The “gate keeper” is a fighter that is good enough to be one of the top fighters in the division, but not good enough to beat the elite few on top. They will likely never be a champion, but they will never be without an important fight or spot within the UFC. Here are who I see as the gate keepers in the UFC.

Flyweight – Ian McCall: McCall is a great flyweight, but already has proven that he can’t compete with the likes of Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez. He just doesn’t have the skills to break into the top.

Bantamweight – Urijah Faber: Faber is a tremendous talent, but he was clearly outclassed by Renan Barao and lost his last fight with Dominick Cruz. Faber is just a step to slow to earn the title.

Featherweight – Dustin Poirier: “The Diamond” is a great fighter, but he hasn’t been able to get the job done in his toughest fights. He will always be in discussion as a top-5 featherweight, but not able to get any higher.

Lightweight – Jim Miller: Miller has tremendous heart and wrestling ability, but he can’t quite get to the mountain top. If a contender isn’t cut for the elite status, Miller will prove it.

Welterweight – Jake Ellenberger: Ellenberger seemed primed for a title shot with a win over Rory MacDonald, but he failed to take his talents to that next level. He can beat most of the division, but not the very best.

Middleweight – Yushin Okami: As said previously, Okami is a tough guy to get past, but if you can, it puts you in the 185-pound title picture.

Light Heavyweight – Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: Lil Nog is a talented fighter, but doesn’t really show anything to make you feel like he could actually be the 205-pound champion. He has some big wins, but some bad losses. If someone is going to be a champ in this division, they have to get through him.

Heavyweight – Antonio Silva: Silva proved he can’t be the champion of this division, getting hammered by Cain Velasquez on two occasions now. However, he owns wins over guys like Fedor and Alistair Overeem. Silva is no easy victory, but he doesn’t have the total package to be champ.

So, here is a look at what we learned this week.

– Nate Diaz may be an unsolvable problem for 155 pounders – Nate Diaz looked more than impressive against Jim Miller in the UFC on FOX 3 main event on Saturday. Miller had the kind of style that I expected to give Diaz some trouble, but he ran right through him. Diaz’ long reach has really been a problem for his opponents and he seems to be a vastly improved fighter since moving back from welterweight to lightweight. Miller was one of the top fighters in the division and Diaz made him look like a first timer. Diaz could legitimately become the UFC champion as I don’t know that a Benson Henderson or Frankie Edgar will be able to outwork him or deal with his jabs.

– Where does Josh Koscheck go from here? – Certainly it would be hard to say that Josh Koscheck was dominated by Johny Hendricks and you could maybe make the argument that he beat Hendricks on Saturday. Regardless, Koscheck certainly didn’t dominate Hendricks either. Koscheck seems to have become a fighter that refuses to go back to his roots when needed. He is one of the top wrestlers, and perhaps most explosive wrestler, in the 170 pound division. Koscheck is relying on his big swings and limited striking to try and win fights, even when it is clear he is not winning. Koscheck has only been out-wrestled one time in his career, and that was by Georges St. Pierre. In a fight like Saturday’s, I would have liked to see him take Hendricks down and work his ground striking as opposed to hoping for a knockout punch. Now Koscheck is lost in the welterweight division and not capable, in my mind, to make a run at middleweight. He needs to reinvent himself if he hopes to ever win UFC gold.

– Where would Alan Belcher be if he never got injures? – Belcher had about as good of a performance as Diaz, as he stopped Rousimar Palhares in the first round with some vicious ground and pound. Belcher was on a nice run in the UFC prior to an eye injury that nearly ended his career and sidelined him for over a year. Since his return, Belcher has first round finishes of Jason MacDonald and Palhares and he has won four straight overall. The middleweight division has quickly become very competitive with the addition of Hector Lombard. With Chael Sonnen, Brian Stann, Mark Munoz, and Michael Bisping all in the mix, Belcher should be right there with them.

The big winners on the night were Chris Lytle and Ben Henderson.

Lytle defeated Dan Hardy in the main event with a guillotine choke late in round 3. Lytle announced on Saturday night that he would be retiring win or lose after the contest and he shared a nice moment with his kids after the victory.

The fight was a slugfest as we expected, with Lytle doing a good job of working the body and Hardy landing some nice crosses. Surprisingly, neither man crashed to the ground and lasted nearly the whole fight before a big uppercut to the ribs forced Hardy to shoot on Lytle. Not having much wrestling experience, Hardy left his neck open for Lylte, who secured a very tight choke and got Hardy to tap with just 44 seconds left in the contest.

Lytle finished at 31-18-5 in his career and won five of his last six. He also secured Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night honors, a cool $130,000 in bonuses.

Hardy has now lost his last four in the UFC, but Dana White announced that Hardy will not be cut. Still, the colorful fighter seemed crushed by yet another loss.

In the co-main event, Jim Miller was unseated as the No. 1 contender in the lightweight division by Ben Henderson. Henderson put on the best performance of his career in dominating Miller for 15 minutes to earn a decision victory.

Henderson was relentless, pushing forward the entire fight with kicks, punches, and inside elbows. When the fight hit the ground, Henderson out-wrestled Miller and unleashed a fury of ground-and-pound strikes. Miller attempted a number of submissions, but never had Henderson in any real danger.

Henderson is 2-0 in the UFC but there is no clear contender for the Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard winner. One would think Melvin Guillard may be the front runner.

Another lightweight that made a big statement on Sunday was Donald Cerrone, who quickly disposed of Charles Oliveira to improve to 3-0 in the octagon.

Cerrone had superior striking and the fight never hit the ground until Cerrone dropped Oliveira and finished him off with a flurry of punches.

UFC on Versus 5 Results

Sunday, Aug. 14

Chris Lytle def. Dan Hardy via submission (guillotine choke) at 4:16 Round 3

Ben Henderson def. Jim Miller via unanimous decision

Donald Cerrone def. Charles Oliveira via TKO at 3:01 Round 1

Duane Ludwig def. Amir Sadollah via unanimous decision

Jared Hamman def. C.B. Dollaway via TKO at 3:38 Round 2

Joseph Benavidez def. Eddie Wineland via unanimous decision

Ed Herman def.  Kyle Noke via submission (heel hook) at 4:15 Round 1

Ronny Markes def Karlos Vemola via unanimous decision

Jimy Hettes def. Alex Caceres via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:12 Round 2

Cole Miller def. T.J. O’Brien via submission (guillotine choke) at 2:30 Round 2

Jacob Volkmann def. Danny Castillo via unanimous decision

Edwin Figueroa def. Jason Reinhardt via TKO at 0:50 Round 2

UFC Welterweight Bout – Dan Hardy (23-9) vs. Chris Lytle (40-18-4) – Hardy and Lytle should put on quite a show. Both men like to slug it out and give something exciting for the fans. However, once this fight gets heated, I expect some grappling to take place. Lytle has a clear edge in that category, which is why I like him to win by decision. Lytle can take a punch, while Hardy can’t stop a takedown.

UFC Lightweight Bout – Jim Miller (20-2) vs. Ben Henderson (13-2) – This should be a great fight. Miller is on the verge of earning a lightweight title shot while Henderson is a former WEC champ. This should be primarily a grappling exhibition, and I think Miller is just a little bit better than Henderson in that department. I could see Henderson sneaking in a choke, but ultimately, my pick goes with Miller by decision in a great contest.

UFC Lightweight Bout – Charles Oliveira (14-1) vs. Donald Cerrone (15-3) – This should be another great fight. Both men are tremendous grapplers. The key in this contest will be striking. Oliveira thinks he has some good striking, which is never a good thing for a grappler. If he attempts to exchange with Cerrone, “The Cowboy” will pick him apart. Cerrone may not have knockout power, but he will be able to control the fight. I see Cerrone winning this fight by decision thanks to his boxing and ability to stay out of submissions.

UFC Welterweight Bout – Amir Sadollah (6-2) vs. Duane Ludwig (28-11) – Sadollah is a great grappler and has good muay thai striking, but Ludwig has one-punch power. I think Sadollah will ultimately win by submission, but he has to avoid that early surge from Ludwig. After the early surge, Sadollah should be able to push a pace that Ludwig can’t keep up with. I see Sadollah winning by choke in the third round.

But, this time around, it wasn’t a catastrophic mess like the Nate Marquardt situation.

Main event contender Dan Hardy failed to make weight the first time for his bout with Chris Lytle for Sunday’s card. Hardy originally weighed in at 171.5 pounds, but was able to weigh in at 170 pounds with a little extra time, making his contest with Lytle official and the main event of UFC on Versus 5.

In the co-main event, lightweight contenders Jim Miller and Ben Henderson both came in on weight. Henderson weighed 156 pounds while Miller was at 155.5. Henderson had to strip down to his birthday suit to hit his mark. Miller is looking to secure a lightweight title shot with a win.

In another intriguing lightweight contest, Donald Cerrone (156) and Charles Oliveira (155) both came in on weight. The two had an intense stare down while UFC broadcaster, Joe Rogan, proclaimed the fight to be one of the best in the century.

For complete UFC on Versus 5 weigh-in results, check out the jump.

UFC on Versus 5 Weigh-In Results

Sunday, Aug. 14

Bradley Center – Milwaukee, Wis.

Dan Hardy (170) * vs. Chris Lytle (170.5)

Jim Miller (155.5) vs. Ben Henderson (156)

Duane Ludwig (170.5) vs. Amir Sadollah (170)

Donald Cerrone (156) vs. Charles Oliveira (155)

C.B. Dollaway (186) vs. Jared Hamman (185)

Joseph Benavidez (135.5) vs. Eddie Wineland (136)

Ed Herman (186) vs. Kyle Noke (185)

Karlos Vemola (205.5) vs. Ronny Markes (205)

Alex Caceres (146) vs. Jim Hettes (145.5)

Cole Miller (155.5) vs. T.J. O’Brien (155.5)

Jacob Volkmann (156) vs. Danny Castillo (156)

Jason Reinhardt (135) vs. Edwin Figueroa (136)

*Hardy originally weighed in at 171.5 pounds but was able to successfully weigh in at 170 pounds prior to the extra 2-hour time limit

Oddsmakers from BetOnFighting.com have released odds for four of the main card bouts, and each fight has some pretty close money lines.

The main event features a welterweight clash between sluggers Dan Hardy and Chris Lytle. Both men come into the fight with a money line of -115. This should be an entertaining fight if nothing else, as both men are fearless strikers. Lytle should have the edge on the ground, while Hardy may have a little more power in his hands.

In the co-main event, Jim Miller looks to become the No. 1 contender to the UFC Lightweight Championship when he takes on Ben Henderson. Miller has the odds slightly in his favor, at -150, while Henderson has a money line of +120. This should be a great grappling contest, as both men have strong wrestling and submission backgrounds.

For the rest of the odds for UFC on Versus 5, check out the jump.

UFC on Versus 5 Odds

Sunday, Aug. 14

Milwaukee, Wis.

Dan Hardy (-115) vs. Chris Lytle (-115)

Ben Henderson (+120) vs. Jim Miller (-150)

Donald Cerrone (+115) vs. Charles Oliveira (-145)

Duane Ludwig (+250) vs. Amir Sadollah (-310)

Considering the log jam that is the UFC lightweight division, I thought it might be a good idea for the UFC to consider a lightweight grand prix to crown an undisputed champion. Before I unveil my quarterfinal matchups, consider that I kept any fights that are already in the works and am using just UFC fighters, not Strikeforce.

So, without further ado, here are my quarterfinals:

Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard – I would have all the fights in the tournament be five round contests, so it wouldn’t take away from this planned trilogy bout. While many might think this could be the finals, why not just let these two settle the score.

Jim Miller vs. Benson Henderson – Again, these two are already signed up to fight. Miller is the expected No. 1 contender in waiting while Henderson is right on the border of being a top-5 lightweight in the UFC. This should be a great grappling contest.

Anthony Pettis vs. Melvin Guillard – Who wouldn’t want to watch these two trade blows? Despite both being strikers, each has very different styles. There will be a lot of fireworks and probably a KO of some sort.

Clay Guida vs. Dennis Siver – Guida and Siver have both established their cases to move up the contender ladder. Guida may have the wrestling to neutralize Siver, while Siver has the striking ability to best Guida. It would be a great contest between two legit lightweight contenders.

The top 10 list features a number of different styles and contenders, but each fighter could arguably beat everyone else on the list.

Still, here are my updated top 10 lightweight rankings.

1. Frankie Edgar (13-1-1) – Edgar holds on to the top spot as he still is the UFC champion. An injury kept him from facing Gray Maynard in their long-awaited trilogy fight, but those two should collide soon and be able to settle the score as to who deserves to be the champion.

2. Gray Maynard (10-0-1) – Maynard is still unbeaten but missed out on his opportunity to win the championship when he had Edgar beaten at UFC 125. Now, he will have to wait for a third shot at Edgar this fall where he can perhaps prove to the world that he is the top lightweight in the world.

3. Gilbert Melendez (19-2) – Melendez could legitimately compete for the UFC title, but he hasn’t had the opportunity to do so. Now that the UFC is tapping into Strikeforce, perhaps a champion vs. champion bout is in the near future. Until then, Melendez looks as if he will continue to tear up Strikeforce competition.

4. Jim Miller (20-2) – Miller appears to be the No. 1 contender in the UFC due to Clay Guida beating Anthony Pettis this month. Miller has done nothing but win and now he gets a chance to showcase his talents on live TV when he faces Ben Henderson at UFC Live 5 in August. A win for Miller should certainly put him in line for a title shot.

5. Shinya Aoki (28-5, 1 NC) – Aoki is the top submission fighter in the lightweight division and he has won three straight by submission. A lackluster showing against Melendez forced Aoki to mature as a fighter and he is putting himself in line to be a force in the United States if he has the desire to compete in Strikeforce or the UFC.

6. Eddie Alvarez (22-2) – Alvarez, the Bellator champion, is a very polished fighter and the top fighter in all of the organization, in my opinion. There aren’t many challenges left for Alvarez, so hopefully he gets an opportunity soon to compete against the best Zuffa has to offer.

7. Clay Guida (29-11) – Guida had an impressive win over Anthony Pettis this month, as he scored takedowns to neutralize Pettis’ striking. Still one of the best the UFC has, Guida is looking to finally break through and earn a title shot. A few more wins may put him in line for just that.

8. Melvin Guillard (28-8-2) – Guillard appears to have his head on straight and is trying to become a complete fighter. He has won four straight and will face Shane Roller on Saturday, which will be a real test to see if he has learned from his past mistakes against submission specialists. A win for Guillard puts him in line to a get a top-5 contender in his next bout.

9. Dennis Siver (18-7) – Siver is also on a nice roll, winning his last three fights, including a decision over George Sotiropoulos, who was considered one of the top UFC lightweights coming into that contest. The kickboxer has good takedown defense and some powerful strikes. He will face off with Matt Wiman this Saturday.

10. Anthony Pettis (13-2) – Pettis suffered a decision loss to Guida, but even in a loss, he showed a very active guard and nearly found a way to pull out a win. Pettis really has the raw tools to be great, but fighting off his back won’t get him any victories. He is going to need to continue to improve on his grappling and find a way to keep fights standing, where he will have a striking edge on everyone he faces.

Apparently White was able to tear up Diaz’ old contract and sign him to a new one that basically allowed White to make any matches involving Diaz that he pleased in either organization.

If White can do it once, he can do it as many times as he would like.

How about Gilbert Melendez?

The Strikeforce lightweight champion has been campaigning for a unification bout with the UFC champion and now, the planned order of contenders in the UFC seems to be shifting.

It appears that Anthony Pettis, who was the No. 1 contender after winning the WEC title, will now have to win two fights before getting a crack at the UFC strap, according to Fighters Only Magazine.

“That kid’s in a bad position. He’s supposed to be the next in line. All this craziness happens. [Edgar and Maynard] both get hurt, and it gets pushed back again. The first one is a draw, then they get hurt, and it gets pushed back again. But this is one of those things that happens in a sport like this,” says UFC president Dana White.

“I respect [Pettis] for stepping up and taking on a tough guy like Guida, and he’ll probably have to fight again before he gets a shot at one of those guys. Sucks for him. It’s a shi–y position for him to be in.”

If Pettis is fighting Guida before Edgar-Maynard III even takes place, why would he have to fight again? This tells me that White has someone else in mind as the next challenger for the UFC belt.

I don’t see it being Jim Miller, as he is already booked for the fall against Benson Henderson.

Melendez is without a fight scheduled, so this may mean more big title vs. title fights to come.

It could also open up the door for a big heavyweight clash in the future once the Strikeforce Grand Prix has been weeded out.

It is an exciting time for fight fans and it is hard to argue that the UFC isn’t putting on the best fights possible.

Jim Miller will get his next chance this August to stake his claim for a title shot in the crowded lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The Whippany-based mixed martial artist is expected to face former World Extreme Cagefighting champion Ben Henderson, sources close to the UFC confirmed to New Jersey Press Media late Tuesday.

The bout is scheduled for “UFC on Versus 5” on Aug. 14 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wis.

Henderson (13-2) made his UFC debut last month, defeating Mark Bocek by decision.

This should be an exciting fight, but I think it is more dangerous for Miller, who has more to lose.

It is pretty well understood that Miller is the next in line for a title shot after Anthony Pettis gets a crack at the winner of Gray Maynard-Frankie Edgar III (assuming Pettis beats Clay Guida in June).

Henderson is not considered a top-10 lightweight by some, so a win over Miller would propel him into an immediate top contender in the UFC.

Stylistically, Henderson seems to have the grappling to contend with Miller and the two are similar fighters.

This should be a great scrap and I am looking forward to seeing it.