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NEW YORK -- For as stacked as the UFC 146 card appears for Memorial Day weekend, it’s really two title fights (Urijah Faber/Dominick Cruz and Chael Sonnen/Anderson Silva) and a pack of glitzy non-consequential match-ups (Cung Le/Rich Franklin and Forrest Griffin/Tito Ortiz).

Not so for New Jersey and this weekend’s free UFC on FOX 3 card. No belts will change hands, but situations are in play. Complicated situations. Theoretical ones. Titles dangling in the balance, right there for some and just out of reach for others. And there is, of course, much obfuscation.

For example: If Nate Diaz capitalizes on his broadcast television main event and downs Jim Miller, he is essentially guaranteed a title shot at 155 pounds. However, with Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar fighting for the title in August, that shot might come in a wintry month like December. That’s a long time to wait for a guy who A.) fights for money, B.) likes fighting and C.) has a nice head of momentum. When asked if he’d wait in that situation at Thursday’s news conference, Diaz said simply, “I have a fight on Saturday.”

This drew a New York cheer. Diaz, for all his volume in punching, is a man of few words.

If Jim Miller beats Diaz, on the other hand, he isn’t guaranteed anything. Rather, he is guaranteed to be cheering for Frankie Edgar at UFC 150 when Edgar fights Henderson, because in that case Miller would potentially get to fight Edgar (his erstwhile training partner/friend).

Got it?

Here’s what Miller had to say when asked if he’s confused by Diaz getting a title shot with a win (even though he’s 3-3 in his last six lightweight bouts) while he (10-2 as a lightweight in the UFC) won’t necessarily:

“You know, honestly, it doesn’t matter to me right now. I’ve got a fight in two days, and that’s where my focus is. From doing that [10-2 record] and having that seven-win stretch and dealing with the rematches in this division, it really cemented that things change -- and things happen. So I’m not going to sit here and try and predict what’ll happen with a win or with a loss. I’m just focused on the fight itself, and after that, then it’s time to speculate about the next fight.”

If he won’t speculate, we sure will, and we’ll add a name to the mix: Anthony Pettis.

Pettis, who is a quasi-No. 1 contender, will be coming back to full health some time in the summer. Logic would say that the winner of Diaz/Miller will end up fighting Pettis to establish a true No. 1 contender, while Henderson/Edgar II plays out.

Meanwhile, the co-main event has its own wild set of conditions. Should Johny Hendricks beat Josh Koscheck, he is the No. 1 contender for a title fight. Problem is, once again, that Georges St. Pierre and Carlos Condit are likely fighting in November to settle up the permanent and interim belts. There’s no way that Hendricks will want to wait for that to play out for a spring 2013 title fight.

Yet if Koscheck wins, he will have to pull for Condit to beat St. Pierre to have a word in the title conversation.

Confused? You should be. If we learned anything from the final prefight news conference, it’s this -- the UFC doesn’t want repetition. Koscheck/St. Pierre and Henderson/Miller happened too soon ago to happen again. The UFC craves new blood.

It’s the most complicated contender-type card that ever was, and it’s going down Saturday night in New Jersey.

First UFC "super fight" in January?

In the post news conference scrum, a media member asked Dana White about a potential fight card at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, a venue which can hold 100,000 people.

White said all that flirtation about holding an event there was not only real, but is a serious possibility. He also alluded to a big January card that could potentially be so massive.

“We’re always looking for a potential big fight,” White said. “We’ve always wanted to do a fight, and we’ve been talking to [Jerry] Jones and his crew about doing a fight down in Dallas Cowboys Stadium, but we need a fight big enough to do it. The last fight that I was going to try and make there was Brock [Lesnar] and Fedor [Emelianenko].”

There is potentially a fight out there that’s big enough.

Running through the timelines of “super fight” candidates for a place like Dallas Cowboys Stadium, or a second event at the Rogers Centre in Toronto (or at the old, reliable stand-by in Las Vegas), one could envision a Jon Jones/Anderson Silva match-up at least being discussed.

Think about it. If Jones beats Dan Henderson in September, that would be four months ahead of January -- perfect for the turn around. Anderson Silva fights in July. Should be beat Chael Sonnen for his record 10th title defense, there would be only one way to raise the ante -- and it wouldn’t be to take on Mark Munoz or Hector Lombard.

It would be to fight Jones, who’d have tidied his own division up just in time. Is that what the UFC has in mind?

“I don’t know,” White said. “We’ll see what happens. We’ll see what we end up putting together.”

New York state of mind

By now, everyone knows about the MMA ban in New York, even as we make our way through open-minded 2012. This is why the UFC dangles its product just across the Hudson River -- to reinforce that all notions of “human cockfighting” are antiquated and hyperbolic. Whether the sport hasn’t been sanctioned in the Empire State is about “gangsters” in the Culinary Union (as Dana White says) or something less ominous, it depends on whom you talk to.

But when MMA does finally get legalized in New York, the UFC plans on doing it big.

“When we finally do break through and do a big event here, I think the event at Madison Square Garden that we do will be huge, and it’s be a great time to pull off a Fan Expo here in New York,” White said. “I think it would be huge.”

In the meantime, those in New York who want to catch MMA in a live setting must go underground. Or, underwater. For MMA, there’s light at the end of the Lincoln Tunnel, across the way in East Rutherford, N.J., where the UFC will once again mock New York with the one thing it doesn’t have.

As soon as the judges’ scorecards were read, Ricardo Almeida knew it was time to end his fighting career.

Almeida still believed he could compete against UFC’s top welterweights. What he could no longer do was defeat some of the sport’s questionable judging.

Fighting in his home state of New Jersey on March 19, 2011, at UFC 128, Almeida came out on the short end of a unanimous decision to Mike Pyle.

“As a fighter, I’ve been on the wrong end of a couple of bad decisions, fights I thought I’d won but lost,” Almeida, who spent most of his mixed martial arts career at middleweight, told ESPN.com. “The one closest to my heart is the last fight in Jersey.

“It was close, but I thought I won that fight.”

Rather than be victimized by another "bad" decision, Almeida decided to take off his gloves for good. He might have lost to Pyle, but he wasn’t done fighting. Almeida was just getting started.

You know the saying, "if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em"? Well, Almeida took that saying to heart and, shortly after his loss to Pyle, became an MMA judge with the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board.

The experience has been satisfying and eye-opening for Almeida, who has a newfound appreciation for some of the obstacles judges must overcome while scoring fights.

“Personally, it’s just giving back to a sport that has given a lot to my life,” Almeida said. “[NJSACB attorney] Nick Lembo invited me and I’ve had a great relationship with the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board and I accepted right away.

“What people don’t understand is that the view a judge has watching the fight isn’t the same view fans have watching on TV. It’s hard; it’s a different perspective.”

A judge’s vision can sometimes be obstructed by poles, referees and poor seating angles, which strengthens Almeida’s belief that former fighters are best equipped to score today’s action.

“There is always going to be controversy, but the more we can get guys who understand what’s going on inside the Octagon, the results are going to be a little more consistent,” Almeida said. “Another side of it is that the sport is evolving so quickly that a lot of fans don’t even understand the sport now.”

For a little more than a year, Almeida has been fine-tuning his skills as a professional MMA judge. On Saturday night he gets to show off what he’s learned on the sport’s grandest stage --UFC on Fox at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J.

Almeida will score several bouts on that card, including the co-main event which pits welterweight Johny Hendricks against Josh Koscheck.

His presence as a judge has already garnered support from the fighters.

“He’s going to know a little bit more about the sport,” Hendricks said during a recent conference call. “He’ll know what position really means, and he’ll know when a strike actually lands.”

Koscheck added: “It’s good for the sport. It gets the perspective of a fighter, someone who’s been in the Octagon and knows jiu-jitsu and knows wrestling and understands the sport.

“As this sport grows we’re going to see more ex-UFC fighters become judges. It’s a good start.”

This will be the biggest night of Almeida’s young career as a judge. While he is judging the fighters’ performances, others are sure to judge his.

But with several events under his belt -- among them, Cage Fury Fighting Championships, Ring of Combat and Bellator Fighting Championships -- Judge Almeida is fully prepared for his UFC debut.

“It will be pretty intense, but I will be on my toes with this UFC event, because I know all eyes are going to be on me,” Almeida said.

“Yeah, I’m going to be nervous. It’ll be like I’m walking into a fight myself. But the spotlight only makes me want to be sharper and do a better job.”

In addition to his knowledge of MMA, Almeida also brings his high level of integrity. Some might question if having Almeida judge fights is a conflict of interest. He still runs his gym in Hamilton, N.J., where several high-profile fighters train, including former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.

No worries; Almeida will never be assigned to judge a bout that has a direct impact on one of his fighters.

“Obviously that is not going to happen,” Lembo told ESPN.com. “There are disclosure forms and conflict of interest forms that every official has to fill out. If anything, Ricardo has voluntarily disclosed some things that I didn’t even think, as the commission attorney, disqualified him.

“That’s one of the reasons why he’s not on that [Nate Diaz-Jim Miller] fight. Diaz has a [Cesar] Gracie connection and Miller’s side [American Martial Arts] also has a connection to Renzo Gracie.”

Miller and Diaz are competing in a lightweight bout that could land the winner a shot at the title. Champion Benson Henderson is tentatively slated to face Edgar in a rematch on Aug. 11 at UFC 150. Almeida and Edgar are closely affiliated with Renzo Gracie.

“I don’t want to be part of a fight where there is any conflict of interest of any kind,” Almeida said. “I’ve trained with Jim Miller and we’re very close with Nate Diaz.”

Knowledge, enthusiasm and integrity: Almeida will bring it all with him as a judge Saturday. Besides, he’s developed into a solid judge, according to his superiors.

“He’s been very good or we wouldn’t use him,” Lembo said. “We’re not using him because he’s Ricardo Almeida; that doesn’t do use any good.

“We’re not in the business of selling tickets or getting media attention; we’re in the business of trying to assure the health and safety of the fighters, and provide the best officiating that we can.”

For what it’s worth, Gilbert Melendez/Josh Thomson III isn’t a bad fight. It’s just not the fight people wanted. It just feels obvious and limited and, you know, uninspired.

There was a time not that long ago when Dana White assured everybody that Melendez -- a top three lightweight who happens to be in his prime -- would not be left pining for challenges in Strikeforce. This was before his Dec. 17 Strikeforce bout with Jorge Masvidal. This was after reconciliation between White and Showtime. This was right around the time when everybody fell into reverie as to whom, and began envisioning expensive imports (maybe Benson Henderson? Clay Guida? Gray Maynard?).

Even Melendez’s camp couldn’t help but imagine the possibilities.

Things have obviously changed.

Melendez has been made into a window shopper. All those elite UFC lightweights that sit on the showroom floor? He’s left to browse and wonder with his nose smudged on the glass. Despite those early fits of optimism, Zuffa isn’t going out of its way to find Melendez challenges -- it is recycling whatever it can find in the cupboards. Somewhere along the way, things soured (again) between Showtime and White. Melendez is the biggest casualty.

Yesterday Strikeforce announced that Melendez would defend his title against ex-champ Thomson on May 19 in San Jose, Calif.; a rubber match that has an ounce of good drama. Problem is, the fight is a buzzkill for those who are interested in Melendez’s upward trajectory. Yes, they’ve split the previous two matches, but Melendez avenged the first loss easily and has won six in a row all told. Thomson has won exactly one in a row, a unanimous decision over K.J. Noons that he said afterward “was s---.” Before that, he lost to Tatsuya Kawajiri. These aren’t the kinds of credentials that earn title fights, even if there are scores to settle.

That’s one of the reasons this trilogy fight will require rose-colored glasses to appreciate. Even if the situation is deeper, it feels like "who cares" matchmaking at its laziest. That is, if you’re Gilbert Melendez. If you’re Josh Thomson, it’s an overly generous chance to reclaim the lightweight belt. And if he does, this will turn the sports world aloof. What could we look forward to then -- Thomson/Healy II? That is true tundra. Keith Wisniewski versus Chris Clements has greater import. Or we could play back Thomson/Melendez IV, and put the thing on a perpetual loop. Strikeforce might have to, because the promotion's lightweight pool is ankle-deep.

If Melendez does lose to Thomson, you’d be left wondering if something like ennui played as big a role as the “Punk” himself. That’s why it’s hard to swallow. Why should all the favors go to Thomson, the sorta-deserving challenger? Why shouldn’t Melendez, the flagship champion of Strikeforce, be better attended? Fans of MMA don’t have interest in behind the scenes politics as much as they do in watching two heads of momentum collide.

But chances are Melendez will win, live up to expectations, and then disappear into waiting for the next thing to materialize. That’s not the kind of immediate future that lights fires in competitors. Yet that’s where Melendez is in 2012 at as Strikeforce lightweight strap holder. A sort of hostage to his throne.

And if he wants to remain the most persecuted champion in MMA, at least for the rest of this year, he’ll need to stay hungry for it. Maybe that’s what White meant about finding Melendez challenges. Maybe Melendez’s biggest challenge in 2012 will be fighting through the set of circumstances, rather than whoever they stick in front of him in the cage.

Alright, so Gilbert Melendez will fight on May 19 in San Jose, only five months and two days after beating Jorge Masvidal to retain his title.

Though this isn’t major news in itself, it’s a turnaround that beats nine months of involuntary limbo. Action is good. If nothing else, we can cling to silver linings.

Now the question becomes "against whom?", and Strikeforce is spinning the mystery wheel right now to determine that. Will it be Josh Thomson, who went to Columbus under the presumption that if he beat K.J. Noons (which he did), the title shot would be his? Will it be a darker horse like journeyman Pat Healy, who put in a yeomen’s effort against Caros Fodor to make it four wins in a row? Or will it be ... wait, nope ... the other slots on the mystery wheel are all whammies.

It’s Thomson or Healy.

Or, something far bolder if Zuffa is feeling charitable. Is it possible that the UFC will lend out one of its top 10 fighters to challenge Melendez in the hexagon? It’s a sister promotion, after all, and there are starving contenders. The UFC’s lightweight title picture has had only four people in it for the last two years -- Frankie Edgar, B.J. Penn, Gray Maynard and now Benson Henderson. For anybody else, the summit has been closed off. You can see how the temptation might be there to open up an alternative pass to its second peak.

And why not? A cross-promotion fight that falls within the same company is all that makes sense for Melendez (who’s been promised big challenges) and fans (who’ve grown suspicious of that promise). Currently, there are some top-selling lightweights available for a Melendez clash.

If you follow Melendez’s manager Cesar Gracie’s Twitter feed, you know he’s dropping a couple of names right off the bat -- Anthony Pettis and B.J. Penn. Both of these look compelling (read: available) for “El Nino.” One just had a title shot snatched from his purview, and the other is semi-retired and in the process of self-discovery. Either would make for a fascinating challenge against Melendez, the only pound-for-pound top 10 fighter that spends so much time in quarantine.

In the special case of the former lightweight champion Penn, it might take a dangling carrot to motivate him -- here would be a chance to add to his collection of UFC belts with a gravy Strikeforce strap. Who knows what happens if he wins, but in some ways, who cares? He will either defend that belt in Strikeforce or expedite himself back into the UFC lightweight picture with a case of unification. Seems like a win/win, should he win. And should he lose, he’s in no worse a situation than he is now.

Pettis’s case is interesting, too (though his manager Mike Roberts says they haven't been approached). He’s 25 years old and not overly concerned with the long haul. Twice since coming over as the reigning WEC champion he’s been right there for a title shot, and twice he’s been thwarted. I have sort of campaigned that he should do what Edgar was being asked to do, that of dropping down to 145 pounds to challenge Jose Aldo for the featherweight belt. Maybe he will. That fight would be a crazy indulgence of some of the game's most dynamic strikers. It would be big business for the feathers.

And of course, Gray Maynard and Clay Guida are also out there. If they aren’t turned on each other, either could be a candidate for Melendez.

But there is one more option out there that that might not be as far-fetched as it seems. What if Aldo came up to challenge Melendez in Strikeforce while the featherweight picture sorts out? He has been tempted to dip his toe at 155 pounds anyway, ever since the weight cut nearly ruined him when fighting Mark Hominick. With Hatsu Hioki not quite ready enough (or marketable enough) for a title shot, and Chan Sung Jung/Dustin Poirier slated for a May fight of their own, can you imagine the potential for fun there? Would that not make for creative matchmaking?

Either way, whoever Zuffa is thinking of putting against Melendez, you have to wonder if there’s a trick tucked away up their sleeve. Because right about now there are so many good fights for Melendez that a marquee of “Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thompson III” in San Jose can’t help but feel a little cheap by comparison.

The conversation started in Saitama, Japan, where Frankie Edgar wondered, "What's right?"

Tuesday in New York, Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White brought Edgar and his manager, Ali Abdel-Aziz, an answer.

Edgar would get what he wanted, a rematch sometime in August against Benson Henderson for the UFC lightweight title.

What's right? The former champion happily learned: Zuffa’s decision making.

As much as White reiterated that he’d like Edgar to drop 10 pounds and fight Jose Aldo, the timing just isn't right. Edgar sees himself at lightweight. How could he not? He defeated B.J. Penn twice. He avenged his only loss, knocking out the bigger, stronger Gray Maynard. "The Answer" said Henderson wasn't overpowering at 155 pounds, too.

The Edgar camp is angling for a pay-per-view attraction somewhere in the U.S. but nothing has been finalized. According to Aziz, Edgar's uptick in popularity could influence the PPV discussion.

In the week and a half since judges scored the title bout unanimously for Henderson, Edgar more than doubled his following on Twitter to nearly 160,000. It probably helped that during the Daytona 500, FOX debuted a national commercial featuring Edgar choke out a tiger before taking it home with him -- just a typical afternoon at the zoo for Toms River, N.J.'s 30-year-old married father of two.

Another possibility should be the FOX card at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Aug. 4. Henderson surely earned that showcase when his manic bout against Clay Guida wasn’t shown the night UFC debuted on FOX.

For everyone not named Anthony Pettis, the rematch is win-win. “Showtime” was, for a short time, in line to be Henderson’s first challenger. Odds are high he’ll still have his chance this year, and if Pettis makes good on it he could very well learn what it’s like to gain the type of respect the UFC showed Edgar.

For that respect, White's wishes will not be forgotten.

Abdel-Aziz said Edgar will move to 145, likely before the end of the year, even if he's standing champion. Not only would Edgar fight at featherweight, the manager continued, he’s open to 135.

At close to 160 pounds, the truth is Edgar doesn't walk around much heavier than Dominick Cruz or Urijah Faber. He’s capable and willing to make the weight -- an opportunity to hold belts in multiple divisions is apparently that enticing for the ambitious fighter.

History says this is impossible. Zuffa doesn’t allow champions to compete for belts in other weight categories. But, for what it's worth, Abdel-Aziz spoke as if it was a genuine possibility.

Wearing a title or not, Edgar’s presence elevates the earning potential of top featherweights, bantamweights and Zuffa. Everything boosts if he bests Henderson, of course. But say Edgar is blown out of the water this summer, the attention he'll bring to 145 and 135 remains a valuable and viable Plan B.

When the move is made, Aldo-Edgar instantly registers among the best fights Zuffa can promote. The same could be true of Cruz-Edgar, especially if the former lightweight champ tastes the title at 145.

Winning his way down makes this all come together; otherwise, Edgar might slip. Quick. After losing to Henderson (again) and Aldo, where would that put him? Then again, it’s fair to wonder what beating Henderson and the Brazilian champion would do for him.

For the time being, feel free to think of Frankie Edgar, a guy that doesn’t blink in staring contests, as the answer to his own question.

The UFC’s flyweight division was exactly one fight old when things went haywire at the top.

That’s so 2012 in the UFC. When title belts are in play, all paths look more like construction zones with detours.

This time, Ian McCall appeared as if he’d won a back-and-forth fight to advance in the shudder-speed flyweight tournament. Then the scorecards were read and it was actually Demetrious Johnson who won a majority decision, turning "Uncle Creepy’s" maestro swagger off as fast as it came on.

His depression didn’t last long.

To the chagrin of flyweight matchmaker Sean Shelby, who was in Columbus for Strikeforce some 10,000 miles away, the Australian athletic commission miscalculated the scorecards on McCall/Johnson. The result should have been a majority draw, and somewhere in the bowels of Allphones Arena in Sydney they informed Dana White, whose only response could be the obligatory tirade of profanity. They weren’t. And the disheartening thing for the UFC was that this was an eventuality it had prepared for by introducing a sudden victory round -- à la "The Ultimate Fighter" format -- to resolve any draws at the end.

But there’s no accounting for human error, and nothing much can be done in that situation except adopt the common shoulder-shrugger’s refrain: it is what it is.

Now Joseph Benavidez -- who TKO’d Yasuhiro Urushitani -- will wait for a rematch that most will be stoked to see and yet shouldn’t have to see. Flies in the Vaseline, they are. Sadly, the UFC’s newest division adds to the already algebraic complications going on with the UFC’s title pictures.

Go back a week and start there. Benson Henderson defeated Frankie Edgar at UFC 144 in a close fight to take home the lightweight strap. Seeing that it was a close fight, one that could be interpreted either way, Edgar asked for an immediate rematch. Problem is that Anthony Pettis, who knocked out Joe Lauzon the same night, wants his shot at the belt, too. He was the last man to defeat Henderson, and was at one point the solid No. 1 contender (a position he fancies himself in again). Jim Miller and Nate Diaz are operating with the understanding (delusion?) that their May 5 fight in New Jersey is a title eliminator.

It’s complicated.

Of everyone, Edgar is the unignorable here. The UFC wants him to challenge Jose Aldo for the featherweight belt, but Edgar doesn’t want to. He rematched B.J. Penn and Gray Maynard without quibbling, and he wants some return love. It’s hard to argue. Before his fight with Henderson, the UFC romanticized Edgar as a Rocky-esque figure in the hype process. Yet not even Rocky was Rocky coming off of wins. He was Rocky because of how he responded to losses. First with Apollo Creed, then with Clubber Lang. And later, after losing the vainglorious Creed to a killing machine from Russia, against Ivan Drago.

How can the UFC draw upon a man’s heart and not give him the chance to show its full dimensions? Having lost to the bigger, stronger Henderson sets the table for a truer representation of his nonfictional Rocky story.

As an extension of the uncertainty at 155 pounds and Edgar, the featherweight division is in limbo. What next for Aldo? Then you glance at the welterweight title picture, and that's way out of focus. Georges St. Pierre is recovering from ACL surgery, and is either way ahead of schedule or possibly right on schedule or something else. He is tentatively looking at a November return. Interim titleholder Carlos Condit is waiting to see something definitive in that timetable before deciding what to do next. Jake Ellenberger is waiting to see what Condit does, and now so is Martin Kampmann (the last man to defeat Condit). It’s possible we don’t see an “actual” title defense at 170 pounds this year.

By slotting Dominick Cruz against Urijah Faber as the coaches on "The Ultimate Fighter" Season 15, that means Cruz won’t defend his bantamweight belt until the summer. And that means any challengers beyond Faber -- guys like super-sensation Renan Barao -- are out of luck until winter.

As for middleweights, Anderson Silva is finally going to fight again in June after recovering from bursitis in his shoulder. There’s a chance we see just one middleweight title fight in 2012.

With eight weight divisions, and a conservative average of two fights per year, there should be in the neighborhood of 16 title fights. That won’t be the case in 2012. There might be 10, if we're lucky.

Can you imagine if Jon Jones had made good on his request to take a few months off? Light heavyweight is the closest the UFC has to a normally functioning division right now. And it looks like Junior dos Santos is ready to go, if Alistair Overeem can avoid injuries and conflicts beforehand.

Otherwise, title fights are scarce to come by this year. Which means we’ll be watching a lot more PFC (Penultimate Fighting Championship) than UFC (the Ultimate variety).

Anthony Pettis has thrown down the gauntlet to Ben Henderson, but the lightweight champion has told his old rival that he will have to wait to get a shot at his crown. More »

A lot of things should go into booking Benson Henderson’s next fight, beginning with marketability and ending with scruples.

Does the UFC book an immediate rematch with a very deserving Frankie Edgar? Or do they give the shot to Anthony Pettis, who was the last man to defeat Henderson back at WEC 58?

Never mind the merits of Nate Diaz and Jim Miller for the time being. They are set up on a distant horizon, too distant to factor into a demanding public’s want of matchmaking immediacy.

And still, both situations are complicated.

If the UFC eschews Edgar’s request for a rematch, it looks like he’s getting a raw deal for a guy who has been nothing but a model champion for the last two years. Did he complain about having to back up his victory over B.J. Penn? Under his breath, maybe. He also handled the Maynard series with the kind of professionalism that fans could get used to. For all his deeds, how can the UFC simply ignore the case he’s presenting for rematch in a fight that was so close enough as to warrant one?

There are plenty of reasons, and most weigh around 155 pounds.

The fact that Edgar has been involved in consecutive rematches at the top of the lightweight division means it’s been off limits to contenders for going on two years. That’s a long time to hijack a division, fair or not. For one disgruntled former champion, there’s a mob scene going on just below him of people who have their own cases to hear. The perpetual logjam at the top at 155 pounds isn’t Edgar’s fault, or Pettis’s, for that matter. Or Jim Miller’s, or Melvin Guillard’s, or Donald Cerrone’s.

If the UFC books Edgar/Henderson II, all the contenders who have been looking for an opening for that belt will effectively be snubbed yet again. “What’s right?” Edgar asked at the postfight news conference at UFC 144, meaning he’s done right by the UFC, and now it’s time for the UFC to do right by him.

Maybe so, but “what’s right?” in this case is a complicated question.

And of all the wayside contenders to lose out in a new rematch scenario, Pettis would be the one most affronted. He was the one who lost out on the last rematch scenario. Remember, it was the reigning WEC lightweight champ Pettis who came into the UFC as the No. 1 contender to fight the Maynard/Edgar winner to start 2011. When the fight went to a draw, Pettis, who was then 23 years old, didn’t want to sit out and wait and so took a stay-busy fight with Clay Guida. Then he lost, and that set him back a full year. Now he knocks out Joe Lauzon and re-establishes himself as a (less clear-cut) No. 1 contender, and his reward could be to stand aside again.

Or to take a fight and stay busy while this thing sorts out.

That’s not an ideal situation to be in once, much less twice. People fight to make money, but also to earn a chance at a belt. That’s the ultimate goal, and at some point it becomes a goal held in vain when no opening in the title picture can be found.

So what does the UFC do? Does it book the rematch with Henderson and Edgar, and do what’s right by one deserving man? Or does it open the belt up for business, and allow Pettis to finally walk toward the light?

Tricky stuff. But you can see why Dana White is so bent on having Edgar drop down to 145 pounds to challenge Jose Aldo. It’s the only scenario where everybody more or less wins -- and traffic can get moving in both divisions.

Frankie Edgar posed the question.

“I’m not trying to shoot anybody out of anything they deserve, but I had to do two immediate rematches,” the now former UFC lightweight champion said after dropping a unanimous decision to Benson Henderson.

“What’s right?”

Is there some good faith that needs to be cashed in on? Because that's what Edgar implied.

Based on his set of circumstances -- beating B.J. Penn to claim the title (by a more lopsided score than Henderson celebrated in Japan) only for Zuffa to make a rematch; rallying to a draw against Gray Maynard, followed by another go against the powerful wrestler (that one was an inarguable must) -- should he have the favor returned?

What's right. Hmm. This is tricky.

Let's start here: Edgar's promoter, who, of course, is also Henderson's promoter, thought the 30-year-old underdog from Toms River, N.J., should have held on to the belt. So if Dana White is saying Edgar won, doesn't that bolster the “second chance” argument?

The fight was close, but not controversial. There's a good case that Henderson deserves to be champion. But there are also grounds to believe Edgar did enough to retain the title. Though this result doesn't inspire the uproar of the first Penn fight -- no judge issued a Doug Crosby-like 50-45 -- I'm not sure how anyone could stomach seeing Edgar sit as another fighter gets the first crack at a belt he went through hell to defend (or, worse yet, Edgar in some three-round, non-title affair).

Edgar gave up something of himself to win and hold the title. Does that factor at all into what's right?

If you say no, if you think a kid like Anthony Pettis -- coming off two wins in the UFC against unranked Jeremy Stephens and Joe Lauzon following a loss to Clay Guida -- earned the next shot, I'm not sure how. Pettis' victory over Henderson in the WEC, the incredible "Showtime" kick off the fence late in the fifth, is the main argument for Henderson-Pettis 2. A rematch has the makings of an exciting, competitive contest. I'm not suggesting otherwise.

But for all his dynamic ability, has Pettis actually done enough in the UFC to earn a title shot? More than a Jim Miller or Nate Diaz, who fight in May? Do they get next after Pettis? If yes, where does that leave Edgar?

Sorry for all the questions, but when you're trying to figure out what's right, this sort of stuff happens.

If Zuffa determines that Pettis is next -- a decision that largely comes down to what you, the fans, have to say about it -- will Edgar have to win to get back in the title picture? Or can he take six months off and call next? If he can sit out, wait for Henderson-Pettis 2 to unfold, then face the winner, I'm fine with that. Because, no matter what, the right thing includes Edgar fighting for a title.

This brings me to another option. The one many people, including myself, have long said is Edgar's best bet: dropping to featherweight.

Jose Aldo needs an opponent. Sure, Hatsu Hioki looked very good at UFC 144. Few people believe he'll pull off a shocker against Aldo. That's fine. The fight will come soon enough and the Japanese fighter, ranked No. 2 at 145, should have his chance to prove us all wrong -- much like Edgar did. But it's not an overly attractive fight, and won't sell a lick.

Aldo-Edgar has the potential to be tremendous -- for them, for us, for Zuffa. As of today, that's a dream fight. And it will remain so if Edgar has it in his soul to continue fighting at lightweight. If that's his call, he'll have to negotiate whatever gauntlet is laid in front of him. Zuffa can't force him to drop 10 pounds and fight Aldo, though they can keep him from an immediate title shot. Perhaps in doing so, Edgar's thinking may shift and the Aldo fight would become more attractive. We'll see.

While pondering what's right, how about including Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez in this discussion?

Melendez may very well be the best lightweight in the world -- he just needs a chance to prove it. Edgar-Melendez is an insanely attractive fight. It's tremendous business for Showtime. And in the interest of fairness, the fight might be the perfect play for Zuffa. Having Henderson or Pettis versus Melendez or Edgar would unify belts and answer every question about the division at the same time.

Which man would emerge as MMA's true lightweight world champion? The best we can do now is guess, and that's not good enough. As always, the point is finding out -- fighters like Henderson, Edgar, Pettis, Melendez and Aldo deserve nothing less.

That's what's right.

How fast do things change in the UFC’s lightweight division? As quickly as the weather changes in Colorado.

Since Frankie Edgar became the champion nearly two years ago, the road to the title has been a course of trip wires, booby hatches and rabbit holes. People have a tendency to disappear as fast as they show up in the title picture.

Former WEC titlist Anthony Pettis is one who knows all about it. He was next in line a year ago after crossing into the UFC. Then he wasn’t. Now he is again.

At least -- possibly.

And the same goes for Joe Lauzon, who is Pettis’ opponent at UFC 144 this weekend in Saitama, Japan. Lauzon might be the unlikeliest of title contenders we’ve seen since Dan Hardy’s meteoric flash through the welterweights.

Difference being, Lauzon -- a former IT guy -- has been hovering in the gray middle of the division ever since knocking out Jens Pulver at UFC 63. That was five and a half years ago. Lauzon is the quietest contender to have ever been so long in the making.

Yet there he is. For once in his career, Lauzon is in focus in the title picture. If he beats Pettis, that would be a truly compelling argument for his cause -- especially after Lauzon's defeat of Melvin Guillard. Remember that, as of October, Guillard was right there at the top of the division too -- as the most feared striker in the 155-pound division riding a five-fight winning streak. That night, Lauzon proved fighting acumen overcomes brute strength. Couple that with a win over a far more well-rounded Anthony Pettis, and Lauzon becomes hard to ignore.

What’s strange is that Lauzon has never exactly been about title contention (though he is happy to find himself in it). When I spoke to him after he submitted Guillard at UFC 136, he said he was happy to be in the $18,000/$18,000 range, rather than a higher pay bracket of, say, $30,000/$30,000.

Why? Two reasons.

One, Lauzon is a smart long-term planner who has earned seven end-of-the-night bonuses. He estimates he’s made $365,000 in bonus money in his career so far. Not shabby. And part of how he did that plays into the second reason: On the lower scale pay bracket, he gets the occasional Curt Warburton. He has never lost two in a row in the UFC, and if you look at his opponents after a loss, you’ll get an idea why. After losing to Kenny Florian, he fought Kyle Bradley -- a significant dip in quality of opposition. After dropping a tough bout with Sam Stout, Lauzon drew Gabe Ruediger -- in Lauzon's hometown of Boston. After George Sotiropoulos tapped him with a Kimura, he got Warburton.

If he’s in a higher pay bracket, he gets monsters. Every time. And he is well aware of the fact.

Yet a head of steam is a head of steam. Should Lauzon beat Pettis, he will be the forerunner for a shot at the title with three wins in a row. The only hitch might be if the UFC decides to wait on Nate Diaz/Jim Miller in May. Diaz is coming off a victory over a top-ranked Donald Cerrone, while Miller piled on Guillard after dropping a fight to Benson Henderson. Arguably, the winner of that fight has a pretty righteous claim to a title shot, too. Both the Diaz and Miller camps are prepping for the UFC on FOX 3 card as if it’s a title eliminator. As well they should.

But everybody knows matchmaking is half about schedule alignments, and that’s why the winner of Lauzon/Pettis has a trump card: timing. They fight on the same card as Edgar/Henderson, meaning meshing schedules could play a factor. Diaz/Miller is more than two months off. People who follow the fight game want immediacy. If the Pettis/Lauzon fight ends emphatically either way, there’s a good chance that the winner looks like the top contender.

If it’s Lauzon? That makes for a fun case. Here would be a guy we never saw coming -- yet who was always there.

In that way, his rise in the ranks would feel just as stealthy as his jiu-jitsu.

Frankie Edgar's UFC lightweight title defense in Tokyo against Benson Henderson, the main event for UFC 144 on Saturday, screams "action fight."

While we've heard that tune aplenty in the run-up to UFC events, including, disappointingly, the recent Carlos Condit-Nick Diaz tilt, there's every reason to suspect these two 155-pound mixed martial artists will make good on expectations. Presuming that happens, Edgar-Henderson would join a distinguished list of high-paced, meaningful lightweight fights that graced Japanese soil.

The division has long been one of Japanese MMA's strongest points. Built during the early days of Shooto and given the light of day when Pride adopted the class (technically, that was 160 pounds), lightweights have long looked to Japan as the place where they could get a tough fight against world-class opposition. In part that was due to Zuffa axing the lightweights in the mid-2000s, but that doesn't paint a complete picture. The division has produced many world-class Japanese fighters, and would have done so regardless of what was happening in the States.

With Zuffa's wrong having long been righted, it's fitting Edgar-Henderson will go down on the island nation's shores.

My expectation is the fight will join the pantheon of top lightweight bouts we've been fortunate to see unfold in Japan. If so, Edgar-Henderson would join these bouts -- most replete with major stakes, all delivering high drama -- as the best of the bunch.

Why six? Because I couldn't bring myself to cut one from the list.

Caol Uno SUB3 Rumina Sato (Shooto: 10th Anniversary Event, May 29, 1999)

Sato was Shooto's golden child, the man fans and promoters hoped (and dreamed) could grab hold of the sanctioning organization's 154-pound title (a welterweight title in Japan) and become a star. It was never meant to be.

The first sign Sato, whom many considered the most exciting fighter in the world at the time, was snake-bit came in his endeavor against the gritty Uno, who later went on to fight multiple bouts for the UFC.

Headlining an event that included eventual UFC champions Dave Menne, Matt Hughes and Carlos Newton, Sato-Uno opened at a frenzied pace. Sato scored early control, nearly finishing Uno by rear-naked choke. But as was proven throughout his career, Uno is exceedingly difficult to finish this way. Sato failed to finish and eventually succumbed to Uno's tenacious takedowns and solid ground-and-pound.

Late in the third round, with Sato fading, Uno sprawled his way out of a single-leg takedown, took Sato's back and, to the roar of a small but passionate hard-core audience in Tokyo, forced a tap by rear-naked choke.

Uno defeated Sato a second time a year and a half later, then departed Shooto for a UFC lightweight title shot against Jens Pulver, the co-headliner on Zuffa's first card since purchasing UFC from Semaphore Entertainment Group.

Takanori Gomi TKO2 Dokonjonosuke Mishima (Shooto: Year End Show 2002, Dec. 14, 2002)

A slept-on fight pitted Gomi, the undefeated heir apparent to Uno and Sato, against eccentric grappler Dokonjonosuke Mishima. Gomi, Shooto champion after out-pointing Sato (his third try at winning the 154-pound title), faced his first defense of the belt -- and what a test it was. Gomi's mode for victory early in his career was control. But against Mishima, he showed flashes of the heavy-fisted brawler who would go on to become Pride champion and No. 1 ranked lightweight in MMA.

Mishima put Gomi on the canvas and landed a series of strong punches to earn the first round. But at the start of Round 2, Gomi countered a wild punch with a perfect left hook that dropped the challenger. Shooto's rules included standing eight counts and breaks on knockdowns. Gomi was in destroy mode. When Mishima stood, "The Fireball Kid" swarmed, scoring with punches and knees leading to Mishima nearly being driven out of the ring.

In his next title defense, Gomi ceded the belt to Joachim Hansen, prompting a trip to Hawaii to fight B.J. Penn.

Joachim Hansen KO3 Caol Uno (Hero's 1, March 26, 2005)

Japanese MMA was on the rise in 2005, and K-1 stepped in the game with their own brand of the sport labeled "Hero's." That first card was mashup of kickboxing, MMA and the Bob Sapp circus. Hansen and Uno, both former Shooto champions, put on a war that, even if it had not ended by spectacular knockout, would be among the best fights the division has put together.

This bout had it all, especially when it came to grappling, and was extremely competitive until the end, when "Hellboy" Hansen slammed his knee into Uno's jaw. The cold knockout was brutal and capped what was arguably the best display of mixed martial arts in 2005.

Takanori Gomi SUB1 Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pride: Bushido 9, Sept. 25, 2005)

If you were a top lightweight in MMA, the Pride Bushido 9 tournament was where you wanted to be in 2005. The three-round event, which featured quarterfinals and semifinals on the same night, brought some of Japan's best against the likes of Yves Edwards and Jens Pulver. The highlight of the night, without question, was the quarterfinal bout between Gomi and Kawajiri.

Gomi was on a seven-fight roll, all under the Pride banner, while Kawajiri, then the Shooto champion, hadn't dropped a bout in his last nine. This was the big one among Japanese MMA circles in the lightweight division, and it did not disappoint.

All action from the start, Gomi made Kawajiri feel his power early, and chopped away at "The Crusher" throughout the 10-minute opening round. "The Fireball Kid," in perhaps his finest performance, finished in high style. Body shots led to combinations to the head, and though Kawajiri was game, he simply had no answer.

Gilbert Melendez UD2 Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pride Shockwave 2006, Dec. 31, 2006)

Melendez, the current Strikeforce champion, ranked No. 2 in the world by ESPN.com, went to war with Kawajiri, who had recovered from the loss to Gomi by winning four straight. If you haven't seen this fight, do yourself a favor and find it online. Of all the fights listed here, this stands out most for its ferocity. Both men moved forward. Both threw punches and knees as hard as they could, and both connected. The grappling exchanges were solid. There's no downtime in this fight. An incredible display by both.

Eddie Alvarez UD2 Joachim Hansen (Dream 3, May 11, 2008)

In 2008, Alvarez joined Dream, the promotion that sprang out of Pride's demise, and engaged in a hellacious series of fights. The middle of that stretch matched the Philadelphian against Hansen.

It was a stylistic bonanza.

Alvarez's first punch dropped Hansen, setting the tone for the fight. In a bit of a miracle, the Norwegian survived, recovered, gave back as good as he got, threatened Alvarez numerous times with submissions, and participated in one of the most frenzied decisions you'll ever see. Neither man backed down for 15 minutes. Truly impressive.

Alvarez followed up with another war against Kawajiri, but fell short of going 5-0 that year when he tapped to a Shinya Aoki heel hook on New Year’s Eve.

Ben Henderson is willing to allow Frankie Edgar to win four out of the five rounds in their UFC lightweight title bout this weekend, because he is not interested in the fight going to a decision. More »

There may be no official confirmation from the UFC, but it seems the winner of this weekend's lightweight clash between Ben Henderson and Clay Guida will book a ticket to Japan to fight Frankie Edgar. More »

Being Frankie Edgar gives him the right to be beaten within an inch of his wits one round, only to storm back as fresh as a daisy the next.

If the UFC lightweight champion is to be ousted, certain elements have to coalesce. Clearly a combination of iron mitts, a cast-iron jaw and steel will isn't the right recipe for success when dealing with Edgar. Brett Okamoto points to a mixture of endurance, speed and finishing efficiency as the key ingredients needed to test the champion.

With that in mind, who does our staff feel has the best chance at dethroning Edgar in 2012? Read on for our picks. For Okamoto's list of contenders and pretenders, click here and be sure to tell us who you would choose here.

Chad Dundas: It feels like a fool's errand to pick against Edgar at 155 pounds right now, and the honest truth is, I'm not sure anybody takes the title off him during the coming year. If pressed, I'd tab Gilbert Melendez and Ben Henderson as the most likely candidates to get the job done, but if my choice is Frankie Edgar versus the field, I'm taking Edgar.

Josh Gross: Best chance to beat Edgar? Melendez. He's an active wrestler with a tremendous chin. Melendez scores with strikes from angles most people don't, and he maintains a pace that's right on par with the UFC champion.

Franklin McNeil: Strikeforce champion Melendez possesses the standup and ground tools to give Edgar fits, but he would be at a disadvantage in the speed and transition departments. Melendez finishes fights, and cardio isn’t an issue for him.

Chuck Mindenhall: While a fight with Melendez would have its hazards, I think the lefty Henderson looks like the guy at 155 pounds who has all the tools to outpoint and dethrone Edgar.

Darius Ortiz: He might not be the best of the bunch, but Jorge Masvidal's reach and style would give Edgar fits. If you go by Okamoto's prerequisites, Masvidal has all the tools -- plus he has about as much fear as a honey badger and would have no qualms about mixing things up.

Hywel Teague: Save Jose Aldo testing the water at 155 pounds, I believe Henderson has the strongest chance of taking the title from Edgar. His win over Jim Miller marked him out as top contender, and we already know he has the qualities of a champion.

Being at the doorstep of a lightweight title shot has some questioning Melvin Guillard’s desire to fight Joe Lauzon at UFC 136 Saturday night in Houston.

It’s well-documented that Guillard has an affinity for Houston, where he lived for a few years after Hurricane Katrina devastated his hometown of New Orleans in 2005. But after his first-round knockout of Shane Roller in July, he could have requested a spot on the UFC Fight Night Live card last month. That card was held in New Orleans.

“I didn’t want to fight in New Orleans because [UFC 136] is a stacked card,” Guillard told ESPN.com. “It’s an all-star card. And I want to be able to outshine everybody on this card. I want to make sure that everybody knows I am the real deal.”

But will an impressive victory over Lauzon raise many eyebrows? Lauzon has talent, but is regarded by most as a middle-of-the-pack lightweight. He isn’t in anyone’s top-10 lightweight rankings and his name doesn't comes up when the topic of title contention arises. Is taking on Lauzon for the sake of competing in Houston really worth sacrificing a lightweight title shot?

“Joe Lauzon is a very tough competitor,” Guillard said. “He’s very good in jiu-jitsu. There is a lot of risk going into this fight.

“I’ve been in this sport for 15½ years. And it’s not like I haven’t been taking risks these 15½ years that I’ve been fighting. I was taking risks before there was a UFC for me. I was taking risks trying to get to the UFC. It doesn’t matter to me, I’m a risk-taker. I live my life on chances.”

Some would call Guillard’s logic foolish, especially on the heels of what happened to Jim Miller, who was on the cusp of a lightweight title shot and could have sat on the sideline until UFC matchmaker Joe Silva called his name. Instead, he opted to stay busy and agreed to fight Benson Henderson in August.

Henderson defeated Miller by unanimous decision, and now the former WEC 155-pound champ finds himself in the UFC title mix. Miller is no longer being considered for a title shot at this time.

Guillard, however, doesn’t fault Miller for deciding to remain active. He applauds Miller and others like him who refuse to accept shortcuts to the top.

“There are guys in the UFC who have had three, four or five title shots,” Guillard said. “Some of them have choked and still haven’t gotten a title after getting three tries.

“If something happens and I don’t make it to a title shot, I expect to be put back in the barrel and shaken around and put back in the mix like everybody else,” Guillard said. “I don’t expect to get right back to the top of the heap.

“You have to fight your way toward the top. Some guys are getting their hands held; they’re getting babied. And they still can’t capture the ultimate thing -- that’s the belt. I feel in my heart that if I fight for it and earn it people will respect me a lot more. The fans will respect me. There are guys getting title shots right now and the fans are still questioning if they are that good.”