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.

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.

Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

Lightweight is currently the only division where there is not absolute consensus about who is #1. #1 B.J. Penn is well ahead of the next most-highly ranked fighter, but only gets 97% of the possible points. There are a number of factors in operation here. 

First and foremost, Penn didn't just lose to #1 welterweight Georges St. Pierre, he lost badly. And then he complained and complained over "greasegate" -- not something that endears you to the fans or the fighting pundits.

Secondly, lightweight is the one division where the Japanese scene is still a big factor. This goes back to the three year period where the UFC put their lightweight divsion on hiatus. PRIDE was blowing it out with mega-tournaments and a steady diet of epi matches throughout that same period. The UFC also failed to acquire any of the top PRIDE lightweights (other than Marcus Aurelio) when they bought the troubled promotion. 

On the other hand, the extremely muddy outcome of 2008's DREAM Grand Prix meant that the Japanese vote is split. # 3 Eddie Alvarez beat #5 Joachim Hansen but lost to #4 Shinya Aoki, who in turn lost to Hansen.

B.J Penn will get his chance to clarify the picture against #2 Kenny Florian at UFC 101. If he dominates Florian the way he dominated #8 Sean Sherk, Joe Stevenson and Jens Pulver, there will be much less room to question his place at the top.

A Florian win will only muddy the waters in the short term.  

Eddie Alvarez managed to cruise through the first Bellator tournament which means he won't be available to face #13 Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante at DREAM.11. 

#4 Shinya Aoki will take on #21 Vitor Ribeiro at DREAM.10 on July 20th. Aoki is coming off a crushing loss to #11 welterweight Hayato "Mach" Sakurai at the DREAM.8 welterweight tournament opening round. Ribeiro TKO'd Katsuhiko Nagata on that same card in his first fight since 2007. 

No word on what's next for #5 Joachim Hansen. Frankly I'm worried about "Hellboy." He pulled out of a New Year's Eve match with JZ Calvancante due to a head injury and has hardly been heard of since. I hope he's healthy soon and ready to fight. 

#6 Tatsuya Kawajiri is riding high after getting a decision over JZ at DREAM.9. For Kawajiri, that was a huge career booster since he's lost his previous fights to top lightweights: #15 Takanori Gomi, #20 Gilbert Melendez and #3 Eddie Alvarez. "The Crusher" will be wasting his time fighting in K-1 against Masato in July and there is the possibility he will fight for the DREAM title after that.

#7 Frank Edgar is rising off his decision win over #8 Sean Sherk. Still waiting to hear what's next for both fighters. Personally, I'd like to see Edgar get #12 Diego Sanchez, but I expect Diego to get an immediate title shot instead.  I'd also like to see Sherk take on #19 Clay Guida. 

There's no word on who #10 Gray Maynard will face next. He could very well find himself opposite Sanchez in a title eliminator match, or he could be in line for the Fitch treatment, facing a long succession of tough but lesser known opponents until there is just no way to keep denying him a title shot.

Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

We're getting very close to what will easily be the most important welterweight fight of the year: #1 Georges St. Pierre vs #2 Thiago Alves at UFC 100 on July 11th. Its easy to forget just how much is at stake in that fight. A GSP win will make a strong argument that he has effectively cleaned out the division. Let the talk of a super-bout between St. Pierre and #1 middleweight Anderson Silva begin! 

But not so fast, #2 Thiago Alves is a very dangerous opponent for GSP or any welterweight. Heck, Alves is so huge, he's a threat to anyone fighting under 200lbs. His powerful Muay Thai and takedown defense have brought low a string of fabled welterweights including #5 Matt Hughes and #13 Karo Parisyan back-to-back. If Alves beats GSP, particularly if it's by way of KTFO, then we could easily have the next dominant champion on our hands. If you don't think that's a real possibility, ask #2 featherweight Urijah Faber how quickly a reign atop a division can end.

#3 Jon Fitch will face #10 Paulo Thiago on that same card. Fitch will be looking to avenge his teammate #8 Josh Koscheck and Thiago will be looking to prove he's not a fluke. Should Fitch win, he'll have to be rooting for Alves to beat GSP, as he utterly battered Alves back in 2006. Dominating wins by both Alves and Fitch could set up an immediate logical title fight between the two. A GSP win will send Fitch back into the wilderness, regardless of how his fight goes.

#4 Jake Shields seemingly cemented his status as the best non-UFC welterweight in the world by choking out #7 middleweight Robbie Lawler at Strikeforce's June 6th show. He managed to win without particularly impressing many critics who felt his standup was not top level. No idea what's next for Shields as the Strikeforce division is thinner than cabbage water.

Bloody Elbow's  own Michael Rome has called for #6 Martin Kampmann and #7 Mike Swick to face each other in September. That would be a very logical title-eliminator bout but the rumor mill and Mike Swick both seem to want to see "Quick" take on former champ #5 Matt Hughes. Kampmann has already turned down the unranked but formidable T.J. Grant.

#12 Dan Hardy could be a good opponent for either Swick or Kampmann as well. Hardy's UFC 99 win over #20 Marcus Davis wasn't without controversy, but it does add an air of legitimacy to Hardy's status in the division. We'll see how he handles any of the monster wrestlers in the division before I get too carried away.

#8 Josh Koscheck will be welcoming #17 middleweight Frank Trigg back to his old division at UFC 103. The winner of that bout will re-emerge as a contender if it's done in dominant fashion. 

Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

This division has had Dana White pulling out his hair beating his head against the wall for a while now. The failure of a credible and marketable threat to #1 Anderson Silva to emerge since he vanquished #2 Nate Marquardt, #4 Dan Henderson, and #14 Rich Franklin has got to be maddening for the UFC boss.

The UFC hype machine spent a month hyping a potential title fight between Anderson Silva and #12 Light Heavyweight Wanderlei Silva but unfortunately they also put Rich Franklin in Wanderlei's path. Wanderlei put on a great show, but no cigar.

Now Dana is taking the very unusual step of talking up a potential title fight between Silva and a fighter he doesn't even have on contract: #9 Vitor Belfort. 

#6 Jorge Santiago is the big wrench looking to throw himself into Dana's plans. He'll face Belfort at Affliction: Trilogy on August 1. There is a very real chance Santiago will beat "the Phenom", but Dana has got to be counting on Jorge's tendency to get KO'd by hard-hitting southpaws.

Dana is keeping his champ busy with a UFC 101fight at Light Heavyweight against the #4 man in that division, Forrest Griffin.  That fight is no joke and could potentially hand Silva a loss. 

Meanwhile #2 Nate Marquardt and #5 Demian Maia have got to be feeling unloved. They'll be meeting in what should be a #1 contender's match at UFC 102. Sadly, Anderson Silva's failure to establish himself as a PPV draw means he needs to face opponents who will bring mainstream buzz, something neither Marquardt or Maia do.

And let's not even mention the really forgotten man of the division: #3 Yushin Okami. Okami broke a hand that prevented him from getting a title shot at UFC 90. Then a torn knee ligament kept him from fighting the then-ranked Dan Miller at UFC 98. #10 Chael Sonnen got the call instead and knocked Miller right out of the rankings.

#7 Robbie Lawler lost a catchweight bout to #4 welterweight Jake Shields at Strikeforce's June 6th event. That rather embarrassing loss did nothing for Lawler or Strikeforce. Lawler's future is up in the air.

#8 Thales Leites has been exiled to the undercard of UFC 101 for his dismal performance in his title shot against Anderson Silva.  He'll be facing the unranked Alessio Sakara and I'm sure the Zuffa brass is rooting for Sakara so they can send Leites to Travis Lutter-land.

#12 Yoshihiro "Sexyama" Akiyama will be making his UFC debut at UFC 100 against Alan Belcher. Belcher is an interesting debut dance partner for the Japanese super-star since he ruined Denis Kang's UFC coming out party. I will be watching closely to see if Akiyama, easily the biggest Japanese star ever to fight in the U.S. outside of PRIDE, can get over with the American fans. 

That card will also feature #4 Dan Henderson against #13 Michael Bisping in a fight that could easily be built into a #1 contenders match. But presumably the UFC is leery of a Henderson win obligating them to set up a rematch of Henderson and Anderson Silva. Personally, I'd like to see that fight, but the UFC brass apparently feels that Dan wasn't impressive enough in his loss to Silva to merit a quick rematch. Possible the winner of Bisping/Henderson will get the winner of Maia/Marquardt for an absolute-no-doubt-about-it-this-will-be-a-#1-contender's match. On the other hand, I could see them protecting the ever-so-marketable Michael Bisping on a much safer parallel track that leads inexorably to a title shot held in the UK for the popular Brit.

Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

The collective MMA community has had a month to process the meaning of #1 Lyoto Machida's crushing win at UFC 98. Machida's dominance is sinking in with MMA pundits and consequently, former champ #3 Rashad Evans slides down a slot.

Dana White confirmed this weekend that Machida's first title defense will be against #5 Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 104 in October.

#2 Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will, of course, be coaching the next season of The Ultimate Fighter against #3 Rashad Evans. They'll meet at the end of the season. Jackson must be quite confident that he'll beat Evans because he turned down a title shot to take the TUF gig instead.

#4 Forrest Griffin will face middleweight #1 Anderson Silva at UFC 101. A win over the man many consider the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world should get Griffin an immediate title shot. I have no idea what a loss to Silva would mean for Griffin.

That same card will see #6 Keith Jardine take on #13 Thiago Silva. Jardine's ugly habit of stringing together wins and losses could be trouble for the Brazilian who hasn't fought since getting KTFO'd by Machida at UFC 94. The winner of Jardine/Silva might find themselves facting #8 Luiz Cane or #10 Rich Franklin in a title contender's match.

The rise of #7 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and #9 Renato "Babalu" Sobral portends the emergence of a legitimate non-UFC pool at Light Heavyweight. Sobral will be fighting #11 middleweight Gegard Mousasi at August 1's Affliction: Trilogy. No word on what's next for "Little Nog" but I'm disappointed to not see him announced for  yet.

One fight to keep an eye on is the UFC 102 bout between #17 Matt Hamill and #19 Brandon Vera. The winner has a chance to enter the UFC title contender track. The loser will likely drop out of the rankings entirely.

Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

Buckle your seatbelts fight fans, the next 70 days will see some of the biggest heavyweight fights in MMA history. If everything goes according to plan, there will be clarity in the division for the first time since the collapse of PRIDE.

First up at UFC 100, #3 Frank Mir and #5 Brock Lesnar will unify the UFC's heavyweight titles. If Lesnar can beat his nemesis in a rematch it will be the fastest rise by a heavyweight MMA fighter since Mark Coleman emerged at UFC 10.

On August 1, #1 Fedor Emelianenko will face #2 Josh Barnett at Affliction: Trilogy. If Barnett shocks the world he could very well find himself welcomed back in the UFC. If he loses he could be the next victim of the Fedor Curse, a dreaded affliction (sorry!) that has seen those vanquished by Fedor go on to lose their following fight(s) and rapidly slide down the rankings.

If Fedor wins, the big question will be: What Next for Fedor? All signs point to Trilogy being the final Affliction event. Will Fedor return to Japan for his traditional New Year's Eve Feast of the Can or will he finally bear down and cut a deal with the UFC?

At the end of August , MMA legends #4 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and  #6 Randy Couture will finally meet at UFC 102. Something of a senior circuit fight, this is the loser's bracket of the UFC's four man heavyweight mini-tournament. If Nogueira wins in convincing fashion, and Lesnar beats Mir, we could see "Big Nog" get one more run at UFC gold. Ditto for Couture/Mir, but I'll be surprised if Randy is given a rematch against Lesnar should he beat Nogueira.

Eagerly awaiting the outcome of those fights is #7 Shane Carwin. The right combination of winners at UFC 100 & 102 could propel him into an immediate title shot -- Lesnar/Couture or Mir/Nogueira. The wrong combination of winners and Carwin might have to win another fight before he gets his shot.

#8 Brett Rogers is the biggest beneficiary of the Fedor curse this side of Ray Mercer. Rogers' demolition of #9 (former #4) Andrei Arlovski at Strikeforce's June 6th event propelled Rogers up 18 spots in the rankings this month. One of the biggest single month leaps I can recall. No word on what's next for Rogers, but one can hope that the Strikeforce title fight he had booked against #10 Alistair Overeem until Overeem broke his hand in a bar brawl will be rebooked ASAP.

It will be interesting to see if Strikeforce signs Arlovski now that Affliction has opted not to renew their deal with the Belorussian. Surely his price tag is greatly reduced. Unfortunately, there is zero market demand for a rematch of Arlovski and Strikeforce's other big heavyweight acquisition, #14 Fabricio Werdum. I'll expect Arlovski to go to Japan before he signs with Strikeforce or returns to the UFC.

#11 Cain Velasquez had a nice jump of his own after dominating #16 Cheick Kongo at UFC 99. Velasquez easily won the decision, but in the aftermath of a performance that saw him repeatedly dropped by punches, some are calling for the UFC to put the brakes on rushing the AKA fighter to a title shot.

The June USA TODAY/Sports Blog Nation MMA Consensus Rankings are now live. Be sure and pick up a hard copy of USA TODAY tomorrow to see them in print.

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 " We compile the top MMA rankings from each of our sources and award 25 points for a first place ranking, 16 for a 10th place ranking, 1 for a 25th place ranking. A formula is used to "normalize" the data so all fighters are awarded points from those lists that do not include a full 25 fighters. This formula ensures that each ranking site awards the same number of total points regardless of how many fighters they choose to rank. Each fighter’s total is divided by the number of possible points to determine their standing in the Consensus Rankings.