Heading into a jam-packed series of events in early 2010, three UFC titles will be defended by champions who are viewed as nearly unbeatable, and each will be a facing a challenger who has faced questions about the legitimacy of their contender status.

Lightweight champ BJ Penn will meet Frankie Edgar, reportedly at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, a card which tentatively also features the return of middleweight and pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva defending his belt for the sixth time against Vitor Belfort. Lastly, the gold standard of welterweights Georges St-Pierre is set to face brash Brit Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy at UFC 111 in New Jersey.

Though the match-up between Hardy and St-Pierre doesn't seem deserved in the eyes of Mike Swick or St-Pierre's teammate Nate Marquardt, the truth is that Hardy is the best of very few options in the 170-pound division. Additionally, it shouldn't come as any surprise that the guy who was recently beaten by Dan Hardy in a pre-established #1 Contender fight doesn't think Dan Hardy should be competing for a championship. While he certainly hasn't run the most daunting gauntlet the division has to offer, the truth is that Hardy is the best of a very small group of people who has yet to be destroyed by the two-time Rogers Sportsnet Canadian Athlete of the Year.

At the very best, Hardy is the #3 welterweight contender in the UFC right now. Worst case, he's #7. Unfortunately, we have no idea exactly where the UFC has him placed, because the biggest company in the business likes to keep their thoughts and rankings of fighters close to the chest, leaving fans and media to speculate a fighter's place in the hierarchy and criticize when an "unworthy" contender is promoted to a title fight too soon. Case and point: Vitor Belfort.

While it is fairly easy to build a marketing campaign around Vitor Belfort filled with reminiscent clips of "The Phenom" from his first foray into the UFC and his time as light heavyweight champion, it's fairly difficult to convince anyone - including champion Anderson Silva - that a fighter with a single win in the company deserves to be given the chance to fight for the middleweight belt this quickly. If the lone fight argument doesn't work for you, how about the fact that said win came at a catchweight of 195 pounds?

When Belfort returned and stopped Rich Franklin in quick fashion at UFC 103, many knew in advance that the former light heavyweight champion would be fast-tracked into title contention, but the general consensus was that divisional stalwarts Dan Henderson or Nate Marquardt were more deserving. Not in the eyes of the people who matter the most - Dana White, Joe Silva and the UFC Decision Makers. Belfort was tabbed as the next to attempt to crush "The Spider," while Henderson was allowed to defect to Strikeforce, while Marquardt looks to continue his current roll against Chael Sonnen at UFC 109.

Last week, Frankie Edgar was announced as the next challenger to BJ Penn's lightweight crown, despite the fact that the New Jersey version of "The Answer" was dominated by undefeated Gray Maynard when the two met at Ultimate Fight Night 13 in 2008. Maynard and the Xtreme Couture camp may be