1: Ben ‘Smooth’ Henderson: Despite losing his WEC title in his final fight for the promotion, Ben Henderson has excelled since jumping into the deep waters of the UFC lightweight division. Increasingly impressive performances against Mark Bocek, Jim Miller and Clay Guida earned ‘Smooth’ a title shot, and Henderson took full advantage. Still, the result was contentious, and we may be heading for our third consecutive lightweight title rematch. Until then, Henderson can soak up the limelight as the world’s number one lightweight.

2: Frankie ‘The Answer’ Edgar: After a crazy couple of years that saw him beat an all time great twice and complete an epic trilogy with Grey Maynard, Frankie Edgar finally came unstuck against Ben Henderson. Despite looking an entire weight division smaller than his opponent, Edgar took Henderson to the wire in a fight many thought should have seen the champion retain. Whether ‘The Answer’ drops down for a run at 145, or has a third direct rematch, seems to be in the hands of the UFC.

3: 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 Rivera saw ‘El Nino’ just about clear out the Strikeforce 155lb division…could a switch to the UFC be next?

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.

5: Jim Miller: Jim Miller seemed just a whisker away from earning himself a UFC title shot, but after a decisive loss to the dynamic Ben Henderson, the rugged grappler was forced to restart his climb up the 155lb ranks. He did so in epic fashion against Melvin Guillard in January, surviving an early scare to choke his man out in the very first round. Success in his upcoming showdown with Nate Diaz could very well see Miller back in the title hunt.

6: Clay ‘The Carpenter’ Guida: There’s never a dull moment with Clay Guida, as evidenced by his incredible performance against Ben Henderson in November. Unfortunately, the wild man of the UFC lightweight division can’t seem to get over that hump from ‘challenger’ to ‘number one contender’ status.

7: Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis: A brutal head kick KO of Joe Lauzon in Japan rockets ‘Showtime’ back into the MMABay top ten. Despite a fairly recent loss to Clay Guida, it seems that Pettis’ win over Ben Henderson at the final WEC show in 2010 may see the former champion leapfrog the pack into a UFC title bout later this year.

8: Nate Diaz: Diaz has looked ultra-impressive in his last two outings since dropping back to his more natural fighting weight of 155 pounds. Inconsistency continues to be the millstone around Diaz’ neck though. While his recent wins over Takanori Gomi and Donald Cerrone look good on paper, the spectre of his losses to Guida, Stevenson and Maynard are still fresh in the minds of many. Diaz will have another shot at traversing the chasm from ‘ranked outsider’ to ‘contender’ when he faces Jim Miller in May.

9: Michael Chandler: Despite coming from relative obscurity to win the Bellator lightweight tournament, Michael Chandler still had his doubters. After capturing the promotion’s lightweight title in his ‘fight of the year’ candidate against Eddie Alvarez though, those doubters have been silenced in the most emphatic of fashion.

10: Edson Barboza: A worthy addition to the top ten in our opinion after a string of impressive victories already under his belt in the lightweight division. The young Brazilian has picked up wins over Mike Lullo, Anthony Njokuani, Ross Pearson and most recently, Terry Etim to sneak into the top ten ahead of his fight next month at UFC 146.

(Updated May 1^st, 2012)

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