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Rich Hansen's Take
HANSEN: Transparency in MMA Rankings - My Top 15 Bantamweight Fighters (April 2014)
Apr 25, 2014 - 10:15:29 PM
HANSEN: Transparency in MMA Rankings - My Top 15 Bantamweight Fighters (April 2014)
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By: Rich Hansen, MMATorch Guest Columnist

Despite my hiatus from this site, both writing and audio, I'm still keeping up with the sport and with the site. On top of that, I'm still in charge of compiling the monthly rankings. And since I'm going through the effort to compile the rankings, I still put together my own rankings in each division as well. My breakdown continues today with the bantamweight ranks.

1.) Renan Barao: Jose Aldo's teammate at Nova União, Barao is as dominant as anyone in the sport. After losing his MMA debut fight in April 2005, Barao has rattled off 32 straight wins (with one early No Contest thrown in there). Barao sits behind Aldo on this list solely due to the shorter resume in the WEC and UFC, but I'd have no issue with anyone who said Barao was the better fighter. It also is notable that Chris Cariaso, Brad Pickett, and Scott Jorgensen are now fighting at flyweight while Barao could dominate the featherweight division when Jose Aldo moves to lightweight. Or even with those who said Barao is the best fighter in the world. Barao's finished his last three fights, and hasn't ever looked vulnerable fighting for Zuffa.

Significant victories: Chris Cariaso, Brad Pickett, Scott Jorgensen, Michael McDonald, Eddie Wineland, Urijah Faber (2x)


1A.) Dominick Cruz: A Quick note on Dominick Cruz, who isn't eligible for the MMA Torch rankings. If he were eligible, the only positions that make sense are 1, 2, or unranked. You can make the argument that he was the champion before he injured his knee. You can make the argument that the eyeball test says Renan Barao is just better. Or you can make the argument that he hasn't fought for two and a half years, he's no lock to be the same guy who relied on his legs as much as anyone, so why should he be ranked until he fights and shows us who he is now? The argument you can't make is to slide him in between, say, Francisco Rivera and Alex Caceres.

Significant victories: Ian McCall, Joseph Benavidez (2x), Brian Bowles, Scott Jorgensen, Urijah Faber, Demetrious Johnson

Notable loss: Urijah Faber


2.) Urijah Faber: There are people out there who believe that Faber keeps getting title shots because everyone in the world except for Dominick Cruz and my friend Andrea love Urijah Faber. But they're wrong. Despite being universally liked (sorry Dom and Annie), he's earned every title shot he's gotten since dropping the WEC Featherweight Championship back in 2008. Yes, 2008! Since dropping that title, he's 9-0 in non-title fights, and he's 0-5 in title fights. In those nine victories, only Eddie Wineland and Charles Oliveira managed to go the distance. Faber's a fantastic finisher, and he's decisively beaten everybody the UFC's put in front of him. Top guys too, not scrubs.

Significant victories: Bibiano Fernandes, Dominick Cruz, Jeff Curran, Jens Pulver (2x), Raphael Assunção, Takeya Mizugaki, Eddie Wineland, Brian Bowles, Ivan Menjivar, Scott Jorgensen, Iuri Alcantara, Michael McDonald

Notable losses: Tyson Griffin, Mike Thomas Brown (2x), Jose Aldo, Dominick Cruz, Renan Barao (2x)


3.) Raphael Assuncao: You could take Assuncao along with the next five guys on this list, shuffle their order, and be able to make a compelling argument as to why that would be appropriate. Assuncao's riding a six fight losing streak since making the move to 135 lbs., including a victory over Renan Barao's next challenger in T.J. Dillashaw. Assuncao would have gotten the title shot but for an injury that led to the UFC elevating Dillashaw. Assuncao is expected to get the winner of that fight in the fall.

Significant victories: Jorge Masvidal, Jameel Massouh, Yves Jabouin, Mike Easton, T.J. Dillashaw, Pedro Munhoz

Notable losses: Jeff Curran, Urijah Faber, Diego Nunes, Erik Koch


4.) Michael McDonald: McDonald has phenomenal hands. He also took advantage of being the right guy at the right time in the right place in the thinnest division when he got his title shot last year. McDonald really needs time to develop his transitions, defense, and grappling skills. That said, once he's 26 or so (which is still three years away), he's going to be ready to be Renan Barao's toughest fight. He just needs time to develop out of the limelight so that he can reach his full potential. Hopefully Sean Shelby gives him that time, which is going to be difficult considering the dearth of elite BW talent under UFC contract.

Significant victories: Chris Cariaso, Miguel Torres, Brad Pickett (in case you're counting that's two flyweights and toast)

Notable losses: Renan Barao, Urijah Faber


5.) Eduardo Dantas: Here's the thing with this division. Dantas, Bibiano Fernandes, Marlon Moraes, Marcos Galvao, and Joe Warren are all in my top-15, and none of them are under UFC contract. It's not that bantamweight is devoid of talent, it's that for whatever reason a lot of the elite bantamweight talent isn't under UFC control. Jimmie Rivera, Rafael Silva, Robert Emerson, Luis Nogueira, and Travis Marx are all very good bantamweights who are fighting elsewhere as well. Dantas is the best of the lot, in my opinion.

Significant victories: Luis Nogueira, Wilson Reis, Alexis Vila, Zach Makovsky, Marcos Galvao

Notable losses: Masakatsu Ueda, Tyson Nam


6.) Marlon Moraes: I don't think it's physically possible for a man to die from leg kick trauma, but Marlon Moraes is determined to try his damnedest to disprove this notion. I'm partial to leg kick assassins, and Moraes is one of the absolute best in the world with this weapon. It's a damn shame he's being wasted in the WSOF's putrid bantamweight division, but hopefully he'll be able to jump to the UFC or Bellator when his contract is up. Calling him number six in the world is speculative, based on the eye test and not on the resume. Sometimes paper lies and the eyes tell you the truth.

Significant victories: Miguel Torres, Tyson Nam, Carson Beebe

Notable losses: Deividas Taurosevicius and a handful of guys you've never heard of


7.) Eddie Wineland: Wineland has fantastic power in his hands, wicked ground and pound, and tons of heart. Don't doubt his heart. He started out with a 3-4-1 record before becoming the excellent fighter he is now. That's admirable in my world. However, he's not the best athlete in the sport, and his defense leaves a lot to be desired. He might not get another UFC title shot, but he's damn fun to watch.

Significant victories: Antonio Banuelos, George Roop, Scott Jorgensen (we sure do see that name a lot), Brad Pickett, Yves Jabouin

Notable losses: Chase Beebe, Rani Yahya, Urijah Faber, Joseph Benavidez, Renan Barao


8.) Bibiano Fernandes: I'll be honest here. I haven't seen a Fernandes fight since he beat Antonio Banuelos almost two and a half years ago. He had the chance to fight in the UFC but chose to sign with ONE FC in order to fight bums and make more money. While that's admirable in that his family will be well provided for, if he doesn't want to be relevant, I'm not going to hunt down his bum shock fights. He's great, but I get nothing out of watching the snuff films he's getting booked into. I'm sure that my not giving a s*** about Fernandes is not keeping him up at night.

Significant victories: Joe Warren, Hiroyuki Takaya , Joachim Hansen, Antonio Banuelos

Notable losses: Urijah Faber, Kid Yamamoto, Hiroyuki Takaya


9.) Takeya Mizugaki: I'd feel better about this if he'd ever finish a fight. In his thirteen fights since signing with Zuffa, he's got one finish in his eight victories. Mizugaki is an action fighter with no glaring weaknesses, and he's just not going to stop coming at you. His WEC debut with Miguel Torres was an unbelievable fight. His comeback against Bryan Caraway had me out of my seat. The way he ruined the UFC's plans for Erik Perez was riveting. I like the guy, and as a result I probably have him a couple slots too high. Sue me.

Significant victories: Jeff Curran, Rani Yahya, Bryan Caraway, Erik Perez, Nam Phan

Notable losses: Miguel Torres, Scott Jorgensen, Urijah Faber, Brian Bowles, Chris Cariaso


10.) T.J. Dillashaw: Like McDonald, Dillashaw is the right guy at the right place at the right time. When the UFC needed to book Barao for a UFC 173 title fight and Raphael Assuncao told the UFC he wouldn't be healthy enough to take the fight, T.J. Dillashaw got the shot because, well, who else was going to get it? Faber lost to Barao twice, including in Barao's last fight. McDonald just lost to Faber in December, and has already lost to Barao. Eddie Wineland got KO'd by Barao in spectacular fashion a few months ago. Mizugaki can't be put in a PPV main event, and really isn't worthy. So Dillashaw's getting the shot. He's got a 1% chance of beating Barao, as it's always possible that Barao will throw the fight.

Significant victories: Hugo Viana, Mike Easton (yep. That's it.)

Notable losses: John Dodson, Raphael Assunção


11.) Iuri Alcantara: Just as 3-8 was tight, 11 through about 30 is tight as well. There's so little definition in this division right now that it's impossible to have any real conviction, or any real criticisms, on who gets ranked where. Alcantara's a known commodity at this point, having only lost five times in thirty five career fights. He went the distance with the aforementioned Urijah Faber, He holds a KO win over featherweight contender Ricardo Lamas, and he looked good against Wilson Reis his last time out.

Significant victories: Francisco Trinaldo, Ricardo Lamas, Michihiro Omigawa, Wilson Reis

Notable losses: Hacran Dias, Urijah Faber


12.) Joe Warren: Like I said, total crapshoot. I'm as skeptical of Warren's legitimacy as anyone, but he has some good wins. The man Bellator, and Warren himself, embarrassingly promote as the “baddest man on the planet” is a becoming a capable finisher, although that could be due as much to the low level of competition he's been facing recently. But it isn't his fault that Bellator is hand-picking his opponents in a transparent attempt to get a title around his waist. Unfortunately, they can't fire Eduardo Dantas like they did with other inconvenient champions such as Ben Askren and Hector Lombard (didn't re-sign, whatever. You say Tomato, I say the truth), so short of Bellator hiring Dino Laurenzi to handle Eduardo Dantas' urine, they aren't going to be able to get a belt on Warren.

Significant victories: Kid Yamamoto, Georgi Karakhanyan, Patricio Freire, Marcos Galvao

Notable losses: Bibiano Fernandes, Alexis Vila, Pat Curran


13.) Francisco Rivera: Who knows, really. Maybe he's this good, maybe he's not. I certainly want him to be good, as he's fun to watch. We'll know more after he faces Mizugaki at UFC 173 in a fight that really should be fantastic. Or maybe not. Who knows? Right?

Significant victory: George Roop (yep. That's it. Like I said, who knows?)


14.) Alex Caceres: Really? Yeah, sure. Why not, right? Now that he's taking the sport seriously, while still fighting a style that is hard to defend, it's possible he's actually this good. He's on a five fight win streak, as long as you disregard a little bit of weed. And it's not like the UFC is protecting him, as they surely expected Sergio Pettis to beat him in January. Caceres will never hold the title, but he's fun, young, and a breath of fresh air, tinged with a bit of Tetrahydrocannabinol.

Significant victories: Roland Delorme, Sergio Pettis

Notable losses: Mackens Semerzier, Jimy Hettes, Edwin Figueroa


15.) Bryan Caraway: It's kind of a shame he's more famous for his relationship with Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey's hatred of him than for his fighting. He's a decent fighter who would have beaten a very solid Takeya Mizugaki had Miesha Tate not implored him to just coast in the third round of that fight. Then again, invite Miesha Tate into your corner, listen to Miesha Tate, get what you deserve.

Significant victories: Mitch Gagnon, Johnny Bedford

Notable losses: Wilson Reis, Mark Hominick, Fredson Paixao, Takeya Mizugaki


DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
HANSEN: UFC 187 - Everything You Could Possibly Ask For in MMA
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HANSEN: Top Fights to Make After UFC 178 "Johnson vs. Cariaso"

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