Bellator Lightweight Division Rankings

Top Bellator Lightweight Fighter Rankings:

1. Michael Chandler - (9-0, 6-0 BFC) – 25 year old Michael Chandler opened some eyes in winning Bellator's Season 4 Lightweight Tournament, but few gave him much of a chance against Eddie Alvarez at Bellator 58. In what should be the Fight of the Year for 2011, Chandler opened the fight as the aggressor and later dropped Alvarez with a 4th round punch, took his back and locked in a rear naked choke for the win. Chandler's first title defense will come after Bellator crowns a Season 6 Lightweight Tournament Champion this Spring.

2. Eddie Alvarez - (22-3, 6-1 BFC) – Possibly Bellator's biggest star, Eddie Alvarez headed into his fight with Chandler on a 7-fight win streak and undefeated with the Bellator promotion. While fighting for Bellator Alvarez has defeated Toby Imada to win the belt, defended it against Pat Curran and has wins over UFC vets Roger Huerta & Josh Neer. While nothing has been announced yet, seeing Alvarez in the Bellator Season 6 Lightweight Tournament would be a huge boost to the promotion's TV ratings on MTV2 with Season 6 starting on Friday night, March 2, 2011.

3. Patricky Freire - (10-2, 3-1 BFC) – Together with his brother, Featherweight Patricio Freire, the Pitbull brothers are two of the top International finds for Bellator's talent evaluators. Patricky's loss to Chandler in the Bellator Season 4 Lightweight Tournament final at Bellator 44 was a bit of a surprise at the time, but with Chandler now the Champion of the division there's no doubt that Freire now has his eye on a rematch with the Champ. A Season 6 Lightweight Tournament with Freire, Alvarez, Hawn and Imada would make for fireworks and great match-ups and could significantly help Bellator's move to Friday night events.

4. Rick Hawn - (11-1, 3-1 BFC) – Former US Olympic judo team member Rick Hawn fought in Bellator's Season 4 Welterweight Tournament defeating Jim Wallhead and Lyman Good to advance to the finals but dropped a split decision to Jay Hieron to end his quest for a title shot and $100k check. Now Hawn, who has just the one defeat in his pro MMA career, is expected to make the cut from 170 lbs to 155 lbs and participate in Bellator's Season 6 Lightweight Tournament.

5. Toby Imada - (29-16, 5-3 BFC) – For Toby Imada, timing is everything. Bellator has signed few, if any, fighters with Imada's resume in the past two years, choosing instead to go for younger fighters with a higher career winning percentage. But Toby Imada has proven himself as a top-tier Lightweight time and time again twice bing a Bellator Lightweight Tournament finalist (Season 1 & 2) and also advancing to the semifinals of the Season 4 Lightweight Tournament. Imada has only lost to Bellator's top names in his 8 Bellator fights - to Eddie Alvarez, Patricky Freire and Pat Curran.

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Honorable Mention: Marcin Held, Dave Jansen, Rene Nazare, Phillipe Nover, Ricardo Tirloni, Brent Weedman, Lloyd Woodard