B/R Official Rankings for June: The Top 10 Featherweights in MMA

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After May saw Dustin Poirier fall from the top and Chan Sung Jung rise to his spot, June is now set with a new set of rankings containing the best featherweights in MMA.

The month of June itself might not impact the rankings a lot, but this summer the featherweight rankings can surely undergo massive changes at their forefront when Jose Aldo defends his belt against Erik Koch in July.

Outside of the future matches, the rankings will see a couple new fresh faces after Charles Oliveira's win last weekend and the retirement of Kenny Florian removes him from the rankings.

So which fighters got on the month of June's rankings?

 

These rankings are the combined efforts of some of Bleacher Report MMA's best writers, as we continue to try and provide you with the best content on the web.

10. Charles Oliveira

Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com

Promotion: UFC

Record: 16-2, 1 NC

Most Recent Fight: Submission victory over Jonathan Brookins at The Ultimate Fighter 15 Live Finale

Next Scheduled Fight: N/A

Previous Ranking: Not Ranked

 

Charles Oliveira has been dominant since he dropped to featherweight, winning both of his fights so far by submission.

Oliveira's two career losses have come against some great lightweight talent in Donald Cerrone and Jim Miller.

Now, though, Oliveira seems to be on a warpath straight for the UFC featherweight title picture. He could possibly even become the future UFC featherweight champion.

9. Diego Nunes

Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com

Promotion: UFC

Record: 17-3

Most Recent Fight: Unanimous decision loss to Dennis Siver at UFC on FUEL TV 2

Next Scheduled Fight: N/A

Previous Ranking: Not Ranked

 

Diego Nunes' last two losses have helped set up newly turned featherweights for title contention in the division.

Sandwiched in between his losses to Kenny Florian and Dennis Siver was a victory over Manny Gamburyan, and Nunes even opened his UFC career with a victory over former WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown.

8. Dennis Siver

Mark Nolan/Getty Images

Promotion: UFC

Record: 20-8

Most Recent Fight: Unanimous decision win over Diego Nunes at UFC on FUEL TV 2

Next Scheduled Fight: TBA

Previous Ranking: No. 10

 

The former German lightweight won in his featherweight debut over Diego Nunes, which was a good test for how well he will perform in this division.

That victory has pushed him into our top ten for the last couple months and has helped keep him there.

Siver was on a run in the UFC lightweight division before he lost to Donald Cerrone, and now fans can only imagine what the featherweight can do in a lighter weight class.

7. Dustin Poirier

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Promotion: UFC

Record: 12-2

Most Recent Fight: Submission loss to Chan Sung Jung at UFC on FUEL TV 3

Next Scheduled Fight: N/A

Previous Ranking: No. 4

 

Dustin Poirier was considered the next in line for either Jose Aldo or Erik Koch, but after suffering the second loss of his career and his first loss at featherweight, Poirier is now fighting to get back into the title picture.

Poirier had won five consecutive fights, and even in his loss to Chan Sung Jung, Poirier earned a $40,000 "Fight of the Night" bonus to help ease the pain.

6. Erik Koch

Photo courtesy Scott Petersen|MMAweekly.com

Promotion: UFC

Record: 13-1

Most Recent Fight: Unanimous Decision win over Jonathan Brookins at Fight Night 25

Next Scheduled Fight: Jose Aldo at UFC 149

Previous Ranking: No. 5

 

Erik Koch slides back a little this month after a Chan Sung Jung victory pushed him out of the top five.

Koch is the current No. 1 contender for the featherweight strap in the UFC and gets his shot at Jose Aldo in July.

Koch has rattled off four straight victories since he lost to Chad Mendes, and when he faces Aldo in July, it will be nine months since he last fought in a unanimous decision victory over Jonathan Brookins.

5. Chan Sung Jung

Photo courtesy Tom Szczerbowski|US Presswire

Promotion: UFC

Record: 13-3

Most Recent Fight: Submission victory over Dustin Poirier at UFC on FUEL TV 3

Next Scheduled Fight: N/A

Previous Ranking: No. 8

 

Chan Sung Jung shoots into the top five of our rankings after his impressive win over Dustin Poirier last month.

The Korean Zombie has injected excitement into the featherweight division. After a controversial "Fight of the Year" loss to Leonard Garcia in 2010, Jung pulled off the first twister submission ever in a UFC fight in his rematch with Garcia. He also had a quick knockout of Mark Hominick that took less than 10 seconds.

Now Jung is on the cusp of a title shot in the UFC and could very well be getting the next one.

4. Pat Curran

Photo courtesy of Sherdog.com

Promotion: Bellator

Record: 16-4

Most Recent Fight: KO victory over Joe Warren at Bellator 60

Next Scheduled Fight: Patricio Freire, Bellator 73

Previous Ranking: No. 6

 

Pat Curran is set to defend his newly earned Bellator featherweight strap later this summer against Patricio Freire in what most certainly will be a tough first test.

After his loss to Eddie Alvarez for the Bellator lightweight title, Curran skated through the Bellator featherweight tournament on his way to beating Joe Warren in the featherweight title fight.

Now on a four-fight winning streak, Curran needs to defend his belt to solidify his position.

3. Chad Mendes

Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Promotion: UFC

Record: 11-1

Most Recent Fight: KO loss to Jose Aldo at UFC 142

Next Scheduled Fight: Cody McKenzie, UFC 148

Previous Ranking: No. 3

 

Former No. 1 contender Chad Mendes still ranks in the top three after his knockout loss to Jose Aldo in January sent him to the back of the title contender line.

Before that loss, Mendes was on a roll in the featherweight division, dispatching any and all challengers.

Now, Mendes meets lightweight-turned-featherweight Cody McKenzie at UFC 148 in a fight that could either turn his career back in the right direction or send him further to the back of the division.

2. Hatsu Hioki

Koki Nagahama/Getty Images

Promotion: UFC

Record: 25-4-2

Most Recent Fight: Unanimous Decision win over Bart Palaszewski at UFC 144

Next Scheduled Fight: Ricardo Lamas, UFC on FX: Maynard vs. Guida

Previous Ranking: No. 2

 

One of the top Japanese fighters on the planet today, Hatsu Hioki is the second-best featherweight according to our rankings.

Hioki wanted one more fight before challenging Jose Aldo for the belt, and he will get a tough test when he faces Ricardo Lamas later this month in Atlantic City.

Hioki is coming off a hugely impressive victory over Bart Palaszewski, after his Octagon debut against George Roop was met with much skepticism.

1. Jose Aldo

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Promotion: UFC

Record: 21-1

Most Recent Fight: KO victory over Chad Mendes at UFC 142

Next Scheduled Fight: Erik Koch at UFC 149

Previous Ranking: No. 1

 

Jose Aldo at number one? Shocker.

The current UFC featherweight champion rounds off the list at the top spot after an impressive knockout victory over Chad Mendes in Brazil.

Aldo is now slated to defend his belt against Erik Koch at UFC 149 in Canada. With a win there, Aldo could next face Hatsu Hioki or Chan Sung Jung for the featherweight strap. Only time will tell, though.