October 2011 World MMA Rankings: Welterweights
With wins by Anthony Johnson and Jake Ellenberger, recent events have seen the welterweight division change. No longer are there clear fighters who deserve the title shot against Georges St. Pierre. Here’s how the top 10 welterweights break down after recent events:
1: Georges St. Pierre
Record: 22-2 (won last 9)
Recent opponents: Jake Shields, Josh Koscheck, Dan Hardy
Upcoming: vs Carlos Condit @ UFC 137
Dana White said Frankie Edgar is the #2 pound for pound fighter in the world behind Anderson Silva. Did he do this to try and motivate GSP to produce a more exciting fight? We’ll find out how GSP reacts to this by the end of the month.
2: Jake Ellenberger
Record: 26-5 (won last 5)
Recent opponents: Jake Shields, Sean Pierson, Carlos Eduardo Rocha
Upcoming: vs Diego Sanchez @ UFC 141
With a 5 fight win streak and a win over Jake Shields, “The Juggernaut” is positioning himself for a title shot sooner rather than later.
3: Jake Shields
Record: 26-6-1 (lost last 2)
Recent opponents: Jake Ellenberger (loss), Georges St. Pierre (loss), Martin Kampmann
Upcoming: Unknown
Shields has lost 2 in a row for the 1st time in his career. He did, however, become the 1st person to win rounds against GSP in a long time.
4: Jon Fitch
Record: 23-3-1-1 (drew last 1)
Recent opponents: BJ Penn (draw), Thiago Alves, Ben Saunders
Upcoming: vs Johny Hendricks @ UFC 141
Fitch had been the perennial #2 man at welterweight for a long time. With a draw to BJ Penn, Jake Shields interrupting GSP’s round streak, and Jake Ellenberger knocking out Shields, Fitch slips a little.
5: BJ Penn
Record: 16-7-2 (drew last 1)
Recent opponents: Jon Fitch (draw), Matt Hughes, Frankie Edgar (loss-fought at lightweight)
Upcoming: vs Nick Diaz @ UFC 137
Penn has done well since returning to the welterweight division, and if he beats Nick Diaz (who was originally supposed to get the title shot) he should be considered for a 3rd match with GSP.
6: Josh Koscheck
Record: 16-5 (won last 1)
Recent opponents: Matt Hughes, Georges St. Pierre (loss), Paul Daley
Upcoming: Unknown
Koscheck finally returned to action after being beat up badly by GSP. He knocked out Matt Hughes to get back on the winning track.
7: Anthony Johnson
Record: 10-3 (won last 2)
Recent opponents: Charlie Brenneman, Dan Hardy, Josh Koscheck (loss)
Upcoming: Unknown
The big man in the welterweight division put himself into the contenders list with a knockout win over Charlie Brenneman
8: Charlie Brenneman
Record: 14-3 (lost last 1)
Recent opponents: Anthony Johnson (loss), Rick Story, Amilcar Alves
Upcoming: Unknown
Brenneman was stopped by Anthony Johnson, derailing the hype train that started when he defeated Rick Story on short notice.
9: Rick Story
Record: 13-4 (lost last 1)
Recent opponents: Charlie Brenneman (loss), Thiago Alves, Johny Hendricks
Upcoming: vs Martin Kampmann @ UFC 139
Story shot to prominence with a win over Thiago Alves, then stepped into the cages weeks later. The short turnaround cost him, as his fight with Nate Marquardt fell through and he ended up losing to Charlie Brenneman. Next up for “The Horror” is Martin Kampmann
10: Thiago Alves
Record: 19-7 (won last 9)
Recent opponents: Rick Story (loss), John Howard, Jon Fitch (loss)
Upcoming: vs Papy Abedi @ UFC 138
The Pitbull was the #3 guy behind GSP and Jon Fitch for awhile, but losing to Rick Story has hurt his rep. He welcomes top prospect Papy Abedi to the UFC in November.
Notes:
Martin Kampmann drops from the top 10 with the entry of Anthony Johnson.
4 Rants to “October 2011 World MMA Rankings: Welterweights”
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I wouldn’t put Brenneman in that category. He pulled one out, sure, but that’s because he refused to stand toe to toe with Story. The difference between Story and his last bout, which he lost, is Johnson saw the film. If Story would have seen film on Brenneman and had enough time, he would not have lost. I only wish Story would get a rematch with him. Wipe that smile off his face, like AJ did.
So there’s no place in the top 10 Welterweights in the world for either Nick Diaz, Carlos Condit or Tyron Woodley? Not even Paul Daley?
There’s 3 there that should easily make it, Diaz and Condit are both top 4 in the World.
Story beat Alves, who was certainly top 10. We can question Brenneman’s victory over Story for sure, but he did beat him clean. A rematch with enough time to prepare definitely would clear things up.
Daley was top 10, but drops due to rise of others and the fact that he lost to Tyron Woodley.
Diaz was top 10, but again, other people have been beating top 10 fighters to put themselves in the top 10. Diaz has been beating Cyborg, Zaromskis, Noons (155er), etc.
Condit lost to Martin Kampmann, arguably lost to Jake Ellenberger, nearly lost to Rory Mac, KO’d Dan Hardy (who has lost 4 in a row), then beat DHK, who is good but not top 10.
Woodley has great potential, but isn’t top 10 in terms of recent wins/opponents.
Looks like Carlos Condit could be in for a Matt Serra-esque leap!