Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Featherweight

1. Mike Thomas Brown (22-4)
With the second defense of his WEC featherweight title, Brown affirmed he was no fluke and took a well-appointed unanimous verdict over Urijah Faber. However, Brown will have little chance to relax, with challengers such as Jose Aldo and Wagnney Fabiano primed to come after his crown.

2. Urijah Faber (22-3)
Faber failed to recover the WEC title and featherweight mantle in his June 7 rematch with Mike Thomas Brown. However, fighting gamely for the better part of 25 minutes with a broken hand, Faber proved he still ranks among the featherweight elite.

3. Wagnney Fabiano (12-1)
Fabiano did not get the stoppage he sought, but the Nova Uniao product put another win on his ledger on April 5. He took a commanding unanimous decision over fellow grappling stalwart Fredson Paixao.

4. Leonard Garcia (12-4)
Garcia was blown out in his March championship bout against Mike Thomas Brown, but the Greg Jackson-trained “Bad Boy” will look to rejoin the WEC title hunt on Aug. 9 when he takes on Jameel Massouh.

5. Hatsu Hioki (19-3-2)
Hioki made the second round of the Sengoku tournament look just as easy as the first, as he easily submitted Briton Ronnie Mann. Hioki’s road to the tournament final goes through ZST representative Masanori Kanehara on Aug. 2.

6. Jose Aldo (15-1)
In his fifth WEC bout in just over 12 months, Aldo staged his most impressive performance to date, completely destroying a solid Cub Swanson in eight seconds flat. A title shot has not been promised to the 22-year-old, but he has certainly captured the imaginations of fans.

7. Dokonjonosuke Mishima (19-6-2)
Mishima was originally sought as an entrant in Sengoku’s featherweight tournament, where he would have been an early favorite. Unfortunately, a knee injury suffered in training has kept him on the shelf for the early portion of 2009. The colorful veteran plans to return to action this summer to defend his Deep featherweight title.

8. Takeshi Inoue (16-3)
In a bout that was more symbolic than relevant, professional Shooto’s current poster boy defended his 143-pound world title against Shooto icon Rumina Sato. After his usual dramatic early struggle, “Lion Takeshi” predictably punched out Sato in the first frame.

9. Rafael Assuncao (13-1)
In his awaited WEC debut, Assuncao showed why critics have afforded him blue-chip prospect status. He took a one-sided decision over a game Jameel Massouh and firmly implanted himself in the promotion’s featherweight plans.

10. Marlon Sandro (14-0)
On paper, Sandro’s Sengoku featherweight tournament bout against fellow undefeated Nick Denis was one of the most compelling. In actuality, it took Sandro just 19 seconds to knock the Canadian unconscious. The featherweight King of Pancrase will now take on red-hot Michihiro Omigawa on Aug. 2, with a spot in the tournament final on the line.

Other contenders: Bibiano Fernandes, Josh Grispi, Yuji Hoshino, Masakazu Imanari, Joe Soto.