MMA Power Rankings: The Feather Weights
Now that the five main stream weight classes have been picked through, it is time for the newer classes to get some recognition. The 145lb weight class has not been in the public eye for that long. Sure, the past couple of years FWs have been showcased in the WEC (and in Japan), but the incentive was always there that if you could fight at 155 you should because you will get paid more money. Now that the lighter weights have made their way to the sports biggest stage, we will start to see more and more fighters drop down to become more competitive. In fact it has already started with fighters such as Kenny Florian, and Tyson Griffin. With the migration of talent inside these lower divisions, my lists will probably change more dramatically than the bigger guys.
On a side not, most of the fighters who compete in the “FW class” of dream will be judged on these lists as BWs since their division is mostly competed at 138-139 lbs (which is closer to 135lbs than 145lbs).
So in the words of the best movie character ever: Here we go…
1. Kenny Fl…(sike) had you there for a second.
1. Jose Aldo– Not much can be described on this list that hasn’t already been said about the man who a lot of people consider a top 3 PFP talent. He is lighting fast, with power to match. His striking is amazing, with his leg kicks becoming among the best in the sport, and pin-point accuracy with his punches. His jiu-jitsu while only briefly seen, has been enough to subdue “Pequeno” Nogueira, and absolutely dominate Urijah Faber and Mike Brown. In fact, the only style match up we haven’t seen him dominate yet is a striker just as good as him, and his scheduled duel with Mark Hominick gives that situation a reality.
2. Chad Mendes– A great wrestling pedigree, and great training partners can build up a fighter fast. That is the situation with Chad. Since moving over to MMA he has yet to be defeated and IMO hasn’t lost a round. While his wrestling has been labeled boring at times (fairly I might add), his last two fights had him winning most of the stand up exchanges while also looking to pass or pound on the ground. He has yet to face someone that can make him fight on his feet, so that in theory looks like the only way to maybe beat him at this point.
3. Hatsu Hioki– The best fighter in Japan competing in any weight class. Some may view this as an overstatement of Hioki’s skills and accomplishments, but I do not (obviously). His takedowns and ground game have grown immensely throughout his career, and that’s saying something because that’s what he was good at to begin with. Hioki was last seen dominating Marlon Sandro for the FW title in Sengoku, in a fight that many “experts” thought expected him to lose. He made the BJJ blackbelt look amateurish on the mat. Right now Hioki is in limbo though as he is part of a promotion that is seemingly going under. Hopefully he signs with the UFC, because a fight between him and Florian, Aldo, Mendes, Griffin, or Vasquez would be great fun (not to mention the growing list of up and comers starting to make names for themselves in the division).
4. Kenny Florian– Yes, yes I know he hasn’t competed in the weightclass yet. However, he’s a bad ass who’s skill set ranges from underrated takedowns, to good striking, and great offensive BJJ. His only losses in the past 5 years are to Sean Sherk (who was a perennial top 5 WW and LW prior to his failed steroid test), BJ Penn (arguably the greatest LW to compete in MMA), and Gray Maynard (the only man to ever make Frankie Edgar look beatable). His main weaknesses have been good/powerful wrestlers (other than the greatness of Penn at his height), and this move to FW will show if it still is wrestling that is his kryptonite or if it was the size of the men he was competing against. All that being said, I feel sorry for Diego Nunes because I think Ken-flo is going to make an example out of him.
5. Marlon Sandro– Good BJJ and ok striking usually lead to a decent mixed martial artist. However, when you add in the concussive power of a WW to a guy competing in the FW division you have a top tier fighter. Before Marlon’s forgetful performance against Hioki he reeled off 3 of the most destructive KOs you will ever see in four fights (we’re talking out cold getting taken out on a stretcher KO’s). He now has his sights set on Bellator, and that’s probably the best place for him at the moment considering if he made a run in the UFC there would be no championship for him to fight for (Aldo and Sandro have already made it clear they would not fight each other).
6. Tyson Griffin– Another one of the first guys to drop down, Tyson has been an enigma as of late. He stated publicly before the Evan Dunham fight that he would be changing his diet and training regiment around so that he would be able to stay closer to the 155 lb limit. He has then gone on to lose 3 straight fights (albeit by different methods). If size was the thing that held him back recently at 155 then it will probably help him at 145. On his game, Tyson is a dynamo of a fighter. A guy who mixes powerful striking with good wrestling and great scrambles. All this being said his entrance song is still terrible (eye of the tiger, really?).
7. Patricio Freire– “Pitbull” is one of the most promising mixed martial artists competing in MMA today. He has great submissions, decent enough wrestling, and quick hands/knees/feet. His power has been good enough to stop 4 of his opponents while dropping a few others. In the first round of his most important match to date with Joe Warren he uses his combinations to drop and bloody Warren repeatedly, and his BJJ to gain dominant positions on the mat (he was holding a tight Rear naked choke as the round closed that would surely have put Joe to sleep if the round kept going), frankly I don’t know how a qualified judge doesn’t score that round a 10-8. The next two rounds he started to gas which let Joe creep back into the match, Joe ended up walking away with a split decision which IMO should have been a draw. Either way if they fought again I would surely have my money on Patricio.
8. Michihiro Omigawa– Toughness is a great attribute to have in MMA. So with the amount Omigawa has you have to be impressed with him. He started his career off taking fights against Aaron Riley and JZ Calvacante, which as you would expect, didn’t go well for him. Since those fights he has not been stopped, and has continued to evolve as a fighter. Michihiro now posses good takedowns, good striking, and above average submissions. These skills coupled with the fact that he is tough as nails make Omigawa a damn good mixed martial artist.
9. Mitsuhiro Ishida– Wrestling wins fights, and frankly “The Endless warrior” might be the most underrated wrestler in MMA today. He has taken down, and dominated the likes of Gilbert Melendez, Justin Wilcox, Marcus Aurelio, and Akiyo “Wiki” Nishiura (who are all naturally larger men than him). He had some setbacks in his last fights at 155, but his journey below has yet to hit a snag (his record in the division stands at 2-0). With his future being uncertain he is still a hard out for anyone in the world under 155, and if you do beat him you will probably have to deal with Tatsuya Kawajiri (which is never fun).
10. Joe Warren– Again, Wrestling wins fights (I think that’s tuning into my favorite saying). A slow starter who lately has made his bones taking a beating and then coming back to overwhelm his opponents, Joe is a tough man. His only loss to date is an armbar L against Bibiano Fernandes that if you asked him about, you would probably only hear I never tapped. Warren’s mind is not focused on MMA at the moment however as he is busy getting ready to try and qualify for the 2012 Olympics as a Greco-roman wrestler (In his last two meets, he did not do well). When he makes his comeback it makes sense for him to compete with the bw’s considering he is competing at 132 on the world stage for wrestling.
Honorable mentions: Dustin Poirier, Mark Hominick, Josh Grispi, Diego Nunes, Erik Koch, Manny Gamburyan, Rafael Assuncao, Joe Soto, Rany Yahya, Mike Brown, Javier Vasquez
Rankings List:
1. Jose Aldo
2. Hatsu Hioki
3. Chad Mendes
7. Diego Nunes
9. Rani Yahya
11. Dustin Poirier
12. Josh Grispi
13. Mark Hominick
14. Mike Brown
15. Joe Warren
