The UFC welterweight division has seen its ups and downs over the past couple of years. We have seen one of the greatest welterweights ever in Georges St. Pierre leave the sport to pursue other endeavors. Veteran Robbie Lawler went on a magical run as champion. He defended the belt three times against three of the UFC’s best in the division. Now we have a newly crowned champion in the form of Tyron Woodley. He needs an opponent to defend his belt.
State of the UFC Welterweight Division
Whose title shot is it anyway?
In what has been a running topic over the past couple weeks, we have seen the likes of Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz and Stephen Thompson as well as St. Pierre have all rumored for a title shot against Woodley. “The Chosen One” seems to have wanted the super fights against the likes of the Diaz brothers and St. Pierre because of the money that is entailed with those fights. As of yesterday, UFC president Dana White confirmed that Thompson will get his rightful title shot against Woodley later this year. Thompson has won his last seven bouts. He has beaten some of the best in the division to earn his place as a contender.
What about the top of the Division?
In the welterweight division, there isn’t a problem in talent. It is one of the most talent-heavy divisions in the UFC today. Throughout the rankings, nearly every fighter in the top 15 has a chance to fight for the title one day. You have a former champion in Johny Hendricks. He has fought some of the best the division has to offer including, former champions in Georges St. Pierre and Robbie Lawler. He has also faced fellow top ranked contenders in Kelvin Gastelum, Matt Brown and newly crowned number one contender Thompson. You also have the likes of Demian Maia and Carlos Condit. They will fight each other on the UFC on FOX card in Vancouver in a couple of weeks. The winner of that bout could easily be next in line pending any strange circumstances.
Cowboy vs. The Horror
Another fight within the 170-pound ranks that has big implications is the upcoming fight between Donald Cerrone and Rick Story. Both men have been on great runs in the division. This bout is sure to have matchmakers watching closely. It takes place during the very stacked UFC 202 card, and has potential fight of the night written all over it. Both men are hungry to get in the octagon and show fans and fighters alike that they cannot be overlooked.
“Cowboy” Cerrone, since making the move up to 170 pounds, has won his first two bouts in the division. He finished both Patrick Cote and Alex Olivera. “The Horror” Story has been one of the most underrated welterweights as he has gone toe to toe with some big wins against the likes of fellow ranked fighters such as Gunnar Nelson and Tarec Saffedine. So both men have a lot to prove to UFC matchmakers and it all goes down August 20th.
The Back end of the Division
When looking at the back end of the welterweights, there are men in the rankings 11-15 that all have potential to climb through the rankings and can vie for a title shot in the future. Matt Brown knows what its like to be near the top and has fallen off the path to the title a little bit but he knows what it takes to win fights and could see himself back in the top ten with the right winning formula. Dong Hyun Kim has seen positives and negatives through his UFC career. He has been inactive for a while. When he gets back, he is sure to try and string together a couple of wins and keep his place or move up in the rankings.
Gunnar Nelson has been good for the majority of his career and even with a setback loss not too long ago to Maia; he has come back stronger and has shown big strides as a fighter as well as someone who could make a run at the belt one day. The story of this part of the division has been Jake Ellenberger. He went from being almost cut by the UFC to winning a career defining win against Matt Brown and now has found himself number 15 on the rankings. It will be interesting to see how Ellenberger fights now as he seems to be one loss away from really being cut from Dana white and co.
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