It was one of the best fights from the recent Strikeforce: “Diaz vs. Noons 2” event, yet it was by far the most controversial. In a key lightweight showdown, former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Josh Thomson beat out feared international talent “JZ” Gesias Cavalcante in a fight that many felt should have gone in Cavalcante’s favor. In a recent interview, JZ Cavalcante reiterated that he felt he won the fight and that he’s eager for a rematch. ...

Fighters.com's Lightweight Champion "Prodigy" B.J. Penn's (13-4-1) three-fight run at lightweight will end in Las Vegas 31 January when Penn returns to welterweight to fight Fighters.com’s Welterweight Champion “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (17-2) for the UFC welterweight title. Why? (Well, besides the obvious jack the UFC stands to profit on the main event.) But, UFC President Dana White himself has claimed Penn's best weight class is 155 pounds; and, Penn made much ballyhoo about getting serious and slimming down to 155 pounds, his natural fighting weight. Penn has never fought above 155 with a physique that could be described as anything but "pudgy". Penn is also 0-2 in his last two 170-pound fights in the Octagon, which must make UFC welterweight contenders wonder if they can get some Vaseline. In Saitama, north of Tokyo, 24 August, top lightweight contender "Fireball Kid" Takanori Gomi (29-3) won a unanimous decision versus tough, but relatively unknown Korean champ Seung Hwan Bang (5-2). ...

So thorough was second-ranked UFC Lightweight Champion "Prodigy" B.J. Penn's (13-4-1) domination of fifth-ranked "Muscle Shark" Sean Sherk (31-3-1) 24 May in Las Vegas that Penn leaps two spots in Fighters.com's June Lightweight Rankings to place as the top contender to Fighters.com's Lightweight Champion "Tobikan Judan" Shinya Aoki (15-2). Fighters.com never questioned Penn's talent, just his recent body of work at 155-pounds. Though Penn fought unquestionably tougher competition last month, "Tobikan Judan" stole the show in the division by pulling a gogoplata from the mount out of his hat to tap Katsuhiko Nagata (4-3) 15 June in Tokyo. It seems impossible for DREAM's magician from Tokyo and the UFC's warrior from Hilo to settle the cross-Pacific lightweight question; but, UFC President Dana White is desperate to keep Penn's eyes from wandering out of the young UFC 155-pound division. Penn told the post-UFC 84 press conference that, after out-boxing Sherk, it's hard for him to get motivated to fight the winner of seventh-ranked "KenFlo" Kenny Florian (9-3) versus "El Matador" Roger Huerta (20-1-1) to be fought in Minneapolis 9 August. ...

Fighters.com's third-ranked lightweight "JZ" Gesias Calvancante (14-2-1) told the Savage Dog Show that he has torn his anterior cruciate ligament and will undergo surgery to repair it. "JZ" said he expected to be on the sidelines for three to four months. In April, Calvancante surrendered his world top ranking in a unanimous decision loss to current first-ranked "Tobikan Judan" Shinya Aoki (15-2) at DREAM's Lightweight Grand Prix in Tokyo. Calvancante said he expects to return to the DREAM promotion after his recovery. ...

The worldwide lightweight division got all shook up the passed several weeks. After two false starts, "Tobikan Judan" Shinya Aoki (15-2) and "JZ" Gesias Calvancante (14-2-1) finally fought for the Fighters.com top ranking in Tokyo at the end of April. Aoki came out on top with a unanimous decision and now tops Fighters.com lightweight rankings, but suffered injuries that have postponed his DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix quarter final match-up versus Katsuhiko Nagata (4-2) until DREAM.4. Calvancante fell to number three, allowing "Fireball Kid" Takanori Gomi (28-3) to claim the second ranking. Gomi is rumoured to be joining the 8 June Sengoku III card in Tokyo, but no opponent has been leaked. Fourth-ranked "Prodigy" B.J. Penn (12-4-1) and fifth-ranked "Muscle Shark" Sean Sherk (31-2-1) will tussle for the UFC lightweight title 24 May in Las Vegas. Eddie Alvarez (14-1) debuts in the lightweight top ten at number six after dominating "Hellboy" Joachim Hansen (17-7-1) in the quarter final of DREAM's Lightweight GP.  He'll fight in the semi-finals (and perhaps the finals) at DREAM.5 21 July. Seventh-ranked "KenFlo" Kenny Florian (9-3) and eighth-ranked Hermes Franca (18-6) both hop two spots after "Endless Fighter" Mitsuhiro Ishida (16-4-1) got tapped in a rear naked choke in "Uno Shoten" Caol Uno's (25-10-4) DREAM Lightweight GP quarterfinal debut. Florian is scheduled to fight "El Matador" Roger Huerta (20-1-1) 9 August in Minneapolis for the UFC's top contender spot, while Franca lingers in suspension after testing positive for banned substances last July. Uno advances to the DREAM Lightweight GP semis (and maybe finals) with Alvarez, but against an unknown opponent. "Dida" Andre Amade (6-3-1) also debuts in the lightweight rankings at number nine, mostly on the strength of his unanimous decision victory over Uno last September.  Recently, though, Dida has been dominated by Calvancante and Alvarez. May Lightweight Rankings 1. "Tobikan Judan" Shinya Aoki (14-2) Aoki has ten straight wins, including MMA's first gogoplata stoppage over Joachim Hansen.  A UD over Calvancante in April cemented him atop Fighters.com's rankings. 2. "The Fireball Kid" Takanori Gomi (28-3) Gomi avenged a 2006 blip to Marcus Aurelio with a stoppage on NYE the same year followed by a stoppage of Mitsuhiro Ishida.  A year-long layoff keeps Gomi from ichi-ban, but he returned last month with a stoppage of Duane Ludwig. 3. "JZ" Gesias Calvancanti (14-1-1) "JZ" has brushed Amade, Vitor Ribeiro, and Nam Phan off his shoulders with stoppages since a MD over Caol Uno in '06, part of 13 straight without a loss until losing a UD to Aoki in April. 4. "The Prodigy" B.J. Penn (12-4-1) "The Prodigy's" return to lightweight quickly resulted in UFC gold with two second-round stoppages over Joe Stevenson and Jens Pulver.  He defends his title from Sherk at the end of May. 5. "The Muscle Shark" Sean Sherk (31-2-1) "The Muscle Shark" has been on the shelf for nearly a year since decisions over Franca and Florian.   He was the UFC's first lightweight titlist since the division was reinstated and challenges Penn for title he was stripped of. 6. Eddie Alvarez (14-1) Since dropping from welterweight for the DREAM Lightweight GP, Alvarez has been relentless in a stoppage of Amade and a UD over Joachim Hansen. 7. "KenFlo" Kenny Florian (9-3) Florian is a finisher since losing a UFC title challenge to Sherk by UD.  "KenFlo" is ready for a second run at the title, but will first face Roger Huerta for the UFC top contendership. 8. Hermes Franca (18-6) Despite a year suspension, Franca has been busy the last two years with stoppages of Spencer Fisher, Nathan Diaz, and new WEC champ Jamie Varner.  He's only dropped a UD to Sherk. 9. "Dida" Andre Amade (6-3-1) Since a UD over Uno, Amade has been stopped consecutively by top tenners Alvarez and Calvancante.  In the last two years, "Dida" has also stopped Artur Oumakhanov and Hiroyuki Takaya. 10. "Uno Shoten" Caol Uno (25-10-4) Uno splashed into the top ten with a submission of former PRIDE title contender Mitsuhiro Ishida.   The former UFC and K-1 star now begins a run in DREAM. ...

Fresh from the biggest "W" of his career, "Tobikan Judan" Shinya Aoki (15-2) has been forced out of DREAM's Lightweight Grand Prix due to a facial injury suffered during his unanimous decision victory over "JZ" Gesias Calvancante (14-2-1). According to Sherdog, Calvancante was contacted by DREAM to replace Aoki, but couldn't come to terms with DREAM executives. Aoki was scheduled to fight Katsuhiko Nagata (4-2) 11 May, who defeated Artur Oumakhanov (7-3) at DREAM.1 to advance to the Grand Prix's second round.  ...

"Tobikan Judan" Shinya Aoki (15-2) won a unanimous decision over "JZ" Gesias Calvancante (14-2-1) in a Lightweight Grand Prix bout. The rest of the card were fights in the Middleweight Grand Prix. Gegard Mousasi (21-2-1) submitted Denis Kang (29-10-1) in a triangle choke at 3:10 of round one. Taiei Kin (3-2) won a unaninmous decision over "The Punk" Ikuhisa Minowa (39-28-8). "Benkei" Zelg Galesic (8-3) submitted Magomed Sultanakhmedov (4-2) by armbar at 1:40 of round one. "The Gracie Hunter" Kazushi Sakuraba (24-10-1) sumbitted Andrews Nakahara (0-1) by neck crank at 8:20 of the first round. "Jacare" Ronaldo Souza (8-1) submitted Ian Murphy (0-1) by rear naked choke at 3:38 of the first round. Kiyoshi Tamura (32-14-1) TKO Masakatsu Funaki (38-13-1) in 57 seconds. Dong Sik Yoon (4-4) won a unanimous decision over Shungo Oyama (7-11). ...

UFC President Dana White announced via letter to Croatian sports website Javno Thursday that he has terminated heavyweight Mirko Filipovic's contract pursuant to a clause that allows renegotiation after Cro Cop lost two consecutive fights. At the same time in Tokyo, Cro Cop shocked a press conference announcing the creation of a new Japanese mixed martial arts promotion called Dream. "I'm very excited to be here again," Cro Cop said.  "I'm so excited to be part of this." Cro Cop scored a single victory in the cage while disappointing twice, in a vicious knockout to Gabriel Gonzaga and a grueling tussle with Cheick Kongo. Cro Cop indicated he preferred fighting in a ring, but hoped to return to the Octagon one day. White welcomes him whenever he's ready. The 33-year old explained, "I left because I couldn't wait any longer.  I asked for a fight earlier, as early as March 1; but, I was offered May, or even later.  I asked for a rematch with Gonzaga in Zagreb; but, he lost to [Fabricio] Werdum, so that fell through.  And I'm in shape, I gained muscle mass, I'm 105 kilograms and I want to fight." Cro Cop's departure from PRIDE to the UFC in December 2006 was exciting, most predicting a virtual coronation as UFC Heavyweight Champion. Cro Cop, however, was unprepared for the Brazilian Gonzaga and uninspired versus the Frenchman Kongo, leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of White, Cro Cop, and MMA fans. Cro Cop admitted, "The last two years I've been in some kind of mental blockade.  I was empty before fights, depressed, I hated myself.  I'm sorry to have disappointed my English fans who welcomed me like a king." Dream will be a homecoming of sorts, returning Cro Cop to his comfort zone. The promotion is a collaboration between ex-K-1 and PRIDE executives.  Norifumi Yamamoto, Shinya Aoki, Hayato Sakurai, Gesias Calvancante, and Royce Gracie have all joined Filipovic at Dream. The Saitama Super Arena will host the first fight card March 15 when Calvancante and Aoki will finally showdown and Cro Cop will return versus an unnamed opponent. ...