Frankie Edgar (11-1)
Having beating BJ Penn the new Champion is said to take on Florian or Gray Maynard.
For now Long live the king of the Lightweight Division, Frank "The Answer" Edgar.
B.J. Penn (15-5-1)
Abu Dabi wasn't BJ's Good for his career but he is still the best for me
Kenny Florian (13-4)
Ken-Flo has come a LONG way since his Ultimate Fighter days, very able grappler, great Muay Thai and improving boxing. When Penn moves up Florian will likely be the front runner for the vacated title.
Gray Maynard (9-0, 1 NC)
A dominating wrestler, Maynard is trending water waiting for a title shot. A fight with Florian could be in his future.
Shinya Aoki (23-4, 1 NC)
A fantastic grappler and very accomplished MMA fighter and is finally going to fight in the US in a DREAM vs Strikeforce match up on April 17th.
Eddie Alvarez (19-2)
A great young fighter with outstanding boxing and great wrestling, look for him to cash in with a big time promotion after this year's Bellator tourney.
Gilbert Melendez (17-2)
Newly crowned Strikeforce champion, Melendez is coming off the best performance of his career and looking to defeat Aoki later this month.
Tatsuya Kawajiri (26-5-2)
The DREAM challenger to Aoki, more well rounded than your average DREAM fighter Kawajiri is a fighter US fight fans should start watching.
Jim Miller (17-2)
Riding a 4 fight win streak since losing to Gray Maynard, Miller looks ready to take his place among the lightweight elite.
Ben "Smooth" Henderson (11-1)
The WEC Lightweight Champion has wrestling, cardio to spar and excellent submission defense. Henderson is still young and I could see him getting 'called up' to the UFC at some point in his career.
Honorable Mentions: Mizuto Hirota, Sean Sherk, Diego Sanchez
by Tom Grant
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