Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Bantamweight

1. Dominick Cruz (15-1)
No one doubted Cruz was a worthwhile challenger to Brian Bowles’ WEC title, but few saw a road to victory for the once-beaten bantamweight. On the back of his speedy jab and low kicks, Cruz battered Bowles for 10 lopsided minutes until a broken hand halted the West Virginian and gave Cruz the WEC crown and bantamweight supremacy.

2. Brian Bowles (8-1)
In his first title defense, Bowles was a step behind Dominick Cruz throughout. After two rounds of one-way action, he bowed out when a doctor examined his broken right hand.

3. Joseph Benavidez (12-1)
Not many gave Benavidez a serious shot at knocking off former 135-pound kingpin Miguel Torres. At WEC 47, Benavidez shamed his doubters, leaving Torres a bloody mess before guillotining him in the second stanza. Whether the win earns Benavidez his crack at the WEC title remains to be seen, but there’s no challenger more deserving.

4. Miguel Torres (37-3)
A matter of months ago, Torres was seen as the king of the bantamweights and a pound-for-pound stalwart. Now, after tapping out to Joseph Benavidez in the second round of their March 6 bout, Torres has two consecutive humbling losses and a scar in the middle of his forehead courtesy of Benavidez to boot.

5. Scott Jorgensen (9-3)
In past performances, Jorgensen has shown off his figure-four grip guillotine, which he has dubbed “the death choke.” At WEC 47, he showed off a brutal 10-finger variety of the guillotine, crushing Chad George in a mere 31 seconds and inserting himself more prominently into the WEC title picture.

6. Takeya Mizugaki (12-4-2)
The bantamweight division is in a clear state of flux. If Mizugaki wants to keep pace with the likes of Dominick Cruz, Joseph Benavidez and Scott Jorgensen, he will need an impressive victory at WEC 48 on April 24. There, he takes on grappling all-star Rani Yahya on the event’s undercard.

7. Damacio Page (15-4)
Page has recovered from shoulder surgery, and the now-healthy Greg Jackson product has landed on the main card of the WEC’s first pay-per-view effort on April 24. At WEC 48, “The Angel of Death” will take on fellow bantamweight slugger Antonio Banuelos in a bout tabbed for violence.

8. Rani Yahya (15-5)
Following an unceremonious 95-second loss to Joseph Benavidez in December, Yahya’s road to another WEC bantamweight title shot has gotten no easier. To avoid losing two in a row, the grappling ace will need to deal with Japanese standout Takeya Mizugaki on the undercard of the WEC 48 pay-per-view on April 24.

9. Shuichiro Katsumura (11-7-3)
The most unlikely Shooto world champion to date, Katsumura pulled off perhaps the biggest upset of 2010 when he choked out Masakatsu Ueda and took the Shooto 132-pound world title on March 22. The victory was Katsumura’s third straight since returning from a two-year layoff in 2009.

10. Masakatsu Ueda (10-1-2)
On paper, Ueda’s fourth Shooto world title defense was his easiest to date. Instead, the standout wrestler had no answer for the slick submission game of veteran Shuichiro Katsumura. Ueda was choked out in the second round of their March 22 bout, losing his unbeaten record and his Shooto crown.

Other contenders: Antonio Banuelos, Cole Escovedo, Wagnney Fabiano, Charlie Valencia, Eddie Wineland.

* With the entry of Shuichiro Katsumura, previously 10th-ranked Eddie Wineland falls to the contenders list.