probably done as a truly elite fighter, but I could see him getting another shot at the belt in 2011 if he gets a big win, and if Maynard beats Edgar.

4. Kenny Florian (3): I don't agree with UFC President Dana White when he says Florian chokes in big fights. I just think Florian loses to guys who are better than him, and that's what Maynard and Penn are. Florian won't be getting another crack at the UFC lightweight title, but I do think he's a good guy to have in the gatekeeper role, fighting opponents like George Sotiropoulos and Evan Dunham.

5. Gilbert Melendez (5): Still no word on when we'll next see Melendez, the Strikeforce lightweight champion. I'm still holding out hope that Strikeforce and Bellator can come to terms on a deal that would allow Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez to meet Melendez in the Strikeforce cage.

6. Shinya Aoki (6): No word on when we'll next see Aoki, either. The Dream lightweight champion needed less than two minutes to submit his toughest competition in Japan, Tatsuya Kawajiri, and there really aren't a lot of good opponents available to him now. I'd love to see Strikeforce bring him back for another fight in America.

7. Eddie Alvarez (7): The Bellator champ will meet Roger Huerta in a non-title match at Bellator 33 in October. That's the fight Bellator has wanted to book all year, although it's a bit anticlimactic after Huerta lost to Pat Curran.

8. Tatsuya Kawajiri (8): Coming off a loss to Aoki, he also doesn't have many intriguing opponents in Japan. I'd love to see Strikeforce bring him to America as well.

9. George Sotiropoulos (9): He's on a seven-fight winning streak since getting disqualified against Aoki four years ago. Sotiropoulos is often talked about as one of the up-and-comers in the lightweight division, but at age 33 he's actually older than Penn and doesn't have a whole lot more time to fight at a high level.

10. Evan Dunham (NR): He's getting ready for the toughest fight of his career, against Sean Sherk at UFC 119. If he wins that he's probably only another fight away from fighting for the title.

Read More: B.J. Penn (MMA), Eddie Alvarez (MMA), Evan Dunham (MMA), Frankie Edgar (MMA), George Sotiropoulos (MMA), Gilbert Melendez (MMA), Gray Maynard (MMA), Kenny Florian (MMA), Shinya Aoki (MMA), Tatsuya Kawajiri (MMA)

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