Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

We're getting very close to what will easily be the most important welterweight fight of the year: #1 Georges St. Pierre vs #2 Thiago Alves at UFC 100 on July 11th. Its easy to forget just how much is at stake in that fight. A GSP win will make a strong argument that he has effectively cleaned out the division. Let the talk of a super-bout between St. Pierre and #1 middleweight Anderson Silva begin! 

But not so fast, #2 Thiago Alves is a very dangerous opponent for GSP or any welterweight. Heck, Alves is so huge, he's a threat to anyone fighting under 200lbs. His powerful Muay Thai and takedown defense have brought low a string of fabled welterweights including #5 Matt Hughes and #13 Karo Parisyan back-to-back. If Alves beats GSP, particularly if it's by way of KTFO, then we could easily have the next dominant champion on our hands. If you don't think that's a real possibility, ask #2 featherweight Urijah Faber how quickly a reign atop a division can end.

#3 Jon Fitch will face #10 Paulo Thiago on that same card. Fitch will be looking to avenge his teammate #8 Josh Koscheck and Thiago will be looking to prove he's not a fluke. Should Fitch win, he'll have to be rooting for Alves to beat GSP, as he utterly battered Alves back in 2006. Dominating wins by both Alves and Fitch could set up an immediate logical title fight between the two. A GSP win will send Fitch back into the wilderness, regardless of how his fight goes.

#4 Jake Shields seemingly cemented his status as the best non-UFC welterweight in the world by choking out #7 middleweight Robbie Lawler at Strikeforce's June 6th show. He managed to win without particularly impressing many critics who felt his standup was not top level. No idea what's next for Shields as the Strikeforce division is thinner than cabbage water.

Bloody Elbow's  own Michael Rome has called for #6 Martin Kampmann and #7 Mike Swick to face each other in September. That would be a very logical title-eliminator bout but the rumor mill and Mike Swick both seem to want to see "Quick" take on former champ #5 Matt Hughes. Kampmann has already turned down the unranked but formidable T.J. Grant.

#12 Dan Hardy could be a good opponent for either Swick or Kampmann as well. Hardy's UFC 99 win over #20 Marcus Davis wasn't without controversy, but it does add an air of legitimacy to Hardy's status in the division. We'll see how he handles any of the monster wrestlers in the division before I get too carried away.

#8 Josh Koscheck will be welcoming #17 middleweight Frank Trigg back to his old division at UFC 103. The winner of that bout will re-emerge as a contender if it's done in dominant fashion.