Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Featherweight

1. Conor McGregor (20-3)

McGregor is going to get his chance to become the UFC’s first simultaneous two-division champion on a historic stage, facing Eddie Alvarez for the 155-pound title at UFC 205 on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The massive payday will help “The Notorious” one pad his wallet, too. That should come in handy. On Oct. 10, the Nevada Athletic Commission fined McGregor $150,000 and handed him 50 hours of community service for his now-infamous bottle-throwing incident with Nate Diaz before their UFC 202 rematch in August.

2. Jose Aldo (26-2)

After his sensational performance in a July rematch with Frankie Edgar, Aldo was confident he would get a rematch with Conor McGregor for the true featherweight title next time out. Instead, UFC lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez’s politicking earned him a UFC 205 bout with McGregor, leading Aldo to state he wants to be released from the UFC and is no longer interested in MMA. It seems more like a leverage tactic by the sport’s all-time greatest featherweight, but time will tell.

3. Frankie Edgar (20-5-1)

At UFC 200 in July, Edgar had his heavy push toward a featherweight title shot thwarted by Jose Aldo, who topped “The Answer” over 25 minutes for the second time. The 34-year-old Edgar will get a consolation prize of sorts next time out, though, as he will get to compete at UFC 205 on Nov. 12, when the UFC hits Madison Square Garden for the first time. There, he meets power puncher Jeremy Stephens.

4. Max Holloway (16-3)

Holloway made it nine wins in a row by picking apart Ricardo Lamas and taking a lopsided unanimous decision in their UFC 199 encounter. Only 24 and already entering his fifth year as a UFC fighter, Holloway is undoubtedly in the running for a featherweight title shot; however, with the current mess atop the 145-pound division, exactly when that shot could materialize is anyone’s guess. In the meantime, Holloway said he is open to notching his 10th straight victory, preferably in his home state of Hawaii.

5. Cub Swanson (23-7)

It took him five minutes to get going at the UFC Fight Night card in Salt Lake City on Aug. 6, but Swanson pulled off a unanimous decision win in an entertaining fight against Japanese veteran Tatsuya Kawajiri. After back-to-back losses to Frankie Edgar and Max Holloway snapped his hot streak, the 32-year-old Swanson has bounced back nicely with quality wins over Kawajiri and difficult Brazilian grappler Hacran Dias.

6. Anthony Pettis (19-5)

After dropping his UFC lightweight title to Rafael dos Anjos amidst a three-fight losing streak, there were major questions about how Pettis would fare in his first 145-pound bout in the UFC, especially against Charles Oliveira. Despite dealing with some tricky spots and having his back taken more than once, Pettis thwarted the Brazilian's submission attack, crushing him to the body early before choking him out in the third round. Even with a successful divisional debut, there are still legitimate questions as to how “Showtime” will do against the upper crust of the 145-pound division.

7. Charles Oliveira (21-6, 1 NC)

Over the last five years, Oliveira has established himself as an elite featherweight and one of the most dangerous, dazzling submission artists in the entire sport. However, at UFC on Fox 21 on Aug. 27, Oliveira had his bright spots over the first 11 minutes in the Octagon before eventually succumbing to a guillotine choke from former UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis, losing his second fight in his last three outings.

8. Ricardo Lamas (16-5)

With two losses in his last three outings, Lamas was graced with a preferential position: “The Bully” was scheduled to take on faded legend B.J. Penn in the headliner of a UFC Fight Night card on Oct. 15 in Manila. However, Penn suffered a rib injury, and a host of political and logistic issues led to the cancellation of the entire card, leaving Lamas waiting to be rebooked in the near future.

9. Jeremy Stephens (25-12)

After a one-sided loss to Max Holloway at UFC 194, Stephens was in need of a sterling performance and found it on May 29, soundly outpointing former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao. Now, Stephens is lined up to face another ex-UFC champ: He will face former lightweight king Frankie Edgar at UFC 205 on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

10. Doo Ho Choi (14-1)

The 25-year-old Choi is one of the featherweight division’s most thrilling young talents, with a 14-1 record and 11 knockouts to his credit. The high-flying South Korean destroyed veteran Thiago Tavares in July and is now waiting for his next assignment. “The Korean Superboy” has publicly called out Cub Swanson and was in the running for a potential bout with Max Holloway, but he has yet to catch an official bout.

Other Contenders: Dennis Bermudez, Darren Elkins, Andre Fili, Yair Rodriguez, Daniel Straus

Continue Reading » Bantamweight