Miguel Torres stayed atop the bantamweight divisional buzz rankings for February, cementing his place as the most popular 135 pound fighter among MMA fans. With Torres’ 2nd straight loss coming at the hands of Joseph Benavidez at WEC 47, however, it will be interest to see how long he can remain the fan favorite. New bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz held onto his position as the 3rd most buzzed about bantamweight in February, just prior to the March title fight where he knocked off Brian Bowles in impressive fashion. Beyond Torres, Cruz, Bowles, and Benavidez, a number of other talented fighters are also hovering close to the top of the bantamweight list, making the division one of the most exciting and dynamic currently in MMA. Full Top 20 rankings are below.
Tapology’s Buzz Rankings measure fan interest in individual MMA fighters based on online searches and pageviews for information about each athlete. The rankings are not a measure of a fighter’s skill or competitive standing within their division, but rather how much activity or “buzz” surrounds them (positive or negative).
Top 20 Bantamweight Buzz Rankings for recent months:
- January 2010 (#1 Rank: Miguel Torres)
- December 2009 (#1 Rank: Rani Yahya)
- November 2009 (#1 Rank: Miguel Torres)
| February Rank |
Bantamweight Fighter | January to February Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miguel Torres | No Change |
| 2 | Brian Bowles | No Change |
| 3 | Dominick Cruz | No Change |
| 4 | Joseph Benavidez | No Change |
| 5 | Scott Jorgensen | Up 1 |
| 6 | Damacio Page | Up 3 |
| 7 | Antonio Banuelos | Up 5 |
| 8 | Rani Yahya | No Change |
| 9 | Wilson Reis | Up 10 |
| 10 | Wagnney Fabiano | Down 5 |
| 11 | Manny Tapia | No Change |
| 12 | Brad Pickett | Up 1 |
| 13 | Cole Escovedo | Up 5 |
| 14 | Takeya Mizugaki | Up 1 |
| 15 | Danny Martinez | Up 5 |
| 16 | Charlie Valencia | Down 9 |
| 17 | Chad George | Up 6 |
| 18 | Will Ribeiro | Up 3 |
| 19 | Akitoshi Tamura | Down 9 |
| 20 | Marcos Galvao | Up 4 |
Dropped out of Top 20:
Will Campuzano (#21), Clint Godfrey (#23), Coty Wheeler (#28)
