MMA Rankings > WEC Bantamweight Rankings

WEC Bantamweight Division Rankings

Ranking of the WEC's 135-pound Bantamweight division - August 2009

The 135 pound division of the WEC was lead by one of the most dominant fighters in major Mixed Martial Arts. That was until August 9, 2009 when Brian Bowles shocked the MMA world in winning the WEC Bantamweight Championship by knocking out Miguel Angel Torres. Torres' dominance over the 135-pound world was so great that many were surprised when Takeya Mizugaki lasted 5 rounds with Torres at WEC 40 after taking the fight on short notice replacing the injured 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. But Bowles took the surprise to a whole new level at WEC 42 and now wears the WEC Bantamweight Championship belt.

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 dropping considerably. Jeff Curran, a former WEC Featherweight who lost his first two fights as a Bantamweight to Joseph Benavidez & Takeya Mizugaki, did indeed make our Top 10 bantamweights list. Dominick Cruz, a fighter who at 14-1 was not even in our Top 5 in June, has jumped considerably and may even get a title shot. 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...

Top WEC Bantamweight Fighter Rankings:

1. Brian Bowles - Brian Bowles shocked the MMA world on August 9th when he got the 1st round KO victory over Miguel Torres to become the new WEC Bantamweight Champion. After flurry of punches from Torres, Bowles countered with a shot that sent Torres to the mat before he knocked the then 135-pound champ out with a powerful display of ground and pound. Now 8-0 in his MMA career and 5-0 in the WEC, Bowles will likely face Dominick Cruz in his first title defense before the expected rematch with Torres sometime in 2010.
2. Miguel Angel Torres - After 17 straight victories and with a 37-1 MMA record Torres was near the top of most every list of the best pound for pound fighters in the sport. Torres' loss to Bowles at WEC 42 drops him to 5-1 in the WEC as it marked his first loss since 2003. Expect Torres to have a fight against another Top 5 WEC Bantamweight before having his shot at Bowles again sometime in early to mid-2010.
3. Takeya Mizugaki - A late replacement for Brian Bowles at WEC 40, Mizugaki gave Torres all he could handle where he lost a Unanimous Decision to the former 135-pound WEC Champion. While Mizugaki opened a lot of eyes in defeat, he was able to impress again at WEC 42 where he earned a hard-fought split decision victory over Jeff Curran. With the win Mizugaki is now 12-3-2 in his MMA career and 1-1 in WEC events.
4. Dominick Cruz - Now 5-0 in the WEC and 14-1 in his MMA career, Cruz' only career loss came to Urijah Faber at WEC 26 in March 2007. His win over Benavidez at WEC 42 will surely open many eyes in the MMA community, but will it be enough to earn Cruz a 135 pound title shot?
5. Rani Yahya - At 15-4 in his career with 14 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 will have to prove himself against stronger competition in the WEC to solidify his place in the Top 5 in months to come. Yahya's most recent challenge came at WEC 42 where he forced John Hosman to tap out due to a North-South choke in the 1st round.



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6. Joseph Benavidez - Benavidez drops slightly after suffering his first professional defeat at the hands of Dominick Cruz at WEC 42 and will now have to add a few impressive wins to his resume if he wants an eventual title shot. The key to Benavidez, 10-1 MMA, 2-1 WEC, moving forward will be how he will handle the consistent step up in competition.
7. Jeff Curran - Say all you want about Curran's current 4-fight losing streak, but Jeff Curran has proven over his 40+ fight career that he is a top-notch fighter. Curran's four most recent fights have all been losses to fighters in the top 2-3 spots in their respective weight class, most recently a split decision loss to Takeya Mizugaki at WEC 42 on August 9.
8. Akitoshi Tamura - Tamura made his 135-pound debut at WEC 40 where he defeated Manny Tapia by unanimous decision after previously fighting at 145 pounds. Tamura will face Damacio Page (11-4) at WEC 43 on September 2 in Youngstown, Ohio, as he looks to work his way up this list and improve his 13-7-2 MMA record.
9. Manny Tapia - The former #1 contender in the 135-pound weight class has seen the talent around him improve while slipping a bit himself after falling in consecutive fights to Torres in his title shot at WEC 37 and then to Tamura at WEC 40.
10. Damacio Page - Damacio "The Angel of Death" Page is 11-4 in his MMA career and 2-1 in the WEC with that lone loss coming to Bantamweight Champion Brian Bowles. Page will have an opportunity to move up in the rankings when he faces Akitoshi Tamura on September 2nd.

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 August 2009
World Extreme Cagefighting logo used with permission from the WEC

Past WEC Bantamweight Division Rankings:

• WEC Bantamweight Rankings - June 2009