MMA Rankings > WEC Bantamweight Rankings
WEC Bantamweight Division Rankings
Ranking of the WEC's 135-pound Bantamweight division - June 2009
The 135 pound division of the WEC is lead by one of the most dominant fighters in major Mixed Martial Arts. Since winning the WEC Bantamweight Championship belt at WEC 32, Miguel Angel Torres has proven to be one of the top pound for pound fighters in MMA. That dominance is also a reason that so many were surprised when Takeya Mizugaki lasted 5 rounds with Torres at WEC 40 after taking the fight on short notice replacing the injured Brian Bowles. The Unanimous Decision over the WEC-newcomer Mizugaki was the first fight that made it to a decision for Torres since 2005; a span of 11 fights. Bowles will get his chance at Torres at WEC 42 in August, but most experts will predict another win for the current WEC Bantamweight Champion.
The list of the top Bantamweight fighters in the WEC is an interesting one. With two straight losses, Manny Tapia punched his ticket out of the top 5. Jeff Curran, a former WEC Featherweight who lost his first fight as a Bantamweight at WEC 40 to Joseph Benavidez, is borderline top 5 but did not make the list. So who did make our top Bantamweights in the WEC list? Scroll down and read the information below to find out!
Note that there is no mention of other top-ranked MMA Bantamweights outside of the WEC as this is a WEC-specific list.
And now the ranking of the best of the WEC Bantamweight Division...
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Top WEC Bantamweight Fighter Rankings:
- Miguel Angel Torres - At 37-1 in his MMA career Torres is one of the top pound for pound fighters in the sport. With a perfect 5-0 WEC record and not a single loss in his MMA career since 2003, it's hard to see Torres giving up his belt anytime soon.
- Takeya Mizugaki - A late replacement for Brian Bowles, the #3 Bantamweight on this list, Mizugaki, gave Torres all he could handle at WEC 40 where he lost a Unanimous Decision to the reigning 135-pound WEC Champion. While Mizugaki opened a lot of eyes in defeat, he will likely have another tough opponent in his next fight, rumored to be at WEC 42 versus Jeff Curran.
- Brian Bowles - Is Bowles the #3 guy in the WEC's Bantamweight Division, or is he #1 or #2? We really will not know until after the August 9 fight with Torres. The 135 pound division's #1 contender, Bowles' injury before WEC 40 opened the door for Mizugaki, the #2 Bantamweight on this list, to make his mark on the World Extreme Cagefighting world. At 7-0 it will be interesting to see how the rather inexperienced Bowles will handle the pressure of a title fight and attention that comes with it.
- Rani Yahya - At 14-4 in his career with 13 submission victories, Yahya is a dangerous man on the ground. With a rather impressive background facing strong competition prior to coming to the WEC, Yahya, like Bowles & Benavidez, will have to prove himself against stronger competition in the WEC to solidify his place in the Top 5 in months to come.
- Joseph Benavidez - He's young (24 years old), he's undefeated (10-0 MMA, 2-0 WEC) and he trains with one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world in former WEC Featherweight Champion and WEC poster boy Urijah Faber. The key to Benavidez moving forward will be how he will handle the consistent step up in competition.
Look to ProFighting-fans.com for more MMA rankings including our WEC Bantamweight rankings & WEC Lightweight rankings!
By Michael
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer
Published June 2009
World Extreme Cagefighting logo used with permission from the WEC