MMA Fighter Rankings: Featherweight

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

Featherweight

• After months of over-the-top hype, Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor, the most anticipated fight in featherweight history, was completely derailed by a rib injury suffered by Aldo during training. Now, McGregor is set to face two-time title challenger Chad Mendes with an interim title on the line. As for whether or not the UFC should have created an interim title: No. No they shouldn't have.
• Widely considered the best 145-pounder on the planet not nicknamed "Scarface," Mendes absolutely destroyed Ricardo Lamas in his last trip to the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 63 in April.
• Coming off a victory over former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber, Frankie Edgar was hoping to find himself in an interim title fight in the event Aldo would be unable to compete. The UFC chose Mendes over Edgar, and now "The Answer" will have to wait patiently for a potential title fight.
• Bellator featherweight conqueror Patricio Freire snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Daniel Weichel at Bellator 138 in June. Likely saved by the bell in the first round, Freire rendered Weichel unconscious with a vicious left hand 32 seconds into the second stanza.