Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

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Bantamweight

1. Dominick Cruz (17-1)
Seldom does hyperactivity look easy, but that is Cruz. He continued to show the evolution of his slick punching and unpredictable style on Dec. 16, as he shut out the tough Scott Jorgensen over five rounds at WEC 53. The win set the table for a major bantamweight showdown against the only man to ever beat “The Dominator,” former WEC featherweight king Urijah Faber, once Cruz recovers from hand surgery.

2. Joseph Benavidez (13-2)
Despite his two losses to Dominick Cruz and the fact that he may be a natural 125-pounder, Benavidez has picked off more top bantamweights than nearly any other 135-pound fighter. Stepping in for an injured Brian Bowles, Benavidez added another Top 10 win to his ledger by dominating Wagnney Fabiano and choking the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt into submission at WEC 52.

3. Brian Bowles (8-1)
Bowles has been plagued by injuries of late, but he finally appears set for a return, 362 days after he lost the WEC bantamweight crown to Dominick Cruz. Bowles will need every shred of good health when he takes on Greg Jackson-trained bomber Damacio Page in a rematch at UFC Live 3 on March 3 in Louisville, Ky.

4. Urijah Faber (24-4)
The fight world is clamoring for a rematch between Dominick Cruz and Faber, the only man to defeat the UFC bantamweight champion. However, Cruz’s recent hand surgery will postpone such a bout until at least late 2011. The “California Kid” will not sit on the shelf, however: Faber will take on hard-punching ex-WEC champ Eddie Wineland at UFC 128 on March 19 in Newark, N.J.

5. Scott Jorgensen (11-4)
Jorgensen was game and valiant until the end, but he simply had nothing to offer bantamweight kingpin Dominick Cruz in their Dec. 16 title clash. For 25 minutes, Jorgensen was hit with punches in bunches on the feet and taken down repeatedly in a one-sided decision loss that snapped a five-fight win streak.

6. Miguel Torres (39-3)
It didn’t set the world on fire, but Miguel Torres rode a strong jab to a one-sided unanimous verdict over Antonio Banuelos at UFC 126 on Feb. 6. The performance has earned Torres flak, as it so strongly departed from the blood-and-guts fight style that helped him rise to prominence as the former WEC bantamweight king.

7. Takeya Mizugaki (13-5-2)
In his Nov. 11 bout with Urijah Faber, Mizugaki was viciously choked unconscious by the former featherweight star in Faber’s bantamweight debut. Mizugaki’s next bout will be a comparatively softer touch, as he is tentatively scheduled to meet Francisco Rivera at UFC Live 3 on March 3.

8. Brad Pickett (20-5)
Always a thrill, Pickett excited again at WEC 53 against dynamic Canadian Ivan Menjivar, earning a unanimous decision victory in a highly entertaining, back-and-forth contest. The victory was Pickett’s third in four fights since joining Zuffa LLC’s bantamweight ranks 12 months ago.

9. Masakatsu Ueda (12-1-2)
Taking on late replacement Ralph Acosta in Tokyo on Jan. 10, the former Shooto 132-pound world champion showed all the facets of his evolving game. Ueda exhibited some improving standup skills, but more chiefly, put his expert grappling on display. Ueda and Acosta showed off their technical wrestling chops before Ueda closed the show with his patented Brabo choke.

10. Demetrious Johnson (8-1)
At UFC 126, Demetrious Johnson showed once again that, regardless of size, he possesses all the goods to hang at 135 pounds. Johnson put together his combination striking and lightning-fast takedowns to take a one-sided decision over Japanese star Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto. It was the third win in just over four months for “Mighty Mouse.”

Other contenders: Antonio Banuelos, Wagnney Fabiano, Zach Makovsky, Michael McDonald, Eddie Wineland.

*With his return to the featherweight division, formerly ninth-ranked Rani Yahya exits the bantamweight rankings.

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