USAT/SBN July MMA Consensus Rankings: Welterweight

by Kid Nate on Jul 30, 2009 5:57 PM EDT in MMA Rankings

Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Georges St. Pierre	100	UFC	1
2	Jon Fitch	94	UFC	3
3	Thiago Alves	92	UFC	2
4	Matt Hughes	77	UFC	5
5	Jake Shields	76	Strikeforce	4
6	Mike Swick	74	UFC	7
7	Martin Kampmann	73	UFC	6
8	Josh Koscheck	72	UFC	8
9	Carlos Condit	56	UFC	9
10	Paulo Thiago	45	UFC	10
11	Dan Hardy	41	UFC	12
12	Hayato Sakurai	31	DREAM	11
12	Karo Parisyan	31	UFC	13
14	Brock Larson	30	UFC	15
15	Nick Diaz	27	Strikeforce	18
16	Jay Hieron	25	Strikeforce	16
17	Marius Zaromskis	23	DREAM/Bellator	NR
18	Dustin Hazelett	22	UFC	17
19	Marcus Davis	22	UFC	20
20	Chris Lytle	21	UFC	22
21	Nick Thompson	20	Strikeforce	14
22	Matt Serra	20	UFC	18
23	Yoshiyuki Yoshida	19	UFC	33
24	Brad Blackburn	19	UFC	27
25	Anthony Johnson	18	UFC	23

Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

MMA is a most fickle mistress. No sooner had #1 Georges St Pierre won a commanding decision victory over #3 (then #2) Thiago Alves then he faced a barrage of questions about when he would move up to face #1 middleweight Anderson Silva.

GSP and his management and training team have wisely deferred that decision for the time being. Honestly, there is very little upside to GSP leaving a division that he basically owns to move up and take a fight where he would be a huge underdog.

#2 Jon Fitch won a less commanding decision over #10 Paulo Thiago at the same event. Nonetheless, it was enough to bump him up a slot. It will take a lot more than that to get the workmanlike Fitch a second title shot however.

All signs point to the next opponent for GSP being the winner of UFC 103's #6 Mike Swick and #7 Martin Kampmann. Neither man has really faced the toughest threats of the division, but they have each knocked off credible opponents on their way to the top. Swick dominated #19 Marcus Davis and Kampmann took a close decision over #9 Carlos Condit.

That same card will see #8 Josh Koscheck welcome #17 ranked middleweight Frank Trigg back to the UFC welterweight division. The winner of that bout will take a huge step back towards contention.

Before we get to see those fights, we should get to see #15 Nick Diaz against #16 Jay Hieron on August 15th on Showtime for Strikeforce's welterweight belt. Diaz had originally been scheduled to face Joe Riggs and Hieron had been booked to fight Paul Daley at Affliction:Trilogy. There's no doubt that Diaz vs Hieron is the best possible match-up.

Daley has hinted that he will be signing with the UFC and given their need for dynamic British fighters, that makes perfect sense. A welcome to the UFC bout with #19 Marcus Davis would be money.

September will see #9 Carlos Condit take on #20 Chris Lytle at Ultimate Fight Night 19 in Oklahoma City. This is a great come back match for Condit after his razor thin loss to Kampmann in his UFC debut.

DREAM's welterweight tournament finals pushed its surprise winner Marius Zaromskis into the rankings at #17. His semi-final victim #12 Hayato Sakurai should drop significantly next month after the results of that tournament have sunk in with the ranking sites.

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Comments

DH Kim

Would Dong Hyun Kim be far behind after the Top 25? I think if he wins his next fight with any lower ranked Top 25er he should definitely be in consideration.

by TheKCB on Jul 30, 2009 2:20 PM EDT reply actions

he's beginning to build up a little momentum

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by Kid Nate on Jul 30, 2009 5:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Oh and the fact that Sexgun will be sweeping at least Korea for the time being

by TheKCB on Jul 30, 2009 2:21 PM EDT reply actions

do-mi-na-tion (clap, clap, clap-clap-clap)

When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift

by Derek Suboticki on Jul 30, 2009 5:16 PM EDT reply actions

I know the trilogy has been completed

but if Fitch can’t knock off the champion, and the next challenge is between Mike Swick and Martin Kampmann (really?), is it possible Matt Hughes would get one more shot before retirement?

by rzor on Jul 30, 2009 5:19 PM EDT reply actions

For as thoroughly as GSP thrashed him last time

I really can’t see that happening. It was utterly one-sided and Hughes eked out the Serra decision (imo).

by woomikee on Jul 30, 2009 5:21 PM EDT up reply actions

seems very very unlikely

I expect Matt Hughes will be on a senior circuit.
Maybe a Trigg vs Hughes III could be on the menu.

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by Kid Nate on Jul 30, 2009 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Don’t sleep on Martin Kampmann.

When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift

by Derek Suboticki on Jul 30, 2009 5:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, he’s bony and smells bad.

Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ. -- TangleBones

by jemaleddin on Jul 31, 2009 9:07 AM EDT up reply actions

Can't believe Hardy is 11th

talking shit to Davis, then pulling off the fight really did boost him

by drudog1715 on Jul 30, 2009 5:24 PM EDT reply actions

Personally, I have yet to see anything GREAT from Hardy. I admit that I am NOT a fan of his so I am biased, but I haven’t seen anything from him that has really impressed me.

by chrisbboy82 on Jul 30, 2009 5:33 PM EDT up reply actions

He has a tremendous kick to Yoshiyuki Yoshida’s yarbles in his resume. It is one of the more impressive groin shots I’ve seen. Ended the fight immediately.

It ends in an armbar or a strangle regardless.

by capital L on Jul 30, 2009 7:37 PM EDT up reply actions

Paulo Thiago is 10th? Whaaa?

by DirtyML on Jul 30, 2009 5:47 PM EDT reply actions

he gave the #2 Jon Fitch a very tough fight

and nearly won it by submission in the first round.
He also KTFO’d #8 Josh Koscheck when Koscheck was #4.

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by Kid Nate on Jul 30, 2009 9:28 PM EDT up reply actions

I’ve actually been very impressed with the guy. I can see a myriad of technical flaws in his game, but it really seems like there is some ineffable quality that he possesses that allows him to outperform his limitations. It’s not ‘gameness’ per se, but I think it might be in that direction.

"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito Ortiz on Vitor Belfort at Affliction:DOR

by Rundownloser on Jul 31, 2009 1:39 AM EDT up reply actions

I expect Dan Hardy to become one of UFC’s new UK poster boys, so he’ll probably get a fluff fight next.

by Zack Gobie on Jul 30, 2009 5:53 PM EDT reply actions

i hope Hazelett gets better, i very much watching his fights!!!

by mma is #1 on Jul 30, 2009 8:25 PM EDT reply actions

/\ this

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by Kid Nate on Jul 30, 2009 9:29 PM EDT up reply actions

The Welterweight rankings look very accurate to me, much better than the Lightweight.

by iTap on Jul 31, 2009 2:35 AM EDT reply actions

The real news is the distance between #1 and #2

There’s been a lot of talk about the dominance of various champs – whether it’s Anderson Silva or Chuck or Fedor. At some point in their career, a lot of guys seem unstoppable. PArt of that has been caused by not just the greatness of a fighter, but the lack of any real talent that could challenge him. Fedor’s great, but there’s always been a lack of talent at HW. Anderson is amazing, but most of his reign over the UFC MW division has seen it in shambles.

But the welterweights have always been stacked with talent and the amazing thing is that GSP isn’t just dominating – it’s like he’s playing a different game. There isn’t one fighter on that list that anyone thinks could give GSP trouble. To imagine him struggling you have to assume he’d be fighting someone with a serious size advantage, because there’s nobody in his weight class as skilled.

That’s astounding in what many consider the premier division.

All this talk about the Machida era or the Brock era is fine, but where are we going to find somebody to even compete on the same level as GSP?

Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ. -- TangleBones

by jemaleddin on Jul 31, 2009 9:13 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs

I agree completely.

"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito Ortiz on Vitor Belfort at Affliction:DOR

by Rundownloser on Jul 31, 2009 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions