The UFC lightweight division gives the welterweight division a run for its money as the most stacked weight class in the organization.  The decision to bring back the 155 pounders has proven to be a solid one, as we've seen some good fights and some new stars begin to emerge.  How long will Sean Sherk be able to hold the lightweight crown with so much talent on his tail?  Let's have a look at the division and who could possibly challenge the new champion.

THE CHAMP

Sean Sherk:  There is hardly a mixed martial artist who can boast a record like that of "The Muscle Shark."  Sherk has fought 38 times in his career, and his only losses came at the hands of the consensus number one and two welterweights in the world, in Matt Hughes and George St. Pierre.  He's a dominating wrestler with unparalleled strength at 155 pounds, and he has a brutal ground and pound game, as he showed in his title fight with Kenny Florian.  His style and strength could conceivably keep him at the top for a long time.

THE CONTENDERS

Spencer Fisher: Fisher is a Miletich fighter whose only loss since 2004 came in a fight that he took on a few days' notice, after fighting three weeks earlier at a weight that was 15 pounds heavier.  Oh yeah, and the loss came by split decision.  This is a tough guy and an outstanding fighter.  He could be in line for a title shot soon, but if his wrestling truly does "suck", as he said after his most recent win at UFC 64, he'd have his work cut out for him against Sherk.

Melvin Guillard:  "The Young Assassin" is a solid wrestler who rarely has to use his wrestling due to his devastating punching power.  For a demonstration, check his last two fights at 155, where he knocked out Rick Davis with one punch, then notched another KO over the solid Gabe Ruediger, crumpling "Godzilla" with a punch to the body.  His recent association with Tito Ortiz's Team Punishment has made this man very, very dangerous.

Hermes Franca: Some decided to write off Hermes Franca after he lost five out of seven fights between 2004-05 (including going 0-3 in '05.)  But Franca has shown what he thinks of the doubters in 2006, going an incredible 7-0 this year.  He won the WEC lightweight title in March, and hasn't looked back since, fighting and winning in every month between March and August, then winning again in October.  He made sure when he came to the UFC that he would be allowed to defend his WEC crown, and he has done so twice since then.  Franca has got a lot of momentum right now (did I mention that he hasn't gone the distance this year either?) and if he keeps it up, he'll need to be considered a title contender sooner rather than later.

A STEP OR TWO AWAY

Mark Hominick: If you want to impress people in your UFC debut, come in and submit Yves Edwards.  And make it look easy while you're at it.  That's what Hominick did, and since then he's also defeated Jorge Gurgel by decision in the Octagon.  He currently splits time between the UFC and the Canadian TKO organization, and he was the latter's champion at 145 pounds until he lost that title after his win over Edwards.  All that aside, Hominick is a quality win or two away from demanding title consideration.  He's fighting at a weight that's heavier than his natural fighting weight, but he's shown through a very well-rounded game that he's a force to be contended with.

Joe Stevenson:  It's nice to see Stevenson move down to lightweight, as he looked like a new fighter against Yves Edwards in his 155 lb debut.  It was a fight that ended when a nasty cut on Edwards caused the doctor to stop the fight, but Stevenson looked eons better than he did in his lackluster decision loss to Josh Neer at welterweight, and he looked better than when he beat Luke Cummo for the TUF 2 crown (though he was injured during that fight.)  After seeing him fight up to that point, the question surfaced in my mind more than once whether Stevenson's heart was really in the game, as he seemed not really to care even while winning.  But if the guy we saw against Edwards is the real Joe Stevenson, watch for him to give some big names a lot of trouble.  He's got a solid wrestling background and has also proven himself a nasty striker in the past.

UP AND COMERS

Tyson Griffin: Griffin did what he was expected to do in his UFC debut, easily dispatching Cage Rage veteran David Lee by rear naked choke inside two minutes.  But Griffin is also known for his strikes, as he holds TKO victories over both Duane Ludwig and Urijah Faber (the only loss of Faber's career.)  He's 8-0, and the UFC will likely bring him along slowly, looking to develop some momentum and build a star.  Griffin has a lot of potential and is a well-rounded fighter that could very well be around for a long time.

Clay Guida: Guida is a guy who never gets tired.  Seeing what I've seen of him, it's no wonder that his nickname is "The Carpenter".  His style is blue collar and straight ahead.  He's no stranger to hard work, as he must have had an insane training regimen to take a whopping 11 fights in 2005…and win all of them.  Even though Guida has gone 3-3 this year, he caught a break when the UFC decided to pull Yves Edwards from UFC 64, as he was able to substitute for Yves and make a successful debut against Justin James.  Guida will never be outhustled or outworked, and I'm convinced that he could fight for days.  He'll be a lot of fun to watch.

Joe Lauzon:  Brought in to be Jens Pulver's patsy, Lauzon shocked the MMA world, not just with the fact that he beat Pulver, but that he won so convincingly.  Pulver wasn't ever in the fight, as Lauzon was able to knock out the former champion inside of a minute.  Lauzon is a young guy with a lot of potential.  It'll probably be a while before he's a legitimate contender, his win over Pulver notwithstanding, as I think the UFC will want to keep him around for a while and build him up if he turns out to be for real.  It'll be interesting to see what happens next with Lauzon.  Was the quick KO a fluke?  Does he really have what it takes?  Time will tell, and I'm looking forward to the next chapter.

Kurt Pellegrino: Pellegrino is an intense, exciting fighter with good submissions, who is thrilled to be fighting at 155 pounds after making his UFC debut at welterweight and losing to Drew Fickett.  He's quick and slippery, and trains with Hermes Franca and the rest of The Armory.  Pellegrino is also no slouch on the feet, but uses strikes mostly to set up his superior ground game.  He'll need some more wins against tougher competition, but tough competition is easy to come by in this division.

Roger Huerta: Huerta is coming off of a successful debut against Jason Dent, which was a great fight.  He's another one of those well-rounded fighters who excels at wrestling and chooses to employ ground and pound when possible, but he can also throw on the feet.  An intriguing fight for Huerta would be a rematch with Melvin Guillard, who originally won their first fight in March of last year, until the bout was later ruled a No Contest by the State Athletic Commission.  (I don't have details on what happened there, so if someone out there does, shoot me an email and I'll post them.)

ON THE REBOUND

Kenny Florian:  Florian's toughness can not be denied after taking a five round pounding at the hands of the champion Sherk.  Florian's jiu-jitsu game is excellent as he has proven numerous times, and he'll be back in the thick of the lightweight division given time. 

Jens Pulver:  "Little Evil" suffered a stunning loss at the hands of the aforementioned Joe Lauzon, and it remains to be seen whether Lauzon was that good, or whether Pulver simply underestimated him.  Pulver is by no means finished, and his next return to the UFC will be highly anticipated.  But he'll probably have to face a bigger name than Lauzon when he comes back, and if he loses again, he could find himself in the same position as our next fighter.

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

Yves Edwards:  As the division is relatively young in its return to the UFC, there aren't many guys who fall into this category.  If they've not been impressive, we haven't seen them again.  Edwards, after losing two straight in his return to the Octagon, has found his way back out of the UFC, and will need to put together some wins in smaller promotions before coming back to re-establish his name in a division of which he was once thought to be the uncrowned champion.

WHO CAN HELP

The lightweight division in general is likely the deepest in all of MMA, as there are a lot of fighters who fight at a lighter weight than 155, but move up to that weight in order to see time in the larger organizations.  The list of names that could come in and bolster the already deep division is quite long.  Just to name a few, you've got Gilbert Melendez, the current Strikeforce lightweight champion, who made a successful debut in Pride in August.  There's Joachim Hansen, who's seen time in K-1, Pride, and Shooto over the past couple of years.  Hansen is just crazy good and could possibly wreak havoc in the UFC if he were to be unleashed.  Josh Thomson has been in the UFC before and there's no reason he shouldn't be brought back.  He's fought in all three Strikeforce events, with his only loss coming to Clay Guida.  There's jiu-jitsu ace Vitor Ribiero, who's been mostly in Cage Rage and Shooto, and he could make a lot of noise in the division.  That's before even mentioning guys like Jason Reinhardt, who will likely make his UFC debut soon, as he was scheduled to earlier, or Urijah Faber, who has only one loss in his 17 fights.  The list goes on and on and on.  That's not even to mention the guys already in the UFC, who may not have won, but who certainly showed up in their fights.  Gabe Ruediger, Matt Wiman, and Jason Dent all deserve trips back to the Octagon despite their debut losses, and Sam Stout will probably be back as well, even though he was dismantled by Kenny Florian in his last outing.

So the newly reincarnated lightweight division of the UFC is indeed alive and kicking, and it is brimming with talent.  There are likely names that I've forgotten or neglected, so let me know what you think about that.  There's a certainly a lot of intriguing possibilities of fights over the next year or so, so in the end, regardless of who, if anyone, is able to take out Sean Sherk, the fans are the winners.  Keep an eye on the "little" guys, because this division will get very hot very quickly.

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