Photo by Sherdog.com
Georges "Rush" St. Pierre
After thwarting challenges from
B.J. Penn and
Thiago Alves in 2009, St. Pierre will open his 2010 campaign on March 27 in Newark, N.J., where he will defend his UFC welterweight crown against
Dan Hardy. Like his rematch with Penn, his bout with Hardy will get the “Primetime” television treatment from Zuffa.
Fans have grown listless with Fitch’s recent performances. Fortunately, despite his recent workmanlike victories, Zuffa has a wonderful solution: Fitch will take on former foe
Thiago Alves at UFC 111 in perhaps the most appealing fight out there for the American Kickboxing Academy product.
Alves will finally get his chance for redemption against
Jon Fitch come UFC 111 on March 27. The pair met in June 2006, when a brutal Fitch upkick ended the night for the heavy-hitting “Pitbull.”
A fixture in the UFC’s European efforts, the upstart Brit will have his first UFC bout on American soil on March 27 at UFC 111. Of course, that seems of little significance when compared to the fact that “The Outlaw” will meet
Georges St. Pierre for the welterweight mantle.
Thiago entered his bout at UFC 109 with
Mike Swick, once again, as an underdog. Once again, the once-beaten Brazilian blew away an American Kickboxing Academy product, choking Swick out cold in the second round to prove definitively that his victory over
Josh Koscheck was no fluke.
Despite his evolution since appearing on the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Koscheck has yet to challenge for the UFC welterweight crown. In order to earn that right, he will need to take out fast-rising British star
Paul Daley at UFC 113 on May 8.
In his first two UFC outings, Daley blew the doors off of quality fighters in
Martin Kampmann and
Dustin Hazelett. Now, a UFC welterweight title shot may hang in the balance when he takes on
Josh Koscheck at UFC 113 on May 8 in what amounts to a de facto title eliminator.
Coming off of a disappointing decision loss to
Dan Hardy in November, Swick’s bout with
Paulo Thiago at UFC 109 left him in even worse shape. He was choked unconscious in the second round and pushed further back in the UFC welterweight title picture.
Diaz captured the Strikeforce welterweight crown on Jan. 30 in a highly entertaining slugfest with Dream champion
Marius Zaromskis. Now, the major question for Diaz is whether his next opponent will be fan-desired challenger
Jay Hieron or Japanese veteran Hayato “Mach” Sakurai.
Though his September spanking from
Paul Daley still looms large, Kampmann got back on the winning side of the ledger in impressive fashion at UFC 108, as he took a tidy first-round submission over
Jacob Volkmann.
Carlos Condit,
Jay Hieron,
Dan Hornbuckle,
Matt Hughes,
Marius Zaromskis.
* With the entry of Nick Diaz, formerly 10th-ranked Carlos Condit moves to the contenders list.
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