Compiling the rankings of twenty top mixed martial arts web sites, the USA TODAY / SB Nation Consensus MMA Rankings present the top 25 fighters in MMA for the seven major weight classes. These world MMA rankings are the most accurate reflection of how the top fighters in MMA across all promotions like UFC, WEC, Affliction and DREAM are viewed by the experts who cover the sport.
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Bowles | 100 | WEC | 1 |
| 2 | Miguel Torres | 95 | WEC | 2 |
| 3 | Dominick Cruz |
85 | WEC | 5 |
| 4 | Masakatsu Ueda | 80 | Shooto | 3 |
| 5 | Takeya Mizugaki | 79 | WEC | 4 |
| 6 | Joseph Benavidez | 71 | WEC | 7 |
| 7 | Rani Yahya | 69 | WEC | 6 |
| 8 | Akitoshi Tamura |
68 | WEC | 6 |
| 9 | Damacio Page | 64 | WEC | 9 |
| 10 | Will Ribeiro | 38 | WEC | 10 |
| 11 | Masakazu Imanari | 26 | DEEP | 11 |
| 12 | Eddie Wineland | 26 | WEC | 13 |
| 13 | Scott Jorgensen | 26 | WEC | 14 |
| 14 | Antonio Banuelos | 24 | WEC | 20 |
| 15 | Jeff Curran | 24 | Strikeforce | 16 |
| 16 | Charlie Valencia | 23 | WEC | 15 |
| 17 | Koetsu Okazaki | 19 | Shooto | 17 |
| 18 | Yoshiro Maeda |
19 | DREAM | 25 |
| 19 | Mark Oshiro |
18 | Up N Up |
NR |
| 20 | Abel Cullum |
18 | WEC | 23 |
| 20 | Mike Easton |
18 | UWC | 18 |
| 22 | Wilson Reis |
17 | Bellator | NR |
| 23 | Daiki Hata |
17 | DREAM | 20 |
| 24 | Atsushi Yamamoto |
16 | Shooto | 31 |
| 25 | Eduardo Dantas |
16 | DEEP | 19 |
He hasn't let his broken hand stop his media appearances. #1 Brian Bowles still sits atop the bantamweight division after upsetting previous bantamweight king # 2 Miguel Torres at WEC 42. Bowles has been dealing with a hand injury, but has been actively making the rounds.
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Bowles | 100 | WEC | 1 |
| 2 | Miguel Torres | 96 | WEC | 2 |
| 3 | Masakatsu Ueda | 89 | Shooto | 3 |
| 4 | Takeya Mizugaki | 87 | WEC | 4 |
| 5 | Dominick Cruz | 84 | WEC | 5 |
| 6 | Akitoshi Tamura | 75 | WEC | 6 |
| 7 | Joseph Benavidez | 72 | WEC | 7 |
| 8 | Rani Yahya | 67 | WEC | 8 |
| 9 | Damacio Page | 63 | WEC | 9 |
| 10 | Will Ribeiro | 42 | WEC | 11 |
| 11 | Masakazu Imanari | 33 | DEEP | 12 |
| 12 | Manny Tapia | 30 | WEC | 10 |
| 13 | Eddie Wineland | 29 | WEC | 28 |
| 14 | Scott Jorgensen | 28 | WEC | 31 |
| 15 | Charlie Valencia | 27 | WEC | 15 |
| 16 | Jeff Curran | 27 | Strikeforce | 12 |
| 17 | Koetsu Okazaki | 27 | Shooto | 17 |
| 18 | Mike Easton | 26 | UWC | 24 |
| 19 | Eduardo Dantas | 26 | Shooto | 14 |
| 20 | Antonio Banuelos | 25 | WEC | 15 |
| 21 | Daiki Hata | 24 | DREAM | 18 |
| 22 | Chase Beebe | 24 | DREAM | 20 |
| 23 | Abel Cullum | 23 | KOTC | 18 |
| 24 | Artemij Sitenkov | 22 | EuroFight XFC | NR |
| 25 | Yoshiro Maeda | 21 | DREAM | 21 |
#1 Brian Bowles still sits atop the bantamweight division after upsetting previous bantamweight king # 2 Miguel Torres at WEC 42. Bowles is still nursing a hand injury, but has been making the media rounds. As we stated previously, Torres has linked up with noted trainer Mark Dellagrotte and helped out WEC rising star Mackens Semerzier before his upset of Wagnney Fabiano.
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Bowles | 100 | 1 | |
| 2 | Miguel Torres | 96 | 2 | |
| 3 | Masakatsu Ueda | 89 | 3 | |
| 4 | Takeya Mizugaki | 87 | 4 | |
| 5 | Dominick Cruz | 84 | 5 | |
| 6 | Akitoshi Tamura | 74 | 6 | |
| 7 | Joseph Benavidez | 73 | 7 | |
| 8 | Rani Yahya | 63 | 8 | |
| 9 | Damacio Page | 57 | 9 | |
| 10 | Manny Tapia | 44 | 11 | |
| 11 | Will Ribeiro | 43 | 10 | |
| 12 | Jeff Curran | 33 | 12 | |
| 12 | Masakazu Imanari | 33 | 14 | |
| 14 | Eduardo Dantas | 26 | 13 | |
| 15 | Antonio Banuelos | 24 | 15 | |
| 15 | Charlie Valencia | 24 | 16 | |
| 17 | Koetsu Okazaki | 23 | 18 | |
| 18 | Abel Cullum | 23 | 19 | |
| 18 | Daiki Hata | 23 | 19 | |
| 20 | Chase Beebe | 22 | 21 | |
| 21 | Yoshiro Maeda | 21 | 22 | |
| 22 | Travis Marx | 20 | 31 | |
| 23 | Masahiro Oishi | 20 | 26 | |
| 24 | Mike Easton | 20 | 25 | |
| 25 | Atsushi Yamamoto | 19 | 16 | |
| 25 | Brandon Garner | 19 | 27 | |
| 25 | Jeff Bedard | 19 | 22 |
There hasn't been a title defense, but the HardCore Gym's Brian Bowles is still MMA's top bantamweight dog. His sudden, thudding stoppage win over former WEC bantamweight king # 2 Miguel Torres at WEC 42 has firmly entrenched him atop the world's 135lbs division.
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Bowles | 100 | WEC | 2 |
| 2 | Miguel Torres | 96 | WEC | 1 |
| 3 | Masakatsu Ueda | 88 | Shooto | 3 |
| 4 | Takeya Mizugaki | 87 | WEC | 4 |
| 5 | Dominick Cruz | 84 | WEC | 11 |
| 6 | Akitoshi Tamura | 74 | WEC | 6 |
| 7 | Joseph Benavidez | 67 | WEC | 5 |
| 8 | Rani Yahya | 61 | WEC | 9 |
| 9 | Damacio Page | 55 | WEC | 8 |
| 10 | Will Ribeiro | 51 | WEC | 7 |
| 11 | Manny Tapia | 44 | WEC | 10 |
| 12 | Jeff Curran | 30 | WEC | 22 |
| 13 | Eduardo Dantas | 28 | Shooto | 14 |
| 14 | Masakazu Imanari | 26 | DREAM | 14 |
| 15 | Antonio Banuelos | 25 | WEC | 17 |
| 16 | Atsushi Yamamoto | 25 | DREAM | 16 |
| 16 | Charlie Valencia | 25 | WEC | 18 |
| 18 | Koetsu Okazaki | 24 | Shooto | 13 |
| 19 | Abel Cullum | 23 | WEC | NR |
| 19 | Daiki Hata | 23 | DREAM | 19 |
| 21 | Chase Beebe | 22 | DREAM | 20 |
| 22 | Jared McMahan | 21 | Corral Combat | 23 |
| 22 | Jeff Bedard | 21 | Fight Party | 29 |
| 22 | Yoshiro Maeda | 21 | DREAM | 21 |
| 25 | Mike Easton | 20 | UWC | 24 |
The reign of the mullet is officially over. Or, at least, over for now. With a dramatic stoppage win of former WEC bantamweight king Miguel Torres (now ranked #2) at WEC 42, current WEC bantamweight champion in #1 Brian Bowles has ascended to the peak of the 135lbs division.
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miguel Torres | 100 | WEC | 1 |
| 2 | Brian Bowles | 94 | WEC | 2 |
| 3 | Masakatsu Ueda | 92 | Shooto | 3 |
| 4 | Takeya Mizugaki | 88 | WEC | 4 |
| 5 | Joseph Benavidez | 73 | WEC | 5 |
| 6 | Akitoshi Tamura | 69 | WEC | 6 |
| 7 | Will Ribeiro | 65 | WEC | 7 |
| 8 | Damacio Page | 63 | WEC | 8 |
| 9 | Rani Yahya | 56 | WEC | 9 |
| 10 | Manny Tapia | 50 | WEC | 10 |
| 11 | Dominick Cruz | 35 | WEC | 11 |
| 12 | Marcos Galvao | 33 | N/A | 12 |
| 13 | Koetsu Okazaki | 33 | Shooto | 13 |
| 14 | Masakazu Imanari | 26 | DREAM | 15 |
| 14 | Eduardo Dantas | 26 | Shooto | 14 |
| 16 | Atsushi Yamamoto | 24 | DREAM | 16 |
| 17 | Antonio Banuelos | 24 | WEC | 17 |
| 18 | Charlie Valencia | 24 | WEC | 18 |
| 19 | Daiki Hata | 23 | DREAM | 19 |
| 20 | Chase Beebe | 22 | DREAM | 20 |
| 21 | Yoshiro Maeda | 21 | DREAM | 21 |
| 22 | Jeff Curran | 21 | WEC | 22 |
| 23 | Jared McMahan | 20 | Corral Combat | 23 |
| 24 | Mike Easton | 20 | UWC | 24 |
| 25 | Masahiro Oishi | 20 | GCM | 30 |
The March of the Mullet is still on course. Miguel Torres' is still riding high after his victory over #4 Takeya Mizugaki, but now must look ahead as he defends his belt against number one contender and #2 ranked Hardcore Gym representative Brian Bowles.
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miguel Torres | 100 | WEC | 1 |
| 2 | Brian Bowles | 94 | WEC | 2 |
| 3 | Masakatsu Ueda | 91 | Shooto | 3 |
| 4 | Takeya Mizugaki | 88 | WEC | 4 |
| 5 | Joseph Benavidez | 72 | WEC | 5 |
| 6 | Akitoshi Tamura | 69 | WEC | 7 |
| 7 | Will Ribeiro | 64 | WEC | 6 |
| 8 | Damacio Page | 62 | WEC | 8 |
| 9 | Rani Yahya | 55 | WEC | 10 |
| 10 | Manny Tapia | 50 | WEC | 9 |
| 11 | Dominic Cruz | 36 | WEC | 12 |
| 12 | Marcos Galvao | 34 | N/A | 11 |
| 13 | Koetsu Okazaki | 34 | Shooto | 13 |
| 14 | Eduardo Dantas | 27 | Shooto | 16 |
| 15 | Masakazu Imanari | 26 | DREAM | 17 |
| 16 | Atsushi Yamamoto | 25 | DREAM | 14 |
| 17 | Antonio Banuelos | 24 | WEC | 15 |
| 18 | Charlie Valencia | 24 | WEC | 27 |
| 19 | Daiki Hata | 23 | DREAM | 21 |
| 20 | Chase Beebe | 22 | DREAM | 20 |
| 21 | Yoshiro Maeda | 22 | DREAM | 23 |
| 22 | Jeff Curran | 21 | WEC | 19 |
| 23 | Jared McMahan | 20 | Corral Combat | 38 |
| 24 | Mike Easton | 20 | UWC | 36 |
| 25 | Brandon Garner | 19 | Carolina Fight | NR |
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.
Based on the premise that all MMA rankings are subjective but that it’s still useful and informative to know who the online MMA community as a whole ranks as the best fighters in MMA, we collect and average the rankings of the top MMA websites to produce our consensus rankings. Show more »
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