Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings
Welterweight
Jul 9, 2008
1. Georges St. Pierre
(Pictures) (16-2-0)
With the Matt Serra (Pictures) drama behind him, St. Pierre's attention now turns to reigning in the fashion others expected from him when he first captured the UFC title in November 2006. First on deck for GSP is a fantastic title scrap with Jon Fitch (Pictures), headlining the UFC's Aug. 9 foray in Minnesota.
2. Jon Fitch (Pictures) (16-2-0, 1 NC)
Now a gaudy 8-0 in the UFC, Jon Fitch (Pictures)'s Aug. 9 title shot against Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) has been well earned. However, the former Purdue wrestling captain will need to take his game to the next level to unseat the dynamo Canadian in their anticipated welterweight showdown.
3. Josh
Koscheck (Pictures) (11-2-0)
He didn't show us anything new, but Koscheck pounded out a solid victory over Chris Lytle (Pictures) on July 5, hacking up the veteran's face and spilling blood all over the cage. In a stacked 170-pound class, Koscheck's next go-around in the Octagon figures to be an alluring matchup.
4. Diego Sanchez (Pictures) (19-2-0)
If Diego Sanchez (Pictures) needed an impressive performance on June 21 to vault himself back into contention at 170 pounds, he got it. Sanchez showed off vastly improved standup en route to his sensational third-round stoppage of a tough Luigi Fioravanti (Pictures). However, things only pick up from here as the "Nightmare" is penciled in to meet Brazilian dynamo Thiago Alves (Pictures) on Oct. 18 in England.
Though some weight issues tainted his win over Matt Hughes (Pictures) on June 7, Alves will have the chance to return to England and make an even louder case for a title shot when he meets Diego Sanchez (Pictures) on Oct. 18 in Birmingham in what should be an all-action bout.
6. Matt Hughes (Pictures) (42-7-0)
Already in the twilight of his career, Hughes was turned into a highlight reel at the hands of another young, up-and-coming welterweight in Thiago Alves (Pictures). Although some have called for the longtime welterweight king to retire, a grudge match with Matt Serra (Pictures) is likely next up for Hughes.
7. Jake Shields (Pictures) (20-4-1)
After his on-again-off-again bout with Drew Fickett (Pictures) was finally sent out behind the shed, Shields was scheduled for Elite XC's next primetime CBS card on July 26. Now, the Cesar Gracie (Pictures) product will meet fellow welterweight standout Nick Thompson (Pictures) to crown Elite XC's first welterweight champ.
8. Matt Serra (Pictures) (9-5-0)
The slipper dropped for Serra, who was destroyed in his rematch with St. Pierre last April in the beloved Canadian's backyard of Montreal. However, Serra might not be done in big bouts, as the potential for a clash with Matt Hughes (Pictures) seems high in the near future.
9. Karo Parisyan (Pictures) (18-5-0)
Parisyan, who was set to challenge for the UFC welterweight title in November 2005, just had his title hopes take another hit when he was stopped by Thiago Alves (Pictures) in their April 2 UFC Fight Night bout.
10. Carlos Condit (Pictures) (22-4-0)
In February, Condit avenged one of his losses to the tough Carlo Prater (Pictures) in front of his hometown crowd in Albuquerque. Now, the WEC's welterweight king will make the third defense of his title on Aug. 3, when he meets Hiromitsu Miura (Pictures) as part of the WEC's title tripleheader in Las Vegas.
With the Matt Serra (Pictures) drama behind him, St. Pierre's attention now turns to reigning in the fashion others expected from him when he first captured the UFC title in November 2006. First on deck for GSP is a fantastic title scrap with Jon Fitch (Pictures), headlining the UFC's Aug. 9 foray in Minnesota.
2. Jon Fitch (Pictures) (16-2-0, 1 NC)
Now a gaudy 8-0 in the UFC, Jon Fitch (Pictures)'s Aug. 9 title shot against Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) has been well earned. However, the former Purdue wrestling captain will need to take his game to the next level to unseat the dynamo Canadian in their anticipated welterweight showdown.
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He didn't show us anything new, but Koscheck pounded out a solid victory over Chris Lytle (Pictures) on July 5, hacking up the veteran's face and spilling blood all over the cage. In a stacked 170-pound class, Koscheck's next go-around in the Octagon figures to be an alluring matchup.
4. Diego Sanchez (Pictures) (19-2-0)
If Diego Sanchez (Pictures) needed an impressive performance on June 21 to vault himself back into contention at 170 pounds, he got it. Sanchez showed off vastly improved standup en route to his sensational third-round stoppage of a tough Luigi Fioravanti (Pictures). However, things only pick up from here as the "Nightmare" is penciled in to meet Brazilian dynamo Thiago Alves (Pictures) on Oct. 18 in England.
5. Thiago
Alves (Pictures) (15-3-0)
Though some weight issues tainted his win over Matt Hughes (Pictures) on June 7, Alves will have the chance to return to England and make an even louder case for a title shot when he meets Diego Sanchez (Pictures) on Oct. 18 in Birmingham in what should be an all-action bout.
6. Matt Hughes (Pictures) (42-7-0)
Already in the twilight of his career, Hughes was turned into a highlight reel at the hands of another young, up-and-coming welterweight in Thiago Alves (Pictures). Although some have called for the longtime welterweight king to retire, a grudge match with Matt Serra (Pictures) is likely next up for Hughes.
7. Jake Shields (Pictures) (20-4-1)
After his on-again-off-again bout with Drew Fickett (Pictures) was finally sent out behind the shed, Shields was scheduled for Elite XC's next primetime CBS card on July 26. Now, the Cesar Gracie (Pictures) product will meet fellow welterweight standout Nick Thompson (Pictures) to crown Elite XC's first welterweight champ.
8. Matt Serra (Pictures) (9-5-0)
The slipper dropped for Serra, who was destroyed in his rematch with St. Pierre last April in the beloved Canadian's backyard of Montreal. However, Serra might not be done in big bouts, as the potential for a clash with Matt Hughes (Pictures) seems high in the near future.
9. Karo Parisyan (Pictures) (18-5-0)
Parisyan, who was set to challenge for the UFC welterweight title in November 2005, just had his title hopes take another hit when he was stopped by Thiago Alves (Pictures) in their April 2 UFC Fight Night bout.
10. Carlos Condit (Pictures) (22-4-0)
In February, Condit avenged one of his losses to the tough Carlo Prater (Pictures) in front of his hometown crowd in Albuquerque. Now, the WEC's welterweight king will make the third defense of his title on Aug. 3, when he meets Hiromitsu Miura (Pictures) as part of the WEC's title tripleheader in Las Vegas.
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