Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Featherweight

1. Conor McGregor (21-3)

Most were skeptical that McGregor would ever compete as a featherweight again, so it was hardly a shock when the UFC announced McGregor had been stripped of his 145-pound crown. This means McGregor will likely wait until the UFC lines up Tony Ferguson or Khabib Nurmagomedov for his first lightweight title defense. McGregor’s two-division, simultaneous reign lasted just 14 days.

2. Jose Aldo (26-2)

It is hardly the fashion in which he wanted to regain his title, but Aldo is once more the UFC featherweight champion, courtesy of the promotion stripping the man who knocked him out a year ago: Conor McGregor. If Aldo wishes to avenge his loss to McGregor, he will need to move up to 155 pounds. Otherwise, Aldo’s first defense of his new reign will be against the winner of the Max Holloway-Anthony Pettis showdown on Dec. 10.

3. Frankie Edgar (21-5-1)

Despite carrying a back injury and an MCL tear into his UFC 205 clash with Jeremy Stephens, as well as having to recover from a brutal knockdown, Edgar would not be turned away at Madison Square Garden. Edgar won the unanimous decision over “Lil’ Heathen” and successfully rebounded from his second loss to Jose Aldo at UFC 200 in July.

4. Max Holloway (16-3)

After a record nine straight Octagon wins without fighting in a championship bout, Holloway wanted a UFC title shot. Now he has one -- sort of. At UFC 206 on Dec. 10, the Hawaiian will take on former UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis for the interim UFC featherweight title, with the expectation that the winner will meet recently promoted undisputed champ Jose Aldo in 2017.

5. Cub Swanson (23-7)

Back-to-back wins over Hacran Dias and Tatsuya Kawajiri have put Swanson back into the thick of things at 145 pounds, and he now has a serious dance partner. At UFC 206 on Dec. 10 in Toronto, Swanson will serve as a major step up in competition for once-beaten South Korean prospect Doo Ho Choi in what should be an all-action fight.

6. Anthony Pettis (19-5)

After losing his UFC lightweight title and taking three straight losses in the Octagon, Pettis seemed like a cautionary tale of how the mighty can fall quickly in MMA. However, after just one win at 145 pounds, Pettis has been thrust into a UFC interim title bout at UFC 206 on Dec. 10, taking on surging Hawaiian Max Holloway, with the winner lining up a date with Jose Aldo heading into 2017.

7. Ricardo Lamas (17-5)

With recent losses to Chad Mendes and Max Holloway, Lamas was in need of a sterling win in order to keep pace in an intensifying 145-pound weight class. “The Bully” got just that on Nov. 5 in Mexico City, where he tapped out Charles Oliveira with a guillotine in the second round. Lamas is now 4-2 in his last six bouts.

8. Charles Oliveira (21-7, 1 NC)

It has been a rough three months for Oliveira. While the 27-year-old Brazilian remains one of MMA’s most thrilling and creative grapplers, he has now suffered back-to-back guillotine choke losses to Anthony Pettis and Ricardo Lamas. He also missed weight for the Lamas fight, which has become a long-maligned theme in Oliveira’s career. Oliveira is 1-3 in his last four bouts and also missed weight for his lone win in that period, a first-round submission of Myles Jury in December 2015.

9. Jeremy Stephens (25-13)

Stephens was game against Frankie Edgar at UFC 205 on Nov. 12, nearly knocking out “The Answer.” However, Edgar prevailed via unanimous decision on the scorecards, dropping Stephens to 5-4 since he cut down to the UFC’s 145-pound division.

10. Doo Ho Choi (14-1)

With three knockouts in less than five combined minutes in his first three UFC bouts, the 25-year-old Choi has earned himself a much bigger bout at 145 pounds. “The Korean Superboy” will get his first taste of elite featherweight competition on Dec. 10 in Toronto, where he takes on perennial divisional standout Cub Swanson at UFC 206.

Other Contenders: Dennis Bermudez, Darren Elkins, Andre Fili, Brian Ortega, Yair Rodriguez

Continue Reading » Bantamweight