Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

The March of the mullet continues. Miguel Torres' reign as bantamweight king continues and is only solidified after a hard fought victory over surprising challenger in #4 Takeya Mizugaki. Torres defends his belt against number one contender and #2 ranked Athens, Georgia product Brian Bowles.  Bowles has looked extremely impressive in his WEC run, most recently choking out #8 Damacio Page en route to his title shot.

Shooto and wrestling standout Masakatsu Ueda holds strong at #3 after taking So Tazawa to a decision at Shooto Tradition 6 in March. He’ll defend his Featherweight Shooto title against #14 Eduardo Dantas on July 19th.

Takeya Mizugaki may have come up short against Torres, but he has a chance to redeem himself at WEC 42 when he takes on the troubled #22 Jeff Curran. Curran has not won a fight since 2007 and even after dropping to bantamweight from featherweight needs a win to stay relevant within MMA and the bantamweight division.

Also at WEC 42 will be #5 Joseph Benavidez (who recently bested Curran at Big Frog's bantamweight debut) where he is set to battle #11 Dominic Cruz. Ever improving his game, Cruz has a legitimate shot to break into the top 10 with a win over the Team Alpha Male member.

The “Ironman” in Akitoshi Tamura rings in at #6, fresh off of a win over former title contender #10 Manny Tapia at WEC 40. No word yet on his next opponent.

Sadly, the state of #7 Will Ribeiro remains uncertain. While his health has allegedly improved, doctors indicate his chances of survival are still up in the air. The chances of him making a return to athletic competition appear bleak.

Greg Jackson firebrand #8 Damacio Page holds steady at that position. After losing to Brian Bowles by guillotine choke, Page rebounded in dramatic fashion knocking out #12 Marcos Galvao at WEC 39.

Amazing BJJ player with a lopsided skillset, #9 Rani Yahya moves up a notch in the rankings. After two impressive submissions victories over #21 Yoshiro Maeda at WEC 36 and Eddie Wineland at WEC 40, Yahya looks to get another shot at the title when he takes on Kenji Osawa at WEC 42.

Rounding out the top 10 is former contender Manny Tapia. “The Mangler” has dropped two straight in the WEC, first to Miguel Torres at WEC 37 and most recently to #6 Akitoshi Tamura. Tapia faces a must-win scenario to remain in the top 10 of the division.

Much like with the USAT/SBN featherweight rankings, it’s clear just how much the WEC has progressed in terms of being a home for top talent in the bantamweight division.

Note from Richard: I really don't get Okazaki's high ranking. He hasn't fought since last March and he hasn't won since May of 2007. 0-1 over the last two years is apparently good enough for 13th in the world. Go figure. MMA Ratings has him 6th.  Total MMA has him 5th and WAMMA has him 7th. I think Fight Matrix has him ranked in the 50's.