The UFC bantamweight division in 2024 is the most talent-laden division in the history of the sport. It’s so loaded, you could take the top 30 fighters, split them into two top-15’s, and still have more talent to go around than, say, the UFC middleweight division, nevermind the heavyweights.
Sean O’Malley sits atop the throne. After oddsmakers favored him on MMA betting sites to beat Maron “Chito” Vera, O’Malley made good on his steep price tag by putting a controlled beatdown on his opponent the likes of which had not been seen since Max Holloway dropped a hammer on Calvin Kattar.
As promising as O’Malley’s prospects look as the current kingpin at 135 pounds, he still has some work to do before he can be reasonably ranked among the bantamweight greats.
Here are the five top bantamweights in UFC history, according to yours truly.
Urijah Faber
Ranking the top bantamweights is an interesting practice based solely on the amount of parity the division has seen at the top of the heap. More on that later, but with the influx of young talent, it’ll be easy for a lot of modern fans of the sport to remember that Urijah Faber carried the flag at 135 pounds for a long time, even though he never had UFC championship to accompany it.
Faber blended wrestling with boxing as well as any fighter in the world, with the exception of maybe his greatest rival, Dominick Cruz. He had a killer instinct few could match and beat a ton of fighters bordering on elite along the way. He also compiled an 0-4 record in UFC championship bouts, but also has a lot working with him in respect to the fighters who could contend for his spot.
Though Petr Yan got back in the win column against Faber’s protege Song Yadong, his recent losing skid took him from a potential undisputed bantamweight GOAT to one of a slew of elite fighters who could be considered one of the best ever. That’s indicative of how thin the margin for error is at bantamweight. Renan Barao is in a similar boat.
Henry Cejudo
Henry Cejudo’s time at bantamweight may have been short, but he made it count. Out of Cejudo’s final five opponents, three are ranked higher than him on this list, and he is the only member of this list to win a UFC championship in multiple weight classes.
For a long time, Cejudo struggled with making 125, and I always had the thought that if he committed to a career at bantamweight he could be every bit as successful. Him winning the bantamweight championship is enough proof of that.
Aljamain Sterling
Coming up, I saw Aljamain Sterling as a bantamweight Jon Jones for his length, unorthodox standup, and wrestling ability. As he matured as a fighter, Sterling began to lean heavier and heavier on his wrestling, which took him to great heights, even getting the better of Cejudo, the former Olympian in a few grappling exchanges
His resume and body of work is unquestioned. Had he beaten Sean O’Malley, Sterling would have had a legitimate argument to top this list. Now, he has likely fought for the last time at bantamweight, putting him in the glut of legendary fighters at the top of this list; not a bad place to be.
TJ Dillashaw
Let’s first address the elephant in the room: TJ Dillashaw took a banned substance ahead of his fight with Cejudo and has been labeled a drug cheat by many ever since. However, if one were to take him at his word, Dillashaw says he only used it for the Cejudo fight to help him make the 125-pound weight limit. Given that he had the competitive fight he did with Cory Sandhagen upon making his return to fighting despite sustaining a knee injury midway through the bout, I tend to believe him.
No matter your feelings about him, Dillashaw still left an undeniable mark on the 135-pound division. Alongside his coach, Duane Ludwig, he put together an innovative striking style and made the successful evolution from standout wrestler to elite standup mixed martial artist. Had it not been for the black mark his positive test will leave on his career, Dillashaw could be considered the greatest bantamweight to ever do it.
Dominick Cruz
On a personal level, Dominick Cruz is my favorite fighter to watch of all time, but his resume speaks for itself. He had to overcome adversity repeatedly throughout his career, overcame the odds to beat TJ Dillashaw and regain the title he never lost, and is still fighting at a high level to this very day.
No, the chin isn’t what it used to be, and Dom has lost some zip on his fastball, which is to be expected for a 39-year-old man fighting in a weight class predicated on speed. However, he’s also one of the most influential fighters in the division’s history. His quick and quirky approach to the standup game, paired with his relentless pace and scrambling ability, for a while, made him one of the toughest outs on a pound-for-pound basis.
Also working in Cruz’ favor: a win over Demetrious Johnson. Johnson would go on to become the greatest fighter in the history of the flyweight division.
