Since making his WEC debut in June 2008, Aldo has gone from little-known Brazilian prospect to king of the featherweight division with his domination of former WEC champion Mike Thomas Brown on Nov. 18. The impressive victory was Aldo's fourth knockout of 2009, making him a heavy favorite to nab "Fighter of the Year" honors across the board.
2. Mike Thomas Brown (22-5)
The world knew that Jose Aldo would be Brown's sternest test to date, and their Nov. 18 bout showed exactly why. The former featherweight kingpin was unable to generate any offense from the opening bell before being pounded out in the second frame, losing his 145-pound title.
3. Urijah Faber (22-3)
One of MMA's most exciting commodities, Faber has been on the shelf since June due to the broken hand he sustained in his rematch with Mike Thomas Brown. Healthy again, "The California Kid" is set to return in front of a partisan Sacramento crowd at WEC 46 on Jan. 10, meeting once-beaten prospect Raphael Assuncao.
4. 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 over Hiroyuki Takaya in the grand prix final. With that, he became Dream’s first featherweight champion.
5. Raphael Assuncao (14-1)
Assuncao has long been considered a "can't miss" prospect, and he now has the chance to prove he is one of the featherweight elite. In the co-feature of WEC 46 on Jan. 10, he'll take on former WEC 145-pound champion Urijah Faber in the former king's Sacramento stomping grounds.
6. Michihiro Omigawa (8-8-1)
It was another ill-received split decision for Omigawa, but the Hidehiko Yoshida pupil got the biggest win of his career against Hatsu Hioki on Nov. 7. After beginning his career a woeful 4-7, Omigawa is now 4-1-1 as a featherweight. He will have the chance to avenge his lone divisional loss on Dec. 31, when he will likely rematch Masanori Kanehara for Sengoku's title.
7. Hatsu Hioki (20-4-2)
Though most seem to think Hioki deserved the nod in his Nov. 7 split decision loss to Michihiro Omigawa, the bout was another exhibition of Hioki's staggering lack of strategy and consistency that have undermined him in the past.
8. Mackens Semerzier (5-0)
In making one of the most brilliant big show debuts in recent memory by submitting Wagnney Fabiano, Semerzier showed he can grapple. However, in order to convince the MMA world he's not a one-hit wonder, he'll need to defeat Deividas Taurosevicius on Jan. 10 on the main card of WEC 46.
9. Wagnney Fabiano (12-2)
Before his Oct. 10 bout with Mackens Semerzier, discussion about Fabiano centered on what would happen if 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 WEC featherweight division.
10. Manny Gamburyan (10-4)
At WEC 44, Gamburyan pushed his featherweight mark to 2-0, as he took a competitive but clear unanimous verdict over former WEC featherweight title challenger Leonard Garcia. The win figures to move the former "Ultimate Fighter" runner-up into the upper echelon of the promotion's red-hot 145-pound division.
Other contenders: Leonard Garcia, Josh Grispi, Takeshi Inoue, Masanori Kanehara, Marlon Sandro.
*With his Nov. 18 loss to Manny Gamburyan, formerly fourth-ranked Leonard Garcia falls just outside the top 10 to the contenders list.