The king of the 135-pound world, Torres will finally take on undefeated challenger Brian Bowles in their much-anticipated bantamweight bout on Aug. 9 as the headliner of WEC 42 in Vegas.
2. Masakatsu Ueda (9-0-2)
July 19 will mark the third defense of Ueda's Shooto 132-pound world title. It also may mark his toughest test to date, when he takes on precocious prospect Eduardo Dantas, Shooto's South American 132-pound king.
3. Brian Bowles (7-0)
Bowles' April crack at bantamweight king Miguel Torres was postponed due to a back injury. With Torres having successfully knocked off Takeya Mizugaki on April 5, Bowles will now get his shot at WEC 42 on Aug. 9.
4. Takeya Mizugaki (11-3-2)
Mizugaki won over the hearts and minds of MMA fans in April when he took divisional king Miguel Torres to a thrilling 25-minute decision. However, things get no easier for the former Shooto rookie MVP, as he'll meet rock-solid veteran Jeff Curran at WEC 42 on Aug. 9.
5. Joseph Benavidez (10-0)
Benavidez's April 5 bout against Jeff Curran served as the coming-out party that many had anticipated. Urijah Faber's top pupil pushed his undefeated mark to 10-0 and signaled his arrival as a top-flight 135-pounder.
6. Will Ribeiro (10-2)
In the wake of his life-threatening motorcycle accident late last year, the Brazilian fight community continues to rally around Ribeiro. All proceeds from Shooto Brazil's May 30 show will go toward Ribeiro's on-going medical expenses and recovery.
7. Akitoshi Tamura (13-7-2)
The former Shooto world champion showed he made the right decision in opting to cut down to the bantamweight division. He made a successful 135-pound debut on April 5, taking a unanimous nod over former WEC title challenger Manny Tapia.
8. Manny Tapia (10-2-1)
Tapia, who ran up an undefeated record through his first 11 bouts, has now suffered back-to-back losses courtesy of divisional king Miguel Torres and then Akitoshi Tamura, who outworked him to a unanimous decision on April 5.
9. Damacio Page (11-4)
In his March 1 bout with the well-regarded Marcos Galvao, Page showed off the power and ferocity that made him an intriguing prospect as he crushed the Brazilian in a mere 18 seconds.
10. Marcos Galvao (6-3-1)
"Louro" has disappointed in the WEC following his successes in Brazil and Japan. He was brutally dispatched by Damacio Page in only 18 seconds on March 1.
Other contenders: Chase Beebe, Dominick Cruz, Noah Thomas, Eddie Wineland, Rani Yahya.