Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Welterweight

1. Georges St. Pierre (19-2)
After months of waiting, St. Pierre finally knows the next challenger to his welterweight throne. Come February, St. Pierre will risk his UFC title for the fourth time against Nottingham, England's Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy.

2. Jon Fitch (19-3, 1 NC)
The opponent carousel has finally settled for Jon Fitch: After slated bouts with Ricardo Almeida and Thiago Alves fell apart due to injury, the former UFC title challenger will now meet once-beaten Mike Pierce at UFC 107 on Dec. 12.

3. Thiago Alves (16-6)
When injury struck Ricardo Almeida, it appeared that Alves would have his chance for revenge on former opponent Jon Fitch, who had defeated him in June 2006. However, Alves tweaked his knee and will now need to wait for another day to rematch Fitch.

4. Dan Hardy (23-6)
In the biggest fight of his career at UFC 105, Hardy showed off his familiar grit as well as technical improvements in taking a unanimous decision over Mike Swick. The victory has earned Hardy the next crack at the UFC welterweight crown, as he is expected to meet Georges St. Pierre in February.

5. Josh Koscheck (14-4)
Despite heading into the bout as an underdog, Koscheck notched a major victory at UFC 106. He choked out fearsome hitter Anthony "Rumble" Johnson in the second round and continued to work himself back into the UFC welterweight title picture.

6. Paulo Thiago (12-1)
It was not a performance that would've likely beat originally scheduled opponent Thiago Alves, but Paulo Thiago was able to take a competitive unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jacob Volkmann at UFC 106. The win moved his UFC mark to 2-1 and provided a small measure of proof that he's more than a flash in the pan.

7. Mike Swick (14-3)
On the brink of a welterweight title shot, Swick fell short against Dan Hardy at UFC 105. The loss puts the AKA product back among the general welterweight population in a hyper-competitive and ever-improving division.

8. Paul Daley (22-8-2)
UFC 103 marked Daley's biggest win to date, as he blew away Martin Kampmann in the blink of an eye. To get into title contention and prove himself a truly elite welterweight, Daley will have to deal with former WEC welterweight champ Carlos Condit at UFC 108.

9. Martin Kampmann (15-3)
Kampmann was quickly bashed by British banger Paul Daley at UFC 103 in September. His return bout will feature another heavy-handed opponent when he takes on Rory Markham at UFC 108 on Jan. 2.

10. Carlos Condit (24-5)
After surviving a major scare against Jake Ellenberger in September, Condit will be forced to deal with another heavy pair of hands at UFC 108 on Jan. 2 when he meets highlight reel-producing Brit Paul Daley.

Other contenders: Jay Hieron, Dan Hornbuckle, Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, Marius Zaromskis.