Top Welterweights

1. Layoff will tell us quite a lot.
2. Has proven himself to be #2
3. Don't see anyone else who deserves #3 more; I think he will beat Hitman
4. Very close to Ellenberger; needs to work on avoiding shots
5. Very close to Kampmann
6. Similar to Hendricks but with a little less power, slightly less solid chin
7. I think he deserves this spot; since '08, has finished Kampmann, Gouveia, Maia, Palhares and Woodley,      decisioned Miller, and lost decisions to Okami and Sonnen.
8. Definitely want to see more of Ares; can go places; I think he will beat Penn
9. Not much better than Sields imo, but still in the mix, just not for a title
10. Wasn't going to put Sanchez, and Silva did make quick work of Prater (NC, though) and Brenneman; can go places

Note: Not including Diaz due to no return 'till February at the least. Sanchez fights hard and is tough, but I don't see him as top 10 material, though he is close. No way I'm putting Askren.

I rank based on how a fighter stacks up in the division right now, with a tiebreaker being who beat who. Past wins, two or more years ago, for ex., provide evidence for greatness but more current performances are obviously more important. Consistency is often overlooked in ranking as well, and it shouldn't be; it shows focus, ability to avoid flopping/mistakes, and is what defines most great fighters.


1. I honestly think GSP could beat any other WW on the list if in classic form. On the ground he is the best overall and his standup is great and rising; his consistency is tops.
2. Condit has consistently proved greatness by having a very close fight with Kampmann and Ellenberger, finishing MacDonald, Hardy and Kim, and displaying intelligence and cardio vs. Diaz, all while showing superior striking and toughness. His ground game is not the best but it is great, especially gnp, and he can defend himself very well.
3. Hendricks can neutralize anyone else's wrestling (maybe sans GSP), has perhaps the heaviest hands, and is using them both as appropriate. My question is his jj, but his wrestling has been good enough to avoid trouble. His only loss: decision to Story in 2010.
4. Kampmann has been consistent and is dangerous on the ground and feet. He is good at recovering /defending on the ground that has made up for a tendency to get hit too much, which has to be changed quickly.
5. Like Hendricks, Ellenberger has wrestling and power.
6. Koscheck is similar to Ellenberger but is older. He was tko'd vs  Paulo Thiago but his chin is still solid.
7. Marquardt deserves this spot because: 1) He has finished Kampmann, Gouveia, Maia, Palhares and Woodley, and the first four being at MW makes it even more impressive; 2) He decisioned Dan Miller; 3) his only losses in over three years come by decision to Okami and Sonnen (both larger than him, even at MW); and 4) He would be a favorite vs MacDonald, probably Fitch (who he could KO if he let his hands go) and definitely Diego, and has as much power and experience as anyone.
8. MacDonald gets my #8 spot because of his performance vs the current #2 and expected domination of Nate Diaz (not a worse fighter, just didn't belong at 170), Pyle and Mills. I expect him to beat Penn, and his chin has looked great.
9. Fitch's chin has always been his weakness, but is says something about a fighter who has controlled countless quality opponents, many of which had KO power. Many are saying he deserves a higher spot, but I think that's not 100% warrantable since he's in a wrestler/KO-power-heavy division, he just got KO'd, and he didn't do great vs Penn, who gassed in the third.
10. Diego just doesn't stand out to me, but he did "beat" Kampmann and took a round from Ellenberger.

Not including Shields, who would be 10, due to going to MW (doesn't seem like he wants to fight at WW, either) and Diaz due to the year out.

After some thinkin', I think these don't deserve top spots:
Thiago Alves is 2-4 in his last six (since '09) and has struggled vs grapplers, which the division is full of.
John Hathaway, since 2010, has beat Diego Sanchez, lost to Mike Pyle, beat Kris McCray by split, and beat Pascal Krauss. The Diego fight is the only impressive thing there. He could go places, but I want to see it first.
Erick Silva looks like a beast on the mat and feet, and just finished Brenneman, but like someone said earlier, he does need another quality win. I do feel like him and Hathaway (maybe) could beat Sanchez, though.

* Edited at 07.17.2012, 4:55 PM ET *

RockZ...#9?

@Alias fixed it, caught that, too

gsp out of action for close to 15 months. mma weekly does not have him ranked and neither do i.

@Wolf you should just remove GSP completely from your rankings having him 7th just shows people you don't take them seriously anyway 

Well, that was back in July before he faught... Hopefully he's updated them.

They update even on old posts when you update

* Edited at 12.14.2012, 11:08 AM ET *

you sure?

yep

Well, that's disgusting then.  GSP at 7?

@Kalibo "Well, that's disgusting then.  GSP at 7?"


I don't even have to look and I know your talking about Wolfman and is insane welter weight rankings.

* Edited at 12.14.2012, 11:28 AM ET *

I haven't updated mine in months but here it is.

@DelRose  Your list looks somewhat strange without GSP :-)

Here is mine

>>>I haven't updated mine in months<<<<

Is there a way to opt out of these rankings ? I focus on ranking UFC fighters and don't want my lack of updating this one to skew the numbers.

@Curt the consensus rankings are based off the last 100 updated so you're not skewing anything

cool thanks