Featherweight 6-17-09

Rank

Fighter

Comments

1.

Mike Brown

 

2.

Urijah Faber

I don’t care how many times he loses to Mike Brown — it's hard to drop Urijah Faber from the #2 spot until he loses to someone else, or until he puts on a performance that isn’t thrilling, inventive, ballsy, and completely inspiring. Fighting with two busted hands for the better part of his five-round rematch against Brownie, Faber elbowed with his right arm, slapped with his left, and remained a threat until the last bell. But he’s spent all of 2008 and 2009 fighting only Jens Pulver and Mike Brown; it’s time to give some other guys a chance.

3.

Wagnney Fabiano

 

4.

Jose Aldo

During his stint as the WEC’s Human Highlight Reel, Aldo has produced five consecutive stoppages by KO or TKO, all of them notably painful-looking. And he’s only 22 years old, which means his best days may still lie ahead. What else does a guy need to do to get a title shot around here?

5.

Hatsu Hioki

Followers of Japanese MMA already know Hioki as one of the most exciting submission artists in the game, and if he can complete his sweep of Sengoku’s featherweight GP in August, fans outside of Asia will start to know his name — but a potential final-round matchup against undefeated Nova Uniao product Marlon Sandro could be his toughest test yet.

6.

Marlon Sandro

 

7.

Takeshi Inoue

 

8.

Norifumi Yamamoto

Losing to a guy with a 1-0 record isn’t the most encouraging sign after a 17-month layoff. But we won’t say Kid’s career is finished just because of a little ring-rust. We’ll wait until his next fight to make that judgment...

9.

Masakazu Imanari

 

10.

Rafael Assuncao