The UFC’s lightweight division is the most stacked weight class in the entire promotion.
It wasn’t always this way. Two years ago, the idea of immediate rematches between B.J. Penn and Frankie Edgar wasn’t such a bad thing, mostly because there were no other real contenders prepared to step up and face championship-level fighters.
Those days are over. The top of the division is crowded and filled with plenty of fighters who are deserving of title shots. But instead of getting their crack at gold, they’re forced to wait and take fights in the interim. It rarely works out in their favor: just ask Anthony Pettis and Jim Miller.
But 10 pounds below, the featherweight champion awaits without a truly interesting and deserving challenger. Jose Aldo needs an opponent, and Hatsu Hioki, easily the most deserving contender at the moment, just doesn’t interest the masses.
Hioki challenging for the title doesn’t even interest me, and I’m a journalist and hardcore fan.
But it’s a situation that is easily rectified. There are plenty of lightweights who sit just outside of title contention, but they can jump directly into the championship fray by dropping weight and moving to featherweight.
For most of these names, all they need is one solid featherweight win and they’ll either earn a title shot or be very close to title contention. Sounds like a good deal, right?
Let’s take a look at five lightweights who should seriously consider the drop.