Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Featherweight

1. Conor McGregor (20-3)

It was not a featherweight achievement and it was not akin to dropping Jose Aldo for the title in 13 seconds, but after being humiliated by Nate Diaz at UFC 196 in March, McGregor returned to 170 pounds at UFC 202 and responded in style, earning a majority decision over the Stockton, California, native in a classic contest. McGregor now desires contendership at 155 pounds again, while UFC President Dana White remains adamant that “The Notorious” one will either need to defend his 145-pound title or vacate the strap.

2. Jose Aldo (26-2)

Even though he is still only 29 years old, after a 12-year pro career and six years of ruling the 145-pound division with an iron fist, Aldo’s shocking 13-second knockout loss to Conor McGregor in December seemed like it may forecast a downturn for “Scarface.” Instead, Aldo returned at UFC 200 as a slight underdog against a surging Frankie Edgar and replicated his February 2013 unanimous decision over “The Answer” with a masterful counterpunching performance. Now the interim UFC featherweight champion, Aldo will hope for another rematch his next time out, this time with McGregor.

3. Frankie Edgar (20-5-1)

Edgar’s five-fight winning streak at 145 pounds was incredible and led to his entering a UFC 200 rematch with Jose Aldo as a slight favorite. Unfortunately, Aldo had the number of “The Answer” once more, brilliantly shutting down Edgar’s takedowns, hitting him with heavy counterpunches and winning another unanimous decision. Edgar remains one of the best fighters in the game, but with a pair of losses to Aldo, he may end up finally testing the waters at 135 pounds after several years of teasing the idea.

4. Max Holloway (16-3)

Holloway made it nine wins in a row by picking apart Ricardo Lamas and taking a lopsided unanimous decision in their UFC 199 encounter. Only 24 and already entering his fifth year as a UFC fighter, Holloway is undoubtedly in the running for a featherweight title shot; however, with the current mess atop the 145-pound division, exactly when that shot could materialize is anyone’s guess. In the meantime, Holloway said he is open to notching his 10th straight victory, preferably in his home state of Hawaii.

5. Cub Swanson (23-7)

It took him five minutes to get going at the UFC Fight Night card in Salt Lake City on Aug. 6, but Swanson pulled off a unanimous decision win in an entertaining fight against Japanese veteran Tatsuya Kawajiri. After back-to-back losses to Frankie Edgar and Max Holloway snapped his hot streak, the 32-year-old Swanson has bounced back nicely with quality wins over Kawajiri and difficult Brazilian grappler Hacran Dias.

6. Charles Oliveira (21-5, 1 NC)

Despite missing the 145-pound limit, which has been a recurring theme for him, Oliveira earned a nifty guillotine choke win over Myles Jury on Dec. 19. Should he find a way to make the 145-pound limit, “do Bronx” will have a golden opportunity to take a leap forward in contention in his next outing on Aug. 27, as he will welcome former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis to the featherweight division at UFC on Fox 21.

7. Ricardo Lamas (16-5)

Lamas has put together a 6-3 record in the Octagon, with his only losses coming to elite talents: Max Holloway, Chad Mendes and Jose Aldo in his UFC title challenge. However, despite being a consistent, elite featherweight, Lamas has not gotten much of the spotlight. That may change for “The Bully” on Oct. 15, when he headlines a UFC Fight Night card against returning MMA legend B.J. Penn in the Philippines.

8. Jeremy Stephens (25-12)

Way back in November 2008, Stephens famously knocked out future UFC lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos with a brutal uppercut. Fast forward almost eight years, and “Lil Heathen” can say he has properly beaten another former UFC champion. Onetime bantamweight king Renan Barao moved up to 145 pounds for their May 29 encounter, only to be thwarted by Stephens’ defensive wrestling and power punching over 15 minutes, giving the Iowa native perhaps the biggest win of his career.

9. Hacran Dias (23-4-1)

Dias carries a 3-3 UFC record, but the Nova Uniao product has been done no matchmaking favors, with his losses coming in competitive fights against Nik Lentz, Ricardo Lamas and Cub Swanson. The call of duty gets no easier next time out for Dias, as he will take on surging featherweight prospect Brian Ortega when the UFC returns to Portland, Oregon, on Oct. 1.

10. Brian Ortega (11-0, 1 NC)

Since returning from a steroid test failure and suspension 15 months ago, Ortega has been outstanding in the UFC, with stoppage wins against Thiago Tavares, Diego Brandao and Clay Guida. More impressive in some measure, all three wins were come-from-behind, third-round victories in exciting fights. In order to keep his momentum going, “T-City” will have to replicate his recent theatrics on Oct. 1, when the UFC stages a Fight Night card in Portland, Oregon. There, Ortega meets Nova Uniao’s Hacran Dias.

Other Contenders: Dennis Bermudez, Doo Ho Choi, Darren Elkins, Patricio Freire, Daniel Straus

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