1: Dominick ‘Dominator’ Cruz: The big question is how long will Cruz remain at the top of the divisions rankings whilst not fighting. Well for now he’s not been stripped of his title so it seems unfair to strip him of his position. “The Dominator” was last seen in action on the UFC on Versus 6 card back in October 2011, defeating Demetrious Johnson via decision.
2: Renan Barao: Some would say the true king of the division right now after beating back the challenges of many a top 135 pounder since capturing the interim title in the absence of Dominick Cruz. Barao is on a crazy thirty-one fight unbeaten streak which includes the likes of Urijah Faber, Scott Jorgensen and Brad Pickett.
3: Urijah ‘The California Kid’ Faber: Perhaps the highest profile lower weight fighter to compete in the sport today, Faber is still in desperate search of that all important UFC title despite having two bites at the cherry already. He was last seen in action at TUF 17 Finale card where he pulled off an impressive fourth round submission win over veteran, Scott Jorgensen.
4: Michael McDonald: One of the youngest members of the UFC’s roster, ‘Mayday’ picked up the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career when he defeated long-standing WEC champion, Miguel Torres. That earned him a shot at the interim title but a talented Renan Barao and a long time in between fights conspired against McDonald on the night as he lost via fourth round submission.
5: Eddie Wineland: Wineland struggled to find consistency over the years but has done just that in his last two fights inside the octagon, defeating top contenders, Brad Pickett and Scott Jorgensen. Prior to that he’d dropped fights to Urijah Faber and Joseph Benavidez meaning he’s sneaked into the top five on shaky ground to say the least.
6: Brad ‘One Punch’ Pickett: Pickett, the UK’s number one bantamweight by a country mile, can do it all inside the octagon, knock people, out, submit them, out work them. Trouble is he’s found it difficult to put it all together over the past couple of years, compiling a 3-2 record. He was last seen in action at UFC on FUEL TV 9 in April where he earned a split decision win over Mike Easton.
7: Raphael Assuncao: Not many of the 135 pound elite are on a tear right now, picking up wins off each other as the playing field levels out. Assuncao is the exception though as he moves neatly up the ranks on the back of a three-fight winning streak. A win over Mike Easton last time out proved this former featherweight is one to watch in 2013 and could very soon command a shot at the title.
8: Scott ‘Young Guns’ Jorgensen: Jorgensen is another of those fighters that promised so much coming over from the WEC but has really struggled to find consistency inside the octagon. A 3-3 record over his last six fights has him bordering on the top ten although he could have moved up considerably if he can build on his “Fight of the Night”/“Submission of the Night” first round win over John Albert when he took on Urijah Faber in April. He didn’t, suffering a fourth round submission defeat.
9: Bibiano ‘Flash’ Fernandes: The one that got away. It’s not often a fighter not only refuses to sign with the UFC but a fight gets announced for him and he has to deny it’s ever going to happen. That’s what happened though in 2012 with Fernandes who eventually settled for a career under the ONE FC banner. Riding a five-fight winning streak, the former DREAM featherweight champion and current DREAM bantamweight champion deserves his spot in the top ten.
10: Mike ‘The Hulk’ Easton: A stable mate of the champion, Dominick Cruz, Easton made an impression in his first three UFC outings, wining them all and extending his unbeaten run to eight fights in total. Many thought he could be a serious title threat after he defeated veteran, Ivan Menjivar but his luck has seemingly run out after suffering back-to-back defeats at the hands of Raphael Assuncao and Brad Pickett.
(Updated May 1st, 2013)
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