UFC 139 Results: The Top 10 Bantamweights in the UFC
On Saturday night, the UFC delivered once again, as UFC 139 delivered one of the best cards of the year, and in the main event, one of the best fights in MMA history.
The card was outstanding from top to bottom and featured key fights in several different divisions.
In fact, there were three key matchups in the bantamweight division.
On the Facebook prelims, Miguel Torres fought Nick Pace. On the Spike TV prelims, Michael McDonald fought Alex Soto, and on the main card, Urijah Faber fought Brian Bowles.
That is four of the top 10 bantamweights in action, so let's take a look at where they sit after Saturday night.
No. 10: Eddie Wineland
1 of 10Eddie Wineland is a former WEC bantamweight champion, but has proved unable to compete with the top bantamweights these days.
In his final WEC fight, Wineland won KO of the night with a slam victory over Ken Stone.
Since then, in two UFC fights, Wineland has dropped unanimous decisions to Urijah Faber and Joseph Benavidez.
That's some tough competition, but two losses are still two losses—unless your name is Dan Hardy.
No. 9: Michael McDonald
2 of 10Michael McDonald is 14-1 in his career and is 4-0 in the UFC and WEC combined.
On Saturday night, he earned Knockout of the Night honors for his 56 second victory over Alex Soto.
McDonald looked as good as we've ever seen, and between him and Renan Barao, there is a new generation of bantamweights gunning for that belt.
No. 8: Miguel Torres
3 of 10Miguel Torres is the former bantamweight champion, but he is another fighter who has proven to be unable to keep up with this generation of top bantamweights.
At his peak, Torres had a record of 36-1, but over his past five fights, that has dropped to 39-4, as he has suffered losses to Brian Bowles, Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson.
However, on Saturday night, Torres showed that he still has a lot of gas left in the tank, as he earned a unanimous decision victory over Nick Pace.
Torres is on a mission to get his belt back, expect a tough opponent for him next.
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No. 7: Renan Barao
4 of 10At UFC 138, Renan Barao submitted Brad Pickett in the first round in an incredibly impressive performance.
Barao is the holder of one of the most impressive unbeaten streaks in MMA, as his record of 27-1 [1 NC] stands for itself.
His only career loss was in his first pro fight. So that's 28 fights without a loss, not bad.
Barao has finished three of his four opponents under ZUFFA, with three submissions and a decision victory.
He will likely take on a top-five guy in his next fight.
No. 6: Scott Jorgensen
5 of 10Scott Jorgensen is a top bantamweight, but may not ever have what it takes to become the champion—at least as long as Dominick Cruz has a say.
Jorgensen fought Cruz at WEC 53 and lost every round on the scorecards.
In his ZUFFA career, Jorgensen is 9-3, including a win over Jeff Curran at UFC 137, so he's definitely a top fighter, just not quite at the top of his game yet.
His next fight will likely be against a top-five bantamweight.
No. 5: Demetrious Johnson
6 of 10He was already ranked about here before losing to Cruz, so him losing here should be no surprise.
Johnson put up a good fight, but in the end, he dropped the unanimous decision to Dominick Cruz.
With wins over Kid Yamamoto and Miguel Torres, Johnson is a top bantamweight, but he could be a champ at flyweight.
Hear that Uncle Dana? We need the flyweight class. For Johnson's sake.
No. 4: Brian Bowles
7 of 10Brian Bowles is the former WEC bantamweight champion, and is another fighter who has already been defeated by Dominick Cruz.
Bowles was outclassed in the two rounds against Cruz before a doctor's stoppage due to a broken hand suffered by Bowles.
On Saturday night, he faced Urijah Faber in a No. 1 contender's match and he tasted true defeat for the first time in his career, as he was submitted in the second round.
Bowles will now have to start his climb back up the bantamweight ladder.
No. 3: Joseph Benavidez
8 of 10There may be a bit of a surprise putting Joseph Benavidez in the No. 3 spot, as he has long been considered the No. 2 bantamweight.
Benavidez is 15-2 in his career and both of his losses have been to the champ, Dominick Cruz.
However, his wins have not been against any current top five bantamweights, so he drops to the No. 3 spot.
Hopefully, his next fight will be against someone like Scott Jorgensen or Demetrious Johnson.
Or, he'll drop to the flyweight division depending on when it is added to the UFC.
No. 2: Urijah Faber
9 of 10Urijah Faber has now staked his claim as the No. 2 bantamweight in the world.
On Saturday night, he proved that he is one of the best bantamweights in the world, as he defeated former champion, Brian Bowles, via second round submission.
Faber will now get a second shot at the UFC bantamweight title, and a third shot at Dominick Cruz.
Look for this fight to take place sometime in the early spring.
No. 1: Dominick Cruz
10 of 10Duh.
Cruz is the current champion, and he is well on his way to cleaning out the bantamweight division.
Cruz has defeated No. 2, No. 3 (twice), No. 4 and No. 5 on this list. The only new challenger who could potentially get to Cruz would be Barao.
Next for Cruz will be a third match with Urijah Faber with bragging rights—and the bantamweight title—on the line.
After that, maybe a super-fight with featherweight champion Jose Aldo...
We can only hope.
Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 139. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the November 19 fight card, including results and post-fight analysis.
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