USAT/SBN August MMA Consensus Rankings: Welterweight

by Kid Nate on Aug 28, 2009 3:31 PM EDT in MMA Rankings

Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Georges St. Pierre	100	UFC	1
2	Jon Fitch	94	UFC	2
3	Thiago Alves	93	UFC	3
4	Matt Hughes	78	UFC	4
5	Jake Shields	78	Strikeforce	5
6	Martin Kampmann	75	UFC	7
7	Josh Koscheck	73	UFC	8
8	Mike Swick	67	UFC	6
9	Carlos Condit	64	UFC	9
10	Paulo Thiago	45	UFC	10
11	Dan Hardy	37	UFC	11
12	Karo Parisyan	28	UFC	12
13	Marius Zaromskis	27	Bellator/DREAM	17
14	Brock Larson	26	UFC	14
15	Jay Hieron	25	Strikeforce	16
16	Nick Diaz	22	Strikeforce	15
17	Dustin Hazelett	22	UFC	18
18	Hayato Sakurai	21	DREAM	12
19	Nick Thompson	21	Free Agent	21
20	Marcus Davis	21	UFC	19
21	Chris Lytle	20	UFC	20
22	Matt Serra	19	UFC	22
23	Dong Hyun Kim	18	UFC	26
24	Brad Blackburn	18	UFC	24
25	John Howard	16	UFC	30
25	Frank Trigg	16	UFC	27

Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

With UFC Champion #1 Georges St Pierre out of action until next year, the biggest welterweight match on the horizon is #6 Martin Kampmann vs #8 Mike Swick in a number one contender's match at UFC 103. As good as both fighters are, neither is expected to pose much of a threat to the mighty GSP.

Not that there's any shame in that. St. Pierre has turned the fearsome 170lb class into his own personal playground brushing aside talented athletes like #2 Jon Fitch, #3 Thiago Alves, #4 Matt Hughes and #7 Josh Koscheck like strawmen.

#9 Carlos Condit will face UFC newcomer Jake Ellenberger at UFN 19. This will be Condit's second bout in the UFC, following a loss to Kampmann.

#10 Paulo Thiago won't get a breather after his UFC 100 loss to Jon Fitch. He'll next face Thiago Alves at UFC 107.

#11 Dan Hardy will get #23 Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 105. The winner could very well find himself in contention in a very short time as both are big draws in important markets (the UK and South Korea respectively) and neither man has lost to GSP yet.

#17 Dustin Hazelett will welcome #12 Karo Parisyan back from suspension at UFC 106. Again, expect the winner to be fast tracked.

Rumors swirl that #16 Nick Diaz may face #18 Hayato Sakurai in DREAM before the end of the year. That would be a good fight for Diaz following his failure to be licensed to fight #15 Jay Hieron at Strikeforce: Carano vs Cyborg.

Based on the premise that all MMA rankings are subjective but that it’s still useful and informative to know who the online MMA community as a whole ranks as the best fighters in MMA, we collect and average the rankings of the top MMA websites to produce our consensus rankings. Show more "

We compile the top MMA rankings from each of our sources and award 25 points for a first place ranking, 16 for a 10th place ranking, 1 for a 25th place ranking. A formula is used to "normalize" the data so all fighters are awarded points from those lists that do not include a full 25 fighters. This formula ensures that each ranking site awards the same number of total points regardless of how many fighters they choose to rank. Each fighter’s total is divided by the number of possible points to determine their standing in the Consensus Rankings.

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Comments

Kinda sad how few real contenders there are in this division despite it being one of the deepest in the sport. Does anyone on this list actually stand a chance against GSP?

Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.

by ufc4 on Aug 27, 2009 11:39 PM EDT reply actions

Not really.

Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken

by Richard Wade on Aug 27, 2009 11:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Noone will, unless Rumble becomes a legit threat

by Austin Martin on Aug 28, 2009 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions

WW is the thinnest division in the sport.

I don’t know what you are thinking

by Meshuggeth on Aug 28, 2009 3:52 PM EDT up reply actions

are you being facetious?

by Austin Martin on Aug 28, 2009 3:54 PM EDT up reply actions

No, its true.

HW is the only other contender

by Meshuggeth on Aug 28, 2009 3:58 PM EDT up reply actions

i was thinking in terms of stacked/ even level of comp it would go LW-FW-LHW-WW-HW-MW

by Austin Martin on Aug 28, 2009 4:04 PM EDT up reply actions

1. LW
2. FW
3. MW

by Meshuggeth on Aug 28, 2009 5:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Funny, those are the divisions that have the most ranked people outside the UFC. WW is probably the most stacked division because it has the most people to draw talent from.

A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.

by iiowyn on Aug 28, 2009 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions

???

??? ……..

by Danny Dangerously on Aug 28, 2009 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Curious

Does anyone think Fitch would beat Alves at this point in time?

by pl4tinum on Aug 28, 2009 3:37 PM EDT reply actions

Thats the matchup that went unsigned

instead of Thiago vs. Alves, it really should’ve been Fitch vs. Alves

We all saw what Alves did to Kos in terms of stopping takedowns, I think he could be equally as sucessful but if Fitch did get him to the ground, his overall grappling skills are far beyond Kos’s

I would say in that fight Fitch via another boring grappling decision

by Austin Martin on Aug 28, 2009 3:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Fitch tooled him in 2006

I believe it was called a “Belforting” since it resembled what Randy did to Vitor.

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by Kid Nate on Aug 28, 2009 4:18 PM EDT up reply actions

completely forgot about that, but since it was two years ago and he’d be on a pretty sick streak except GSP, i’d say it’d be a good match to determine where both are at

by Austin Martin on Aug 28, 2009 4:22 PM EDT up reply actions

Alves is significantly larger now isn’t he?

A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.

by iiowyn on Aug 28, 2009 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Hard to say. Alves impressed me against GSP if by nothing more than getting back to his feet repeatedly after GSP takedowns. Fitch is incredibly tough and nearly impossible to finish. It would be a great fight.

by Hardcharger on Aug 28, 2009 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Fitch #2? Hughes #4? I will never understand these things :)

by mythbuster on Aug 28, 2009 3:43 PM EDT reply actions

hughes maybe shouldn't be four

but these things are based on MMA math, and Hughes only recent losses have come to the # 1 and #3. Fitch only lost to GSP, so i don’t know why you don’t think thats right

by Austin Martin on Aug 28, 2009 3:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Hughes has only lost to guys ranked ahead of him. It’s hard to move in the rankings when you win the fights you’re supposed to win and lose the fights you’re supposed to lose.

by Richard Wade on Aug 28, 2009 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions

exactly, thats what i was trying to say but you did much more clear lol

by Austin Martin on Aug 28, 2009 3:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, I was thinking something similar wondering why Hughes was still so high up, but really, when you think about it, his only losses in the past three years or so have come to GSP and Alves.

by Hardcase on Aug 28, 2009 4:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Five years.

by Richard Wade on Aug 28, 2009 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions

If we go back 5, then we should probably include his loss to Penn too.

by Hardcase on Aug 29, 2009 8:59 AM EDT up reply actions

Well, that would be more than five years.

by Richard Wade on Aug 30, 2009 7:00 PM EDT up reply actions

I’ll be interested to see how far DHK jumps if he can win. He could really be something else.

Also, do Fight Matrix and Total MMA rank Jake Shields as a Middleweight now, since he’s more or less being forced up in weight?

by woomikee on Aug 28, 2009 3:45 PM EDT reply actions

They do.

by Richard Wade on Aug 28, 2009 3:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Fitch is just gatekeeping the No. 1 contender spot at this point. The next credible threat who hasn’t gotten a shot is No. 8 Mike Swick. Then Condit and Hardy. I could see Hardy vs. GSP in Brittain being a barn-burner.

█♣█
A wise man told me don't argue with fools
Cause people from a distance can't tell who is who -- Jay-Z

by thetakeover on Aug 28, 2009 4:00 PM EDT reply actions

Seriously? I dunno… I don’t think Hardy poses any particular problem for GSP but yeah, it would sell tons of British tickets.

by mythbuster on Aug 28, 2009 4:05 PM EDT up reply actions

That would be interesting for GSP's training.

He trains the last six weeks on the fight venue’s clock (so he sets his clock three hours behind when he’s fighting in Vegas).

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Aug 28, 2009 4:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Any person who isn’t a fantastic wrestler as WELL as a striker is going to get taken down immediately against GSP. Condit maybe the exception if his wrestling gets up to par, but he’s too long to pack the same level of muscle as GSP does in his legs/ ass/ Core.

by Austin Martin on Aug 28, 2009 4:05 PM EDT up reply actions