Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Bantamweight

1. Dominick Cruz (15-1)
When Cruz climbs back into the cage at WEC 50 on Aug. 18, a familiar foe will be in front of him. Just a smidge over a year since he bested Joseph Benavidez on points, he will rematch the Urijah Faber protégé in the first defense of his WEC bantamweight crown.

2. Brian Bowles (8-1)
In his first title defense, Bowles was a step behind Dominick Cruz throughout the WEC 47 main event. After two rounds of one-way action, Bowles bowed out when a doctor examined his broken right hand.

3. Joseph Benavidez (12-1)
Rousing back-to-back stoppages of Rani Yahya and former WEC champion Miguel Torres were enough to convince WEC brass that Benavidez deserved a shot at the bantamweight belt on Aug. 18. The onus now falls on the Team Alpha Male product to prove he has improved enough to beat champion Dominick Cruz, who easily bested him on points last summer.

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, he has two consecutive humbling losses and a scar in the middle of his forehead to boot, courtesy of Benavidez.

5. Scott Jorgensen (10-3)
“Young Guns” continues to rocket towards a title shot and looks to be the likely next contender to face the winner of the Dominick Cruz-Joseph Benavidez rematch. To solidify that spot, he will need to deal with surging Brit Brad “One Punch” Pickett at WEC 50 on Aug. 18.

6. Takeya Mizugaki (13-4-2)
The most significant bout of Mizugaki’s career looms on Aug. 18, as the Japanese standout will welcome former WEC featherweight champion and poster boy Urijah Faber to the bantamweight division in the co-feature at WEC 50.

7. Damacio Page (15-4)
Coming off shoulder surgery, Page was set for an April 24 return against Antonio Banuelos on the main card of the WEC 48 pay-per-view. However, further injury woes will keep the Greg Jackson pupil out of action a bit longer.

8. Rani Yahya (15-6)
Yahya’s road to another shot at the WEC bantamweight title just got longer. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace dropped his second straight bout at WEC 48, losing a unanimous verdict to Takeya Mizugaki in a ho-hum affair that will drop him behind the pack in the WEC 135-pound division.

9. Shuichiro Katsumura (11-7-3)
The most unlikely Shooto world champion to date, Katsumura pulled off perhaps 2010’s biggest upset so far 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 last year.

10. Masakatsu Ueda (11-1-2)
Desperately needing an impressive win to erase the memories of his March upset loss to Shuichiro Katsumura, Ueda was on point in his May 30 bout with WEC veteran Akitoshi Tamura. The former Shooto world champion used all phases of his game -- developing striking included -- to take a well-appointed unanimous decision.

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