Photo by Sherdog.com
Georges "Rush" St. Pierre
For now, the king of the 170-pounders will have some time to bask in the glory of his Aug. 9 blowout of
Jon Fitch at UFC 87. However, the hype for his forthcoming rematch with lightweight champion
B.J. Penn has already begun, and their Super Bowl weekend rematch has already quickly become the most anticipated bout of 2009.
A seemingly forgotten man in a stacked welterweight division, the St. Pierre-Penn rematch and forthcoming
Thiago Alves-
Diego Sanchez title eliminator leaves Koscheck without a clear dance partner. Nonetheless, the former NCAA wrestling champion, with a new contract in tow, should see Octagon action before the end of 2008.
Although Fitch could not hold a competitive candle to St. Pierre in their August confrontation, Fitch likely gained a different measure of respect from fans and his contemporaries with the guts he demonstrated in making it all five rounds under heavy fire.
If Sanchez needed an impressive performance on June 21 to put himself back into contention at 170 pounds, he got it. Sanchez showed off vastly improved stand-up en route to his sensational third-round stoppage of a tough
Luigi Fioravanti. However, business only picks up from here, as the "Nightmare" is penciled in to meet Brazilian dynamo
Thiago Alves at UFC 90 on Oct. 25 in Chicago.
Though his failure to make weight tainted his win over former champion
Matt Hughes on June 7 in London, Alves will have the chance to make an even louder case for a title shot when he meets Sanchez next month in Chicago.
Perhaps the finest fighter in any weight class under the Pro Elite banner, Shields captured the EliteXC welterweight crown in sensational fashion, submitting the solid and experienced
Nick Thompson in a mere 63 seconds in July. Now, Shields will make the first defense of his title Oct. 4 on primetime network television, as he will meet explosive British export
Paul Daley in Sunrise, Fla.
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. Although some have called for the longtime welterweight king to retire, a grudge match with
Matt Serra is likely next up for Hughes, who continues to recuperate from a knee injury.
The slipper dropped for Serra, who was destroyed in his rematch with St. Pierre in April. However, he might not be done in big bouts, as the potential for a clash with
Matt Hughes seems high in the near future.
After going public about his personal battles with panic attacks recently, Parisyan was forced out of his highly anticipated clash with
Yoshiyuki Yoshida the day before UFC 88 in Atlanta.
In another great WEC main event, Condit survived a life-and-death affair with an incredibly game
Hiromitsu Miura, as he took a fourth-round stoppage in their taxing title bout in August. Condit's struggles may have tempered the enthusiasm regarding his potential jump to the UFC. Welterweight challenges within the WEC seem all but exhausted for the 24-year-old New Mexico native, who has won eight straight.
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