Lightweight is one of the most talent-stacked divisions in the UFC, and it has many fighters that deserve an honorable mention.

Honorable Mention

Arman Tsarukyan

Organization: UFC

Arman Tsarukyan is an excellent fighter from Russia with a record of 17 wins and 2 losses. He is currently on a 4 fight winning streak and ranked 13 by the UFC. 

Gregor Gillespie

Organization: UFC

Gregor Gillespie also deserves an honorable mention and has a record of 14 wins and 1 loss. He is an exceptional wrestler, and you can expect him to be in the official ranking pretty soon. 

Top 10 Lightweights

10. Rafael dos Anjos

Organization: UFC

Starting off the list at number 10, we have the Brazilian fighter, and former UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos. RDA has a record of 30 wins and 13 losses, and had an impressive career at welterweight as well, challenging for the Interim UFC Welterweight title. 

In his last fight, he returned to lightweight and defeated Paul Felder at UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos, however, he hasn’t fought in over a year, and there still hasn’t been any official announcement about his next fight. 

9. Dan Hooker

Organization: UFC

Hooker is an MMA fighter from New Zealand and has a professional record of 21 wins and 11 losses. He has had some impressive wins at lightweight, but hasn’t been able to string together enough wins to be in the title picture. 

He has notable wins over James Vick, Al Iaquinta, Paul Felder and Nasrat Haqparast. In his most recent fight, he lost to Islam Makhachev via first-round submission, and as of now there is no official announcement about his next fight.

8. Tony Ferguson

Organization: UFC

Tony is an American MMA fighter of Mexican descent, and in his prime was one of the scariest fighters in the division, he has a record of 25 wins and 6 losses, and is the former interim lightweight champion. 

Ferguson is currently on a three-fight losing streak, and in his most recent fight, he lost to Beneil Dariush. As of now, there is no official announcement about his next fight.

7. Conor McGregor

Organization: UFC

Conor is the most popular MMA fighter in the world and is also the richest. The Irish phenom had an incredible run in the company and became the first simultaneous two-division champion after winning the UFC Featherweight Championship. However, he does get a lot of criticism for never defending his titles. 

In his most recent fight, he lost to Dustin Poirier via doctor stoppage, after he snapped his shin bone in the second round. Currently, he is inactive because of his injury, and there hasn’t been any announcement about his return fight. However, he might fight against Poirier again.

6. Michael Chandler

Organization: UFC

Michael Chandler is an American MMA fighter with a record of 22 wins and 7 losses. He only joined the UFC earlier this year, and before that competed in Bellator. 

He is a former three-time Bellator Lightweight Champion and also won the Bellator season 4 lightweight tournament. In his most recent fight, Chandler fought Justin Gaethje, however, he lost after a very entertaining and competitive fight. 

As of now, there is no official announcement about his next bout.

5. Beneil Dariush

Organization: UFC

Dariush is an American MMA fighter of Iranian descent and he has a professional MMA record of 21 wins and 4 losses. 

Dariush is currently on a 7 fight winning streak at lightweight, with 4 post-fight bonuses. In his most recent fight, he defeated the former interim lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson via unanimous decision. And for his next fight, he could possibly fight Islam Makhachev.

4. Islam Makhachev

Organization: UFC

Islam Makhachev is a Russian fighter, fighting out of Daghestan. He is a close friend and training partner of the former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and has a very similar fighting style. 

Makhachev has a record of 21 wins and 1 loss, and in his most recent fight, he defeated Dan Hooker via submission. As far as his next fight is concerned, there hasn’t been an official announcement yet, but he is probably going to fight Beneil Dariush.

3. Justin Gaethje

Organization: UFC

Justin Gaethje is one of the most entertaining fighters in the sport. The American fighter has a record of 26 wins and 3 losses and is currently next in line for the title shot at lightweight. 

Gaethje is the former UFC interim lightweight champion, and he challenged Khabib Nurmagomedov for the undisputed UFC Lightweight title but lost. 

In his most recent fight, he defeated Michael Chandler, perhaps one of the most entertaining fights of the year, and though there is no official announcement about his next fight, he is probably going to challenge Charles Oliveira.

2. Dustin Poirier

Organization: UFC

Like Olivera, Poirier has also been in the UFC for a very long time and is easily one of the best fighters in the UFC. He has a record of 28 wins and 7 losses and is the former interim lightweight champion of the world. 

Poirier has challenged for the lightweight title twice, however, he lost both times. Last weekend, he challenged Charles Oliveira, with the belt on the line. Though he had an excellent first round, dropping Oliveira and hurting him more than once, Oliveira’s grappling made the difference in the second, and in the third round, he got submitted via a rear-naked choke.

1. Charles Oliveira

Organization: UFC

Title: UFC Lightweight Champion

Charles Oliveira is easily one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC. He is the current UFC lightweight champion and holds the record for most finishes in the UFC, and the most submissions in the UFC

Oliveira has a record of 32 wins and only 8 losses, with a very high finishing rate. He has 17 post-fight bonuses in the UFC and 15 submission victories. 

Last weekend,  Oliveira defended his title for the first time against number 1 contender Dustin Poirier. Oliveira had a rough start, getting dropped in the first round, however, he continued to land straight kicks to the body, which affected Poirier in the second round. Oliveira took Poirier down and controlled him for almost the entire second round, and in the third, he took Poiriers back, and submitted him for the win.

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Related Links:

• MMA UFC Top 10 Heavyweights – August 2021 Rankings
• MMA UFC Top 10 Lightweight Rankings – Dustin Poirier defeats Conor McGregor
• MMA UFC Top 10 Pound for Pound Rankings
• MMA UFC Top 10 Bantamweight Rankings – August 2021
• MMA UFC Top 10 Light Heavyweight Rankings – September 2021
• MMA UFC Top 10 Featherweight Rankings – October 2021
• MMA UFC Top 10 Women’s Flyweight Rankings – October 2021
• MMA UFC Top 10 Middleweight Rankings – October 2021
• MMA UFC Top 10 Light Heavyweight Rankings – November 2021
• MMA UFC Top 10 Bantamweight Rankings – November 2021
• MMA UFC Top 10 Strawweight Rankings – November 2021
• MMA UFC Top 10 Welterweight Rankings – November 2021
• MMA UFC Top 10 Women’s Featherweight Rankings – November 2021
• MMA UFC Top 10 Pound For Pound Rankings – December 2021