MMABay’s World Mixed Martial Arts Ranking’s for March

Welterweight

1: Georges ‘Rush’ St. Pierre: Following a lengthy lay-off, UFC 111 in March will mark the return of one of the greatest fighters the sport has ever seen. GSP’s dominance has created perhaps the biggest talent gap in any division in the sport…but as good as GSP is, a chance meeting with Matt Serra in 2007 will always leave a slight question mark over the Canadian’s chin. It may be the only chink in ‘Rush’s’ otherwise impenetrable armour; Dan Hardy will be the next man to try and exploit it when the two meet in Las Vegas in a few weeks time.

2: Jon Fitch: The one-sided nature of Fitch’s loss to Georges St. Pierre has left few in doubt of the result of a rematch. A win in his March rematch with Thiago Alves could force the UFC into giving Fitch a second shot, but with exciting challengers like Daley, Koscheck and Thiago waiting in the wings, he’ll have to win in style.

3: Thiago ‘Pitbull’ Alves: Muay Thai wrecking machine Thiago Alves enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks of the UFC’s welterweight division. Unfortunately, like so many before him, the American Top Team standout was derailed by 170lb king GSP. The first step on his road to redemption will be a long-awaited rematch with Jon Fitch at UFC 111.

4: Josh ‘Kos’ Koscheck: Josh Koscheck survived some hairy moments in his recent bout with fringe welterweight contender Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson en-route to a second round submission victory. He may have lobbied for a title shot following the win, but Koscheck now sees himself on the injured list after dropping out of a welterweight title eliminator with nemesis Paulo Thiago. Kos will likely return in May against hard-hitting Brit Paul Daley.

5: Dan ‘The Outlaw’ Hardy: Hardy defied the odds and brought home the ‘W’ for his country at UFC 105 against top welterweight contender Mike Swick. The win sees ‘The Outlaw’ leapfrog the pack into title contention at 170lbs; a mouth-watering March clash with GSP awaits as Hardy aims to become the first British UFC champion. 

6: Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley: When opportunity knocks, you answer! That’s an adage that served hard-hitting Brit Paul Daley well in his short, yet storied UFC career. After following up a first-round blitzing of Martin Kampmann with a brutal mugging of grappling wizard Dustin Hazelett, Daley will look to get his next scalp at UFC 113 in May. His opponent? Everyone’s favourite Fraggle, Josh Koscheck. 

7: Nick Diaz: One of the few fighters to walk away from the UFC on a win streak, Diaz has tasted defeat only once in 9 bouts since. Having had surgery to grind down the sharp bones in his brow, the Cesar Gracie student is riding a six-fight wining streak following his first round TKO of Lithuanian slugger Marius Zaromskis. Despite holding the Strikeforce welterweight championship, it’s possible that Diaz’ next bout could come at a catch-weight following news that the promotion has signed his old rival KJ Noons.

8: Martin ‘Hitman’ Kampmann: One of Denmark’s finest exports (second only to their bacon) ‘The Hitman’ recently has his red hot run at welterweight derailed by late replacement Paul Daley. While Kampmann’s title aspirations may be on hold for the short term, he bounced back from the Daley loss with a second round guillotine of Jacob Volkmann. Kampmann was set to continue his comeback at UFC 111, but now finds himself on the shelf following an injury.

9: Paulo Thiago: Now two for three against AKA fighters, Thiago followed up his decision of newcomer Jacob Volkmann by putting top contender Mike Swick to sleep at UFC 109. With victories over two top ten welterweights under his belt, Thiago could find himself just a win or two away from a title shot at 170lbs.

10: Mike ‘Quick’ Swick: One of the original Ultimate Fighters, Swick has got better and better since appearing on the show. Moving up to 205 for a chance to win the UFC contract, Swick is now back at his natural weight of 170lbs where he was recently handed his first welterweight defeat by Dan Hardy in Manchester. Swick suffered another setback as he became the second AKA fighter to be upset by Paulo Thiago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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