MMA Fighter Rankings: Dominick Cruz, never gone

On the first Wednesday of every month, theScore's MMA editors compile a list of the top 10 fighters in each of the major weight classes.

Rankings
Heavyweight | Light Heavyweight
Middleweight | Welterweight
Lightweight | Featherweight
Bantamweight | Flyweight
Women: Bantamweight | Strawweight

• After months of one-sided trash talk and 25 minutes of hotly contested Octagon action, Dominick Cruz completed his comeback from multiple knee injuries in dramatic fashion. He edged out T.J. Dillashaw by the narrowest of margins to reclaim his place atop the bantamweight division. It wasn't easy and a rematch could be in order, but for now Cruz is once again the No. 1 bantamweight in the world.
• Gone from the rankings is Raphael Assuncao. One of only three men to own a win over Dillashaw, the 33-year-old Brazilian is still recovering from ankle surgery and has not fought since October 2014. With no fights booked in the near future, he makes room in the top 10 for another deserving contender.
• Cruz wasn't the only bantamweight making a return this month. Hand and wrist injuries cost Michael McDonald the last two years of his career and he finally made that walk to the Octagon again at UFC 195. He got off to a rough start against Masanori Kanehara, but turned things around in the second to score a submission victory. His only losses have come against Renan Barao and Urijah Faber, so McDonald remains a high-level competitor.
• Arguably the top 135-pounder outside of the UFC, Bibiano Fernandes made his fourth straight successful defense of the ONE Championship bantamweight title with a submission of Kevin Belingon on Jan. 23. His time in these rankings could be ending soon, as the new weight-cutting protocol initiated by ONE could force him to transition to featherweight.