Featherweight (136lbs. – 145lbs.)
1 Jose Aldo
17-1-0 WEC
When it comes to being an unstoppably explosive striker, he picked up where Anderson Silva left off.
2 Manny Gamburyan
11-4-0 WEC
It seems impossible for him to beat Aldo. Then again, did anyone think he’d beat Brown?
3 Bibiano Fernandes
8-2-0 DREAM
His two losses? Faber and Kid Yamamoto. Since then, he’s been unbeatable in DREAM.
4 Mike Brown
23-6-0 WEC
He learned how Faber felt to be knocked out by him when Gamburyan knocked him out.
5 Urijah Faber
23-4-0 WEC
A move down to bantamweight is forthcoming after Aldo and Brown decisively proved to be his superiors.
6 Marlon Sandro
17-1-0 Sengoku
New champion Sandro set the MMA community abuzz with his quick knockout of former champ Kanehara in June.
7 Michihiro Omigawa
10-8-1 ASTRA
He’s the only man to beat Sandro, though it was by “must decide” split decision.
8 Josh Grispi
14-1-0 WEC
After quickly forcing LC Davis to submit, the question must be asked: will this 21-year-old be the one who beats Aldo for the title?
9 Hatsu Hioki
21-4-2 Shooto
The Shooto veteran has seen his career come full circle, return to the organization to beat Takeshi Inoue for the lightweight (143lbs.) title.
10 LC Davis
16-3-0 WEC
Until the Grispi fight, he had done very well in WEC, beating Taurosevicius, Nunes, and Vazquez.
11 Diego Nunes
14-1-0 WEC
He followed up his only career loss – to Davis – by earning a split decision against Assuncao.
12 Joe Soto
9-0-0 Bellator
Bellator season 2 featherweight tournament winner Joe Warren will be Soto’s toughest test to date.
On the brink: Masanori Kanehara (Sengoku, 15-7-5), Raphael Assuncao (WEC, 14-3-0), Leonard Garcia (WEC, 14-5-1)