September MMA Rankings (The Lighter Side)

Scott LudwigAug 31, 2009

I am going to start a monthly rankings post. I know, not very original. How boring would it be to just see my arrangement of the usual top 10 in each weight class. Lots of people write/blog their opinions on that.

So I am only going to focus on the lighter weight classes. Some of these fighters are legitimate pound-for-pound top 10 fighters and deserves the recognition that other better-known fighters get.

So here is the first installment of my personal top 15 list:

LIGHTWEIGHT (155)

1. BJ Penn (14-5-1) - Destruction of Florian set status in stone.

2. Shinya Aoki (21-4) - Defeated Vitor Ribeiro on July 20.

3. Eddie Alvarez (18-2) - Stopped the incredible run of Toby Imada in the Bellator Tournament to win gold.

4. Joachim Hanson (19-7-1) -Out of action since stopping Aoki in July 2008.

5. Gilbert Melendez (16-2) -Coming off an impressive stoppage of Mitsuhiro Ishida Aug. 15.

FEATHERWEIGHT (145)

1. Mike Brown (22-4) -Defeated Uriah Faber twice in seven months. Squeezed in a demolition of Leonard Garcia in between. He is good.

2. Wagnney Fabiano (12-1) -The IFL Grand Prix Champion, Fabiano is now on the fast-track to a shot at WEC strap.

3. Uriah Faber (22-3) -Still should be considered one of the top featherweights despite losing to Brown.

4. Hatsu Hioki (20-3-2) -Suffered a concussion in a victory at Sengoku tournament, Hioki should be first to get shot against champ Masonori Kanehara.

5. Jose Aldo (15-1) -The Brazilian has 10 KO on his record and will challenge Brown at WEC 45 in November.

BANTAMWEIGHT (135)

1. Brian Bowles (8-0) -Not given much of a shot, he beat Miguel Torres to earn the No. 1 spot.

2. Miguel Torres (37-2) -Had an 18-fight streak stopped by Bowles. Was considered by many as a p-4-p top 10 fighter.

3. Takeya Mizugaki (12-3-2) -Lost a brawl with Torres, but bonced back with victory over Jeff Curran.

4. Masakatsu Ueda (10-0-2) -The Shooto champ, Ueda is a fighter to keep an eye out for.

5. Dominick Cruz (14-1) -The former featherweight, who has only lost to Faber, dominated the favorite Joseph Benevidez at WEC 42. May get shot at Bowles first.