MMA Rankings > MMA Welterweight Rankings
MMA Welterweight Rankings
A review and ranking of the top 170-pound fighters in MMA - January 2010 Update
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.
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Paul Daley (above) defeated Dustin Hazelett at UFC 108. Hazelett was sponsored by MMA & UFC news leader ProFighting-fans.com. |
1. Georges St-Pierre – (22-2) – Welterweight king, Georges St-Pierre has been atop the welterweight division for 1,386 days, the most by any UFC Welterweight in history. St-Pierre was last seen in his most recent successful title defense over Jake Shields in April. Since, he has been sidelined with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, and underwent surgery in January. He is expected to make his return against the Interim UFC Welterweight Champion, Carlos Condit this fall.
2. Carlos Condit – (10-1) – “The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit had an untraditional rise to the Interim UFC Welterweight Champion. He was the last WEC Welterweight Champion, and lost his UFC debut to Martin Kampmann. Since, he has gone on to defeat three top ten foes. His most recent, over Nick Diaz, was enough to claim the right to challenge Georges St-Pierre later this year for the title.
3. Nick Diaz (27-8-1) – After vacating the Strikeforce Welterweight title for greener pastures in the UFC, Diaz was bumped from his scheduled fight with St-Pierre, and went on to defeat B.J. Penn instead. He is coming off of a loss to Carlos Condit for the right to fight for the title. After the close loss, a clearly frustrated Diaz announced his retirement from the sport. He has yet to make a formal announcement of his retirement, but with his recent positive test for marijuana, his future remains uncertain.
4. Jon Fitch (26-4-1) - Jon Fitch has been a perennial top five fighter for a long time. After a win over Thiago Alves, he fought to a draw against B.J. Penn. He retained his top five ranking after the draw and was matched up against rising prospect Johny Hendricks. It was a short night for Fitch as he was knocked out in just 12 seconds. His status as a top five fighter is still unchanged, but his dreams of a title shot will be long delayed in the competitive welterweight division.
5. Johny Hendricks (12-1) - Johny Hendricks, a former NCAA National Champion wrestler at Oklahoma State University, burst onto the scene at UFC 101 with a knockout win over Amir Sadollah. He has only one loss on his ledger, and he has rattled off three straight. After his quick 12-second knockout of second-ranked welterweight, Jon Fitch, Hendricks moves himself into the title picture at 170.
6. Jake Ellenberger (26-5) - Jake “The Juggernaut” Ellenberger has been quickly rising through the UFC ranks at 170. With his brutal and quick knockout of top ten fighter Jake Shields, he moves one step closer to the top of the crowded welterweight division. He is next expected to face off against Diego Sanchez at UFC on Fuel TV 1, with the winner possibly becoming the next contender.
7. Jake Shields (26-6-1) - After winning the vacant Strikeforce middleweight title and then defending it against Dan Henderson, Shields moved over to the UFC to fight for UFC gold. In his UFC debut, he outpointed Martin Kampmann in a close split decision. He went on to challenge Georges St-Pierre for the title, but was frustrated by St-Pierre’s effective jab-and-move techniques. After the loss to St-Pierre, he was matched up with rising prospect Jake Ellenberger, who won the bout by knockout just 53 seconds into the fight. His next test will be in “The Land of the Rising Sun” as the UFC heads to Japan for UFC 144. The welterweight tilt features Shields and Japan native, Yoshihiro Akiyama. 8. Josh Koscheck (19-5) - Josh Koscheck, better known as simply, “Kos” has been the villain at welterweight for a while now. Before the rise of Nick Diaz, Kos was the one everybody loved to hate, but now Diaz has taken some of that pressure off. Koscheck has quietly gone on a two-fight win streak after losing to Georges St-Pierre in 2010. With a knockout victory over Matt Hughes, and a controversial split decision win over Mike Pierce at UFC 143, Koscheck is clawing his way back into the title picture at 170. He has since expressed his desire to fight Nick Diaz in what would be a battle of the bullies, but as of this point, nothing is official. 9.Martin Kampmann - (18-5) “The Hitman” Martin Kampmann has been on the cusp of contender status for a very long time. The king of the split decision, Kampmann is always in the fight. After two straight wins over Jacob Volkmann and Paulo Thiago, Kampmann lost two straight to future title challenger, Jake Shields, and Diego Sanchez. He got back on track in 2011 with a win over Rick Story at UFC 139, and will now square off against Thiago Alves in the main event of UFC on Fuel TV 1. |
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10. Diego Sanchez - (25-4) Diego “The Dream” Sanchez made his move back to welterweight in 2010 after failing to capture B.J. Penn’s lightweight title in 2009. A former welterweight, and middleweight, Sanchez has proven to be a force at welterweight with wins over Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann in his return. His next challenge comes in the form of striker Jake Ellenberger at UFC on Fuel TV 1 with the winner possibly getting a title shot after Condit.
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By Steve Cassidy
ProFighting-fans.com Senior MMA Staff Writer
Published December 2009
Photo used with permission from the UFC