Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings
Bantamweight
Jun 17, 2009
Bantamweight
1. Miguel Torres (37-1)
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.
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 (14-7-2)
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: Antonio Banuelos, Chase Beebe, Dominick Cruz, Eddie Wineland, Rani Yahya.
1. Miguel Torres (37-1)
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.
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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 (14-7-2)
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: Antonio Banuelos, Chase Beebe, Dominick Cruz, Eddie Wineland, Rani Yahya.
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