When you look at the UFC’s lightweight division, it is intensely difficult to figure out who should actually be considered a “top 10” fighter. Seriously, check out the rankings.
Weighing who should be on that list is incredibly difficult, and on the individual panelist rankings, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Evan Dunham, Joe Lauzon and Jamie Varner all pop up.
That said, there is little trouble sorting out tiers, as Gilbert Melendez, Anthony Pettis and Gray Maynard find themselves squarely below the champ, followed by Josh Thomson, Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone, while other possible entries get slotted in from there.
On the flip side, though, is the light heavyweight division. There is truly, honestly, no difficulty in selecting the top 10 fighters in that division, but sorting them out in any satisfying way is intensely difficult.
So, we may as well just try our best. Here we go!