The UFC's lightweight title picture is currently among the cloudiest of any of the promotion's seven weightclasses.
Sure, we know that current champion Frankie Edgar will face top challenger Gray Maynard at May's UFC 130 event, but after that, who's next?
In our latest MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) poll, we asked our readers to play UFC matchmaker and decide who should get the next crack at the 155-pound title. The response was overwhelmingly one-sided.
More than three-quarters of the voters, 77 percent to be precise, believe the winner of the Clay Guida (28-11 MMA, 8-5 UFC) vs. Anthony Pettis (13-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) bout at June's The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale card should be deemed top challenger.
It would be justice for Pettis, who closed out the WEC as that promotion's final champion and was promised a fight with the winner of January's Edgar vs. Maynard II contest. Of course, that bout ended in a draw, leading to a third fight between the two and pushing "Showtime" to the sidelines.
The case might be tougher for Guida, but it's certainly not out of the questions. A win over Pettis would mark Guida's fourth-consecutive win, and he'd have lost just twice – to perennial contenders Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez – in his past nine trips to the cage.
Next on the list with 12 percent of the vote was Jim Miller (19-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC), should he get by Kamal Shalorus at this weekend's UFC 128 event.
A win would represent Miller's seventh-straight in the promotion, and his lone career losses have come to Maynard and Edgar.
Melvin Guillard (27-8-2 MMA, 9-4 UFC), who was recently announced as an opponent for Shane Roller at UFC 132, scored just nine percent of the response, while the winner of a UFC 129 bout between Mark Bocek (9-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) and former WEC champ Ben Henderson (12-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) scored just two percent of the votes.
So what do you think? Is it really that clear-cut? State your case in the comments section below.
Additionally, don't forget to vote in this week's new poll on the MMAjunkie.com homepage . We want to know if you think the UFC's recent purchase of Strikeforce will ultimately prove a good thing for fans.
HDNet's "Inside MMA" and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) run a weekly poll thanks to a partnership between the two news outlet. Catch new episodes of "Inside MMA" on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET. For more information on "Inside MMA" and HDNet Fights, visit www.hdnetfights.com . For more information on HDNet and how to subscribe, visit www.hd.net .
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