Sean Sherk had been stripped of the title after a steroid suspension. 19, 2008, to win the vacant UFC lightweight title. Penn beat Joe Stevenson via second-round submission at UFC 80 on Jan. (It reduced his suspension from one year to six months.) B.J. He was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission, and in December 2007, the UFC stripped him of the title when his appeal did not overturn the result of the tests. After the fight, Sherk tested positive for anabolic steroids (as did Franca). Sherk beat Hermes Franca at UFC 73 on July 7, 2007. Sherk became the first lightweight champion in the UFC since Jens Pulver vacated the belt in 2002. Sean "Muscles Shark" Sherk beat Kenny Florian for the lightweight title at UFC 64 on Oct. Pulver left the UFC over a contract dispute shortly thereafter and was stripped of his title. Penn for his second successful title defense. 11, 2002, at UFC 35, Pulver won a majority decision over B.J. Six months later, he beat Dennis Hallman at UFC 33. Jens Pulver became the inaugural 155-pound champion by beating Caol Uno at UFC 30 on Feb. Now a firmly established weight class, the UFC's 155-pound division is perhaps its deepest and toughest. Tony Ferguson - The fight was potentially for a shot at the vacant UFC lightweight title.The UFC's lightweight division began in 2001 and has had its ups and downs early on. Eric Wisely - The fight was the featherweight debut of Oliveira and the UFC debut of Eric Wisely. Nik Lentz 1 - The fight's original result - a submission victory for Oliveira - was overturned to a no-contest. Charles Oliveira - The fight was Oliveira's first loss. Charles Oliveira - The fight was the UFC debut of the undefeated Oliveira. Oliveira then faced fellow contender Max Holloway, suffering a neck injury early in the fight and forcing to surrender a TKO injury loss to Holloway.Ĭomeback at Featherweight After Injury Īfter recovering Oliveira returned fighting featherweight debutante and prospect Myles Jury, submitting Jury with very little effort via first round guillotine choke.Īfter a very decent layoff Oliveira then signed to welcome another debutante in former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis to the featherweight division. Oliveira next fought a rematch against Nik Lentz, submitting Lentz via guillotine choke in the third round after an excellent fight. Oliveira then faced hard hitter Jeremy Stephens, outgrappling a game Stephens en route to a clearcut unanimous decision win. Oliveira submitted Hioki via anaconda choke submission near the end of the second round. Oliveira next signed to fight former Sengoku featherweight champion Hatsu Hioki. He defeated Ogle via third round triangle choke submission to earn Performance of the Night honors. Oliveira next signed to fight Andy Ogle after a significant layoff. Oliveira next faced former UFC lightweight champion Frank Edgar losing an extremely exciting and competitive unanimous decision. He defeated Brookins via second round anaconda choke submission before next facing WEC veteran Cub Swanson losing via first round knockout. Oliveira next signed to face Ultimate Fighter winner Jonathan Brookins. Oliveira defeated Wisely via first round calf slicer submission, earning SOTN awards. He was set to make his divisional debut against Eric Wisely. Cerrone defeated Oliveira via upset first round technical knockout.Īfter a lengthy hiatus, Oliveira decided to drop down to the UFC's featherweight division. Instead, he agreed to step in to replace an injured Paul Taylor against another replacement in former top WEC contender Donald Cerrone. Only a few weeks later Oliveira was involved in talks to face Joe Lauzon at UFC 132. Both men seemed to agree that a rematch was inevitable for the future. The fight's result was overturned to a no-contest a few days later because of an illegal knee landed by Oliveira shortly before the submission finish. Oliveira next faced fellow prospect Nik Lentz at UFC On Versus 4, handing him his first UFC loss via controversial second-round rear-naked choke submission. Miller handed Oliveira his first loss via first-round kneebar submission. Oliveira next faced wily veteran and long-time contender Jim Miller at UFC 124. Escudero was cut after the loss, the first time a true TUF winner had been cut. The fight did not disappoint, with Oliveira dominating Escudero up until choking him out in the third round with a beautiful standing rear-naked choke. God-damn, I fucking love the lightweight division. The fight has the potential for Submission of the Night but just as much potential for Fight of the Night. The fight will most likely be the toughest test to date for both men. He is now set to replace Matt Wiman against Efrain Escudero. He most recently made his UFC debut defeating Darren Elkins via an armbar submission in forty-one seconds. 3 Comeback at Featherweight After Injury.