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MMA Rankings > Bellator Featherweight Rankings

Bellator Featherweight Division Rankings

Ranking of Bellator's 145-pound Featherweight division - January 2012

 

Possibly their deepest division, Bellator's 145 pound division is easily their most active crowning tournament champions in Seasons 1, 2, 4 and during their 2011 Summer Series with another expected during the Spring of 2012 in Season 6. While none of the fighters on our Top 5 list are undefeated inside the Bellator cage, each of these Bellator featherweights have the potential to be the title holder a year from now with differing strengths for each. While Joe Warren reigns as the champ of the Bellator 145 pound division currently he faces an upcoming challenge from Season 4 Featherweight Tournament winner Patricio "Pitbull" Freire with the winner to battle 2011 Summer Series winner Pat Curran.

Given the tournament format of Bellator leaving little debate in terms of rankings, it is still important to look at the big picture of recent activity from each fighter as well as their historic results.

And now the ranking of the best of othe Bellator Featherweight Division...



Top Bellator Featherweight Fighter Rankings:

 

1. Pat Curran - (16-4, 6-1 BFC) – The Bellator Season 2 Lightweight Tournament winner dropped to 145 pounds for Bellator's 2011 Summer Series and the move proved to be a good one. With his lone Bellator loss and only loss in two years coming to Eddie Alvarez, Curran has twice brought home 6-digit checks. His KO of the favored Marlon Sandro at Bellator 48 capped off the promotion's successful 2011 Summer Series as he awaits a shot at Joe Warren. His resume of wins, including a 2009 win over Straus, along with Warren's recent loss, puts Curran atop our Bellator Featherweight Rankings.

2. Joe Warren - (7-2, 5-1 BFC) – The most accomplished wrestler on this list, Warren won the 2006 Pan American and World Championship and the 2007 World Cup after a decorated career wrestling at the University of Michigan. After a 2-1 start to his career Warren scored 3 straight victories to win Bellator's Season 2 Featherweight Tournament then defeated champ Joe Soto by KO to win the Featherweight belt. After a controversial non-title fight win over Marcos Galvao, Warren entered Bellator's Season 5 Bantamweight Tournament where he was knocked out in the 1st round by Alexis Vila. While Warren remains the Featherweight Champion, Warren will face tough competition in first Pitbull Freire and then Curran if he can get past Pitbull.

3. Patricio Freire - (17-1, 5-1 BFC) – One of the top International finds by Bellator's talent evaluators is Patricio "Pitbull" Freire, a fighter who was signed with a 12-0 career record. His lone loss came to Joe Warren at Bellator 23 by split decision and has finished 13 of 18 opponents. Freire, the Season 4 Featherweight Tournament winner who defeated Daniel Straus by unanimous decision, will get another shot at Warren sometime in 2012 with the winner set to face Curran.

4. Daniel Straus - (17-4, 3-1 BFC) – Another elite wrestler on this list, Daniel Straus does one thing extremely well - win. A product of Team Vision in Cincinnati, Ohio, Straus has faced a who's who of top level fighters fighting for Bellator, Shark Fights and the NAAFS winning 16 of his past 18 fights. Also the reigning NAAFS Lightweight Champion, Straus will look to add a Bellator Championship to his trophy case as he has already been announced as a member of the 8-man field in the Bellator Season 6 Featherweight Tournament.

5. Marlon Sandro - (20-3, 3-1 BFC) – Widely considered one of the top Featherweights in MMA for years, Marlon Sandro joined Bellator for their 2011 Summer Series and advanced to the finals against Pat Curran. After appearing to be the superior fighter on their feet, Curran landed a devestating head kick to KO Sandro late in the 2nd round. While it has yet to be officially announced, Sandro is expected to participate in the Bellator Season 6 Featherweight Tournament to start in the Spring of 2012.

 

Daniel Straus is one of the announced participants in Bellator's Season 6 Featherweight Tournament.

 

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Honorable Mention: Alexandre "Popo" Bezerra, Nazareno Malegarie, Ronnie Mann

 

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Published December 2011