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Welcome to the first ever combat-hooligans.com attempt at a ranking system for the 5 major weight classes in MMA: Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, Middleweight, Welterweight and Lightweight.
A few notes on how this Is going to work. The panel is 1 person, and that one person is me. My rankings aren’t meant as a sign of all-time contributions, what could be done in the future, or a reflection of who I think would win in a fight between 2 fighters. This is pretty much the “What have you done for me lately” way of ranking things. As a result, champions get ranked hire by virtue of being champions.
I’m only ranking fighters I’ve actually seen. As time goes on this will be less and less of an issue, but I am willing to admit that my not having seen a fighter may be the only reason he’s missing from a list.
We’re going to look this week at the Welterweight Division, maybe the deepest in North America.
Ranking last Updated:
- Matt Serra: 33, 5’6, 170 9-4-0
Sure, people will say that he doesn’t deserve the ranking. They’ll say that he fluked his way to a victory over Georges St. Pierre. However, he is the champion and he did win that fight regardless of how you think it happened. He knocked out a man who had never been KO’d before. Can he do it again? That’s a question for a future time, but these rankings don’t reflect the future.
- Georges St. Pierre: 26, 5’10, 170, 14-2-0
I predicted a Josh Koscheck victory over GSP at UFC 74. To say I was incorrect would be a big understatement. A dominating performance solidified his position as the #1 ranked (behind the champion) Welterweight contender. He’ll have to wait until 2008 to get that title shot but if he looked like he did against Koscheck it won’t be long before he’s got the belt back.
- Matt Hughes: 33, 5’9, 170, 41-5-0
Hughes’ last outing was a decision victory over Chris Lytle in what wasn’t the dominant victory people expected coming off his loss to Georges St. Pierre. However, in fairness, Lytle is a pretty tough opponent who nearly beat Matt Serra on the TUF 4 Finale.
Hughes gets the next shot at the belt in December after his second stint as a coach on the Ultimate Fighter. Hughes is in this spot largely on past accomplishments though he is still dominant enough that another reign as champ is not out of the question.
- Jon Fitch: 29, 6’0, 170, 14-2-0
Fitch is on a 13 fight winning streak. His losses have come to Mike Pyle and Wilson Gouveia and he has a no contest against Solomon Hutcherson. He’s 6-0 in the UFC and is coming off a victory on 06/12 over Roan Carneiro who gave Fitch trouble in round 1 but Fitch rebounded to win in the second. On 09/22 he’ll take on Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez who is coming off the first loss of his career to Josh Koscheck. Fitch was a guy who until recently the more well-known Welterweights wanted no part of but a victory over Sanchez will put him right in the mix for a future shot at the belt. He’s an outstanding wrestler who just imposes his will on any of his opponents.
I have Fitch ranked a lot higher than other sites have him in their rankings but I believe it is justified and that Fitch is still somehow very underrated.
- Karo Parisyan: 25, 5’10, 170, 17-4-0
Sure, he has a loss to Diego Sanchez who nearly got the last spot. But since then, Parisyan has rebounded with a couple of solid victories over Josh Burkman and Drew Fickett. Plus, when you factor in the fact that the decision in the Sanchez fight was very close (it won the Wrestling Observer fight of the year) and many felt he won, it becomes a little easier to put him in that spot. This is a guy who once earned a shot at Matt Hughes and the Welterweight title but was forced out with an injury and replaced by Joe Riggs. Parisyan hasn’t gotten that title shot back.
His Judo throws make him a fun fighter to watch although I don’t think I need to hear him sing again. If you want to argue for Diego Sanchez in this spot, I won’t argue. If you want to argue for someone else, you can make a case for a lot of guys that’s how deep this division runs.
Fighter on the Rise: Carlos Condit – This guy is really good, current WEC champ can’t help but end up in the UFC someday.
Best Fighter outside the UFC: Jake Shields – Tough to fit him in the top 5 without him beating top 5 competition.
This is by far the deepest division in the UFC in terms of quality contenders. It is so deep, I’ve got to wonder if we won’t see some of the mid-level contenders shifted to the WEC so that they can be focused on a little more. Compared to the UFC, the WEC has a weak Welterweight Division.
Coming next week, the Lightweight division, maybe the toughest for me to lay out.
Previous Rankings:
- Heavyweight: 08/17
- Light Heavyweight: 08/27
- Middleweight: 09/01
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