Miguel Angel Torres was the face of this division for years in World Extreme Cagefighting. That was before Brian Bowles put a stop to his
dominance. Bowles lasted one fight at the top before losing the WEC title to the current #1 Bantamweight fighter in the Ultimate Fighting Championships.
UFC Ranking Breakdown:
UFC Ranking #1: Dominick Cruz – 17 – 1 career record
Cruz took the title away from Bowles at WEC 47 in March 2010, and has since defended the belt twice, defeating Joseph Benavidez and Scott Jorgensen. He has won eight fights in a row since suffering a defeat at the hands of Urijah Faber at WEC 26.
Last Fight: Unanimous decision victory over Jorgensen at WEC 53
Next Fight: TBD
UFC Ranking #2: Joseph Benavidez – Despite suffering two defeats to Cruz
The biggest knock on the 13 – 2 fighter is he can’t beat the champ. This ensures that he won’t receive a title shot until Cruz has the belt taken away from him. Benavidez has had impressive victories over Torres and Wagnney Fabianno.
Last Fight: Submission victory over Fabianno at WEC 52
Next Fight: Ian Loveland at UFC 128
UFC Ranking #3: Urijah Faber – 24 – 4 career record
With only one fight in the division thus far, it’s hard to rank Faber, but when a man dominates a weight class for so long as Faber did in the featherweight division, as long as he wins a fight, he’s in. He defeated a tough bantamweight in Takeya Mizugaki in his debut and has a tough UFC debut on the horizons.
Last Fight: Submission victory over Mizugaki at WEC 52
Next Fight: Eddie Wineland at UFC 128
UFC Ranking #4: Miguel Angel Torres – 17 Straight wins from June 2004 – April 2009
Torres quickly became a fan favorite when he won the WEC title in just his second fight in the promotion over Chase Beebe. Three more defenses later, he faced Bowles and was surprisingly knocked out in the first round. He then lost to Benavidez before winning two in a row.
Last Fight: Unanimous decision victory over Antonio Banuelos at UFC 126
Next Fight: Brad Pickett at UFC 130
UFC Ranking #5: Scott Jorgensen – Five fight win streak snapped by Cruz
Jorgensen holds an 11 – 4 career record and looked unstoppable after losing to Banuelos at WEC 41. He pulled off an upset over Mizugaki, avenged his loss to Banuelos and defeated Pickett before getting his title shot. He couldn’t compete with Cruz on that night but remains a tough fight for anyone in the division.
Last Fight: Unanimous decision loss to Cruz at WEC 53
Next Fight: Ken Stone at TUF 13 Finale
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