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Lightweight
1. Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0)
Nurmagomedov needed less than 15 minutes to dispatch Dustin Poirier at UFC 242, and he made it look astonishingly easy. “The Eagle” overwhelmed his opponent with takedowns and pressure from the outset of the bout, gradually wearing Poirier down until he secured the rear-naked choke submission at the 2:06 mark of Round 3. The reigning lightweight champion’s winning streak is now at 12, which ties him with Tony Ferguson for the sixth-longest winning streak in UFC history. Ideally, Ferguson will be the next opponent for the fearsome Dagestani grappler.2. Tony Ferguson (25-3)
It wasn’t necessarily the ending he envisioned, but Ferguson appeared to be well on his way to defeating Donald Cerrone at UFC 238 before the contest was halted prior to round three due to “Cowboy’s” swollen eye. Cerrone certainly got his shots in, but “El Cucuy” utilized his usual multi-faceted offensive approach to land more than 50 significant strikes in both the first and second rounds. With 12 consecutive wins under his belt, there is no more deserving No. 1 contender at lightweight than Ferguson, and perhaps after Khabib Nurmagomedov’s dominant victory over Dustin Poirier at UFC 242, “El Cucuy” will indeed be next in line. Even the champion himself seems to think Ferguson is the most worthy challenger.3. Dustin Poirier (25-6)
There was some sentiment that Poirier possessed the necessary tools to defeat Khabib Nurmagomedov heading into their title unification bout at UFC 242. However, once the opening bell rung, it was all Nurmagomedov right up until “The Eagle” applied a fight-ending rear-naked choke at the 2:06 mark of Round 3. For Poirier, positive moments were few and far between — a couple solid punches on the feet and a Hail Mary guillotine attempt — but ultimately the American Top Team representative could do little to halt the momentum of his opponent as a six-bout unbeaten streak came to an end.4. Justin Gaethje (21-2)
A former World Series of Fighting champion, Gaethje continues to inch closer to lightweight title contention in the UFC. “The Highlight” earned his third consecutive first-round stoppage at UFC Vancouver, as he defeated Donald Cerrone via TKO at the 4:18 mark of Round 1 in the evening’s main event on Sept. 14. Since dropping back-to-back fights against Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez, the Grudge Training Center product has finished Cerrone, Edson Barboza and James Vick inside of a round. Gaethje will await a shot at the winner of the expected title clash between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.5. Donald Cerrone (36-13)
Cerrone’s brief lightweight resurgence has come to a screeching halt in the form of back-to-back stoppage losses at the hands of Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson. In his most recent outing, “Cowboy” succumbed to the punching power of Gaethje in a first-round TKO defeat at UFC Vancouver. There is no shame in losing to two of the division’s top contenders, and Cerrone continues to be one of the Las Vegas-based promotion’s most popular action fighters. As long as the BMF Ranch founder wants to continue competing, there will be no shortage of opponents waiting in line to face him.6. Conor McGregor (21-4)
All things considered, it wasn’t a bad effort for McGregor following a two-year layoff at UFC 229. He defended Nurmagomedov’s initial takedown attempts reasonably well and didn’t absorb too much damage when on his back. The Irishman even won a round against “The Eagle.” Ultimately, it wasn’t enough, as he succumbed to a neck crank in the fourth stanza. The “Notorious” one was eligible to return to the Octagon in April after receiving a six-month suspension for his role in the post-UFC 229 melee. However, McGregor hasn’t done a good job of staying out of trouble since then. He was arrested for allegedly stealing and destroying a fan’s cell phone outside a Miami nightclub on March 12, and even worse, is currently under investigation in Ireland for an alleged sexual assault. Video was also recently released of McGregor punching a man in a pub in Ireland earlier this year. Amid all the negative headlines, there remains no word regarding his Octagon return.7. Eddie Alvarez (30-7)
It didn’t look good early for Eddie Alvarez at One Championship “Dawn of Heroes” after the former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion was buckled by an Eduard Folayang low kick in the opening stanza. However, “The Underground King” rallied to submit his foe with a rear-naked choke at the 2:16 mark of frame. That victory helped Alvarez rebound from a shocking TKO loss to Timofey Nastyukhin in his debut and propelled him to the finals of the promotion’s lightweight grand prix against Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev. Unfortunately, Alvarez suffered an injury and was replaced by Christian Lee in the bout.8. Al Iaquinta (14-5-1)
Heading into UFC Ottawa, Iaquinta looked like a star on the rise with wins in six of his last seven Octagon appearances, including an impressive showing against Kevin Lee this past December. However, he struggled to navigate the reach of Donald Cerrone, as he was outlanded by a 138-to-90 count in significant strikes en route to a unanimous decision defeat. “Ragin” Al was game throughout the contest as usual, but the defeat drops him back a few notches in the lightweight pecking order. The Serra-Longo Fight Team member will return to face Dan Hooker in a potentially action-packed clash at UFC 243 in Melbourne.9. Kevin Lee (17-5)
Lee hoped for a fresh start at 170 pounds, but instead he fatigued down the stretch in a fourth-round submission loss to Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Rochester. Once tabbed as a future champion, Lee has serious questions to answer after losing three of his last four Octagon appearances. It will be interesting to see whether “The Motown Phenom” elects to answer those questions while competing at welterweight or lightweight.10. Gregor Gillespie (13-0)
Gillespie absolutely dominated Yancy Medeiros at UFC Brooklyn, outlanding his opponent by a 51-to-1 count in significant strikes en route to a second-round technical knockout stoppage. That makes six consecutive Octagon triumphs for the former NCAA All-American, who is a suffocating wrestler in the mold of Khabib Nurmagomedov. While he isn’t quite championship material just yet, Gillespie deserves to face a top lightweight contender in his next outing.Other Contenders: Paul Felder, Edson Barboza, Islam Makhachev, Charles Oliveira, Anthony Pettis.
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