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Welterweight

1. Georges St. Pierre (22-2)

The welterweight division’s French Canadian king managed only one Octagon appearance in 2011, a five-round decision win over Jake Shields in April. While there’s still no solid timeline for his return, GSP has stated that rehabilitation on his reconstructed ACL is “ahead of schedule,” possibly putting him in line for a late-2012 meeting with interim champ Carlos Condit.

2. Carlos Condit (28-5)

Nearly five years after becoming the final WEC welterweight champ, Condit has captured UFC gold. The “Natural Born Killer” used a perfectly executed game plan on Feb. 4 to steer clear of Nick Diaz and rack up points for a unanimous decision win. Now, Condit is playing the waiting game as champion Georges St. Pierre continues to heal up from his knee injury.

3. Nick Diaz (26-8, 1 ND)

Although it has been months since Diaz dropped a contentious decision to Carlos Condit at UFC 143, the Stockton, Calif., native has remained in the news, and not only for the one-year suspension he received from the Nevada Athletic Commission on May 21. A week earlier, Diaz generated more controversy by no-showing for a pay-per-view grappling match with BJJ star Braulio Estima at the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo.

4. Johny Hendricks (13-1)

Johny Hendricks is on the precipice at 170 pounds, and if he can find success against Martin Kampmann on Nov. 17 at UFC 154, he might dive headfirst into a UFC welterweight title shot. The high-stakes Hendricks-Kampmann bout figures to deserve as the de facto eliminator, with the winner meeting the eventual Georges St. Pierre-Carlos Condit winner in the new year.

5. Jon Fitch (23-4-1, 1 NC)

Fitch will have to wait longer to erase the bitter memory of his 12-second knockout loss to Johny Hendricks at UFC 141. A knee injury suffered in training forced the former welterweight title challenger to withdraw from his upcoming bout with Aaron Simpson at UFC on Fuel TV 4; no timetable is set for his return.

6. Martin Kampmann (20-5)

After years of just being on the bubble, Martin Kampmann might be but a single fight away from a UFC welterweight title shot. At UFC 154 on Nov. 17, he will meet up with Johny Hendricks in what essentially amounts to a 170-pound title eliminator.

7. Jake Ellenberger (27-6)

Jake Ellenberger thought he saw his title hopes go up in flames courtesy of his June knockout loss to Martin Kampmann. However, the power-punching Nebraskan will have the chance to get right back into the swing of things at UFC 151 on Sept. 1 when he meets perennial contender Josh Koscheck.

8. Josh Koscheck (17-6)

Josh Koscheck lost a close split decision in his last outing this past May, dropping the verdict to Johny Hendricks. His next outing? Another power-punching tough wrestler in Jake Ellenberger, as “Kos” tangles with the Nebraskan at UFC 151 on Sept. 1.

9. Jake Shields (27-6-1)

Shields may not be long for this page of the rankings, as the Californian is headed back to middleweight, the division in which he held Strikeforce gold. He’ll make his 185-pound Octagon debut against fellow submission specialist Ed Herman at UFC 150 in August.

10. Ben Askren (10-0)

It wasn’t flashy, but Askren wrestled his way to another dominating win over perhaps his most dangerous opponent to date with an April 6 routing of Douglas Lima. Now a perfect 10-0, Bellator’s welterweight ace awaits the winner of the company’s ongoing Season 6 tournament, which will end this summer when finalists Karl Amoussou and Bryan Baker square off.

Other contenders:

Rory MacDonald, Nate Marquardt, B.J. Penn, Mike Pierce, Tyron Woodley.

Continue Reading » MMA Lightweight Rankings