USAT/SBN June MMA Consensus Rankings: Featherweight
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Brown | 100 | WEC | 1 |
| 2 | Urijah Faber | 96 | WEC | 2 |
| 3 | Wagnney Fabiano | 90 | WEC | 3 |
| 4 | Jose Aldo | 85 | WEC | 6 |
| 5 | Hatsu Hioki | 83 | WVR | 4 |
| 6 | Takeshi Inoue | 70 | Shooto | 7 |
| 7 | Leonard Garcia | 66 | WEC | 5 |
| 8 | Marlon Sandro | 52 | WVR | 10 |
| 9 | Dokonjonosuke Mishima | 51 | DEEP | 8 |
| 10 | Rafael Assuncao | 46 | WEC | 9 |
| 11 | Norifumi Yamamoto | 34 | DREAM | 25 |
| 12 | Bibiano Fernandes | 29 | DREAM | 13 |
| 13 | Josh Grispi | 28 | WEC | 17 |
| 14 | Yuji Hoshino | 24 | GCM | 11 |
| 15 | Joe Warren | 22 | DREAM | 15 |
| 16 | Michihiro Omigawa | 20 | WVR | 16 |
| 17 | Mark Hominick | 19 | Affliction | 23 |
| 18 | Masakazu Imanari | 19 | DREAM | 12 |
| 19 | Cub Swanson | 18 | WEC | 14 |
| 20 | Hiroyuki Takaya | 17 | DREAM | 18 |
| 21 | Joe Soto | 15 | Bellator | 44 |
| 22 | Dominic Cruz | 14 | WEC | 26 |
| 23 | Joseph Benavidez | 14 | WEC | 28 |
| 24 | Antonio Carvalho | 13 | GCM | 19 |
| 25 | Masanori Kanehara | 13 | WVR | 27 |
Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.
We've been keeping track of the movers and shakers in the feather and bantamweight divisions, so why not rank them as well? Don't expect these divisional rankings to appear in the print edition of USA Today just yet, but these are officially part of the USAT/SBN Consensus MMA Rankings.
So how does the division stack up? #1 ranked Mike Brown holds steady at the top of the heap after his epic rematch with #2 Urijah Faber. Faber's out for the foreseeable future with the broken hand injury, but its being rumored than #4 Jose Aldo could be next in line for a title shot.
But that complicates matters for #3 featherweight Wagnney Fabiano - Aldo's teammate. Another scenario that could play out is Aldo dropping to bantamweight to potentially contend for a title there. No one knows for sure though and a Brown vs. Aldo fight would not only be compelling, but a deserved challenge from the top contender in the division.
#5 Hatsu Hioki just recently finished training with Kenny Florian in the United States as Florian prepares for BJ Penn at UFC 101 and Hioki moves onto the semifinals of the Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix where he'll lock horns with #25 Masanori Kanehara.
Takeshi Inoue holds steady at #6 after two solid performances against Hideki Kadowaki and Rumina Sato in Shooto. Leonard Garcia hangs on to the #7 spot after the dismantling he took at the hands of Mike Brown. Garcia looks to rebound at WEC 42 when he takes on Jameel Massouh.
Dokonjonosuke Mishima may not be the most active since leaving the UFC, but he is at least winning fights. He holds the #8 spot after two solid victories over leg lock expert #18 Masakazu Imanari and Toshiaki Kitada in DEEP. It should be noted, however, he has not competed in 2009.
Rafael Assuncao sits at the #9 perch after defeating Jameel Massouh back at WEC 40 in April. Last, but certainly not least, King of Pancrase at Featherweight, Marlon Sandro, rounds out the top 10. Sandro has looked impressive in the Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix, stopping both Nick Denis and Matt Jaggers in dominating fashion. He heads into that tournament's semi-finals where he'll take on #16 Michihiro Omigawa.
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Comments
Is it too soon for Brown/Aldo?
He’s a fresh face and already delivered two awesome KOs – would it be beneficial to have him challenge Brown so soon into his exposure? Saunders’s stock dropped after losing to Swick; Rogan even said he was really outmatched going into this fight. What’s to prevent this from happening to Aldo if he loses?
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by themachiavellian on Jun 24, 2009 6:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I don’t see how it’s too soon. He has 16 fights under his belt and wins over top competition. I’m not sure if he should be leapfrogging Fabiano, though.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Jun 24, 2009 6:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Against who? Maybe Leonard Garcia…
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Jun 24, 2009 6:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I would
like to see Faber (once healthy).
by Riney on Jun 24, 2009 6:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don’t like the idea of having Faber potentially knock off title contenders when he’s 0-2 against the current champ.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Jun 24, 2009 7:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hioki vs. Kanehara
Hioki is scheduled to fight Kanehara not Omigawa. Omigawa will square off against Sandro
by Venom77 on Jun 25, 2009 1:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Again I’m astounded at any kind of ranking methodology that would put the loser of a fight ahead of the winner. It’s not like Warren vs. Yamamoto was even so recent that sites haven’t had time to update.
Maybe the consensus rankings should have a “3 strikes and you’re out” rule, temporarily kicking out sites that repeatedly do things like ranking JZ ahead of Kawajiri and Yamamoto over Warren so that the consensus rankings can actually have some kind of meaning or relevance.
by George Lucas on Jun 25, 2009 11:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
How would you handle beat loops?
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Jun 26, 2009 12:02 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Weigh recent wins and losses more heavily than previous ones I guess?
by George Lucas on Jun 29, 2009 3:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

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![Urijah Faber -"I'll go down to 135 and then go up to 155":
"I’ll probably go down to 135 (pounds) [then] go up to 155," he said. "I don’t want to fight any of my buddies at [135 pounds]. I’ll just fight people I don’t like, and fights the fans want to see.
"(It’s the) same with going up in weight. I’m not trying to mow through the weight class; I’m trying to fight superfights that fans want to see. At this point for me, I’ve had 26 fights, and I just want to do big, exciting fights. Go up? Go down? It’s all good."
HT: mmajunkie.com
WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber coverage](http://cdn3.sbnation.com/fan_shot_images/97168/2iaqrts_small.jpg)














