Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and with a potential bout against Jens Pulver (Pictures) looming, Faber could be in for the stiffest test of his career. The crowd will at least be a pro-Faber one, though, as the "California Kid" will be defending in his backyard of Sacramento.
2. Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) (14-2-0)
In a thoroughly entertaining but ultimately one-sided affair in January, "Lion Takeshi" showed the form that made him Shooto world champion while dominating tricky veteran Katsuya Toida (Pictures) for the meaningless Shooto 143-pound Pacific Rim title. Inoue's road back to the top of the heap in pro Shooto continues May 3, when he'll meet fireplug IFL veteran Trenell "Savant" Young. With Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures)'s loss, Inoue rises from third to second.
3. Jeff Curran (Pictures) (29-9-1)
"The Big Frog" had a great first round but ultimately fell prey to Urijah Faber (Pictures) in their Dec. 12 WEC title bout. Curran is slated to fight next in June, when he'll take on ATT product Mike Thomas Brown in a well-matched bout. Curran is a benefactor of Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures)'s loss, rising from fourth to third.
4. Masakazu Imanari (Pictures) (14-5-1)
Imanari made the first defense of his Cage Rage title on March 8 with a first-round submission over tough Brazilian Jean Silva (Pictures) via leglock (what else?). The "Ashikan Judan" will now look to make the second defense of his Deep featherweight title on May 19, when he meets veteran Dokonjonosuke Mishima (Pictures), who stopped him in July 2003. In the mean time, Imanari rises from fifth to fourth.
5. Leonard Garcia (Pictures) (11-3-0)
After dropping to the featherweight class and scoring the biggest win of his career over Hiroyuki Takaya (Pictures) in February, Garcia was busted last month in connection with a cocaine ring in Texas. Garcia has been charged with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. None too surprisingly, his fight career is on hold for the time being. Despite his possible indiscretions, Tamura's loss sees Garcia rise from sixth to fifth.
6. Hiroyuki Takaya (Pictures) (9-5-1)
There was much excitement over Takaya's Feb. 13 WEC debut. Many thought he could be a quality competitor and offer a challenge to divisional kingpin Urijah Faber (Pictures). The hype was quickly nixed, though. Although defeated, Takaya rises from seventh to sixth with the loss of his compatriot Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures).
7. Antonio Carvalho (Pictures) (10-3-0)
Carvalho was scheduled to meet Yuji Hoshino (Pictures) in the GCM Cage Force 145-pound tournament, but an injury nixed that bout, and GCM couldn't pull off the last-minute heroics to find the Canadian an opponent. The Carvalho-Hoshino bout will now likely happen June 22, any future injuries notwithstanding.
8. Hatsu Hioki (Pictures) (15-3-1)
The ultra-skilled Nagoyan continued his comeback after a miserable 2007 by absolutely destroying grappling wiz Baret Yoshida (Pictures). However, Hioki tweaked his knee in the victory, which nixed a potential big bout with Rumina Sato (Pictures) in May. Nonetheless, the win, coupled with Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures)'s fall, sees Hioki rise from 10th to eighth.
9. Hideki Kadowaki (Pictures) (13-7-2)
An improbable title challenger, Kadowaki made good on his unlikely opportunity March 28, knocking off Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures) in a lackluster but hard-fought bout to become Shooto 143-pound world champion. Although the deck is heavily stacked against Kadowaki reigning as champion, the veteran debuts in the rankings at No. 9.
10. Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures) (11-6-2)
After a sensational and surprising 2007, Tamura was brought back to earth in the first defense of his Shooto world title, dropping a majority decision to Kadowaki. With the loss, Tamura tumbles from No. 2 to No. 10 in these rankings. However, he will have the chance to right his ship to some extent on May 3, when he meets Shooto icon Rumina Sato (Pictures).