Can Gilbert Melendez Become No. 1 without the UFC?

A couple weeks ago, it was assumed that if you were to ever become the No. 1 Lightweight in the world, you would have to beat UFC champ B.J. Penn. Now, that might not be the case.

Tonight on CBS, Gilbert Melendez defends his Strikeforce Lightweight title against Dream Lightweight champion Shinya Aoki. Bloodyelbow.com lists Melendez as the No. 8 Lightweight in the world, and Aoki as No. 2.

One week ago today, B.J. Penn was upset by Frankie Edgar, and was forced to hand over his belt. Though most major rankings have not yet updated their lists, one might expect Edgar to be at the top of that list. That is, if you pay no attention to the old phrase that I first heard Larry Merchant tell Vernon Forrest after he beat Shane Mosely: "If you beat Tiger Woods, that doesn't make you Tiger Woods."

Aoki has the quicker shot to stake his claim as the No. 1 Lightweight in the world. If he can add Melendez's name to his resume, there would be many that would feel he is at the top of the Lightweight list. However, since Melendez is the slight favorite, his name made it in the headline of this article.

For Gilbert, if the UFC belt continued to change hands, and he was able to take out Aoki and then possibly a top opponent such as Eddie Alvarez or a rubber match with Josh Thompson, then he would have a very good case for being the top dog in the division. Also, let's not forget that JZ Calvalcante is still out there somewhere. I would also have a hard time picking the winner of a potential fight between Melendez and Edgar.

In all reality, I do believe Penn will regain his belt in a rematch against Edgar. I personally don't think he ever should have lost it, as I thought it was a clear decision win for Penn.

If that's the case, Gilbert has a very good chance of making himself the clear No. 2 in the near future. But the possibility remains, if he can keep winning, Gil could become No. 1 without ever signing the dotted line with the UFC. That would make him the only No. 1 not signed to Zuffa, besides Fedor Emelianenko.