Welterweight 6-12-08

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Rank

Fighter

Comments

1.

Georges St. Pierre

2.

Jon Fitch

He’s earned his shot at the UFC welterweight belt, and has been given the official blessing by Dana White. The question is, is Jon Fitch in GSP’s league? After St. Pierre’s dominant performance at UFC 83, it’s hard to say. But you don’t rack up a win streak like Fitch’s unless you’re made of championship material.

3.

Jake Shields

For all intents and purposes, Jake Shields is EliteXC's welterweight champion - but poorly-timed injuries suffered by him and Drew Fickett have prevented Shields from making it official. His current nine-fight win-streak includes victories over big names like Yushin Okami and Carlos Condit, and he's also put guys like Hayato Sakurai and Akira Kikuchi to bed. Keep watching this dude.

4.

Thiago Alves

Congratulations, Pitbull - you've just won the chance to get your ass kicked by Georges St. Pierre after GSP gets through with Jon Fitch. Alves at #4 may seem high, but he's undoubtedly third in the UFC's 170-pound pecking order after wasting two other top competitors, and he's young enough to develop into a champion one day.

5.

Josh Koscheck

6.

Diego Sanchez

7.

Matt Hughes

It breaks my heart to have Hughes below Koscheck and Sanchez, but he's the classic old dog who can't learn new tricks. Without a sharp striking game, he'll continue to be rocked by younger, more well-rounded welterweights. Kicking Matt Serra's ass and then retiring is probably the best-case scenario.

8.

Nick Thompson

For months, I had Thompson tied with Carlos Condit at the #8 spot. Two things convinced me to break the deadlock: 1) The fact that the Goat has gone 12-0 over the last two years, compared to Condit's 7-0, and 2) This picture.

9.

Carlos Condit

10.

Hayato Sakurai

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