Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Featherweight

1. Max Holloway (18-3)

He debuted in the UFC as an undertrained 20-year-old scrapper. Now he has 17 UFC bouts, 11 straight wins and a brutal, thrilling stoppage of the greatest 145-pounder of all-time on his resume. Holloway now rules the featherweight division courtesy of his third-round knockout of Jose Aldo at UFC 212 in Rio de Janeiro, and, at just 25 years old, seems to be the best young fighter in the sport. Things have not been easy for the “Blessed” Hawaiian so far in the UFC, and they figure to stay that way. With Aldo out of the immediate picture, Holloway seems primed to make his first UFC title defense against Frankie Edgar, another all-time great.

2. Jose Aldo (26-3)

For 10 minutes in Rio de Janeiro, Aldo demonstrated beautiful, powerful counterpunching in his exciting showdown with Max Holloway. Then, a four-punch combination from Holloway put Aldo down in Round 3, and the Hawaiian smashed away until referee “Big” John McCarthy was forced to intervene. Aldo turns 31 in September and is nowhere near a spent legend, but what fight comes next for the all-time 145-pound king is unclear.

3. Frankie Edgar (22-5-1)

Edgar was a big winner at UFC 211 in May, hammering and halting rising Mexican prospect Yair Rodriguez in 10 minutes. Better than that for “The Answer,” he was a winner by proxy at UFC 212, too: The former UFC lightweight champ's two failed title bids against Jose Aldo seemed like they may disqualify him from another shot at featherweight gold indefinitely, but Max Holloway's rousing knockout of Aldo in Rio de Janeiro could install the still-outstanding Edgar as his first UFC title challenger.

4. Cub Swanson (25-7)

Swanson, a perennial top-10 featherweight and perhaps the best fighter in the division to never get a crack at a WEC or UFC title, deserved better than a five-round main event with Conor McGregor training partner Artem Lobov. Nonetheless, Swanson accepted the dubious headlining fight for the UFC's return to Nashville, Tennessee, and then performed in true Cub Swanson fashion, for better or for worse: Swanson indulged Lobov's free-swinging style and ate 123 significant strikes, more than any fight in his pro career, but still comfortably prevailed via unanimous decision after an entertaining brawl that arguably had no business going 25 minutes.

5. Ricardo Lamas (17-5)

Lamas is 4-3 in his last seven UFC starts, but his losses came to Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes and newly minted champ Max Holloway; he is never far outside of title contention. “The Bully” had fortune smile on him when returning fan favorite Chan Sung Jung called him out and he landed a fight with “The Korean Zombie” at UFC 214 on July 29. Unfortunately, Jung suffered an injury and pulled out of the bout, leaving Lamas without a dance partner.

6. Anthony Pettis (19-6)

Pettis has gone just 1-1 as a featherweight in the UFC, but after blowing weight for an interim title fight with Max Holloway and losing via third-round knockout in December, “Showtime” is targeting a return to 155 pounds. The onetime UFC lightweight champion will move to his former weight class to meet longtime divisional standout Jim Miller at UFC 213 on July 8 in Las Vegas.

7. Chan Sung Jung (15-4)

After nearly four years away from the sport, it seemed divine when “The Korean Zombie” returned from mandatory military duty in his home country and smashed through Dennis Bermudez in February. Jung doubled down after his win, calling out and securing a bout with fellow former UFC title challenger Ricardo Lamas, only to suffer an injury and withdraw from the UFC 214 card.

8. Darren Elkins (22-5)

Elkins has whipped up four straight wins in the Octagon. His most recent victory, a third-round knockout of previously undefeated prospect Mirsad Bektic in March, was one of the most thrilling moments of 2017 thus far. If “The Damage” is going to keep his streak rolling, he will need to knock off big-punching, hard-wrestling Dennis Bermudez at UFC on Fox 25 on July 22.

9. Doo Ho Choi (14-2)

Given the sheer level of violence that Choi helped bring to the table in his December loss to Cub Swanson, it stood to reason that MMA fans would be hot for his next booking. While a bout with Renan Barao in April did not materialize, “The Korean Superboy” is now set to return to the Octagon in a highly appealing pairing of up-and-coming featherweights: Choi is slated to face free-swinging Andre Fili at UFC 214 on July 29 in Anaheim, California.

10. Patricio Freire (26-4)

The last two years were brutal for Freire. He lost the Bellator MMA featherweight title to a man he had already beaten twice, Daniel Straus, and then moved up to 155 pounds to face former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson, only to retire in the second round after breaking his shin. “Pitbull” got back on track on April 21, returning to 145 pounds and guillotining Straus to regain his Bellator title. The question remains whether or not the company can find the Brazilian some fresh talent to face, as “Pitbull” already seems lined up to defend against Daniel Weichel -- a man he knocked out in June 2015.

Other Contenders: Renato Carneiro, Andre Fili, Jason Knight, Brian Ortega, Yair Rodriguez.

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