Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Featherweight

1. Mike Thomas Brown (22-4)
It was no secret that Brown’s featherweight mantle would be at stake against hot-shot Brazilian prospect Jose Aldo; the question was simply when. Now we know: WEC 44 on Nov. 18 in Las Vegas.

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

3. Hatsu Hioki (20-3-2)
Despite winning the fight, a concussion in his August featherweight tournament semi-final with Masanori Kanehara robbed Hioki of the chance to compete for the Sengoku featherweight title. He’ll have a chance to rematch Kanehara for that title on Dec. 31, but first, he’ll have to beat the much-improved Michihiro Omigawa in a Nov. 7 title eliminator.

4. Leonard Garcia (13-4)
His split decision win over Jameel Massouh in August was hardly enthusing, and a better performance will be hard to come by, as Garcia’s next outing will see him take on “The Ultimate Fighter 5” finalist Manny Gamburyan at WEC 44 on Nov. 18.

5. Jose Aldo (15-1)
Aldo was already official as Mike Thomas Brown’s next challenger for the WEC title. Now, a date has been set for the biggest fight of the 23-year-old Brazilian’s career. He will tangle with Brown at WEC 44 on Nov. 18.

6. Bibiano Fernandes (7-2)
The former Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion has finally arrived in mixed martial arts. At Dream 11, Fernandes quickly armbarred former Greco-Roman world champion Joe Warren before toughing out a split decision win over Hiroyuki Takaya in the grand prix final. With that, he became Dream’s first featherweight champion.

7. Raphael Assuncao (14-1)
The fast-rising Assuncao showed well-rounded skills in his Oct. 10 victory over Georges St. Pierre training partner Yves Jabouin. The well-appointed split decision win should move Assuncao into talk of title contention in the WEC featherweight division.

8. Mackens Semerzier (4-0)
The MMA world is used to upsets by now, but style points can make them all the more shocking. In his WEC debut as a late replacement, “Mack da Menace” swiftly and deftly triangled an outstanding BJJ player and elite featherweight in Wagnney Fabiano in just over two minutes, notching one of MMA’s most stirring big show debuts ever.

9. Wagnney Fabiano (12-2)
Before his Oct. 10 bout with Mackens Semerzier, discussion about Fabiano centered on what would happen if his Nova Uniao teammate, Jose Aldo, defeated Mike Thomas Brown in November, causing a logjam at the top of the WEC 145-pound class. However, with Semerzier’s remarkable upset, discussion has now turned to how exactly Fabiano was tapped by the unknown Semerzier and where he goes next in the red-hot WEC featherweight division.

10. Takeshi Inoue (16-3)
In a battle of past and present, the current Shooto 143-pound world champion will take on former titleholder Alexandre Franca Nogueira -- who reigned for seven years (1999-2006) -- at Vale Tudo Japan 2009 on Oct. 30.

Other contenders: Josh Grispi, Masanori Kanehara, Michihiro Omigawa, Marlon Sandro, Joe Soto.

* With Mackens Semerzier’s entry into the top 10, formerly 10th-ranked Masanori Kanehara is edged to the contenders list.