After UFC 150, we may need a third.

Benson Henderson managed to retain his UFC Lightweight Championship over Frankie Edgar in the main event of Saturday’s card, as two judges saw him winning a 48-47 decision, while another saw Edgar winning 49-46.

Most MMA writers feel that Edgar actually did win the fight, but most will also agree that neither man really dominated the fight.

Both fighters had high moments, but Edgar took on less damage this time around and Henderson didn’t seem to get into the same flow as he did in their first meeting.

Still, Edgar has now lost twice in a row to Henderson, no matter how close. It will be hard for the UFC to grant Edgar another title fight, as they have already committed to giving Nate Diaz the next shot.

In the co-main event, Donald Cerrone KO’d Melvin Guillard in an exciting and quick contest.

Guillard actually landed a big punch to open the fight and looked to be on the verge of an upset, but Cerrone gathered himself, and a minute later, landed a kick and right hand combo that put Guillard out cold.

The win for Cerrone keeps him in the discussion of top lightweight contenders, as his lone loss in the UFC is to Diaz by decision. Guillard now falls back out of the top 10, as he has been finished in the first round in two of his last three fights.

For complete results for UFC 150, click on the jump.

UFC 150 Results (Courtesy of MMAMania.com)

Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012

Pepsi Center – Denver, Colorado

155 lbs.: Ben Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar (for UFC lightweight title)

155 lbs.: Donald Cerrone def. Melvin Guillard via knockout at 1:16 of round one

185 lbs.: Jake Shields def. Ed Herman via unanimous decision

185 lbs.: Yushin Okami def. Buddy Roberts via TKO at 3:05 of round two

145 lbs.: Max Holloway def. Justin Lawrence via TKO (liver punch) at 4:49 of round two

145 lbs.: Dennis Bermudez def. Tom Hayden via submission (guillotine choke) at 4:43 of round one

185 lbs.: Michael Kuiper def. Jared Hamman via TKO at 2:15 of round two

135 lbs.: Ken Stone vs. Erik Perez def. Ken Stone via TKO at 0:17 of round one

135 lbs.: Chico Camus def. Dustin Pague via unanimous decision

145 lbs.: Nik Lentz def. Eiji Mitsuoka via TKO at 3:45 of round one

There have been a number of big bouts announced, most of which will take place at UFC 136. As always, MMAFighting.com was the first to report on many of the contests.

– In the biggest news, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard will finally settle the score in a lightweight championship clash at UFC 136 on Oct. 8 from the Toyota Center in Houston. This is the second attempt for the UFC to put on this bout, as the two were originally schedule to fight at UFC 130, but both suffered injuries.

– The UFC also announced via Twitter that Jose Aldo will defend his featherweight championship against Kenny Florian at UFC 136. This will be Florian’s third attempt to win UFC gold while Aldo will be defending his UFC strap for the second time.

– Also set for the UFC 136 card in Houston is another lightweight showdown when Melvin Guillard faces Joe Lauzon. Guillard has quickly skyrocketed up the lightweight ladder with five-straight wins. However, Guillard has struggled in the past with submission fighters and Lauzon is a pitbull on the ground. Lauzon won’t back down from Guillard and the first five minutes of this fight should be very explosive.

– A third bout for UFC 136 was announced as middleweights Demian Maia and Jorge Santiago will square off. Both fighters are coming off of losses and need this win in order to remain a top-10 contender in the division.

– For UFC 137 on Oct. 29 in Las Vegas, heavyweight strikers Matt Mitrione and Cheick Kongo will battle it out. Both are coming off KO wins at UFC Live on Versus 4, with Kongo knocking out Mitrione’s friend, Pat Barry. This will be the biggest test to date for Mitrione, who is now 6-0 in his pro career.

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.

UFC 132 took place last night and was one of the most entertaining PPV’s I have seen in quite some time.

There were so many storylines that emerged from the event, but I guess I will have to start with the main event.

Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber put on quite a show, proving that bantamweights can headline a PPV. In the end, Cruz won a close unanimous decision that had Faber crushed and Cruz looking very joyous and relieved (AP Photograph).

I personally felt Cruz won 48-47 based on scoring rounds, but I don’t feel like the fight had a true winner or loser. I didn’t think Faber did enough to warrant winning the title, but I think he should be considered for an immediate rematch.

Faber’s quickness did nullify some of Cruz’ movement, but Cruz still seemed to dictate the pace and style of the fight. The ground scrambles were really impressive from both men and that essentially made the fight a standup battle, where Cruz landed a lot more strikes.

In the co-main event, Chris Leben defeated Wanderlei Silva by KO in just 27 seconds. Coming in, many thought Tito Ortiz would be fighting his last fight, but it may have been Silva that did, as he suffers another big time KO and is just 2-6 in his last eight fights.

I don’t know what this means for Leben, but he certainly recovered well from his loss to Stann earlier this year.

Perhaps the biggest thing to happen Saturday was Ortiz’ very surprising submission of Ryan Bader in the first round.

Ortiz caught Bader with a big right hand and then followed up with a guillotine choke to get the win. With his career on the line, Ortiz was not surprisingly quite emotional after the victory. He pulled out his famous “grave digger” celebration, which I thought was a little much. There is the old adage about acting like you have been there before, but I guess when you haven’t won a fight in five years, you never know when you will get a chance to win again.

Bader has now lost two in a row and has a long road to get back to top contender status. Ortiz deserves another big name for his next fight and we will see how far he can take this.

In other bouts, Carlos Condit had a very impressive KO win over previously unbeaten, Dong Hyun Kim. I expected Kim to use his size and strength to out-grapple Condit, but “The Natural Born Killer” never let that happen, landing big strikes early and often before using a flying knee to setup the victory. Condit quietly requested a title shot after the fight, but he probably has another win or two to go to seal that up.

In a controversial lightweight decision, Dennis Siver beat Matt Wiman. Siver won 29-28 on all three cards. Wiman was noticeably upset after the fight and stormed off, but I personally thought Siver won rounds one and three and Wiman clearly won round two. I don’t think Wiman can honestly say that he clearly won that fight.

Another impressive showing on the night came from lightweight Melvin Guillard, who scored a first round KO of Shane Roller. Guillard is on a role now and fighting with a lot of confidence. He is knocking on the door for a title shot. I personally would enjoy seeing a fight with him and Anthony Pettis.

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.

In the main event, UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz is a slight favorite to beat challenger Urijah Faber. Cruz has odds of -130 while Faber has a money line of +100.

Faber is the only blemish on Cruz’ record, but Cruz is a much different fighter now and Faber has somewhat underwhelmed in his short time at bantamweight.

In the co-main event, Wanderlei Silva (-185) is favored to beat Chris Leben (+155) in what should be a slugfest in the middleweight division. Both men are standup fighters that like to trade punches. You would expect someone to get KO’d in this one.

Silva has the more impressive wins list, but his chin is not nearly as strong as it once was. Leben isn’t a great technical striker, but when he hits you, it does a lot of damage.

In what could be Tito Ortiz’ final bout with the UFC, he is a heavy underdog (+365) in his contest with wrestling standout Ryan Bader (-465).

Bader has just one loss in his career, to current champion Jon Jones. Ortiz hasn’t won a fight since beating Ken Shamrock in October of 2006. He hasn’t beaten anyone currently relevant since he beat Forrest Griffin in a close decision in April of 2006.

Check out all the current odds for UFC 132 after the jump.

UFC 132 Betting Odds

Saturday, July 2

Bantamweight Championship – Dominick Cruz (-130) vs. Urijah Faber (+100)

Middleweight Bout – Chris Leben (+155) vs. Wanderlei Silva (-185)

Welterweight Bout – Dong Hyun Kim (-120) vs. Carlos Condit (-110)

Light Heavyweight Bout – Tito Ortiz (+365) vs. Ryan Bader (-465)

Lightweight Bout – Shane Roller (+215) vs. Melvin Guillard (-275)

Lightweight Bout – Dennis Siver (-135) vs. Matt Wiman (+105)

That isn’t the case for my lightweight rankings.

Of any division in MMA, the lightweights are the toughest to sort through. The group is very top-heavy and even the distant contenders are hard to decipher.

Nonetheless, here is my top 10 list for the lightweights. Feel free to add your take on who should be in the top spots.

(If you need to go back and find my pound-for-pound, heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, or welterweight rankings, click on the links)

1. Frankie Edgar (13-1-1) – Edgar is the UFC Lightweight Champion and the lone lightweight in the world to clearly dominate the great B.J. Penn. Edgar will get his chance to put his stamp on the top spot when he faces Gray Maynard for the third time on May 28, but the fact that Edgar pulled out a draw at UFC 125 after that brutal first round is a testament to his abilities. Edgar’s speed, hands, and wrestling are a very impressive combination, especially for a man that could arguably fight at featherweight.

2. Gray Maynard (10-0-1) – Maynard has yet to lose and if he didn’t put everything he had into knocking Edgar out in the first round of their UFC 125 bout, he would be the champion today. Maynard was once just a wrestler, but is now showing strong striking ability. If he can put forth a full 25 minutes in May, he will become the champion and take over the top spot in my rankings.

3. Gilbert Melendez (19-2) – Melendez deserves some real consideration for this top spot and in my opinion, he is the top fighter in all of Strikeforce. Melendez genuinely competes against some of the top fighters around the world that fans aren’t that familiar with. Still, Gilbert needs to prove it on the biggest stage of them all, the octagon, to get my top spot.

4. Jim Miller (20-2) – Miller has just two losses in his career, and that is to the pair on top of this list. Both losses came by decision, and since that time, Miller has gone on to win seven-straight fights. Miller has a great style and aggressive attitude and his will may be greater than his talent, which makes him a dangerous opponent.

5. Anthony Pettis (13-1) – I am a fan of Pettis, and it isn’t just because of his “Showtime Kick” on Ben Henderson. Pettis is a very dynamic striker, but his ground game keeps getting better. He submitted a ground specialist in Shane Roller and he out-wrestled Ben Henderson to become the final WEC Lightweight Champion. Given the success WEC fighters have had in the UFC thus far, I see no reason that Pettis won’t be a problem for anyone in the UFC.

6. Shinya Aoki (27-5, 1 NC) – Aoki is the Dream Lightweight Champion. He is one of the best submission fighters in the world. The man has 17 submission wins in his career and his skills are so diverse that many of his opponents don’t know how to handle him. Still, in his chance to really shine against Melendez in April of 2010, he put on a terrible performance that is hard for me to forget about. His recent win over Lyle Beerbohm helped erase that, but I need to see him beat a real notable opponent in the states to take him seriously as a top-5 contender.

7. Eddie Alvarez (22-2) – Alvarez is the Bellator Lightweight Champion and probably the best single fighter in the whole organization. His last lost came against Aoki in 2008, but he still holds wins over former UFC fighters like Roger Huerta and Josh Neer. Alvarez has quick hands and some strong grappling. Only time will tell if he will ever fight on the big stage of the UFC.

8. Clay Guida (28-11) – Guida doesn’t get a lot of respect as a top-ranked lightweight, but to me, Guida is right there. His losses have come against some of the best in the division. He was beaten by Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian, both who contended for the title in the recent past. Guida has now won three straight and gets a crack at Pettis in June. He may be limited because of his size and stature, but he brings the fight and will never back down.

9. Melvin Guillard (27-8-2) – Since being submitted by every legit contender in the UFC, Guillard seems to have gotten his career on track. Now a winner of four straight, Guillard is emerging as a top contender in the division after his TKO of Evan Dunham last January. As long as Guillard can stay off his back, he can beat anyone. That will be the test for him when he takes on Roller at UFC 132 in July.

10. Dennis Siver (17-8) – Siver emerged with his decision win over George Sotiropoulos at UFC 127 and he has now won seven of his last eight. The compact kick boxer posses problems for wrestlers because of his strength and size and he also poses problems for strikers because of his devastating kicks and punches. Siver is on the fast track in the UFC right now, but he must keep up the momentum when he takes on Matt Wiman at UFC 132.