USAT/SBN May MMA Consensus Rankings: Welterweight

by Kid Nate on May 28, 2009 1:09 PM EDT in MMA Rankings

Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Georges St. Pierre	100	UFC	1
2	Thiago Alves	94	UFC	2
3	Jon Fitch	93	UFC	3
4	Jake Shields	87	Strikeforce	4
5	Matt Hughes	76	UFC	5
6	Josh Koscheck	73	UFC	6
7	Martin Kampmann	64	UFC	8
8	Carlos Condit	63	UFC	7
9	Mike Swick	51	UFC	9
10	Karo Parisyan	42	UFC	10
11	Paulo Thiago	38	UFC	12
12	Hayato Sakurai	34	DREAM	14
13	Nick Thompson	31	Strikeforce	13
14	Matt Serra	28	UFC	11
15	Brock Larson	27	UFC	18
16	Marcus Davis	26	UFC	15
17	Nick Diaz	24	Strikeforce	20
18	Dustin Hazelett	23	UFC	17
19	Jay Hieron	22	Affliction	16
20	Dan Hardy	21	UFC	19
21	Diego Sanchez	20	UFC	21
22	Anthony Johnson	17	UFC	22
23	Chris Lytle	15	UFC	23
24	Brad Blackburn	15	UFC	24
25	Shinya Aoki	14	DREAM	26

Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

We're less than sixty days out from the biggest Welterweight fight of the year -- UFC 100's championship tilt between #1 Georges St Pierre and #2 Thiago Alves. That card is so stacked I haven't really thought about just how compelling a match up that really is.

Despite GSP's total dominance in his last two fights, Alves' recent run of steamrolling habitual top 10 welterweights #5 Matt Hughes and #10 Karo Parisyan back to back forces anyone pondering this bout to take Alves seriously as a threat to GSP's championship.

UFC 100 will also see #3 Jon Fitch against #12 Paul Thiago as the American Kickboxing Academy fighter attempts to avenge his teammate #7 Josh Koscheck's loss to Thiago. It will be interesting to see if Fitch can expose Thiago as a lucky punch wonder or if Thiago will pull off a second miracle upset.

Fans of 170lb action will get a bit of an appetizer in June when #4 Jake Shields meets #4 middleweight Robbie Lawler at a catchweight match on Strikeforce's June show. A win by Shields will make him even more desperate for opponents at his level than he is now.

If #12 Hayato Sakurai comes out of the DREAM tournament with a championship, a Sakurai vs Shields match would be something of a dream bout that Strikeforce could potentially sign.

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Comments

Looking down the list, I just don’t see a real challenge for GSP if he beats Alves. Some will say Shields (if he were in the UFC), but I think GSP would beat him up. Plus, the Lawler fight may prove to be difficult for Shields.

by Cannon Jacques on May 27, 2009 11:33 PM EDT reply actions

I think

Swick and Kampmann could all be interesting for GSP + a rematch with Fitch while we wait for Anthony Johnson and Dustin Hazelett to get the seasoning and track record to earn title shots.
But you’re right, something about GSP vs Anderson Silva is more interesting than most of these matchups.

"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"

by Kid Nate on May 28, 2009 12:24 AM EDT up reply actions

Anthony Johnson

is the person to beat Georges IMO. He has the size, power and speed but obviously needs a few more fights. If he wins impressively 3-4 more times against name opponents i think he’ll be “right in line for a title shot”.

by Crookswood on May 28, 2009 2:28 AM EDT reply actions

Looking at the rankings: Kampmann vs. Koscheck would be a great fight….

by Nick Thomas on May 28, 2009 12:59 PM EDT reply actions

I'll never understand these things...

Karo at #10?
Diaz at #17?
Diego at #21?

by mythbuster on May 28, 2009 1:28 PM EDT reply actions

Diego’s moving to lightweight.
Karo will continue to fall as he serves out his suspension.
Diaz has jumped around in weight classes so much and had so many losses that he’s far from top 10, but he’s so high profile that he’ll be on somebody’s rankings everytime.

"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"

by Kid Nate on May 28, 2009 2:08 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

I think he might be saying Karo is too high.

by Derek Suboticki on May 28, 2009 4:42 PM EDT up reply actions

yeah and I was trying to explain

that it takes a while for inactive fighters to drop for whatever reason.
I’m not really seeing anyone in the 11-20 slots that I would put above Karo though except maybe Brock Larson and Dustin Hazelet.
Paulo Thiago has one lucky punch, Sakurai lost to David Baron recently, Nick Thompson loses everytime he gets close to a pick stage, Serra has one win as a welterweight, etc etc.
I agree Karo should be dropping but the guy was a habitual top 10 — sometimes top 5 welterweight for 4 years. Its going to take time for people to abandon that ship.

"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"

by Kid Nate on May 28, 2009 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions