The top three spots for the featherweight buzz rankings were again unchanged in February, and have held steady for three straight months. Urijah Faber, Jose Aldo, and Jens Pulver continue to have a lock on fan interest for 145 pound fighters, and while it is a strong signal for the prospects of the upcoming Faber vs Aldo clash on the WEC 48 pay per view event, it also demonstrates the difficulty the promotion has had in building awareness and interest in their other fighters. As an example, Josh Grispi, the impressive 145 pound fighter who several months ago easily dispatched of Jens Pulver, is nowhere to be found among the list of fighters that fans are searching for. 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 Featherweight Buzz Rankings for recent months:
- January 2010 (#1 Rank: Urijah Faber)
- December 2009 (#1 Rank: Urijah Faber)
- November 2009 (#1 Rank: Jose Aldo)
| February Rank |
Featherweight Fighter | January to February Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Urijah Faber | No Change |
| 2 | Jose Aldo | No Change |
| 3 | Jens Pulver | No Change |
| 4 | Mike Thomas Brown | No Change |
| 5 | Manny Gamburyan | Up 2 |
| 6 | Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto | No Change |
| 7 | Leonard Garcia | Up 6 |
| 8 | George Roop | Up 2 |
| 9 | Joachim Hansen | Down 1 |
| 10 | Javier Vazquez | Up 1 |
| 11 | Bibiano Fernandes | Up 7 |
| 12 | Cub Swanson | Up 5 |
| 13 | Jeff Curran | Up 3 |
| 14 | L.C. Davis | Up 17 |
| 15 | Joe Warren | Up 11 |
| 16 | Alex Karalexis | Up 5 |
| 17 | Masakazu Imanari | Up 2 |
| 18 | Michihiro Omigawa | Up 5 |
| 19 | Chase Beebe | Up 6 |
| 20 | Joe Soto | Up 14 |
Dropped out of Top 20:
Rafael Assuncao (#23), Anthony Morrison (#26), Mark Hominick (#27), Masanori Kanehara (#28), Mackens Semerzier (#41), Deividas Taurosevicius (#47)
