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.

Penn wants Fighters.com’s Welterweight Champion “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (16-2).

White wants Penn to focus at 155-pounds.

Fighters.com predicts White is committed enough to the division and keeping Penn in it to sign some of the top lightweights not already in the UFC.

Maybe Aoki. Maybe not.

Maybe sixth-ranked Eddie Alvarez (14-1), who draws “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (22-4-2) in DREAM’s Lightweight GP in Tokyo 21 July.

Alvarez is on loan to DREAM from Adrenaline MMA, run by Alvarez’s manager Monte Cox.

Cox has a good relationship with the UFC and and his fighters.

Fighters.com speculates Cox would gladly send Alvarez to the big show for awhile if he feels like Adrenaline can’t give Alvarez the fights that best capatalize on Alvarez’s success in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Aoki fights on the same card as Alvarez in July, matched versus tenth-ranked “Uno Shoten” Caol Uno (25-10-4).

Third-ranked “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-3) returns versus a yet-to-be-named foe 24 August in Tokyo, keeping Fighters.com questioning why we’ve seen so little of the former PRIDE Champ since losing to Nick Diaz (17-7) in February 2007.

Eighth-ranked Hermes Franca (18-6) returns in Las Vegas 19 July from his suspension for testing positive for banned substances. He’s matched versus rising talent “The Answer” Frank Edgar (8-1).

Third-ranked “JZ” Gesias Calvancante (14-1-1) and ninth-ranked “Dida” Andre Amade (6-3-1) are both on the shelf after losing in DREAM’s Lightweight GP.

June Lightweight Rankings

1. “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (15-2)

Aoki has eleven straight wins, including MMA’s first gogoplata stoppage over Joachim Hansen, topped only by MMA’s first gogoplata stoppage from the mount over Katsuhiko Nagata.

2. “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn (13-4-1)

“Prodigy’s” return to lightweight quickly resulted in UFC gold with two second-round stoppages over Joe Stevenson and Jens Pulver. In May, he dominated the best the UFC had to offer in a TKO of Sherk. Will he stay at 155-pounds?

3. “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.

4. “JZ” Gesias Calvancante (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.

5. “The Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (31-2-1)

“Muscle Shark” had been on the shelf for nearly a year since decisions over Franca and Florian. In his return, Penn outclassed the wrestler to a TKO, leaving both top UFC lightweights with slim competition within the promotion.

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 and returns 19 July versus Frank Edgar.

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 that leads to Fighters.com Champ Aoki in July.

Adorning his sprayed-on, gaudy long johns, Aoki scored two takedowns, mounting Nagata on the second.  Aoki pounded his victim as Nagata bucked.

Aoki wasn’t going anywhere!

He smothered Nagata and slipped his foot out of nowhere into the pretzel that ended the fight, advancing Aoki to the Lightweight Grand Prix semi-finals.

“If you want to be the legend, you have to kill the legend,” “Marvelous” Melvin Manhoef (22-4-1) said after slaying “Gracie Hunter” Kazushi Sakuraba (24-11-1) with a kick in the first round and advancing to the Middleweight Grand Prix semi-finals.

“That’s what I did today.”

Manhoef finished the Japanese legend with a knee to Sakuraba’s head from side control followed by hammerfists to his face before the referee ended the fight.

Hideo Tokoro (20-13-1) and American Olympic grappler Darren Uyenoyama (4-2) battled the most exciting fight on the card in a bantamweight match-up

The fight spanned all ranges and levels as the two fighters rolled and stood, attacked with strikes and tried submissions, defended and reversed, and recovered.

But, it was Tokoro’s consistent knee strikes that won him the two-round UD.

Ninth-ranked middleweight “Mayhem” Jason Miller (21-6) pulled one Houdini escape after another in a two-round UD loss to “Jacare” Ronaldo Souza (9-1).

Souzadictated the mat match and consistently mounted “Mayhem”, but couldn’t submit the slippery Miller.  Nonetheless, Souza advanced into the Middleweight GP semis.

The uneven match-up between Gegard Mousasi (22-2-1) and Dong Sik Yoon (4-5) lasted longer than it should’ve.

Yoon shot for an ever-elusive takedown most of the fight, while Mousasi worked Yoon’s bandaged leg like a soccer ball.

In the first round, Yoon freed one of Mousasi’s arm for a joint lock; but, Mousasi rolled free.

Mousasi put Yoon on his back in round two, hammering fists as the clock counted down to the UD for Mousasi, who advances in the Middleweight GP semis.

“Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (27-11) demolished Tae Hyun Lee (1-2) in 36 seconds with left hook-right hook-left uppercut combo followed by a knee that left Lee on the mat.

Overeem added his name to “Cro Cop” Mirko Filipovic‘s (26-3-2) dance card after his DREAM debut.  “Demolition Man” has accused Filipovic of ducking him.

Ralek Gracie (2-0) wants “Cro Cop” too.  He challenged DREAM’s premier heavyweight after tapping Alavutdin Gadzhiyev (7-2) in an armbar at 3:02 of the first round.

Gracie was originally scheduledto grapple with the Croatian kickboxer.

An elbow injury at 1:05 of round one gift wrapped a TKO “W” for “Benkei” Zelg Galesic (9-3), sending him into the Middleweight GP semis.

The Croatian launched a high kick at Taiei Kin (3-3) before taking Kin to the mat hard and awkwardly on Kin’s right arm, buckling the Korean’s elbow.

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.

That’s what most believe, but, not so long ago, most believed the world was flat, or, at best, the rounded shell of a very large turtle.  Since “time and chance happeneth to all”, let’s take a quick peek at what could happen.

On 11 May, we’ll see if one the following warriors has the equipment to give Aoki his first loss since 2005.  Since several of these fighters (complete with difficult-to-pronounce names) aren’t quickly recognized among the North American MMA mainstream, where Affliction brands and “GSP” references are as common as stop signs, all the more reason to break’em down.

Which lightweight might stop the flexible “Tobikan Judan”?

From least likely to most:

Katsuhiko Nagata (4-2)
  
Aoki, after suffering injuries in his decision win over “JZ” Gesias Calvancante (14-2) at DREAM.2, will face Nagata at DREAM.5.
  
Nagata is one busy fighter as long as he’s on top. A silver-medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2000 Olympics, Nagata can clinch well and might toss Aoki to the mat.  But, what happens when Aoki’s on his back?  Brer Rabbit and the brier patch come to mind.

Aoki should hand Nagata his first submission loss.

Eddie Alvarez (13-1) v “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (17-6)

Alvarez is fireworks, blood, and guts.  He’s always been dangerous, but after losing to Fighters.com’s ninth-ranked welterweight “The Goat” Nick Thompson (35-9) in Bodog and his subsequent weight drop, he’s unpredictable as well.

Before Thompson pounded him out, Alvarez had one gear and one direction: forward with fists flying.  He’s a smarter fighter now with improved takedowns, though his lust for hitting hard is still on board.

Hansen had the skills to give third-ranked lightweight “The Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-3) his first-ever lost.  Those skills have only gotten better.

“Hellboy” has brutal leg kicks, which is what toppled Alvarez in Bodog.  But, Hansen isn’t nearly as lanky as Thompson; and, Alvarez will get the better of the Norwegian if Hansen employs his kicks.  If Alvarez manages a single-leg, don’t expect him to play in Hansen’s ever-dangerous guard.
  
Alvarez should likely pound this one out, but, if he ends up with Aoki under him, his ground game won’t be enough to keep himself clean of armlocks and triangles galore.

“Endless Fighter” Mitsuhiro Ishida (16-3-1) v “Uno Shoten” Caol Uno (24-10-4)

There’s not much Uno can’t do well.  He is exciting and capable of showing up on someone’s back when neither the opponent, nor the crowd expects it. He’s slick and fun and will keep this fight interesting with bursts of opposition.
  
Fifth-ranked lightweight Ishida is a great wrestler and doesn’t get punched much while waiting for a shot.  He moves very well.  His footwork will keep him out of trouble when the fight is standing; and, he’ll power through the submission attempts.  And, although he’s not super exciting (or, maybe because he’s not), Ishida will likely stay on top, throwing just enough leather to keep the ref from forcing the duo to their feet.

Should Ishida wrestle out a ‘W’, he might face off with Aoki; but, it’s not enough to just put Shinya on his back.

“Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (21-4-2) v “Buscape” Luiz Firmino (12-3)

Firmino moves well enough off his back and has good cardio.  And, his back is exactly where Kawajiri could put him quickly as Firmino seems to have problem giving up takedowns.

Once down, though, Firmino must work for submissions, and; Kawajiri will make it everything but easy.  Firmino will take a lot of damage, with only brief respites thanks to the occasional submission attempt that will never be sunk.
  
Kawajiri is a thick beast of a wrestler and tough to submit.  Gomi got him with a rear naked choke, but only after he was hurt with body shots, left hands to the face, and knees that drove him down and ripened him for a tap-out.

Kawajiri still punches like a wrestler when standing, but is a dangerous contender for this Grand Prix.
  
If Kawajiri takes Firmino by TKO or late decision, he could prove more than a handful on the ground for Aoki…should they meet.

“Crusher” postures well and hits hard, but with control.  If he doesn’t expose his legs when he’s on top, Kawajiri will be the fighter to push Aoki the hardest.
  
Unlike the myth of a flat Earth, Kawajiri is one fighter who’s for real and his name, tricky as it seems now, could become a household moniker if he’s the one to topple “Tobikan Judan”.

Aoki won a unanimous decision over “JZ” Gesias Calvancate (14-2-1) of American Top Team at DREAM.2 29 April, but suffered injuries that render him incapable of making the scheduled second round at DREAM.3 on 11 May.

The Aoki/Calvancante fight was a rescheduled redo from DREAM.1 15 March.

Their first scheduled matchup was to be last New Year’s Eve at Yarenokka, but “JZ” bailed with a bum knee.

In the Lightweight Grand Prix at DREAM.1, the two division standouts only tussled for about four minutes before an errant Calvancanti elbow dug into the back of Aoki’s head.  The fight was stopped and declared a No Contest when Aoki couldn’t continue.

And, if my kanji literacy isn’t too far off, DREAM also announced the Lightweight Grand Prix’s next round of bouts.

At DREAM.3 11 May, the winner between Calvancanti and Aoki will fight Katsuhiko Nagata (4-2) who surprised Artur Oumakhanov (7-3) in the first round.

Eddie Alvarez (13-1) and “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (17-6-1) will matchup in another Grand Prix bout.

Another matchup features a rematch between “Buscape” Luiz Firmino (12-3) and “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (21-4-2).

Kawajiri won a 2005 unanimous decision over Firmino in PRIDE.

Finally, “Uno Shoten” Caol Uno (24-10-4) got a bye into a second-round fight with “Endless Warrior” Mitsuhiro Ishida (16-3-1).

The K-1/former-PRIDE collaboration featured mismatches of size and skill, world-class MMA, late stoppages, carnival theatrics, a tournament format, and the banshee herself, Lenne Hardt, introducing it all.

The card featured the opening round of DREAM’s lightweight grand prix in which Eddie Alvarez (13-1), “Buscape” Luiz Firmino (12-3), “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (17-6-1), “Endless Fighter” Mitsuhiro Ishida (16-3-1), “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (21-4-2), and Katsuhiko Nagata (4-2) all advanced to the next round.

The tournaments seventh and most anticipated match-up betwen “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (14-2) and “JZ” Gesias Calvancante (14-1-1) ended in a No Contest.

In non-tournament bouts, “Mach” Hayato Sakurai (32-7-2) and “Cro Cop” Mirko Filipovic both won first round TKOs and “The Punk” Ikuhisa Minowa won a first round submission.

Ishida and Korean judoka Bu Kyung Jung (0-2) fought the most competitive bout with Ishida squeezing a unanimous decision over the MMA rookie.

The Japanese wrestler, Ishida, whirled around Jung for the first two minutes, peppering leg kicks into the Korean’s thighs.  On Jung’s lunging clinch attempt, Ishida slammed him to the mat.

On the mat, inside Jung’s tightly closed guard, Ishida heaved him into the air and slammed him again before raising back to his feet.

Jung followed and lunged to clinch again, but Ishida ducked.  Jung slammed face first into the corner, Ishida pouncing atop him.

From a full guard body lock, Jung transitioned into an armbar as the Japanese fighter tried to yank free.  It was close, and Jung took the opportunity to kick the struggling wrestler in the face before Ishida broke free.  Another powerful Ishida slam countered Jung’s near miss.

As the ground game went on, Ishida’s spurts of G’n'P became more effective as the Korean filed through submissions, but the ref stood them anyway.

Backed into a corner, Ishida threw a clumsy left roundhouse kick Jung blocked as Ishida slipped.  This time it was Jung who pounced, locking Ishida’s head beneath his armpit for another tight neck crank submission attempt.

Again, Ishida popped free, both fighters slick with sweat by that point, and worked an effective ground’n'pound until the ref stood the fighters.

This time it was Ishida who lunged for a single leg takedown and Jung pulled guard, then slipped a slick armbar on the wrestler.  Again, the “Endless Fighter” slipped free and hammered on the judoka to the first round bell.

The second round began as the first, with Ishida avoiding a head-on collision by circling.  Ishida shot for the same single leg takedown that got him in trouble near the end of round one and Jung again pulled guard and sucked up arms at angles looking for submissions.  Ishida countered by grinding fists into Jung’s face until the ref stood them up.

Ishida made it a trilogy with a third identical takedown and Jung responded as he had to the first two.  Both fighters exchanged leather while Jung worked his high guard into a weak triangle choke, but wasn’t able to lock his leg beneath his knee.

The bout ended with both exhausted fighters pitty-patting each other on the mat.

An argument could be made to give the judoka the win, but the judges saw Ishida’s aggressive ground’n'pound as the deal breaker and awarded him a unanimous decision.

In another exciting tournament fight, at the bell Alvarez and “Dida” Andre Amade (6-3-1) stormed to the center of the ring throwing leather.  The American shot a single leg and stood-up with the ankle he had snatched.  He swept Dida’s other foot from beneath him and dumped the BJJ black belt on his back.

The ref stood Dida and he immediately resumed throwing haymakers, catching Alvarez square on the chin with two big left hooks, then dropping him with a third as the American retreated.

But on the mat Alvarez’s superior wrestling positioned him for a two-minute vicious ground’n'pound onslaught that lead to the TKO stoppage at 6:47 of round one.  Dida was simply overpowered and out-positioned.

Tattooed Norwegian Hansen resembled a snow leopard feasting on Kotetsu Boku (13-5-1) of Krazy Bee.  Since becoming the first MMA fighter to tap in a gogoplata in 2006, the former kickboxer Hansen has been all out on the mat.  He took Boku to the ground and paired an octopus-like submission game with brutal ground’n'pound for the entire 15 minutes.  The decision was unanimous for Hansen.

“Buscape” of Brazilian Top Team found a rear naked choke on undersized Kazuyuki Miyata (5-7) at 7:37 of round one.

In a mild upset, Nagata took a unanimous decision over the Russian Artur Oumakhanov (7-3).

Kawajiri earned the sixth spot in round two of DREAM’s lightweight grand prix with a unanimous decision over surprisingly durable “Black Mamba” Kultar Gill (9-7) of Canada.

The tournament’s most hyped match-up fizzled when Aoki took an errant elbow to the back of the head from Calvancanti after much ado about nothing.  There’s been no clarification about a rematch or whether either fighter will advance in the tournament.

Hidetaka Monma (14-8-3) was never in his fight with Sakurai, but evidently the ref was unaware of the mismatch.  From the top position, Sakurai pounded Monma in the head 20-seconds longer than necessary before the referee called a stoppage at 4:12 of round one.

I’m hereby dividing the MMA universe into two halves.  Those, like me, who’re disgusted to witness “Cro Cop” as a characterture of himself matched up against veritable heads-on-a-tee like Tatsuya Mizuno (3-3) and those who lust to see the former PRIDE OWGP champ served-up such heads for entertainment, not sport.  “Cro Cop”, in an awkward performance, TKO’d Mizuno at :56 of round one.

And in the last of the three rings that made-up non tournament action at DREAM.1, Minowaman swung from half mount into a kneebar to submit overweight Korean Bum Chang Kang (1-2) at 1:25 of round one.

DREAM.2 follows on 29 April with the first round a a middleweight grand prix.