Official B/R MMA Rankings May 2011: Top 10 Bantamweights in MMA

Here is the first installment of the Bleacher Report MMA Rankings. Every two weeks, on the first and 15th of the month, we will publish divisional rankings. On the first of each month we will post our pound-for-pound rankings.

The rankings were voted on by numerous writers on Bleacher Report and do not reflect any of their rankings personally. The rankings are an average of each writer’s vote for each weight class.

Special thanks to those who contributed

Jason Schielke

Nick Caron

Nick Colon

J.P. Smith

Dale De Souza

Blake Dreisbach

Andrew Mahlmann

Michael Evans

Sean Smith

Sal DeRose

Others Receiving Votes

Eddie Wineland

Record: 18-7-1

Promotion: UFC

Age: 26 years old

Norifumi Yamamoto

Record: 18-4, 1 NC

Promotion: UFC

Age: 34 years old

Michael McDonald

Record: 12-1

Promotion: UFC

Age: 20 years old

10. Zach Makovsky

Record: 13-2

Promotion: Bellator

Age: 28 years old

Reason

Zach Makovsky has won seven consecutive fights and is the current Bellator Bantamweight Champion.

While Makovsky hasn't exactly faced the best of the best in the bantamweight division, he has beaten everyone Bellator has had to offer.

9. Brad Pickett

Record: 20-5

Promotion: UFC

Age: 32 years old

Reason

Brad Pickett has won 10 of his last 11 fights with the only loss being against Scott Jorgensen. Still waiting to make his UFC debut, Pickett holds a win over Demetrious Johnson.

Pickett had been scheduled to fight in the UFC for the first time against Miguel Torres at UFC 130. However, Pickett was forced to withdraw from that bout due to injury.

8. Takeya Mizugaki

Record: 14-5-2

Promotion: UFC

Age: 27 years old

Reason

Takeya Mizugaki has alternated between wins and losses for his last seven fights, but his losses came against three of the best fighters the WEC had to offer in Urijah Faber, Scott Jorgensen and Miguel Torres.

Meanwhile, Mizugaki earned victories over fighters such as Jeff Curran and Rani Yahya.

Mizugaki will have another big test on his hands in his next fight, when he will take on former WEC champion Brian Bowles.

7. Demetrious Johnson

Record: 9-1

Promotion: UFC

Age: 24 years old

Reason

Although undersized even at bantamweight, Demetrious Johnson has put together three straight wins that have labeled him as a contender in the division. Since suffering the first loss of his career to Brad Pickett in his WEC debut, Johnson has defeated Nick Pace, Damacio Page and Norifumi Yamamoto.

Johnson is set to face the biggest challenge of his young career, though, when he meets Miguel Torres at UFC 130 later this month. To make the matchup even more difficult, Johnson accepted the bout on short notice after Torres' orignal opponent was forced to withdraw from the event.

6. Scott Jorgensen

Record: 11-4

Promotion: UFC

Age: 28 years old

Reason

Scott Jorgensen saw a five-fight winning streak come to an end in his last fight, when he lost a unanimous decision to then-WEC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz.

Prior to the loss, Jorgensen had strung together victories over fighters such as Brad Pickett and Takeya Mizugaki to earn his shot at the title.

Jorgensen's next appearance will be against Ken Stone in June and will mark his debut with the UFC.

4t. Miguel Torres

Record: 39-3

Promotion: UFC

Age: 30 years old

Reason

After losing the WEC Bantamweight Championship and two consecutive fights for the first time in his career, Miguel Torres has bounced back with two consecutive victories and is looking to get back into the picture for a title shot.

Originally expected to meet Brad Pickett at UFC 130, Torres will now be facing Demetrious Johnson in a fight he must win if he wants to continue his climb back up the bantamweight ladder.

In the last seven years, Torres' only losses have come against Brian Bowles and Joseph Benavidez.

4t. Brian Bowles

Record: 9-1

Promotion: UFC

Age: 30 years old

Reason

In 10 professional fights, Brian Bowles' only loss has come against Dominick Cruz in a fight that cost Bowles the WEC Bantamweight Championship.

After the loss to Cruz, Bowles sat out for nearly one year before returning to defeat Damacio Page in his UFC debut.

Bowles' next fight will come against Takeya Mizugaki. With a win, Bowles could legitimately be right back in a position to earn another shot at a bantamweight title.

3. Joseph Benavidez

Record: 14-2

Promotion: UFC

Age: 26 years old

Reason

Joseph Benavidez holds notable wins over fighters such as Miguel Torres, Rani Yahya and Jeff Curran. In 16 fights as a professional, Benavidez has only lost to Dominick Cruz.

In his last fight and UFC debut, Benavidez defeated Ian Loveland by unanimous decision. Benavidez's next opponent has not been determined as of yet.

2. Urijah Faber

Record: 25-4

Promotion: UFC

Age: 31 years old

Reason

At this point, Urijah Faber's decision to drop back down to bantamweight after his loss to Jose Aldo can be considered a success. Already, Faber has defeated Takeya Mizugaki and Eddie Wineland, which has earned him a title shot and a rematch against Dominick Cruz.

Faber already holds a win over Cruz, who he will meet at UFC 132 in July.

Faber appeared to be on the decline after his losses to Mike Brown and Jose Aldo, but a win over Cruz could have Faber back in the conversation for being one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

1. Dominick Cruz

Record: 17-1

Promotion: UFC

Age: 25 years old

Reason

Now considered the UFC Bantamweight Champion, Dominick Cruz will defend his new belt for the first time against Urijah Faber at UFC 132 in July.

Cruz has won eight straight fights since losing to Faber in their last meeting, which remains the only loss of Cruz's career.

Cruz holds wins over elite bantamweights Joseph Benavidez, Brian Bowles and Scott Jorgensen. A win over another great fighter in Faber would cement Cruz as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.