WEC Lightweight Division Rankings

The WEC's 155-pound lightweight division is the lone crossover weight class to survive the absorption of weight classes into the UFC when Zuffa made the change late in 2008.

The efforts to focus on the lighter weight classes in World Extreme Cagefighting seems to be a solid strategy, but injuries caused former WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner out of action for 12 months.

However, with Varner mending his injuries a young star emerged, as Benson Henderson climbed up the 155-pound ladder in 2009 before taking the interim title in November, and then defeating Varner in January 2010.

The remainder of the lightweight division has many talented fighters. Marcus Hicks appeared to be on the fast-path towards having his name known before consecutive losses.

Anthony Pettis, Deividas Taurosevicius, and James Krause are also worth mentioning, despite not making our top 10.

Please note that this is a WEC-specific list, thus we are not making mention of the top lightweights in the UFC, Strikeforce, Affliction, or other MMA promotions.

Below is our list of the Top 10 Lightweight MMA fighters currently employed by the WEC. Be sure to also check out our MMA pound for pound rankings, and all of our MMA rankings from Pro Fighting Fans.

Top WEC Lightweight Fighter Rankings:

1. Ben Henderson (11-1): Now 11-1 with consecutive wins over the best the WEC has to offer, Benson Henderson sets his sights on a new challenge: defending his WEC Lightweight Championship belt.

Having defeated Donald Cerrone and Jamie Varner, it's doubtful that Henderson will be challenged by any new opponents anytime soon, but he may see fast-rising Anthony Njokuani before the end of 2010 in what would be a great rematch.

Expect to see Henderson, who has defeated Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5 on this list, make his first title defense against Cerrone in a rematch of their September fight at WEC 43.

2. Jamie Varner (16-3): With a 4-1 record against WEC competition, and a 1-1 record in the UFC, Varner is no stranger to solid competition. He has wins over Donald Cerrone and Rob McCullough from this list, as well as Marcus Hicks, a man who is a win or two away from breaking into the WEC's top 10 at 155 pounds.

"Ring rust" did not seem to be a major factor in his loss to Ben Henderson at WEC 44, but it surely did not help after being out for a year. If Varner can get a win in his next fight, he may very well get a rematch with Henderson or Cerrone in 2010.

3. Donald Cerrone (11-2): Donald "The Cowboy" Cerrone has wins over top 10 WEC lightweights Danny Castillo and Rob McCullough, as well as Anthony Njokuani (before either had signed with the WEC).

Cerrone's two lone career losses have come to the two men above him on this list, and he should get a rematch with one or both in 2010, as he is in line for another WEC Lightweight title shot once again.

4. Anthony Njokuani (12-2): Njokuani has won three straight in impressive fashion, and is now 3-1 in the WEC—with his lone loss being to now WEC 155-pound kingpin Ben Henderson.

Outside of the WEC, only Donald Cerrone has been able to defeat the native of Nigeria, as he is 12-2 in his MMA career. If Njokuani gets a shot at Varner or Cerrone and wins, he could very well get a shot at the WEC lightweight title in 2010.

5. Shane Roller (7-2): With a 4-1 record in five WEC fights, Roller's lone career WEC loss came at the hands of current champ Ben Henderson at WEC 40 in April 2009.

Roller has wins in both of his most recent fights, defeating borderline top 10 lightweight Marcus Hicks at WEC 42, and most recently submitting Danny Castillo in November at WEC 44.

6. Danny Castillo (8-2): With a 3-2 record in the WEC, Castillo's lone career losses have come to Donald Cerrone and Shane Roller, both top five WEC 115-pounders.

His WEC 42 win over Ricardo Lamas places Castillo at No. 6 on this list with a need for more wins over top 10 competition before he can seriously think about contention in the WEC's lightweight division.

7. Ricardo Lamas (7-1): With just a single loss in his MMA career against the man just above him in our rankings, Danny Castillo, Lamas has a promising future. He is now 2-1 in the WEC with wins over Palaszewski and borderline top 10 lightweight James Krause.

8. Rob McCullough (17-6): The former WEC lightweight champion has lost three of his last five fights, but has notable wins over Kit Cope, Olaf Alfonso, Richard Crunkilton, and Marcus Hicks.

Two of his recent losses have come at the hands of Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone, but the WEC 44 split decision loss to Karen Darabedyan is a head-scratcher.

9. Bart Palaszewski (33-13): "Bartimus" has proven to be rather streaky in his long MMA career, as he has followed consecutive losses in the WEC with consecutive wins. Most recently, Palaszewski defeated Anthony Pettis at WEC 45, and is 2-2 in the WEC, with several fights against notable 115-pound fighters in the IFL and WEC alike.

10. Richard Crunkilton (16-3): In 19 career fights, Crunkilton has had more fights in the WEC than any other fighter on this list, going 8-2. But the knock on Crunkilton is his time away from the sport, having fought just once since March 2008, and just twice since September 2007.