Ranking the Top 10 Featherweights After UFC 142

On Saturday night, the featherweight title was on the line in Rio de Janeiro as Jose Aldo put his belt on the line against undefeated wrestler Chad "Money" Mendes.

In the first round, with a beautifully timed knee, Aldo knocked out Mendes and defended his featherweight title.

In addition to a defense of the title, he also finished an opponent for the first time since joining the UFC.

With the win, Aldo will remain firmly entrenched in the No. 1 spot, but you'll have to read on to find out where "Money" ended up.

No. 10: Bart Palaszewski

Bart Palaszewski is a veteran of a whopping 50 professional MMA fights, and he has a record of 36-14, including a 5-3 record in the UFC and WEC.

Palaszewski was quite the underdog coming into the fight against Tyson Griffin at UFC 137, but he was able to hand Griffin his second-ever stoppage via strikes.

Palaszewski faces off against Hatsu Hioki at UFC 144 in February.

No. 9: Mark Hominick

Mark "The Machine" Hominick put up the best fight that anyone has against Jose Aldo, as he was able to arguably win two rounds from Aldo.

However, he now finds himself on a two-fight losing streak, as he was knocked out in seven seconds by Chan Sung Jung at UFC 140.

Hominick will look to come back in resounding fashion in his next fight.

Hominick has notable victories over George Roop, Leonard Garcia, Bryan Caraway and Yves Edwards.

No. 8: Diego Nunes

Diego Nunes is one of the best strikers in the featherweight division.

Nunes is 6-2 in his UFC/WEC career, and his only losses have been unanimous decisions to LC Davis and Kenny Florian—nothing to be ashamed of.

At UFC 141, he defeated veteran Manny Gamburyan by unanimous decision.

Nunes has notable victories over Mike Brown and Raphael Assunção.

No. 7: Chan Sung Jung

At UFC 140, with his devastation of Mark Hominick, Chan Sung Jung earned his place as one of the top 10 featherweights in the UFC.

Jung has long been considered a top fighter, but was never that consistent.

He has now won two in a row, and he could easily be 4-1 in his last five.

No. 6: Kenny Florian

Kenny Florian won't be ranked at featherweight for much longer, or really anywhere for much longer. A recent back injury has put Florian's career in jeopardy.

However, for the time being, Florian remains a featherweight as far as rankings are concerned. With a 1-1 record, and the lone win being over Diego Nunes, he can't be ranked much higher than this.

Florian also has notable victories over Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson.

No. 5: Dustin Poirier

Dustin Poirier moves up a few spots after his performance at UFC on Fox 1, as he looked ready for a fight with a top contender.

Poirier basically controlled the entire fight and earned the second-round submission over Pablo Garza. He's undefeated at featherweight and it's time to test him in the deep waters.

Poirier has notable victories over Josh Grispi and Garza.

No. 4: Erik Koch

Erik Koch is quickly becoming a huge threat in the featherweight division.

He is currently riding a four-fight win streak, including victories over Raphael Assuncao and "The Ultimate Fighter" winner Jonathan Brookins. 

His only career loss came to the recently knocked out, former No. 1 contender, Chad Mendes.

No. 3: Chad Mendes

On Saturday night, Chad Mendes suffered the first defeat of his career, as he was knocked out at 4:59 of the first round by Jose Aldo.

Going into the fight, many thought that Mendes may be the one to finally dethrone the champion, however it was not to be.

Mendes may have lost the first fight of his career on Saturday, but with a record of 11-1 and a win over No. 4 on the list, Mendes is a top featherweight, and he will certainly come back bigger and badder.

No. 2: Hatsu Hioki

Fans who are only familiar with Hatsu Hioki from his lone UFC fight will be surprised to see him this high on the rankings. However, there is justification for it.

Hatsu Hioki holds two victories—that's right, two—over fellow top 10 fighter Mark Hominick. Additionally, both of those fights took place in Canada, where Hominick is from.

With Mendes' loss on Saturday night, Hioki moved up and became the No. 2 featherweight in the world.

No. 1: Jose Aldo

No real surprise with No. 1 here.

On Saturday night, Aldo extended his winning streak to 14, including 11 wins in the UFC/WEC, and he got back to his explosive ways, as he knocked out Chad Mendes in the first round.

Aldo won the title at WEC 44 by defeating Mike Brown, and he hasn't looked back since.

He has notable victories over Jonathan Brookins, Cub Swanson, Mike Brown, Manny Gamburyan, Urijah Faber, Mark Hominick, Kenny Florian and now, Chad Mendes.

Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow me on twitter @TimMcTiernan.