The FINAL Top 20 WEC Little Guys Ranking
#1 Jose Aldo; Brazilian
This is a list of the top bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight fighters of the WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting). These guys may be small in stature, but they have warrior attitudes that are as big as the big guys—if not bigger!
The WEC has the most elite “little guy” fighters in the world. It’s unfortunate that these guys don’t receive the compensation and recognition as the bigger guys, especially those in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). The WEC is a smaller organization, owned by Zuffa, which also owns the UFC.
Over the years, the WEC has dissolved it’s higher weight divisions, watching its fighters go to the UFC. The WEC ended up being the exclusive home for elite bantamweight and featherweight fighters, though their lightweight division was often looked at as a sort of farm league for the UFC.
With the recent absorption of the WEC into the UFC, this will be the final WEC rankings leading up to the final WEC event, WEC 53, to be held Thursday December 16, 2010. Look for our new “little guy” rankings in the new year.
~Top 20 WEC Little Guys Ranking~
~Bantamweight/Featherweight/Lightweight~
~Fighters~
[post-WEC 53]
| pr | cr | Fighter | Record | Weight | Height | Age | Next Opponent | Next Fight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Jose Aldo (Featherweight Champion) |
18-1 12 KOs |
145 | 5’7” | 24 | ||
| 2 | 2 | Ben Henderson (Lightweight Champion) |
12-1 8 subs |
155 | 5’9” | 27 | Anthony Pettis | 12/16/10 |
| 3 | 3 | Dominick Cruz (Bantamweight Champion) |
16-1 6 KOs |
135 | 5’8” | 25 | Scott Jorgenson | 12/16/10 |
| 4 | 4 | Joseph Benavidez | 13-2 3 KOS; 8 subs |
135 | 5’4” | |||
| 5 | 5 | Miguel Torres | 38-3 9 KOs 23 subs |
135 | 5’9” | 29 | Antonio Banuelos | 02/05/11 |
| 6 | 6 | Brian Bowles | 8-1 3 KOs 5 subs |
135 | 5’7” | 30 | ||
| 8 | 7 | Josh Grispi | 14-1 6 KOs 7 subs |
145 | 5’11” | 22 | Dustin Poirier | 01/01/11 |
| 9 | 8 | Mike Brown | 24-6 5 KOs 13 subs |
145 | 5’6” | 34 | Diego Nunes | 01/01/11 |
| 10 | 9 | Urijah Faber | 24-4 7 KOs 13 subs |
135/145 | 5’6” | 31 | ||
| 11 | 10 | Anthony Pettis | 11-1 4 KOs 6subs |
155 | 5’9” | 23 | Ben Henderson | 12/16/10 |
| 12 | 11 | Kamal Shalorus | 6-0-2 4 KOs |
155 | 5’8” | 32 | Bart Palaszewski | 12/16/10 |
| H | 12 | Donald Cerrone | 12-3 10 subs |
155 | 6’0″ | 27 | Chris Horodecki | 12/16/10 |
| 14 | 13 | Bart Palaszewski | 35-13 16 KOs 11 subs |
155 | 5’9” | 27 | Kamal Shalorus | 12/16/10 |
| 15 | 14 | Ricardo Lamas | 9-1 2 KOs 2 subs |
155 | 5’8” | 28 | Yuri Alcantara | 12/16/10 |
| 17 | 15 | Diego Nunes | 15-1 5 KOs 6 subs |
145 | 5’9” | 28 | Mike Brown | 01/01/11 |
| 18 | 16 | Scott Jorgensen | 11-3 4 subs |
135 | 5’5” | 28 | Dominick Cruz | 12/16/10 |
| 7 | 17 | Manvel Gamburyan | 11-5 6 subs |
145 | 5’5” | 29 | ||
| 13 | 18 | Jamie Varner | 16-4 5 KOs 9 subs |
155 | 5’8” | 26 | Shane Roller | 12/16/10 |
| 19 | 19 | Shane Roller | 8-3 5 subs |
155 | 5’10″ | 31 | Jamie Varner | 12/16/10 |
| - | 20 | Eric Koch | 11-1 2 KOs 7 subs |
145 | 5’10″ | 22 |
Lightweight Champion
Featherweight Champion
Bantamweight Champion
~Honorables~
| pr | cr | Fighter | Record | Weight | Height | Age | Next Opponent | Next Fight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | H | Takeya Mizugaki | 13-5-2 4 KOs |
135 | 5’7″ | 26 | ||
| - | H | Eddie Wineland | 17-6-1 8 KOs 5 subs |
135 | 5’8″ | Ken Stone | 12/16/10 | |
| - | 20 | Brad Pickett | 19-5 6 subs 9 KOs |
135 | 5’6” | 32 | Ivan Menjivar | 12/16/10 |
| 19 | H | Jung Chan Sung | 10-3 | 143 | 5’9” | 23 | ||
| 11 | 16 | LC Davis | 16-4 5 KOs 6 subs |
145 | 5’8” | 30 | ||
| - | H | Chad Mendes | 9-0 2 KOs |
145 | 5’6″ | 25 | Michihiro Omigawa | TBD |
| - | H | Leonard Garcia | 15-6 3 KOs 9 subs |
145 | 5’9″ | 31 | ||
| - | H | Cub Swanson | 15-4 7 subs |
145 | 5’7″ | 27 |
PR=Previous Ranking
CR=Current Ranking
H=Honorable
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This list needs to be updated. I knew Aldo would beat Brown, but I didn’t think he’d do it so convincingly. WoW, Aldo is the very best Featherweight in the world!!!
It’s your fault I bet all my money on Brown!!! I woulda picked Aldo, but your stupid list influenced me the other way! Damn you! Damn you to hell!
In very rare cases will there be a contender ranked ahead of the champion. Aldo was the challenger, so of course he couldn’t be ranked ahead of Brown. I had Aldo winning this fight all the way, however!
> But they seem strictly focused on the fights and the fights only
What else should they focus on?
You know what I’d like to see? (I know you’re dying to find out.) Zuffa owns the UFC and the WEC. I’d like to see the two used as complimentary units, rather than using the WEC as a “farm league” for the smaller guys.
What I mean is, restrict the UFC to Welterweight and higher (dividing the Heavyweight division in two) and relinquish all their lighter fighters to WEC, which would then be only Lightweights and lower, as well as a new Women’s division, at 145 or so. This would allow the UFC to focus more on the bigger guys – which seems to be what they wanna do anyway – and give the WEC some marquee guys that people are more familiar with and will encourage a higher viewership.
Whaddaya think?
I don’t see the WEC as a farm league. The UFC doesn’t carry the featherweight and bantamweight divisions. Perhaps, the lightweight division in the WEC is like a farm system for the lightweight division in the UFC. There’s no need for the UFC to rid itself of the lightweight division and BJ Penn. It’s one of the most populated divisions of fighters from around the world.
As I’ve said, it’s unfortunate that these little guys are fighting for chump change and a much smaller audience. That Mike Thomas Brown vs. Jose Aldo fight could have easily been a co-main event ppv fight for the UFC. Instead, airing on Versus, it only drew around 412,000 thousand households, a far cry from any of the UFC’s ppv events, as well as the Ultimate Fighter 10 episodes.
I’d like to see a women’s divsion in the WEC. You’ll never see it in the UFC; Dana White isn’t a fan, I don’t think.
I agree, you will never see a women’s division in the UFC. You also will never see featherweights or bantams in the UFC. The WEC has added flyweight and got rid of welterweight. I just think that the UFC should focus on the heavier guys and the WEC should focus on the lighter guys.
You say the UFC should keep their lightweight division, with BJ Penn. But then you talk about the WEC not getting the viewers. Don’t you think the viewers would tune in if the only place they could see Penn was in the WEC? Think about it – the UFC already has enough big names to keep it on the top of the heap without ever looking at the lightweights. The WEC could use a little publicity with some well-known names. Give them exclusivity on the lightweight division. Both companies are owned by Zuffa anyway – why compete with yourself?
> I don’t see the WEC as a farm league.
Don’t kid yourself sonnyboy. If a lightweight rises to incredible heights in the WEC, do you really think he will continue as WEC champion? Or do you think he will be moved – as quickly as possible – to the UFC’s lightweight division? To say it’s not a farm system for lightweights is to say that the WEC lightweights are equal to or better than the UFC lightweights. Did you really just say that?
Perhaps Jane should reread my previous comments. I said that only the WEC’s feather/bantamweight divisions are free standing weight classes, while the WEC’s lightweight division is indeed a sort of ‘farm league’ system for the UFC’s lightweight division. It helps to comprehend when one reads before commenting.
Hahaha shutup!
Damn, slapped in the face by my own inattention. I hate when that happens.