Miguel Torres had been perched atop the bantamweight divisional buzz rankings for three straight months until December, when Rani Yahya unexpectedly moved to the top position. Yahya, whose December 19th bout no doubt helped fuel his rise, has fought six times for the WEC and has slowly become a more familiar (and catchy) name to the casual MMA fan. While it remains to be seen if Yahya can stay on top for long given his loss in his last bout and the upcoming return of both champion Brian Bowles and former champion Miguel Torres, it is still a noteworthy accomplishment. Torres moved to second place overall, while WEC 45 winner Scott Jorgensen came in third. 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:
- November 2009 (#1 Rank: Miguel Torres)
- October 2009 (#1 Rank: Miguel Torres)
- September 2009 (#1 Rank: Miguel Torres)
December 2009 Bantamweight (135 lbs) Rankings
| December Rank |
Bantamweight Fighter | November to December Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rani Yahya | Up 12 |
| 2 | Miguel Torres | Down 1 |
| 3 | Scott Jorgensen | Up 14 |
| 4 | Joseph Benavidez | Up 4 |
| 5 | Dominick Cruz | Down 1 |
| 6 | Kyle Dietz | Up 13 |
| 7 | Takeya Mizugaki | Up 5 |
| 8 | Brian Bowles | Down 2 |
| 9 | Wagnney Fabiano | Up 5 |
| 10 | Damacio Page | No Change |
| 11 | Brad Pickett | Down 2 |
| 12 | Will Campuzano | Up 26 |
| 13 | Kenji Osawa | Down 11 |
| 14 | John Hosman | Up 15 |
| 15 | Danny Martinez | Up 8 |
| 16 | Chad George | Down 16 |
| 17 | Antonio Banuelos | Down 14 |
| 18 | Charlie Valencia | Up 4 |
| 19 | Rolando Perez | Up 7 |
| 20 | Will Ribeiro | Up 14 |
Dropped out of Top 20:
Manny Tapia (#22), Seth Dikun (#26), Frank Gomez (#27), Marcos Galvao (#33), Darren Uyenoyama (#34), Wilson Reis (#36), Cole Escovedo (#39)
[...] 20 Bantamweight Buzz Rankings for recent months: – December 2009 (#1 Rank: Rani Yahya) – November 2009 (#1 Rank: Miguel Torres) – October 2009 (#1 Rank: Miguel Torres) – September 2009 [...]