Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Bantamweight

1. Brian Bowles (8-0)
Bowles impressively snatched the WEC 135-pound title with a first-round crushing of Miguel Torres. Now the Beatle-haired bantamweight will make the first defense of his crown come March 6 against once-beaten contender Dominick Cruz at WEC 47.

2. Miguel Torres (37-2)
Coming off his brutal starching at the hands of Brian Bowles in August, Torres' return assignment is a difficult one. For a chance to recapture the WEC bantamweight title he previously owned, he will have to topple once-beaten Urijah Faber pupil Joseph Benavidez at WEC 47 on March 6.

3. Masakatsu Ueda (10-0-2)
The most active Shooto world champion, Ueda will make the fourth defense of his title March 22 at "The Way of Shooto 2.“ He meets slick grappling veteran Shuichiro Katsumura.

4. Dominick Cruz (14-1)
In March 2007, Cruz fought for the WEC featherweight title and was dealt his first career loss at the hands of Urijah Faber. Two years, five wins and a new weight class later, Cruz will meet current WEC bantamweight king Brian Bowles on March 6 at WEC 47.

5. Joseph Benavidez (11-1)
Benavidez came up short in his de facto title eliminator against Dominick Cruz in August. His chance for a crack at the WEC bantamweight title now runs through former kingpin Miguel Torres at WEC 47 in Columbus.

6. Scott Jorgensen (8-3)
After a brilliant performance in his Dec. 19 victory over Takeya Mizugaki, Jorgensen will return to action March 6 at WEC 47. He takes on Chad George in a stay-busy bout while the situation at the top of the WEC bantamweight division resolves itself.

7. Takeya Mizugaki (12-4-2)
In his Dec. 19 bout with Scott Jorgensen, Mizugaki finally found his offense in the third round. Unfortunately, it was too little too late for the former Shooto rookie MVP, who dropped a unanimous verdict to the former Boise State wrestler.

8. Damacio Page (12-4)
Following his easy October victory over Will Campuzano, Page underwent shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum and partially torn rotator cuff. The Greg Jackson product expects to be back in action come spring.

9. Rani Yahya (15-5)
Yahya put together three straight first-round submissions since his return to the WEC, but the streak was snapped at WEC 45. It took Joseph Benavidez just 95 seconds to drop the BJJ standout and flurry to a finish.

10. Eddie Wineland (16-6-1)
Even though George Roop was almost a foot taller than his original opponent Rafael Rebello, Wineland had little trouble outpunching him to a unanimous points win at WEC 46 in another impressive boxing display from the former WEC bantamweight champion.

Other contenders: Antonio Banuelos, Cole Escovedo, Wagnney Fabiano, Akitoshi Tamura, Charlie Valencia.