Welterweight

1. Georges St. Pierre (17-2)
For now, the king of the 170-pounders will have some time to bask in his Aug. 9 blowout of Jon Fitch. However, the hype for his forthcoming rematch with lightweight ruler B.J. Penn has already begun, and their Super Bowl weekend rematch at UFC 94 has quickly become the most anticipated bout of 2009.

2. Josh Koscheck (11-2)
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.

3. Jon Fitch (17-3, 1 NC)
Although Fitch couldn't hold a competitive candle to Georges St. Pierre in their Aug. 9 bout, he 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.

4. Diego Sanchez (19-2)
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” faces Brazilian dynamo Thiago Alves at UFC 90 on Oct. 25 in Chicago.

5. Thiago Alves (15-3)
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 Diego Sanchez on Oct. 25 in Chicago in what should be an all-action bout.

6. Jake Shields (22-4-1)
It was not his best performance, but the EliteXC welterweight champion got the job done with a second-round submission of dangerous British export Paul Daley at “Heat” on Oct. 4. Having dispatched Daley, the conversation surrounding the Cesar Gracie disciple involves what challenges ProElite can offer him at this point.

7. Matt Hughes (42-7)
Already in the twilight of his career, Hughes was exploited by another young, up-and-coming welterweight in Thiago Alves at UFC 85 in June. 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.

8. Matt Serra (9-5)
The slipper dropped for Serra, who was destroyed in his rematch with Georges 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, perhaps in early 2009.

9. Karo Parisyan (18-5)
After going public about his personal battles with panic attacks in months prior, Parisyan was forced out of his highly anticipated clash with Yoshiyuki Yoshida the day before UFC 88 in September. Where Parisyan lands next is anyone’s guess, but hopefully he makes it to the Octagon intact.

10. Carlos Condit (23-4)
In another great main event, Condit survived a life-and-death affair with an incredibly game Hiromitsu Miura to take a fourth-round stoppage in their taxing World Extreme Cagefighting title bout at WEC 35. While Condit’s struggles may have tempered the push for him to head to the UFC, welterweight challenges within the WEC seem all but exhausted for the 24-year-old New Mexico native.