Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

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Featherweight

1. Jose Aldo (20-1)
Nova Uniao’s top student maintained his position atop the 145-pound division by turning away former UFC lightweight title challenger Kenny Florian in a five-round decision at UFC 136. The 25-year-old champ will next defend against unbeaten wrestler Chad Mendes on Jan. 14 before a partisan crowd in Rio de Janeiro.

2. Hatsu Hioki (24-4-2)
It wasn’t pretty, but Hioki avoided the curse of the Japanese imports with an Oct. 29 split decision win over George Roop in his Octagon debut. The Shooto champ has yet to be assigned his next bout, though February’s UFC card in Saitama, Japan, seems a likely destination.

3. Chad Mendes (11-0)
Team Alpha Male’s new top featherweight was clinical in his August dismantling of grappling whiz Rani Yahya, cementing Mendes’ position as the division’s No. 1 contender. After some delay, the NCAA wrestling standout will get his shot at divisional kingpin Jose Aldo on Jan. 14 in Rio de Janeiro.

4. Pat Curran (16-4)
Curran started slowly but finished brutally in his Aug. 20 showdown with former Sengoku and Pancrase champion Marlon Sandro in the final of Bellator's Summer Series tournament. With his head kick knockout of Sandro, Curran earned the right to challenge champ Joe Warren, a shot which will come in February at an as-yet-unannounced Bellator event.

5. Kenny Florian (14-6)
Florian was denied his third UFC title bid on Oct. 8, his size advantage and clinching tactics insufficient for stymieing the skills of featherweight ruler Jose Aldo. Following the five-round loss, Florian contemplated retirement but has since stated that he plans to return to the 155-pound division, likely in mid-2012.

6. Marlon Sandro (19-3)
On the heels of the first knockout loss of his career, Sandro has stated that he is hungry for revenge against Bellator’s top featherweight contender, Pat Curran. Before he can get payback, however, the hard-hitting Brazilian will have to go through grappling countryman Rafael Dias on Nov. 19.

7. Diego Nunes (16-2)
Nunes proved a tough out for Kenny Florian in June but has been out of order since that decision loss due to injury and personal troubles. Finally healed, “The Gun” will get the date he wanted with fellow WEC-import Manny Gamburyan when he faces the hard-hitting judoka at UFC 141 on Dec. 30.

8. Dustin Poirier (11-1)
The 22-year-old Poirier earned the first stoppage of his UFC tenure on Nov. 12, by taking apart Pablo Garza before submitting him with a brabo choke in the second round. The win keeps Poirier unbeaten as a featherweight and should set up a higher stakes bout come 2012.

9. Bart Palaszewski (36-14)
MMA fans know that Bart Palaszewski is an exciting and dangerous puncher, but few expected his Oct. 29 contest with fellow former lightweight Tyson Griffin to be that competitive, let alone end in a win for Palaszewski. Instead, with a positively brutal knockout, Palaszewski earned the biggest win of his career.

10. Joe Warren (7-2)
Bellator’s 145-pound titleholder seemed a clear-cut favorite to win the company’s fifth-season 135-pound bracket, but things took an unexpected turn on Sept. 24 when Warren was flattened by a left hook from fellow wrestler Alexis Vila. With top contender Patricio Freire injured, Warren will move back up the scale to defend his title against Pat Curran in February.

Other contenders: Patricio Freire, Manny Gamburyan, Tyson Griffin, Mark Hominick, Erik Koch.

With previously ninth-ranked Tyson Griffin's loss to Bart Palaszewski and the entry of Dustin Poirier, Griffin and previously 10th-ranked Manny Gamburyan fall to the contenders list.

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