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MMA Rankings > MMA Welterweight Rankings

MMA Welterweight Rankings

A review and ranking of the top 170-pound fighters in MMA - January 2010 Update

Digg! MMA Welterweight Rankings

 

Noted as one of the strongest weight classes in terms talent in our UFC Welterweight Division rankings, the class of 170 pound fighters in MMA features great talent and experience alike. Much like the UFC's Lightweight Division with BJ Penn, one man reigns supreme at 170 pounds - Georges St-Pierre. St-Pierre is considered to be one of the best pound for pound fighters in MMA as he has cleaned through most every name on this list. The UFC Welterweight Champion is expected to defend his belt once again in early 2010 against the fast-rising Dan Hardy.

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UFC Welterweight Paul Daley
Paul Daley (above) defeated Dustin Hazelett at UFC 108. Hazelett was sponsored by MMA & UFC news leader ProFighting-fans.com.

1. Georges St-Pierre – (19-2) – This well-rounded superstar and current UFC welterweight champion is the clear cut best fighter at 170-pounds. A five-year veteran of the UFC, GSP has fought in eight title bouts and compiled a 6-2 record in those fights. His last loss, an April 2007 TKO by Matt Serra at UFC 69, was followed up with six consecutive victories including the 170-pound title for the second time. He is coming off a July UFC 100 unanimous decision win against Thiago Alves, and will next fight Dan Hardy in March 2010 atop the UFC 111 fight card.

2. Jon Fitch – (21-3) – American Kickboxing Academy’s Fitch, has won all but one of his UFC bouts (11-1), ten of which coming as a welterweight. He dropped his only championship fight in August 2008 at UFC 87 against GSP, but put himself back in top-contender standing with three consecutive victories. His last win came early in December at UFC 107 where he defeated Mike Pierce via decision.

3. Thiago Alves – (16-6) – After losing two of his first four UFC fights, “Pit-bull” put together seven straight victories (5 stoppages) to earn a title bout at the monumental UFC 100. At UFC 100, Alves couldn’t generate enough offense and lost a unanimous decision to GSP. Alves was to fight Jon Fitch at UFC 107; however a PCL tear is going to keep him on the shelf for the foreseeable future.

4. Josh Koscheck – (14-4) – The former D-I wrestling standout has made great strides since beginning his MMA career in 2004. Willing to take fights against anyone and at anytime, “Kos” has won three of his last four, including a “Submission of the Night” and “Fight of the Night” performance at UFC 106 against Anthony Johnson last month. Koscheck will need to put together a couple more victories to be considered a title contender, which will have to wait as he recently was pulled from a February bout with Paulo Thiago due to injury.

5. Dan Hardy – (23-6) – The 27-year-old British slugger has been nothing short of amazing in the UFC. He debuted in October 2008 at UFC 89 and then went on to win all four of his fights. His most recent victory, a unanimous decision over Mike Swick at UFC 105, earned him a likely title fight with GSP at UFC 111 this March.

6. Matt Hughes – (43-7) – Thirty-six-year-old Illinois-born Hughes is beginning to wind down on his illustrious octagon career, however he continues to prove that he has some gas left in the tank. The H.I.T. Squad founder earned his UFC leading 16th organizational victory in May at UFC 98 with a decision over Matt Serra. He is scheduled to fight Renzo Gracie in April on the UFC 112 fight card in what should turn out to be an excellent match between two MMA legends.

7. Paul Daley – (23-8-2) – A veteran of several major promotions, “Semtex” owns notable victories over the likes of Duane Ludwig, Mark Weir, Sam Morgan, and John Alessio. In the fall of 2009, Daley signed with the UFC where he stopped Martin Kampmann via 1st round TKO in his UFC 103 debut. Daley followe it up with a 1st round KO of Dustin Hazelett at UFC 108 in Las Vegas on January 2nd.

8. Paulo Thiago – (12-1) – The four-year professional was brought to the UFC with a 10-0 record after fighting all ten bouts with Brazilian promotions. In February 2009 at UFC 95, Thiago caught the attention of UFC executives with his brutal KO of Josh Koscheck. He did suffer a decision loss to Jon Fitch at UFC 100, but rebounded with a UFC 106 victory against Jacob Volkmann. He is scheduled to fight Mike Swick on the UFC 109 fight card in early February.

9. Mike Swick – (14-3) – Swick, a veteran of The Ultimate Fighter 1, won his first five bouts as a middleweight before losing a decision to Yushin Okami at UFC 69. He got back on track with four consecutive wins after dropping to 170-pounds. With a title opportunity at stake, Swick lost at UFC 105 in November 2009 to Dan Hardy. He will try to reestablish himself as a legitimate contender by taking on Paulo Thiago at UFC 109 in February.

10. Marius Zaromskis (13-3) – “The Whitemare,” a longtime Cage Rage veteran, began fighting in Japan for DREAM in 2009. He became the company’s welterweight champion with a KO against Jason High at DREAM 10. He also signed with Strikeforce this year and is scheduled to fight Nick Diaz on January 30 th for the organizations’ 170-pound belt. He is currently in a stretch that has seen him win nine of his last ten including the last five in a row.

 

Look for more MMA Rankings to be updated every month exclusively on ProFighting-fans.com.

Digg! MMA Welterweight Rankings

 

 

By Nick Russell
ProFighting-fans.com Senior MMA Staff Writer

 

Published December 2009
Photo used with permission from the UFC