The most powerful espada don't need to prove themselves. Noitora is probably the only upper tier (1-5) espada out there trying to prove himself, cause he's a moron who thinks he's cool.
And yeah, Ulqi's number this early would be kinda weird. I do wish Halibel would fight Ishida though, so we could get more espada rankings/deaths. Ichigo won't kill Ulquiorra unless Kubo goes with the kill off espadas 7-10 thing, and on top of that gives Ulquiorra the 7th spot.
edit: wow has anyone seen this? this.. wow. The fans dream. Like every captain comes and starts fucking up Hueco Mundo. And… wow. It looks so real. Ulquiorra's release = wow.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/hxhm4z
its fake of course, lol.