Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Bantamweight

1. Brian Bowles (8-0)
Going into his WEC bantamweight title bout with Miguel Torres, Bowles was thought to be a game challenger but not a major-league threat. In the cage, Bowles was far more than that, as he smashed Torres in the first round to snatch the 135-pound mantle.

2. Miguel Torres (37-2)
Torres was heralded as one of the sport’s pound-for-pound stalwarts and the man to put the 135-pound division on the map. In his fourth defense of the WEC bantamweight title, he was flattened in the first round by impressive upstart Brian Bowles, who handed Torres his first loss in 18 fights.

3. Masakatsu Ueda (10-0-2)
He had to overcome rope grabbing and eye gouging, but Ueda kept his unbeaten record and Shooto world title on July 19 by taking a well-appointed unanimous verdict over tough Brazilian youngster Eduardo Dantas.

4. Takeya Mizugaki (12-3-2)
It was originally expected that Mizugaki would face Damacio Page in a high stakes bantamweight affair at WEC 45 on Dec. 19. However, his actual fight will be no less exciting, as he'll meet another go-forward up-and-comer in Scott Jorgensen on the event's main card.

5. Dominick Cruz (14-1)
A healthy underdog heading into his Aug. 9 bout with Urijah Faber understudy Joseph Benavidez, Cruz was one step ahead throughout the entire bout, deftly outworking Benavidez on the feet and the floor en route to a unanimous decision win. He now figures to be the first title contender for newly minted champion Brian Bowles.

6. Joseph Benavidez (10-1)
After suffering his first career loss to Dominick Cruz in August, Benavidez's chance to rebound will run through one of the world's best grapplers. The Urijah Faber pupil will take on BJJ and no-gi world champion Rani Yahya at WEC 45 on Dec. 19.

7. Akitoshi Tamura (14-7-2)
Tamura's WEC 43 bout with Damacio Page fell apart when the former Shooto world champion sustained a broken rib in training. Now recovered, Tamura is set to square off with Charlie Valencia on the main card of WEC 46 on Jan. 10.

8. Damacio Page (12-4)
It was not as competitive as a bout with Akitoshi Tamura might have been, but Page took a quick and impressive rear-naked choke victory over previously unbeaten Will Campuzano at WEC 43. It took the Greg Jackson-trained wild child just 62 seconds to get the tap.

9. Rani Yahya (15-4)
The grappling star has rocketed back to relevance at 135 as of late, taking first-round submissions over Yoshiro Maeda, Eddie Wineland and John Hosman in the last year. Yahya's chance for another crack at the WEC bantamweight title will go through once-beaten Joseph Benavidez on Dec. 19 on the main card of WEC 45.

10. Eddie Wineland (15-6-1)
Following a 67-second submission loss to Rani Yahya in his WEC return in April, the former WEC bantamweight champion earned himself a tidy unanimous verdict over Manny Tapia on Oct. 10 to get back into the mix at 135 pounds.

Other contenders: Antonio Banuelos, Mike Easton, Scott Jorgensen, Koetsu Okazaki, Manny Tapia.