Featherweight
1. Conor McGregor (21-3)
Most were skeptical that McGregor would ever compete as a featherweight again, so it was hardly a shock when the UFC announced McGregor had been stripped of his 145-pound crown. This means McGregor will likely wait until the UFC lines up Tony Ferguson or Khabib Nurmagomedov for his first lightweight title defense. McGregor’s two-division, simultaneous reign lasted just 14 days.2. Jose Aldo (26-2)
It is hardly the fashion in which he wanted to regain his title, but Aldo is once more the UFC featherweight champion, courtesy of the promotion stripping the man who knocked him out a year ago: Conor McGregor. If Aldo wishes to avenge his loss to McGregor, he will need to move up to 155 pounds. Otherwise, Aldo’s first defense of his new reign will come in a unification bout with newly minted interim titleholder Max Holloway.3. Max Holloway (17-3)
Nine wins in a row in any division normally earns you a title shot -- a real one -- but Holloway, even with his thrilling and accomplished record, needed the cancellation of the Daniel Cormier-Anthony Johnson headliner at UFC 206 in order to get an interim featherweight title fight with Anthony Pettis, as the UFC panicked and promoted their clash to the main event. Holloway seized the moment, entertaining fans and media all week, first with his charming one-liners and puns and then by dominating the former lightweight champ, polishing him off with a body kick and battery of punches in the third round to claim some small slice of the UFC featherweight title in Toronto.4. Frankie Edgar (21-5-1)
Despite carrying a back injury and an MCL tear into his UFC 205 clash with Jeremy Stephens, as well as having to recover from a brutal knockdown, Edgar would not be turned away at Madison Square Garden. Edgar won the unanimous decision over “Lil’ Heathen” and successfully rebounded from his second loss to Jose Aldo at UFC 200 in July.5. Cub Swanson (24-7)
Back-to-back losses to Frankie Edgar and Max Holloway gave Swanson the appearance of a fading if not totally faded force at 145 pounds. Since those defeats, the scrapper has put together a trio of quality wins, taking out tricky veterans Hacran Dias and Tatsuya Kawajiri before putting on one of the best fights of 2016, prevailing via unanimous decision in a truly insane brawl with South Korean upstart Doo Ho Choi that seems to have re-affirmed his spot in the division and ensured no one will forget about Swanson anytime soon.6. Ricardo Lamas (17-5)
With recent losses to Chad Mendes and Max Holloway, Lamas was in need of a sterling win in order to keep pace in an intensifying 145-pound weight class. “The Bully” got just that on Nov. 5 in Mexico City, where he tapped out Charles Oliveira with a guillotine in the second round. Lamas is now 4-2 in his last six bouts.7. Anthony Pettis (19-6)
It seemed like a dream for Pettis when the former lightweight kingpin dropped to 145 pounds, styled against Charles Oliveira in August and then lucked into an interim featherweight title fight with Max Holloway at UFC 206 that could have set him up for a long-awaited, once-scheduled bout with Jose Aldo. Instead, it became a nightmare: Pettis blew weight, clocking in at 148 pounds, and then got beaten around the cage by Holloway until the Hawaiian put him away with a kick to the body and torrent of punches in Round 3.8. Charles Oliveira (21-7, 1 NC)
It has been a rough three months for Oliveira. While the 27-year-old Brazilian remains one of MMA’s most thrilling and creative grapplers, he has now suffered back-to-back guillotine choke losses to Anthony Pettis and Ricardo Lamas. He also missed weight for the Lamas fight, which has become a long-maligned theme in Oliveira’s career. Oliveira is 1-3 in his last four bouts and also missed weight for his lone win in that period, a first-round submission of Myles Jury in December 2015.9. Jeremy Stephens (25-13)
Stephens was game against Frankie Edgar at UFC 205 on Nov. 12, nearly knocking out “The Answer.” However, Edgar prevailed via unanimous decision on the scorecards, dropping Stephens to 5-4 since he cut down to the UFC’s 145-pound division.10. Doo Ho Choi (14-2)
Choi’s clash with Cub Swanson at UFC 206 on Dec. 10 was a major step up in competition and easily the biggest bout of his young career. No one could ever make the case that “The Korean Superboy” actually won the fight. Yet Choi’s insane, frenetic offense and otherworldly ability to absorb damage from Swanson in an epic brawl is a small-scale win in its own right: The 25-year-old took an L on his record but cemented himself in the minds and hearts of any MMA fan who caught a glimpse at the 15 minutes of craziness he and Swanson created.Other Contenders: Dennis Bermudez, Darren Elkins, Andre Fili, Brian Ortega, Yair Rodriguez
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