5 Greatest Featherweights in MMA History

At UFC 179, Jose Aldo will look for his seventh consecutive UFC title defense, a mark that would tie him with Jon Jones for the longest reign among current UFC champions.

With a run of dominance dating back to his WEC days, Aldo has proven he's among the best 145-pounders in MMA history. Moreover, should he remain healthy, Aldo has a chance to become the greatest fighter to ever step into the Octagon.

Beating Chad Mendes on October 25 won't get Aldo to that level, but the rematch does give the Brazilian an opportunity to strengthen the argument that he's the best featherweight MMA has seen. It also gives him a chance to make a statement that all other 145-pound contenders still have some catching up to do.

Heading into another Aldo title defense, here is a look at the five best featherweights in MMA history.

5. Pat Curran

USA TODAY Sports

Outside the UFC and WEC promotions, Bellator MMA has probably had the next strongest 145-pound division over the long haul.

Pat Curran happens to be a two-time titleholder in that division. He's also the only Bellator MMA featherweight champion to successfully defend his belt, and Curran did so on two separate occassions against Patricio Freire and Shahbulat Shamhalaev.

With a title run in a more developed division, Curran has also surpassed Cole Escovedo, the inaugural WEC featherweight champion, as well as Dream titleholders Bibiano Fernandes and Hiroyuki Takaya.

Although Curran recently lost his belt to Freire, Paddy Mike still has an edge over the Brazilian due to his title defenses. Freire's first bout as 145-pound champion has not been scheduled, but it's a fight he might have to win in order to ever make it onto this list.

Given the depth of the UFC featherweight class, Curran is also going to quickly lose ground to UFC contenders such as Ricardo Lamas and Cub Swanson unless he regains his Bellator MMA championship. I'll argue that the next man on this list has already surpassed Curran without capturing a belt.

4. Chad Mendes

USA TODAY Sports

In eight UFC bouts, Chad Mendes has only lost to featherweight champion Aldo. In less than two weeks, Mendes will get a second crack at the Brazilian.

The first fighter to earn multiple UFC title shots in the increasingly scary 145-pound division, Mendes has developed a stronger resume than current and past featherweight champions in smaller promotions.

Mendes has already bested Cub Swanson, Nik Lentz, Clay Guida and Darren Elkins. All those Top 15 145-pounders would be immediate contenders in smaller shows, and all might even be favored over a Freire or Curran.

In order to move upward any more on this list, Mendes will probably have to win a championship. However, his resume is already extremely strong.

3. Mike Brown

USA TODAY Sports

Mike Brown's best work came within a small window, but he accomplished a lot during his initial four WEC bouts.

Heading into his WEC debut against Curran, Brown had won six in a row, including a lightweight victory over Yves Edwards. Once he joined the WEC roster, Brown competed exclusively at 145 pounds, though.

With a win over Curran, Brown earned a shot at then-champion Urijah Faber. Knocking Faber out in the opening round, Brown went on to shock the featherweight division and dethrone The California Kid. Brown went on to defend his belt against Leonard Garcia and beat Faber again in a rematch before running into Aldo in his third outing as champion.

Although Brown may not have had a long reign as champion, he was the only fighter to beat Faber twice until Renan Barao did so in February. That alone should earn Brown a place in the featherweight history books for many years.

2. Urijah Faber

USA TODAY Sports

Faber is currently having a good amount of success at 135 pounds, but The California Kid made his name as a featherweight under the WEC banner.

After capturing the WEC 145-pound championship from Escovedo, Faber defended the belt five times. In his first 22 MMA bouts, Faber picked up 21 wins, beating Dominick Cruz, Jens Pulver, Bibiano Fernandes and several other notable opponents along the way.

With his then-record title run as WEC featherweight champion, Faber brought attention to the smaller weight divisions. Had it not been for Faber, the last fighter on this list may not have even had the start that he has inside the Octagon.

1. Jose Aldo

USA TODAY Sports

Aldo is already the greatest 145-pounder in MMA history. A win at UFC 179 would create an even bigger gap between him and Faber.

While Faber's longest title reign saw him defend his belt five times, Aldo has won eight times since capturing the WEC title from Mike Brown in November 2009. Now a UFC champion due to the WEC merger, Aldo has amassed six title defenses inside the Octagon.

Combining UFC and WEC title defenses, Aldo is closing in on matching Anderson Silva's legendary title reign that included 10 straight title defenses. At this point, Aldo is much closer to becoming the greatest fighter in MMA history than being in any argument regarding the best featherweight ever.

Unless Faber returns to 145 pounds and makes a unlikely title run there, Aldo is going to be considered the greatest featherweight for a long, long time.