Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Flyweight

1. Jussier da Silva (7-0)
After much sitting around and waiting for offers from Shooto Japan, da Silva finally has a place to fight. "Formiga" has inked a four-fight deal with Tachi Palace Fights, and he will debut Dec. 2 for the promotion against WEC veteran Danny Martinez.

2. Yasuhiro Urushitani (17-4-6)
Back in 2003, Urushitani was considered the favorite to become Shooto’s first 123-pound world champion. It took seven years, but Urushitani finally accomplished the feat on May 30, taking a unanimous decision over Ryuichi Miki to claim the vacant title.

3. Mamoru Yamaguchi (24-5-3)
The former two-division Shooto world champion was set to defend his KOTC 125-pound title for the first time on Aug. 5, but his opponent, Greg Guzman, came in three pounds overweight, taking the title off the table. Nonetheless, Yamaguchi battered Guzman, elbowing him to an entertaining second-round finish.

4. Yuki Shojo (10-5-2)
In a more entertaining outing than his September majority points win over Junya Kudo, Shojo earned a lopsided unanimous decision over tough Guam product Jesse Taitano on March 22. With it, he kept pace in the Shooto 123-pound division.

5. Ryuichi Miki (10-4-3)
A third bout with Yasuhiro Urushitani was the chance of a lifetime for Miki, who had the chance to vie for the Shooto world title. However, the first two bouts between Miki and Urushitani already told us who was the better fighter, and it was Urushitani who walked out the victor and champion on May 30.

6. Kiyotaka Shimizu (6-3-1)
The underrated Shimizu continues to show improvement each and every time out. In the first defense of his flyweight King of Pancrase title, Shimizu halted Isao Hirose on cuts in the second round, picking up his seventh win in his last eight fights; the lone loss in that stretch came to divisional star Mamoru Yamaguchi.

7. Pat Runez (4-0)
In his most recent bout, Runez showed savvy far beyond his actual MMA experience. He overcame an early shellacking from John Dodson to take a well-earned split decision win on Oct. 3, as he claimed the Ultimate Warrior Challenge flyweight title in what was the most significant 125-pound bout to date outside of Japan.

8. Alexis Vila (8-0)
The best kept secret in the flyweight division, the former Olympic wrestling bronze medalist posted his eighth career win on June 25, as he savaged tough veteran Omar Choudhury, stopping him in the second frame. One can only hope the win will position the dynamic Cuban for a bigger bout in the 125-pound division.

9. Fumihiro Kitahara (9-1-1)
The 2008 Shooto rookie tournament champion continues to quietly pile up wins. On Aug. 29 in front of a hometown Sapporo crowd, Kitahara choked out Hiroyuki Tanaka in the second round, handing the tough vet the first submission loss of his eight-year career.

10. Mitsuhisa Sunabe (12-6-3)
Sunabe's road back to the flyweight King of Pancrase title is clear: In order to earn a rubber match with champ Kiyotaka Shimizu, Sunabe will need to beat Shooto rep Noboru "Shinpei" Tahara in their cross-promotional title elimination clash on Sept. 5.

Other contenders: John Dodson, Ulysses Gomez, Isao Hirose, Alexandre Pantoja, Jessie Riggleman.