FanHouse Gesias Cavalcante

This past year has been one to forget for Gesias Cavalcante. Once considered one of the best lightweight fighters in the world, "JZ" hasn't competed since losing to Shinya Aoki last April at DREAM.2 in Saitama, Japan. After taking some time off to get healthy, his next two fights were either canceled or postponed.

On May 26, he finally returns to action against veteran Tatsuya Kawajiri at DREAM.9, with the American Top Team member looking to prove that he is as relevant as ever in the 155-pound division. Looming on the horizon is a chance to avenge losses to current DREAM lightweight champion Joachim Hansen or Aoki, and that alone is enough to fuel the Brazilian fighter.

FanHouse spoke to JZ about his time away from MMA and sharing the DREAM.9 spotlight with the likes of Jose Canseco. The full interview is below.

Although hardly anyone in the United States saw the fights, two of the top five lightweights in MMA were in action this weekend, as Shinya Aoki lost at Dream 8 and Eddie Alvarez won in the debut of the new Bellator promotion. That means it's time to revisit our list of the Top 10 lightweights in MMA.

The first question is whether it's fair to drop Aoki on the lightweight list when he lost to a bigger opponent in the Dream Welterweight Grand Prix. I think it is fair. I'm not impressed with Aoki's performance, and I can't pretend the fight didn't happen just because it didn't happen at lightweight.