Featherweight

1. Mike Thomas Brown (22-4)
Though it was just more than two months ago that Brown gritted out his second win over featherweight star Urijah Faber, the 145-pound kingpin cannot necessarily rest easy. With pistol prospect Jose Aldo his next challenger, Brown may face his toughest task to date in November.

2. Urijah Faber (22-3)
Faber failed to recover the World Extreme Cagefighting title and featherweight mantle in his June 7 rematch with Mike Thomas Brown. However, Faber fought gamely for the better part of 25 minutes with a broken hand and proved he still ranks among the featherweight elite.

3. Wagnney Fabiano (12-1)
The former International Fight League featherweight champion was scheduled for duty on Sept. 2 against Erik Koch. However, the postponement of WEC 43 means that Fabiano will have to wait until Oct. 10 to step back into the cage.

4. Hatsu Hioki (20-3-2)
The finale of the Sengoku featherweight grand prix on Aug. 2 did not exactly go according to plan for Hioki. After dominating Masanori Kanehara in the semi-finals, Hioki was forced to watch the man he defeated go on to become champion while he sat on the sidelines with a concussion. Hioki will likely be first on deck to challenge Kanehara for the title later this year.

5. Leonard Garcia (13-4)
It was not especially convincing, but Garcia picked up his first win since his March blowout loss to Mike Thomas Brown when he took a contentious split decision over Jameel Massouh at WEC 42 on Aug. 9.

6. Jose Aldo (15-1)
After cutting a swath through the WEC’s featherweight division, 22-year-old wunderkind Aldo has been chosen as the next man to challenge divisional ruler Mike Thomas Brown. The moment of truth for the Manaus native will come at WEC 45 in November, when he figures to be Brown’s most explosive challenger to date.

7. Takeshi Inoue (16-3)
After a perfunctory victory over Shooto legend Rumina Sato in May, there’s talk that “Lion Takeshi” may meet up with another Shooto icon later this year. Rumors have started to swirl that leading Shooto promoter Sustain is interested in pairing the Shooto 143-pound world champion against former seven-year champion Alexandre Franca “Pequeno” Nogueira at Vale Tudo Japan 2009 in October.

8. Raphael Assuncao (13-1)
Though he will have to wait six weeks longer than expected, Assuncao will still get his moment to shine on Oct. 10, when he takes on exciting Georges St. Pierre training partner Yves Jabouin at WEC 43 in San Antonio.

9. Masanori Kanehara (14-6-5)
It was highly improbable, but despite dropping a decision loss to Hatsu Hioki in the Sengoku featherweight grand prix semi-finals on Aug. 2, Kanehara became Sengoku’s first featherweight champion. After Hioki was forced out of the final due to a concussion, Kanehara stepped back in and took a well-earned decision win over Michihiro Omigawa.

10. Bibiano Fernandes (5-2)
Fernandes was baptized by fire early in his MMA career, with two of his first three bouts coming against Urijah Faber and Norifumi Yamamoto. In the Dream featherweight grand prix semi-finals, the roles will be reversed, as Fernandes will take on fast-rising upstart Joe Warren, who knocked off the aforementioned Yamamoto in just his second professional MMA bout.

Other contenders: Yuji Hoshino, Michihiro Omigawa, Takafumi Otsuka, Marlon Sandro, Joe Soto.

* With his Aug. 23 loss to Takafumi Otsuka, formerly seventh-ranked Dokonjonosuke Mishima falls outside the top 10 and just beyond the contenders list.