Last week I examined the top fighters in the UFC’s lightweight division. As mentioned, UFC has abandoned the weight class for several years, allowing other MMA organizations to step up and fill the void. Even though the lightweights are back in the UFC in a major way, it is K-1’s Dream promotion that boasts the most top fighters on their roster: four out of the Top 10, according to the latest Fightmatrix.com ranking. The other major player in the division is World Victory Road – a Japanese promotion that rose from the ashes of Pride FC.
With three major lightweight showdowns coming up in the next month (Hansen vs. Calvancante and Aoki vs. Alvarez on K-1’s year-end extravaganza, as well as Gomi vs. Kitaoka in WVR on January 4th), this is a good time to take a look at the ten top lightweights outside of the UFC.
[#3] Joachim Hansen (DREAM Lightweight Champion)
MMA Record: 19-7-1 (4-3 Pride FC)
Last bout: Defeated Shinya Aoki by TKO at Dream 5
Next bout: Against Gesias Calvancante at K-1 Dynamite!! 2008
Current affiliation: Dream
Former Pride contender Joachim ‘Hellboy’ Hansen owes his high ranking partially to a shot of good fortune: Though Hansen lost a unanimous decision to Eddie Alvarez in the quarterfinals of Dream’s Lightweight GP tournament, Joachim was brought back as an alternate for the semifinals. Hansen defeated Kultar Gill in the alternates bout, and when Alvarez was not able to continue due to an injury, Hansen stepped up and took his place in the finals – stopping Shinya Aoki in the first round, and becoming Dream’s first lightweight champion. Hansen is scheduled to take on Gesias Calvancante on K-1’s annual New Year’s Eve card, though for some strange reason his title will not be on the line.
[#4] Eddie Alvarez
MMA Record: 15-1
Last bout: Defeated Tatsuya Kawajiri by TKO at Dream 5
Next bout: Against Shinya Aoki at K-1 Dynamite!! 2008
Current affiliation: Dream
Alvarez came up the ranks of the now-defunct Bodog Fight league, where he was dealt his only career loss by the welterweight Nick Thompson. Alvarez is still undefeated as a lightweight, going 3-0 in Dream including a victory over the current Dream lightweight champion Joachim Hansen. An injury prevented Alvarez from competing in the finals of the Dream Lightweight GP 2008, and allowed Hansen to bypass Alvarez in the rankings. Alvarez will join Hansen on K-1’s Dynamite!! card, taking on the submission expert Shinya Aoki.
[#5] Satoru Kitaoka
MMA Record: 23-8-9
Last bout: Defeated Kazunori Yokota by unanimous decision at Sengoku 6
Next bout: Against Takanori Gomi at Sengoku 7
Current affiliation: World Victory Road
One of the lesser-known names on this list (at least to the fans in US), Kitaoka has competed in Pancrase for the majority of his career. After making a move to World Victory Road in 2008, Kitaoka has won four in a row in WVR’s ‘Sengoku’ events, making a name for himself as one of Japan’s premiere lightweight fighters. Kitaoka is slated to challenge Takanori Gomi for the WVR lightweight title in an upcoming event in January.
[#7] Shinya Aoki
MMA Record: 18-3 [1 NC] (4-0 Pride FC)
Last bout: Defeated Todd Moore by submission (neck crank) at Dream 6
Next bout: Against Eddie Alvarez at K-1 Dynamite!! 2008
Current affiliation: Dream
Shooto & DEEP veteran as well as undefeated Pride FC contender Aoki was well on his way to the top of the lightweight division when he was stopped by Joachim Hansen in the finals of the Dream Lightweight GP 2008 – Aoki’s first loss in thirteen bouts and nearly five years. Since then Aoki got back on a winning track with a submission of Todd Moore, and will attempt to climb further up the ranks when he takes on Eddie Alvarez at K-1 Dynamite.
[#9] Gesias Cavalcante
MMA Record: 18-2-1 [1 NC]
Last bout: Lost to Shinya Aoki by unanimous decision at Dream 2
Next bout: Against Joachim Hansen at K-1 Dynamite!! 2008
Current affiliation: Dream
The Brazilian fighter Gesias ‘JZ’ Cavalcante has been a mainstay of K-1’s MMA division through it’s past two incarnations (first Hero’s and currently Dream). Undefeated since a majority decision loss to Joachim Hansen back in 2004, Cavalcante was favored to win the 2008 lightweight Gran Prix tournament. However his opening round matchup with Shinya Aoki ended in a No Contest after Gesias landed illegal elbows to Aoki’s head; and Aoki earned a unanimous decision in the rematch, eliminating Cavalcante from the tournament. Plagued by injuries, Cavalcante has not competed since the loss. He will get a chance to avenge his loss to Hansen (who went on to win the tournament as an alternate) on New Year’s Eve, though Hansen’s title will not be on the line.
[#10] Sergey Golyaev
MMA Record: 12-6
Last bout: Defeated Takanori Gomi by split decision at Sengoku – Sixth Battle
Next bout: Unknown
Current affiliation: World Victory Road
An unheralded fighter with a spotty record, Golyaev spent most of his career competing in the Russian M-1 promotion. He was thrust into the Top 10 with a hair-thin split decision over Gomi, punctuating a five-fight win streak. Despite defeating Gomi, Golyaev has been overlooked when it came to crowning the WVR first lightweight champion: Gomi instead has been scheduled to face Satoru Kitaoka for the title, leaving Golyaev in somewhat of a limbo.
[#11] Takanori Gomi
MMA Record: 29-4 [1 NC] (13-1 Pride FC, 1 NC)
Last bout: Lost to Sergey Golyaev by split decision at Sengoku – Sixth Battle
Next bout: Against Satoru Kitaoka at Sengoku 7
Current affiliation: World Victory Road
For a long time, the former Pride FC lightweight champion Takanori Gomi sat on top of every lightweight ranking list, after following up back-to-back losses to Joachim Hansen and BJ Penn with ten consecutive wins in Pride. Since then, Gomi’s luster has somewhat faded. The fall from the top began when Gomi was choked out by Marcus Aurelio in a non-title match, and avenged the loss with only a split decision.
Gomi lost his last Pride bout as well – a gogoplata submission to Nick Diaz; however Takanori lucked out when the bout was ruled a ‘No Contest’ after Diaz tested positive for marijuana. After more than a year’s layoff, Gomi returned to action in World Victory Road. Even though he lost a decision to Sergey Golayev in his most recent bout, Gomi once again gets to fight for a title despite a loss, and will take on Satoru Kitaoka next to determine WVR’s first lightweight champion.
[#13] Josh Thomson (Strikeforce Lightweight Champion)
MMA Record: 19-2 (1-0 Pride FC, 2-1 UFC)
Last bout: Defeated Ashe Bowman by TKO at Strikeforce – Playboy Mansion II
Next bout: Unknown
Current affiliation: Strikeforce
Pride and UFC veteran Josh ‘The Punk’ Thomson has been on a roll of late, winning eight in a row since a decision loss to Clay Guida back in 2006. In his most notable recent bout, Thomson defeated Gilbert Melendez in a dominant decision, capturing the Strikeforce lightweight title. Thomson is yet to make a title defense and has been kept out of action by a toe injury; though he picked up a minor victory in a non-title bout against Ashe Bowman.
[#15] Caol Uno
MMA Record: 25-11-4 (3-3-1 UFC)
Last bout: Lost to Shinya Aoki by unanimous decision at Dream 5
Next bout: Unknown
Current affiliation: Dream
Caol Uno is a true veteran of the sport, with over ten years of experience under his belt. He has once fought the current UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn to a draw for then-vacant UFC title. Uno has fought exclusively in K-1 for the past few years, and was thought to be in the twilight of his career, but enjoyed somewhat of a comeback when he submitted the highly regarded Mitsuhiro Ishida in the preliminary rounds of the Dream lightweight tournament. Though he lost a decision to Aoki in the next round, Uno showed that he can still be a force to be reckoned with.
[#16] Jorge Masvidal
MMA Record: 16-3
Last bout: Defeated Seun Hwan Bang by unanimous decision at Sengoku – Sixth Battle
Next bout: Unknown
Current affiliation: World Victory Road
Jorge ‘Gamebred’ Masvidal is not a very well known fighter in the US, despite a solid record. He was undefeated in several appearances with Bodog Fight and Strikeforce, and most recently embarked on a stint in World Victory Road where he earned victories over Ryan Schultz and Seun Hwan Bang after being TKO’d in his debut bout by Rodrigo Damm.