1: Ben ‘Smooth’ Henderson: The former WEC champion has been on a roll since debuting inside the octagon, winning all seven of his bouts, although not a single one has ended inside the distance. He captured the title in fight four against long-time champion, Frankie Edgar and went on to defend it against “The Answer” before defeating Nate Diaz on the UFC on FOX 5 card. He was back in action on the UFC on FOX 7 card when he took on and defeated Gilbert Melendez via split decision.
2: Gilbert ‘El Nino’ Melendez: Melendez is finally getting the respect he deserves in the MMA community after rolling through previously number two ranked Shinya Aoki last April and destroying Japanese standout Tatsuya ‘Crusher’ Kawajiri a year later. A lop-sided decision over Jorge Masvidal saw ‘El Nino’ just about clear out the Strikeforce 155lb division. He made his octagon debut on the UFC on FOX 7 card in April where he lost a super close split decision to champion, Benson Henderson.
3: Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis: Pettis might not be sticking around on the lightweight rankings ladder for much longer after securing a title shot at 145 pounds but for now he is a legitimate top three ranked fighter. A defeat on his octagon debut has been wiped away with three straight victories, the last via a brutal body-kick and a flurry of punches to finish off Donald Cerrone.
4: Gray ‘The Bully’ Maynard: So near, yet so far. ‘The Bully’ has twice demolished Frankie Edgar in the early going, only to see the UFC champion fight back first for a draw, then for a devastating KO in their most recent bout. The trilogy will go down as a classic, but that will be of little consolation to Maynard, who heads to the back of a long line of 155lb contenders. That said he got back to winning ways in June with a hard-fought and sometimes frustrating win over Clay Guida.
5: Pat Healy: Another Strikeforce import and another major impact made on a division. Many people just saw Healy as a grinding fighter who would get in there and make for a less than entertaining display. Oh how they were wrong. Healy made his octagon debut on the UFC 159 card taking on the highly touted Jim Miller and not only did he win the fight via submission but he walked away with two bonus awards for his trouble.
6: T.J. Grant: There’s always a sleeper in the division and at 155 pounds it seems to be Grant these days. A move down from the welterweight division has prompted immediate positive results after picking up four straight wins inside the octagon including a submission win over Shane Roller and a knockout win over Matt Wiman.
7: Josh ‘The Punk’ Thomson: The former Strikeforce lightweight champion shoots into the top ten with a bullet following his ultra-impressive second round finish of Nate Diaz upon his return to action inside the octagon in April. Granted, his record is 2-2 over his last four fights but if he can find the kind of fire we saw in his last bout, 2013 and beyond could be very interesting for “The Punk”.
8: Jim Miller: One of the most consistent lightweights in the division for many years, Miller has recently found it hard to put back-to-back wins together inside the octagon, although it has been against the best in the world. A defeat to Benson Henderson was followed by an impressive first round submission win over Melvin Guillard. Miller then fell foul to Nate Diaz before climbing back up the ranks with a win over Joe Lauzon in what turned into a classic. He was last seen in action on the UFC on FOX 7 card, losing to Pat Healy via third round submission.
9: Nate Diaz: So close but yet so far, seems to be the saying for both Diaz brothers. Nate, the younger of the two, climbed the 155 pound ranks with a string of impressive victories inside the octagon including wins over Takanori Gomi and Donald Cerrone. He fell short at the final hurdle however after he was defeated by Benson Henderson via unanimous decision on the UFC on FOX 5 card in December. He returned to action in April and suffered another defeat, this time at the hands of Josh Thomson, meaning he’ll need to get back on track next time out.
10: Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone: Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Cerrone had three cracks at trying to win the WEC title but failed on every occasion. He started his octagon career with four straight wins, extending his streak to six before Nate Diaz picked him apart on the feet for three rounds. He bounced back with wins over Jeremy Stephens and Melvin Guillard before falling short against Anthony Pettis last time out.
(Updated May 1st, 2013)
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