Old Man Strength still rules the day.

American Top Team's #1 Mike Thomas Brown may be 34 but continues to be the top-ranked fighter in MMA's featherweight division. As of the time of this writing, he is set to defend his title against #3 Jose Aldo at WEC 44 on November 18th in Las Vegas. As many have suggested, no one has truly challenged the Novia Uniao black belt, but the rising Aldo has also never faced the type of fighter that Brown is nor this level of competitor in professional MMA.

If you follow him on Twitter, then you know #2 Urijah Faber is back in the gym and training like a mad man after breaking his hand against #1 Mike Brown in their epic rematch. The Team Alpha Male leader is set to take on #7 Rafael Assuncao at WEC 46.

Making a monster leap into the top five for the second time is DREAM's Featherweight Grand Prix winner #4 Bibiano Fernandes who bested Joe Warren and #11 Hiroyuki Takaya at DREAM's October 6th show.

"The Iron Broomstick" in #5 Hatsu Hioki drops a spot after getting robbed by the judges in his loss to #9 Michihiro Omigawa at Sengoku's November 7th show. Omigawa was supposed to challenge #14 Masanori Kanehara for the title on New Year's Eve, but no word yet as to whether the bout is scrapped.

After besting #21 Jameel Massouh at WEC 42, Greg Jackson-product #6 Leonard Garcia climbs one spot to six. As of the time of this writing, he is set to take on recent featherweight convert Manny Gamburyan at WEC 44.

Landing himself back in the top ten is the Featherweight King of Pancrase #8 Marlon Sandro. After being robbed in a decision loss to Omigawa, the Brazilian rebounded at Sengoku's November show where he knocked out #17 Yuji Hoshino in the first round.

After a shocking triangle choke win, #10 Mackens Semerzier is still sitting in the top ten by besting Novia Unaio product #12 Wagnney Fabiano at WEC 43. As for Semerzier, we don't know when he'll return to action, but it's likely to be sooner rather than later as he sustained virtually no damage in his WEC debut.

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Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

With every other UFC champ on the shelf for an indeterminate time due to injuries, Dana White better cross his fingers and hope that whoever wins the UFC 107 title fight between #1 B.J. Penn and #7 Diego Sanchez emerges from the fight injury-free and ready to fight soon. Sanchez is relatively under-accomplished at 155 lbs but his size and aggression present a legitimate threat to the fearsome Penn.

#2 Shinya Aoki will face #9 Tatsuya Kawajiri at K-1 Dynamite! on New Year's Eve. That is a very dangerous fight for Aoki as Kawajiri's fearsome ground and pound plays right into his weak spot, but there has been more buzz for Aoki's potential plans to fight in Strikeforce than for his NYE title defense.

#3 Eddie Alvarez took a hard-fought win over Katsunori Kikuno at DREAM.12 in October, puncturing some of the hype for the rising Japanese Karateka. No word on what's next for Alvarez. Bellator has announced its new TV deal will cover a new season of fights starting in April, so it's possible Alvarez will not fight again before that.

#4 Kenny Florian takes on #18 Clay Guida at UFC 107. Florian is in a bit of a career cul-de-sac after losing his second title fight to B.J. Penn at UFC 101, a win over the very tough Guida will keep Florian in the upper-ranks of the division. Conversely, a win for Guida could put the popular scrapper into title contention for the first time in his UFC career.

#5 Frankie Edgar squares off with #19 Kurt Pellegrino will face late substitute Matt Veach at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale in December. If the favored Edgar wins, he'll have to be pulling for #17 Nate Diaz to get the upset over #6 Gray Maynard at Ultimate Fight Night 20 in January. The loss to Maynard is the only blemish on Edgar's otherwise stellar UFC record and it would seem that one of them is next in line for a title shot.

#8 Sean Sherk will be facing Rafaello Oliveira at UFC 108. This would seem to be a gimme fight to let Sherk come back from the injury that forced him out of UFC 103 -- where Oliveira dropped a decision on the undercard to Sherk's training partner Nik Lentz.

#21 Takanori Gomi might not be the world-beater that he once was, but his current trip to the U.S. where he is rumored to be in talks with Strikeforce and the UFC is creating some buzz online.

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Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

#1 Georges St Pierre's tyranny over the Welterweight division has been on hold since he tore an abductor muscle in his victory over #3 Thiago Alves at UFC 100 in July. Word is he'll be able to return in March where he'll face #11 Dan Hardy (note that these rankings don't account for Hardy's win over #5 Mike Swick at UFC 105). GSP may be looking past Hardy, however, he's putting on weight and talking about moving up to face middleweight champ Anderson Silva.

Hardy's rapid rise is a testament to the role of luck in MMA. Had multiple injuries not intervened, Swick would have faced #12 Martin Kampmann at UFC 103 for the title shot and Hardy would have fought #30 Dong Hyun "Stun Gun" Kim in a fight with no title implications. But luck can only do so much, and once he was given the opportunity, Hardy seized the initiative. Time will tell if the hard-hitting Brit is ready for the powerful and well-rounded GSP.

Speaking of (bad) luck, #2 Jon Fitch was going to face #3 Alves at UFC 107, in an epic fight that could very well have put the winner right back into immediate title contention. But then Alves hurt his knee. Instead he'll face the tough but utterly unheralded Mike Pierce in a fight with no upside for Fitch beyond a pay day.

#4 Josh Koscheck has a chance to make people forget his losses to Alves and #7 Paul Thiago when he faces #16 Anthony Johnson in the co-main event at this weekend's UFC 106. Johnson is much hotter than his ranking reflects and the high profile nature of the fight will bring a lot of momentum to the career of the winner. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the winner of this fight get a title shot -- provided that they win in spectacular fashion.

#6 Matt Hughes was rumored to be facing Renzo Gracie in a senior circuit match early in 2010 but that fight is not happening for whatever reason. That's too bad as that fight is perfect for Hughes at this point in his career. After two losses to GSP and a KO loss to Alves, it is clear that his days as a top contender are over and he has no interest in being used as a stepping stone by younger fighters.

#7 Thiago had his own bit of luck -- we'll see what he makes of it -- when his scheduled UFC 107 bout with Thiago Alves was changed. Instead, he'll face undefeated UFC newcomer Jacob Volkmann at UFC 106. I'm just glad I didn't have to live blog the battle of the two Thiagos.

#8 Carlos Condit gets a chance to recapture the momentum he brought into the UFC from the WEC when he tackles #10 Paul Daley at UFC 108

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Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

Fans are used to #1 Anderson Silva toying with opponents, but in recent months we've been treated to the spectacle of seeing Silva and his manager Ed Soares toy with the UFC.  First he wants to fight #5 Vitor Belfort and will be ready for UFC 108.  But snap, he's having elbow surgery. No wait, no surgery, he'll be ready. Then he doesn't think Belfort is worthy of a title shot. And the surgery is on again. Now they're on the verge of signing that fight for UFC 109. We'll see.

Meanwhile, #2 Nate Marquardt will be facing #6 Chael Sonnen at UFC 110, while #3 Dan Henderson twists in the wind. A Marquardt win will surely earn him a second bite at the Anderson Silva apple.

Not quite as sure that Sonnen will get to try for gold with a win, but surely the Zuffa brass are full of gratitude toward Sonnen since he banished the specter of a #9 Yushin Okami title shot.

#4 Demian Maia is rumored to be facing Dan Miller at UFC 109. A win against the tough Miller should put Maia back in the title hunt.

#7 Jake Shields solidified his unlikely status as a top middleweight by beating Jason "Mayhem" Miller at Strikforce: Fedor vs Rogers and taking the Strikeforce middleweight belt. Strikeforce boss Scott Coker has stated that Shields could return to welterweight now that they've beefed up that division a bit more. Shields is talking about becoming a two division champ. Time will tell.

#8 Jorge Santiago dropped four slots after being upset by (the previously unranked) #13 Mamed Khalidov at Sengoku XI. This is a disaster for Santiago who at one point was scheduled to face Belfort at Affliction's final show. Two years of momentum building in Strikeforce and Sengoku have suddenly evaporated.

#10 Yoshihiro Akiyama is expected to headline UFC 110 against legend Wanderlei Silva. This fight, at the UFC's Australian debut will also air during prime-time in Japan and South Korea. Akiyama was a crucial acquisition for the UFC, a true star in Asia, who has shown the ability to hang in the UFC. He will be sorely tested against the former PRIDE champion.

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Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

In the time we've been compiling these rankings, I've never seen a fighter shoot up to #2 after a loss, but #2 Mauricio "Shogun" Rua's loss to #1 Lyoto Machida at UFC 104 was no ordinary loss. Even though the judges unanimously concluded that Machida won the first three rounds, virtually every observer, including the official judges scored the last two rounds for Shogun.

Clearly Rua "solved" the mystery of Machida karate. The X factor in the rematch is whether or not he'll be able to apply that knowledge in such a way that he is able to win the majority of the rounds or finish the fight. Pushing the pace could expose Rua to the kind of blistering counter-attacks that fell so many previous Machida opponents.

#3 Rashad Evans will now headline UFC 108 against #7 Thiago Silva. This is a far cry from the UFC 107 bout against #4 Quinton "Rampage" Jackson that fans of The Ultimate Fighter's most watched season ever have been hoping for. But Hollywood and a sudden collapse in the relationship of Jackson and UFC boss Dana White first postponed and now have seemingly curtailed that grudge match.

We'll see if Jackson holds true to his pledge to retire from MMA. But if he does attempt to return and tries to fight for anyone other than the UFC, expect legal fireworks.

#5 Forrest Griffin will headline UFC 106 against #25 Tito Ortiz this weekend. This is another fight that was a substitute for a substitute. Originally Ortiz was to return to the UFC against Mark Colemn, but Coleman's injury created the opening for the Griffin match. Heavyweight Champ Brock Lesnar's illness bumped his fight with Shane Carwin off the card and pushed Griffin-Ortiz into the headliner spot. For a fight between two ranked former champions, it's hard to imagine how the fight could be less relevant to the division.

That card will also see #9 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira make his UFC debute against #10 Luiz Arthur Cane in a fight that could have near-term title implications. Nogueira has expressed a willingness to fight Machida, despite both having trained together and sharing a manager in Ed Soares. Regardless of who wins Nogueira/Cane and Machida/Rua 2 it seems likely that the UFC light heavyweight belt will remain in Brazilian hands for the forseeable future.

#6 Gegard Mousasi pounded out #18 Sokoudjou at Strikeforce: Fedor vs Rogers and now occupies a unique position in MMA -- being a non-UFC fighter who would be an immediate threat to contend for the UFC title who isn't Fedor Emelianenko or a lightweight (yes, I'm excluding Jake Shields on purpose). it will be very interesting to see if Strikeforce and DREAM can provide Mousasi with credible opposition.

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Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

November was supposed to be the most epic month in heavyweight MMA since August. Both #1 Fedor Emelianenko and #2 Brock Lesnar were set to fight. But just as in August, fate intervened and only one of the two titans of the division actually competed.

In August it was the failure of #6 Josh Barnett to meet the licensing requirements of the CSAC and the resulting collapse of Affliction as a fight promotion that prevented Fedor from fighting.

In November, Fedor fought spectacularly, TKO'ing #8 Brett Rogers on the fan pleasing Strikeforce: Fedor vs Rogers card.

But sadly, Lesnar fell ill and his title defense against #9 Shane Carwin was first postponed and then canceled.

Piling on more bad news, #3 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira had to cancel his UFC 108 fight with #7 Cain Velasquez due to a nasty staph infection.

There are rumors that Velasquez and Carwin will fight for an interim title, but that won't happen until 2010 at the earliest.

#4 Frank Mir will try to return to contention by beating #17 Cheick Kongo at UFC 107.

#5 Junior Dos Santos will be tested by #16 Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 108.  If Dos Santos can beat Gonzaga he will be well placed for a title shot, pending the resolution of the title situation.

#10 Fabricio Werdum took a hard-fought decision over #18 Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva at Strikeforce: Fedor vs Rogers and seems to be next in line for a crack at the mighty Fedor. It would be fun to see Bigfoot vs Brett Rogers on a future Strikeforce card. The winner would immediately return to contention.  

Nominal Strikeforce champ #11 Alistair Overeem is expected to return to Strikeforce in 2010 to defend his belt against Fedor. Cross your fingers.

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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 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.

Shooto's "Featherweight" king #3 Masakatsu Ueda is still undefeated and and still holding at three - all over again - after a unanimous decision rout of #14 Eduardo Dantas at "Revolutionary Exchanges". According to Sherdog.com's Jordan Breen, there is no word on who Ueda fights next or even when.

#4 Takeya Mizugaki is holds steady at the fourth position as he prepares to talk on #9 Damacio Page as the main event of WEC 45.

#5 Dominick Cruz holds steady at five with his WEC 42 win over Team Alpha Male's #7 Joseph Benavidez. As we stated previously, Cruz is likely one fight away from a title shot. No word yet on who the Team Alliance standout is set to face.

#6 Akitoshi Tamura doesn't move in the rankings as he stays in the sixth position. Originally Tamura was set to face #9 Damacio Page at WEC 43, but pulled out due to injury and was replaced by Will Campuzano.

Submission king #8 Rani Yahya was back to old form at WEC 42 choking out Josh Hosman with a vicious North-South choke.

#10 Manny "The Mangler" Tapia regrettably earns his third lose in a row, dropping a unanimous decision to #13 Eddie Wineland.

Notably, DC native #18 Mike Easton cracks the top twenty with a controversial win over now #22 Chase Beebe at UWC 7. The win places Easton within the top twenty for the first time ever. It's also the first time Chase Beebe falls out of the top twenty since first being included in it.

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