MMA Hot Stuff

The Lightweight Division, Anything But Light

Everyone has their favorite fighter(s). But for me, it's a weight class.

The UFC Lightweight division in my opinion is the most stacked weight class. For you ladies that are coming up to speed on the sport, this is is the 146-155lb weight class.

The number of grade A/top tier fighters in this weight class means a lot of great match ups.

Look at this list:
BJ Penn: Current UFC lightweight champ! Former UFC Welterweight Champ. First non-Brazilian born winner of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in the black-belt category. He has either fought for or defended a UFC championship belt 7 times! BJ and his team have started a new program that starts 1/1/2010. If you haven't checked it out, I highly encourage you to do so. I've signed up to get the ongoing newsletters and they're fantastic.

Kenny Florian: Kenny is known for much more than just having the "razor sharp" elbows! His background isn't your standard wrestler or bjj but rather he grew up playing soccer! At least that explains where his strong high kicks come from. His wins include some very well known names (on this list). He will soon attempt to take the belt from BJ! Also, if you live in or around Boston, check out his gym. And tell them I sent you!

Clay Guida: 11 out of 25 of his fights have gone all the way to judge's decision, 2 of those earned him Fight of the Night! He'll face Diego Sanchez on June 20th. He's also a former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion. His nickname is the "Carpenter" but honestly he reminds me of a "Bulldog"

Nate Diaz: Nate is a jiu jitsu brown belt under Cesar Gracie, and Cesar is notorious for being very stringent when it comes to handing out belts. He's the former WEC Lightweight Champ, winner of TUF Season 5, and has won Fight of the Night honors 3 out of 13 fights. 

Tyson Griffin:  Tyson is another Fight of the Night kind of guy. He goes in to get the job done. He's earned the Fight of the Night bonus 5 times out of 8 UFC fights! And who doesn't love a guy that comes out to "Eye of the Tiger" as his entrance music.

Diego Sanchez: Diego won his Lightweight debut against Joe Stevenson and also earned the Fight of the Night honors. Diego was the TUF season 1 champ at middleweight, which is 171 - 185 lbs... that's right, and now he fights at lightweight. But previously he was a powerhouse at 170lbs and I'm looking forward to seeing him showcase his ability against the others here at 155lbs.

Joe Stevenson: This guy has 39 fights under his belt and he's only 26! He's another one that is fun to watch and has been known to get guys in Guillotine chokes that are almost impossible to get out of. Plus have you seen his kids? ADORABLE. Joe has also fought the toughest guys in the weight class, including BJ Penn and Kenny Florian.

Honorable Mentions:

Sean Sherk: Also a former UFC Lightweight Champion!

Joe Lauzon: Pretty impressive UFC record so far (5-1). He is currently rehabbing his knee but I'm confident he's going to be even stronger once he's back!

Cole Miller: Hello! He beat Junie Browning in the first round!

Josh Neer: 33 fights already and he's only 26!  25-7-1

Frankie Edgar: Frankie made a splash in the lightweight division with a debut victory over Tyson Griffin, which was an amazing fight. This guy is a former NCAA All-American wrestler and has a very exciting style.

Gray Maynard: His nickname is "The Bully", and for good reason. He's another NCAA All-American wrestler, and uses that background to get guys to the ground and dominate them. But don't let his takedowns fool you, his striking is GOOD. Many consider Gray to be a future contender in this division.

Upcoming Match Ups That You Must Watch!

Sean vs Frankie at UFC 98 May 23rd - Two great wrestlers with good boxing, this will be a war!

Diego vs Clay at The Ultimate Fighter Finale June 20th - Are you kidding me? Both of these guys go all out for all 3 rounds. This one will be action packed without a doubt!

Joe "Daddy" vs Nate at The Ultimate Fighter Finale June 20th - This one will be interesting. Two very different body types, both with great jiu jitsu. Plus, you gotta love Nate Diaz's swagger in the cage.

BJ vs Kenny at UFC 101 August 8th - It's for the title folks... need I say more?

In my opinion the guys in this weight class are the most well rounded fighters. They've got a combination of all aspects of the fighting game. You get it all with lightweight fights... great submissions, great knockouts, great wrestling and scrambles, the whole 9 yards. There's never a dull moment when these guys step into the cage, and you can always count on a great fight! These guys always come to fight!

Honorable Mentions Outside the UFC:

Gilbert Melednez, Shinya Aoki, Eddie Alvarez, Josh Thomson, Satoru Kitaoka

DREAM 4: Results and videos

As you know, our friends over in Japan hosted DREAM 4 over the weekend. We got to see a number of very good match-ups as we continue to make our way through the lightweight grand-prix! Speaking of which, Shinya Aoki advances after a display of grappling technique that was truly amazing. Aoki will now take on Caol Uno in the semi-finals, with the other match pitting Tatsuya Kawajiri against USA's Eddie Alvarez.

In a match that went the distance, Jacare beat the always entertaining Jason "Mayhem" Miller by unanimous decision to advance in the middleweight grand prix.

In one of the most entertaining fights of the night, Darren Uyenoyama took on Hideo Tokoro. You have got to see this fight. This is why I love watching these smaller weight classes. These guys grapple in and out of submissions the whole match, while throwing some bombs on their feet. Each fighter had the other in trouble, and it went the distance. Check it out!

Aoki brings the rubber gaurd... and those tights!

Well, I had predicted a decision win for JZ in the long-awaited fight between him and Shinya Aoki in the DREAM lightweight tournanment. Although I did make the my caveat that if Aoki came out in some of his crazy ass tights, all bets were off. Well, his tights weren't all that crazy, but his rubber gaurd sure was... and he used it to control JZ and neutralize his striking from the gaurd to secure the victory via unanimous decision.

I was more than a bit perplexed when JZ went for a takedown early in the bout, but in comments after the fight JZ noted that part of his gameplan was "to do everything". JZ fought off some amazing submission attempts by Aoki, but aside from a few heel strikes to the face in the first round he really wasn't able to mount any sort of damaging offense.

In the end it wasn't the most exciting fight, but a very technical display of grappling by Aoki and a well deserved victory. It will certainly be interesting to see how the remainder of this lightweight tournament pans out, but Aoki has got to the be the favorite.

Todays Random MMA Thoughts and Questions

First thought... will the fight between "JZ" (Gesias Calvancante) and Shinya Aoki finally happen??? It appears so, and it's about time. First JZ had to pull out due to injury, then when the fight finally did happen as part of the DREAM lightweight grand prix, it was ruled a no contest as JZ hit Aoki with illegal elbows to the back (too close to the spine).

The ending of that last (attempted) fight was disappointing to say the least. JZ was clearly upset at the outcome, as was Aoki for not being able to continue. We can only hope that both fighters come healthy, come to fight, and give fans the lightweight battle we all want to see and expect from two of the worlds top lightweights.

Can JZ keep it standing and use his striking to beat Aoki, the slick submission artist. Or will Aoki be able to get inside and take the fight to the mat? It's a tough call, but I'm going to pick JZ by decision. Unless Aoki comes out in a pair of crazy-ass tights like some of his other fights, then all bets are off!

Second thought... You may have heard that Carlos Condit signed a contract extension with the WEC. When is this guy going to make the move to the UFC? He's widely considered one of the top ten welterweights in the world, and has all but dominated every WEC challenger to come his way. John Alessio, second round submission... Brock Larson, first round submission... Carlo Prater first round submission. Who else does the WEC have to challenge this guy?

And Condit isn't the only one that could have a future in the UFC against some stiffer competition. How about WEC Light-heavyweight champion, Brian Stann? The guy is sitting at 6-0 with all his wins coming by TKO or KO, he has yet to have a fighter last beyond the first round with him, and he's just a machine. Keep your eye out for Brian Stann, this guy could make some waves with a higher level of competition.

But the question that really needs answering is... Is the WEC a feeder system for the UFC? Or is it going to stand-alone on it's own merits? Only time will tell.