Welterweight Rankings

[Buffalo Dave]

Updated Welterweight rankings,

1. Georges St. Pierre (20-2)
With Josh Koscheck’s May 8 win over Paul Daley, St. Pierre’s next title defense was set. But before he meets Koscheck in a rematch of their August 2007 encounter, the two welterweights will square off as opposing coaches on the 12th season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” with a very convenient and apparent good guy-bad guy dynamic.

2. Jon Fitch (23-3, 1 NC)
Fitch finally met Thiago Alves in their long-anticipated rematch. However, there was little flair in what transpired. The workmanlike Fitch wore down Alves with strong takedowns and great positional control en route to a unanimous decision verdict that might put him on the doorstep of another UFC welterweight title shot.

3. Thiago Alves (17-7)
Alves waited more than four years for a rematch with Jon Fitch. However, his struggle and eventual failure to make weight, coupled with his one-sided loss, has many -- UFC President Dana White included -- pushing Alves to move to middleweight in the future. Alves quickly enlisted fighter-cum-nutritional guru Mike Dolce, hoping he will get one more chance to get his weight in check.

4. Dan Hardy (23-7, 1 NC)
His lopsided loss to Georges St. Pierre in March is now a distant memory. “The Outlaw” will get back into the saddle this fall, as the Octagon heads back to England for UFC 120 on Oct. 16 in London. There, Hardy will take on fellow welterweight contender Carlos Condit in what should be a high-action affair.

5. Josh Koscheck (15-4)
With high stakes -- a UFC welterweight title shot and a coaching stint opposite Georges St. Pierre on “The Ultimate Fighter 12” -- up for grabs, Koscheck dominated Paul Daley for 15 minutes on the floor en route to a unanimous decision victory at UFC 113. After blocking a post-fight sucker punch from Daley and taunting the Montreal crowd, Koscheck cemented himself as one of MMA’s premiere heels and set in place the groundwork for the build-up to his rematch with St. Pierre.

6. Martin Kampmann (17-3)
In June, Kampmann put on perhaps the most impressive performance of his career, sweeping the cards in a one-sided decision win over Paulo Thiago. Now, Denmark’s top MMA export will get the tall task of welcoming former Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields to the Octagon at UFC 121 on Oct. 23.

7. Paulo Thiago (13-2)
Following a tough, one-sided decision loss to Martin Kampmann at UFC 115 in June, Thiago will have the chance to end 2010 on a high note. The Brazilian will take on Diego Sanchez at UFC 121 on Oct. 23 in Anaheim.

8. Paul Daley (24-9-2)
Daley’s sucker punch incident with Josh Koscheck, which got him ousted from the UFC in Montreal, will cost him a 30-day suspension from the Quebec commission. The perfunctory punishment will not interfere with the next bout for “Semtex,” as the British banger will meet Jorge Masvidal at Shark Fights 13 on Sept. 11 in Amarillo, Texas.

9. Nick Diaz (22-7, 1 ND)
Diaz did not make it easy on himself -- he seldom does -- but after overcoming early offense from Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, he took home a victory over the Japanese veteran with a first-round armbar on May 29. Now the question becomes who Strikeforce will pair the Cesar Gracie product with in his first welterweight title defense.

10. Mike Swick (14-4)
Coming off a disappointing decision loss to Dan Hardy in November, Swick’s bout with Paulo Thiago at UFC 109 left him in even worse shape. He was choked unconscious in the second round and pushed further back in the UFC welterweight title picture.

Other contenders: Ben Askren, Carlos Condit, John Hathaway, Jay Hieron, Dan Hornbuckle.

In no way do I keep Diaz at number 9. That is just ridiculous. I think he is easily should be the number 3 spot. I'm also switching Hardy and Koscheck. Taking Mike Swick right off the list as well. Giving that spot to Carlos Condit.

So if the rankings were up to me it look like this

1. GSP
2. Fitch
3. Diaz
4. Koscheck
5. Hardy
6. Kampmann
7. Thiago
8. Alves
9. Daley
10.Condit

I'm bumping Alves down so much because, his last two performances were against the top two welterweights in the world and he basically did nothing in the fights to warrant such a high ranking still, at least if he would've been competitive in the fights maybe I can see him being ranked so high. He did have a nice string of wins getting there, but once there he did nothing to hold a high spot anymore.

 

[INDYjon22]

I like your list a lot, Dave. You nailed it pretty spot on for the most part. I do think an argument could be made for Matt Hughes to be on the list at this moment and probably ahead of at least Paulo Thiago and Thiago Alves, that would also mean I would move them further down the list. Hughes has been on a much better streak as of late then either of those men. I also think that with one more win under his belt John Hathaway should be put on this list. That dude is good.

 

[jmt225]

I don't get why the fuck Thiago Alves is ranked so high? He got dominated in his last two fights, and he didn't even make weight that 2nd fight. Give me a fucking break.

Nick Diaz should be number 3 or 4... Jesus, I'm looking at some of these names in front of him and am in just disbelief. Paul Daley? Martin Kampmann? Dan Hardy? Fucking ridiculous.

Here's how I would rank it:

1. GSP
2. Jon Fitch
3. Josh Koscheck
4. Nick Diaz
5. Dan Hardy
6. Thiago Alves
7. Martin Kampmann
8. Paulo Thiago
9. John Hathaway
10. Paul Daley

It hurt to put Kos ahead of Diaz, but I had to be fair.

And I added John Hathaway just because his last 4 wins are more impressive than anyone else's in that bottom five.

Lastly, for the record... when Shields beats Kampmann... he jumps up to number 3 on my list, just like that.

 

[Buffalo Dave]

You know something Jon your right about Hughes. I completely forgot about him. The guy should at least be ranked in the 10th spot. If you go by how Sherdog does their rankings, then he should definitely be ranked. He lost the belt to GSP then beat Lytle, followed by a another loss to GSP for the interim WW title, then lost against Alves. Now came back to rifle off a three fight win streak, even though they were unranked Serra and Almeida are pretty tough opponents. Renzo was a easy fight for him. If Forest can still be ranked Hughes should be as well, Forest basically did the same thing won the belt from Rampage, lost it to Rashad, embarrassed by Silva in his next fight, then won his last fight against Tito. I just don't think he should be to far up there because his little string of wins are against unranked opponents, definitely shouldn't be ahead of Alves since Alves beat him.

I agree with Hathaway also, He gets another win or two he should be on the list, especially if he gets another big name.

 

[Via Armbar]

1. GSP
2. Fitch
3. Koscheck
4. Diaz
5. Alves
6. Hardy
7. Kampmann
8. Thiago
9. Daley
10. Hathaway

I agreed mostly with JMT. There's no way that Alves should be ranked higher than 5 or 6. The only reason I put him above Hardy is because I feel like Alves had a tougher road getting to where he is at now and beat tougher opponents on route to his title shot then Hardy did. Honestly though, it wouldn't be a huge difference one way or the other if they were switched. Same goes for Daley and newcomer to the list Hathaway. Daley had impressive wins leading up to his lost against Koscheck. Hathaway is quickly making splashes in the division and honestly I could see him fighting for a title shot after 2 more wins if they happen.

We will have to wait and see where Shields lands after the Kampmaan fight, though if others and myself are correct in our predictions, Jake will make it to the top three by the end of the year.