Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Featherweight

1. Max Holloway (18-3)

He debuted in the UFC as an undertrained 20-year-old scrapper. Now he has 17 UFC bouts, 11 straight wins and a brutal, thrilling stoppage of the greatest 145-pounder of all-time on his resume. Holloway now rules the featherweight division courtesy of his third-round knockout of Jose Aldo at UFC 212 in Rio de Janeiro, and, at just 25 years old, seems to be the best young fighter in the sport. Things have not been easy for the “Blessed” Hawaiian so far in the UFC, and they figure to stay that way. With Aldo out of the immediate picture, Holloway seems primed to make his first UFC title defense against Frankie Edgar, another all-time great.

2. Jose Aldo (26-3)

Waiting for any Aldo fight is always unnerving, and in the wake of his June loss to Max Holloway for the UFC featherweight title, the all-time greatest 145-pounder started talking about wanting to try professional boxing instead of focusing on his next Octagon appearance. Nonetheless, we are finally getting closer to something official: The latest Brazilian media reports indicate that Aldo is likely to rematch Ricardo Lamas in December on a yet-undecided UFC card.

3. Frankie Edgar (22-5-1)

Edgar was a big winner at UFC 211 in May, hammering and halting rising Mexican prospect Yair Rodriguez in 10 minutes. Better than that for “The Answer,” he was a winner by proxy at UFC 212, too: The former UFC lightweight champ's two failed title bids against Jose Aldo seemed like they may disqualify him from another shot at featherweight gold indefinitely, but Max Holloway's rousing knockout of Aldo in Rio de Janeiro could install the still-outstanding Edgar as his first UFC title challenger.

4. Ricardo Lamas (18-5)

A pair of impressive stoppages of Charles Oliveira and rising prospect Jason Knight have Lamas right back in UFC featherweight title contention. It now appears that in order to get a second crack at the 145-pound throne, “The Bully” will need to beat the man who defeated him the first time he challenged. Lamas is expected to rematch former 145-pound king Jose Aldo -- the Brazilian defeated him via five-round decision in February 2014 -- on an unnamed UFC card in December.

5. Cub Swanson (25-7)

Swanson, a perennial top-10 featherweight and perhaps the best fighter in the division to never get a crack at a WEC or UFC title, deserved better than a five-round main event with Conor McGregor training partner Artem Lobov. Nonetheless, Swanson accepted the dubious headlining fight for the UFC's return to Nashville, Tennessee, and then performed in true Cub Swanson fashion, for better or for worse: Swanson indulged Lobov's free-swinging style and ate 123 significant strikes, more than any fight in his pro career, but still comfortably prevailed via unanimous decision after an entertaining brawl that arguably had no business going 25 minutes.

6. Darren Elkins (23-5)

One of MMA's quintessential grinders, Elkins has now won five straight fights, courtesy of his UFC on Fox 25 split decision over Dennis Bermudez. While "The Damage" has gone 12-3 in his last 15 Octagon appearances, his recent streak over quality opposition seems to be a reflection of his relocation to Team Alpha Male and the improvements it has roused in his overall game.

7. Brian Ortega (12-0, 1 NC)

In Ortega's July 2014 UFC debut, he choked out Mike de la Torre in just 99 seconds and then tested positive for the steroid drostanolone. Since serving his suspension and returning to action, Ortega has been a thrilling revelation at 145 pounds, putting together four consecutive third-round stoppages. The undefeated Ortega's thrilling run has come against increasingly stiff opposition, with victories over Thiago Tavares, Diego Brandao, Clay Guida and the previously undefeated Renato “Moicano” Carneiro at UFC 214. It is time for “T-City” to take another step up.

8. Chan Sung Jung (15-4)

With Jung returning from two and a half years of mandatory military service in his native South Korea, the MMA world was thrilled when “The Korean Zombie” returned in February and lanced Dennis Bermudez in mere minutes. It was then quickly heartbroken when Jung's slated June bout with Ricardo Lamas fell apart after he was injured. Jung has since taken to social media to egg on power-punching veteran Jeremy Stephens, angling for another potentially thrilling style matchup in the coming months.

9. Doo Ho Choi (14-2)

After the fight Choi had with Cub Swanson at UFC 206 in December, people would have been excited about nearly any future opponent for “The Korean Superboy,” but his pairing with fellow free-swinging prospect Andre Fili for UFC 214 on July 29 seemed especially good. Unfortunately, Choi suffered a shoulder injury that knocked him out of the contest and will keep him on the shelf until late this year or early next.

10. Patricio Freire (26-4)

Freire seemingly closed out his feud with Daniel Straus in April, choking out his rival to take his third win in their four encounters. Now a two-time Bellator MMA featherweight champ, “Pitbull” will wind up defending his title against another man he has already beaten when he meets Daniel Weichel once more at Bellator 188 on Nov. 16 in Tel Aviv.

Other Contenders: Renato Carneiro, Andre Harrison, Calvin Kattar, Jason Knight, Yair Rodriguez.

Continue Reading » Bantamweight