The top two spots in the bantamweight buzz rankings were unchanged in October with Miguel Torres and Brian Bowles holding onto 1st and 2nd place, respectively. Despite Bowles having stunningly TKO’d Torres to win the WEC bantamweight title, Miguel remains the most recognizable face of the division and still draws more attention from fans than the champion. While Torres’ return date to the WEC is still unannounced, the highest drawing TV event that fans will turn out for is a rematch between these two.
WEC contender Takeya Mizugaki was the center of some attention in October, inching all the way up to 3rd place in what was generally a slow month for bantamweights. Inactive fighters Seth Dikun, Coty Wheeler, Shingo Kohara, and Jeremy Tavares each fell from the top 20 positions in fan interest that they held in September.
| October Rank |
Featherweight Fighter |
September to October Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miguel Torres | No Change |
| 2 | Brian Bowles | No Change |
| 3 | Takeya Mizugaki | Up 15 |
| 4 | Manny Tapia | Up 9 |
| 5 | Damacio Page | Up 2 |
| 6 | Scott Jorgensen | Up 4 |
| 7 | Dominick Cruz | Down 2 |
| 8 | Charlie Valencia | Up 8 |
| 9 | Will Campuzano | Up 27 |
| 10 | Eddie Wineland | Up 4 |
| 11 | Antonio Banuelos | Down 3 |
| 12 | Will Ribeiro | Up 18 |
| 13 | Kenji Osawa | Up 16 |
| 14 | Wilson Reis | Up 19 |
| 15 | Akitoshi Tamura | Down 6 |
| 16 | Rani Yahya | Down 12 |
| 17 | Joseph Benavidez | Down 14 |
| 18 | Frank Gomez | Down 6 |
| 19 | Noah Thomas | Up 4 |
| 20 | Marcos Galvao | Up 8 |
Dropped out of Bantamweight Top 20:
Seth Dikun (#23), Coty Wheeler (#24), Shingo Kohara (#26), Jeremy Tavares (#27), Rafael Rebello (#30), Danny Martinez (#35)
