Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Flyweight

1. Demetrious Johnson (26-2-1)

Johnson is forced to deal with many unnecessary problems, from the “little guys don't sell” silliness and his own promoter publicly lambasting him for specious reasons to folks complaining he is just too dominant. Add another one to the pile: Two days before he was scheduled to go for history and an 11th straight UFC title defense, opponent Ray Borg was pulled from the bout due to illness. “Mighty Mouse” will now wait to be re-booked, either with Borg or another contender.

2. Joseph Benavidez (25-4)

Benavidez has long been one of the healthiest and most reliable fighters in the game, but this is MMA and everybody gets hurt from time to time. Benavidez, who is perpetually orbiting just outside a third UFC flyweight title shot against Demetrious Johnson, was lined up to face Ben Nguyen in Auckland, New Zealand, on June 11. However, Benavidez was forced from the bout with a knee injury, with Tim Elliott stepping in as his replacement.

3. Henry Cejudo (11-2)

Before he ever fought in a cage, from the moment he won Olympic gold back in 2008, fight fans wondered if Cejudo could be a future flyweight king. When Cejudo made it to the UFC and finally got to challenge Demetrious Johnson, he was blown out in the first round. Then he lost a razor-thin split decision to Joseph Benavidez in December. How would Cejudo respond? The answer was “in style.” At UFC 215, Cejudo dominated another recent UFC title challenger, Wilson Reis, destroying the Brazilian en route to a TKO stoppage in less than six minutes.

4. Kyoji Horiguchi (20-2)

Before Horiguchi became one of the world's best flyweights, he was a fine bantamweight prospect. Now participating in Rizin Fighting Federation's 2017 bantamweight tournament, he has headed back to his old division as the face and focal point of the grand prix. So far so good: In the opening round of the tournament on July 30 in Saitama, Japan, Horiguchi wasted popular Japanese action fighter Hideo Tokoro in less than two minutes.

5. Ray Borg (11-2)

Many were critical Borg's being granted a flyweight title shot against Demetrious Johnson at UFC 215, especially when “Mighty Mouse” was aiming for his historic 11th straight title defense. Another issue was the fact that Borg had missed the 125-pound mark twice in recent memory. Whether or not it was explicitly related to his weight cut remains unclear, but Borg was pulled from the UFC 215 headliner two days beforehand due to illness and then subsequently fired his nutritionist for making a public statement on his health.

6. Jussier da Silva (19-5)

Da Silva has unquestionably been one of the premier flyweights in the world for the better part of eight years, but during his nearly five-year Octagon tenure, the Brazilian has posted a 5-4 mark. While it may seem pedestrian, “Formiga” has consistently faced the creme de la creme of the division. Next time out, the Nova Uniao Kimura product will look to move his UFC winning percentage up to .600, as he takes on fellow crafty grappler Yuta Sasaki at UFC Fight Night 117 on Sept. 23 in Saitama, Japan.

7. Wilson Reis (22-8)

Reis is a sturdy veteran and a legitimate top-10 flyweight, but his last two Octagon appearances have been nightmarish. In his April UFC title challenge against Demetrious Johnson, “Mighty Mouse” toyed with the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt before effortlessly armbarring him in the third round. Hoping to get back in the title race at UFC 215, Reis ran into an invigorated Henry Cejudo, who pelted him for six minutes before stopping him. Reis is now 3-3 in his last six bouts.

8. Sergio Pettis (16-2)

Since he turned pro seven years ago at just 18 years old, it was expected that one day Pettis would be a 125-pound star. There were stumbling blocks along the way, including an upset knockout loss to Ryan Benoit in his UFC flyweight debut. Since then, “The Phenom” has won four in a row, and on Aug. 5 in Mexico City, he cooled off red-hot prospect Brandon Moreno, taking a 25-minute decision and the biggest win of his still-young career.

9. Brandon Moreno (14-4)

Moreno was the No. 16 seed in the tournament on “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 24 and was choked out by Alexandre Pantoja in the opening round. Moreno made his official UFC debut in October and began a shocking hot streak, as he knocked off Louis Smolka, Ryan Benoit and Dustin Ortiz in a seventh-month span. In front of a partisan Mexican crowd on Aug. 6, however, Moreno was brought back to Earth by fellow up-and-comer Sergio Pettis, who used technique and fitness to best “The Assassin Baby” over 25 minutes.

10. Dustin Ortiz (17-7)

Ortiz in April slipped to 2-4 in his previous six fights when he fell victim to Mexican prospect Brandon Moreno's surprising hot streak. However, he got back on track in a major way on Aug. 5 in Mexico City, blowing away Team Alpha Male's Hector Sandoval with a devastating 15-second knockout to keep pace in an intensifying 125-pound division.

Other Contenders: Magomed Bibulatov, Tim Elliott, Tyson Nam, Ben Nguyen, Alexandre Pantoja.

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