Featherweight
1. Conor McGregor (21-3)
On Jan. 28, Conor McGregor went head-to-head with his promoter with his pay-per-view interview with MMA journalist Ariel Helwani while the UFC on Fox 23 card rolled from Denver. McGregor remains adamant that regardless of if it is Floyd Mayweather Jr. or not, his next bout will be from the boxing ring and continues to balk at the idea of facing the winner of Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 209.2. Jose Aldo (26-2)
Just as soon as UFC 206 was in the books, newly minted UFC interim featherweight champion Max Holloway was calling out Aldo. Not long after, Aldo told the Brazilian media that his title unification bout with Holloway would land at UFC 208 in Brooklyn, New York. Unfortunately, Holloway declined the Feb. 11 date due to timing and injury, which has accelerated the trash talk between he and Aldo.3. Max Holloway (17-3)
Holloway’s Dec. 10 destruction of Anthony Pettis to earn an interim version of the UFC featherweight title seemed to firm up a date with the legendary Jose Aldo heading into 2017. Aldo told the Brazilian media that the two were to square off on Feb. 11 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. However, due to his nursing an ankle injury and wanting a longer training camp, Holloway declined the UFC 208 bout, postponing their meeting until later in the year.4. Frankie Edgar (21-5-1)
Despite carrying a back injury and an MCL tear into his UFC 205 clash with Jeremy Stephens, as well as having to recover from a brutal knockdown, Edgar would not be turned away at Madison Square Garden. Edgar won the unanimous decision over “Lil’ Heathen” and successfully rebounded from his second loss to Jose Aldo at UFC 200 in July.5. Cub Swanson (24-7)
Back-to-back losses to Frankie Edgar and Max Holloway gave Swanson the appearance of a fading if not totally faded force at 145 pounds. Since those defeats, the scrapper has put together a trio of quality wins, taking out tricky veterans Hacran Dias and Tatsuya Kawajiri before putting on one of the best fights of 2016, prevailing via unanimous decision in a truly insane brawl with South Korean upstart Doo Ho Choi that seems to have re-affirmed his spot in the division and ensured no one will forget about Swanson anytime soon.6. Ricardo Lamas (17-5)
With recent losses to Chad Mendes and Max Holloway, Lamas was in need of a sterling win in order to keep pace in an intensifying 145-pound weight class. “The Bully” got just that on Nov. 5 in Mexico City, where he tapped out Charles Oliveira with a guillotine in the second round. Lamas is now 4-2 in his last six bouts.7. Anthony Pettis (19-6)
It seemed like a dream for Pettis when the former lightweight kingpin dropped to 145 pounds, styled against Charles Oliveira in August and then lucked into an interim featherweight title fight with Max Holloway at UFC 206 that could have set him up for a long-awaited, once-scheduled bout with Jose Aldo. Instead, it became a nightmare: Pettis blew weight, clocking in at 148 pounds, and then got beaten around the cage by Holloway until the Hawaiian put him away with a kick to the body and torrent of punches in Round 3.8. Charles Oliveira (21-7, 1 NC)
It has been a rough three months for Oliveira. While the 27-year-old Brazilian remains one of MMA’s most thrilling and creative grapplers, he has now suffered back-to-back guillotine choke losses to Anthony Pettis and Ricardo Lamas. He also missed weight for the Lamas fight, which has become a long-maligned theme in Oliveira’s career. Oliveira is 1-3 in his last four bouts and also missed weight for his lone win in that period, a first-round submission of Myles Jury in December 2015.9. Chan Sung Jung (15-4)
Hello again, “Korean Zombie.” Given the action he provides on a fight-by-fight basis, it is hardly silly that MMA fans missed Jung for the three-plus years he was away from the cage. It makes all the more sense having seen his emphatic Feb. 4 return to the Octagon, as he needed less than three minutes to destroy perennial fringe contender Dennis Bermudez with a sensational right uppercut and announce his return to the 145-pound division and the business of creating thrilling fight outcomes.10. Jeremy Stephens (25-13)
Stephens was game against Frankie Edgar at UFC 205 on Nov. 12, nearly knocking out “The Answer.” However, Edgar prevailed via unanimous decision on the scorecards, dropping Stephens to 5-4 since he cut down to the UFC’s 145-pound division.Other Contenders: Dennis Bermudez, Doo Ho Choi, Darren Elkins, Brian Ortega, Yair Rodriguez
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