The Rankings: The Welterweights: Jan 25, 2013
The Rankings are just that - The MMA Manifesto's rankings of the best fighters in mixed martial arts today. Check back every Monday and Friday for our rankings of a different weight class. Next up: The Welterweights.
Voting Panel: Jeff Fox - The MMA Manifesto, speeds - Sports Two MMA Forum, Dave Kelsey - 2011 MMA Manifesto Pick 'Em Contest Champion, Sanford & Son - old school MMA head and Slavoj Žižek zealot, Daniel Vreeland from The MMA Manifesto and PrelimPicker, and MMA journalist (FIGHT!, UFC.com, Keyboard Kimura) E. Spencer Kyte.
*new stipulations: 1) any fighter currently suspended or 2) inactive for at least 12 months (without an upcoming fight scheduled) are excluded from the rankings
*CLICK ON FIGHTER'S NAME FOR DETAILED SCOUTING REPORT
1) (Last Ranking - 1) Georges St-Pierre - UFC Welterweight Champion - 60 points
Record: 23-2
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 4-0 (W-Condit, W-Koscheck, W-Fitch, W-Koscheck)
Next Fight: vs Nick Diaz - UFC 158 - Mar 16th
GSP asked for and has received a matchup with Nick Diaz next spring.
2) (2) Johny Hendricks - UFC - 52 points
Record: 14-1
Last Five Fights: 5-1
Record vs Top 10: 3-0 (W-Kampmann, W-Koscheck, W-Fitch)
Next Fight: vs #7 Jake Ellenberger - UFC 158 - Mar 16th
And The Legend of the Beard continues to grow.
3) (3) Carlos Condit - UFC - 49 points
Record: 28-6
Last Five Fights: 4-1
Record vs Top 10: 2-1 (L-St-Pierre,W-MacDonald, W-Ellenberger)
Next Fight: vs #5 Rory MacDonald - UFC 158 - Mar 16th
He was up for the challenge, but The Natural Born Killer wasn't able to dethrone the king.
4) (4) Jon Fitch - UFC - 37 points
Record: 24-4-1 (1 No Contest)
Last Five Fights: 3-1-1
Record vs Top 10: 0-2 (L-Hendricks, L-St-Pierre)
Next Fight: vs #9 Demian Maia - UFC 156 - Feb 2nd
Jon Fitch made a very impressive return to the Octagon, slaying Erick Silva in his native Brazil.
5) (tied) (5) Martin Kampmann - UFC - 31 points
Record: 20-6
Last Five Fights: 3-2
Record vs Top 10: 2-1 (L-Hendricks, W-Ellenberger, W-Condit)
Next Fight: TBA
Hitman decided to test his chin versus Johny Hendricks's left hand. The chin lost.
5) (tied) (6) Rory MacDonald - UFC - 31 points
Record: 14-1
Last Five Fights: 4-1
Record vs Top 10: 0-1 (L-Condit)
Next Fight: vs #3 Carlos Condit - UFC 158 - Mar 16th
Rory MacDonald will get a chance to avenge his only loss at UFC 158.
7) (7) Jake Ellenberger - UFC - 27 points
Record: 28-6
Last Five Fights: 4-1
Record vs Top 10: 0-2 (L-Kampmann, L-Condit)
Next Fight: vs #2 Johny Hendricks - UFC 158 - Mar 16th
Jake Ellenberger's meteoric rise to the top of the welterweight division was harshly halted by a Martin Kampmann knee.
8) (8) Josh Koscheck - UFC - 20 points
Record: 17-6
Last Five Fights: 3-2
Record vs Top 10: 0-3 (L-Hendricks, L-St-Pierre, L-St-Pierre)
Next Fight: vs Robbie Lawler - UFC 157 - Feb 23rd
Josh Koscheck will welcome Robbie Lawler back to the UFC in February.
9) (9) Demian Maia - UFC - 12 points
Record: 17-4
Last Five Fights: 3-2
Record vs Top 10: 0-0
Next Fight: vs #4 Jon Fitch - UFC 156 - Feb 2nd
Two up, two down for Demian Maia in the UFC's 170-pound division.
Record: 11-0
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 0-0
Next Fight: TBA
The Funky One ground another opponent to death.
Bubbling under: Tarec Saffiedine
Rankings:
Heavyweights
Light Heavyweights
Middleweights
Lightweights
Featherweights
Bantamweights
Pound for Pound
Check back on Monday for our Lightweight rankings
