Rafael dos Anjos' win proves the lightweight division is the most stacked in the UFC

Prior to UFC 185 on Saturday night in Dallas, Anthony Pettis made a comment about his standing in the mythical pound-for-pound rankings in relation to other divisions in the promotion.

At the time, Pettis was touting his own status as one of the best fighters in the world, but after losing a lopsided decision to Rafael dos Anjos, his words hold true on another level entirely.

"The lightweight division is the toughest division in the world," Pettis told FOX Sports on Thursday. "These guys are coming to bring it. This is the toughest, most talented, stacked division. To be the king of that and to run that division means something."

Unfortunately for Pettis' point to be proven, he had to lose his title, but there's no doubt at this point that the lightweight division is a snake pit that may never have a truly dominant champion at the top of the heap.

dos Anjos becomes the third lightweight champion over the course of the past three years, and he's got an uphill climb ahead of him if he hopes to retain the title for more than a few fights.

The longest reigning champions in UFC lightweight history have both been stopped after three defenses. B.J. Penn -- who was routinely touted as the best there's ever been at 155-pounds -- only made it to three title defenses before losing the belt to Frankie Edgar.

Benson Henderson is the other former champion who has held onto the belt for three consecutive defenses with wins over Frankie Edgar, Nate Diaz and Gilbert Melendez before he lost the strap to Pettis in 2013.

Pettis appeared to be the future of the division, especially considering his championship pedigree after winning the WEC lightweight title before that promotion folded into the UFC and then again with his victory over Henderson and subsequent defense against Melendez this past December.  Just when it seemed like Pettis was going to start a serious run at making some new records in the lightweight division, along came dos Anjos with a much different plan.

Considering the run he's been on lately, dos Anjos has all the skills to maintain his title run as long as any past champion, but there are considerable road blocks standing in his way.

The biggest being a Russian bear named Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is the only person to beat dos Anjos in his past 10 fights. As a matter of fact, Nurmagomedov dominated dos Anjos en route to a unanimous decision win, and if he can beat Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone at UFC 187 in May, he'll have the chance to do it again.

Nurmagomedov is also the only fighter in the UFC lightweight top 10 who doesn't currently have a loss, but outside of that lone anomaly, the rest of the division is littered with wins and losses scattered throughout the weight class.

Moving further down the list beyond dos Anjos, Pettis and Nurmagomedov is Cerrone, who is currently riding a seven fight win streak. Impressive, right? It is until you realize that the current champion (dos Anjos) and the former champion (Pettis) both hold wins over him within the last two years.

Muddied waters cloud the remainder of the top 10 as well, with each person on the list holding a win or two over somebody else ranked either ahead or behind them.

Don't forget about the bottom half of the top 15 either, because there are some serious sharks there as well. Tony Ferguson has won his last five fights and has looked like a serious threat to anyone at 155 pounds. Jorge Masvidal might be the most criminally underrated lightweight on the planet while Al Iaquinta is turning more and more into a terminator every time he steps into the Octagon.

The point of all of this is to illustrate just how good the lightweight division is right now, and chances are it's only going to get better. 

The new champion can hold onto his belt tonight and enjoy the spoils of victory, but starting on Sunday he's no longer the hunter -- dos Anjos now becomes the hunted. And the lightweight division is chock full of killers ready to seek and destroy the person holding the belt.

There's a ton of talent in every weight class in the UFC, but the lightweight division has proven time and time again that there may not be a deeper or more dangerous weight class in the entire sport. Getting to the top is treacherous, and winning at UFC 185 truly does make dos Anjos the new king of the jungle.

How long he gets to wear that crown remains to be seen.