UFC Fantasy Tournament Round One: Welterweight Division

The UFC Fantasy Tournament in the lightweight division is over. After making it to the finals, Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez fought it out to see who would be the best in the lightweight division after BJ Penn.

The results are in:

By a 16-2 vote, Kenny Florian dominated Diego Sanchez and took the win.

It's now time to move to the welterweight division. We have another stacked tournament about to begin, so let's get started.

First Round, Fight One: Martin Kampmann vs. Jon Fitch

Since dropping down to 170 pounds, it's safe to say that Martin Kampmann hasn't made the big bang everybody was expecting of him. Being a well-rounded, former middleweight fighter, everybody was expecting to see Kampmann fight GSP in no time.

Instead, a split decision win over Carlos Condit and a TKO loss to Paul Daley have pushed Kampmann further down the rankings. Martin Kampmann is still a very dangerous fighter with good strikes and submissions. He's also coming off a win over Jacob Volkman in his last fight.

Jon Fitch has been a top welterweight fighter since coming into the UFC. He suffered his only loss against current champion Georges St-Pierre. Fitch has great wrestling, great submission defense, and improved striking. Add to that the fact that Jon has a ton of heart, and you have a warrior.

A fight between these two men would be interesting because of Kampmann's well-rounded skills. The thing here is that Jon Fitch is a much better wrestler and would most likely decide where this fight takes place. Could Fitch compete with Kampmann's strikes and submissions?

Who advances? 

First Round, Fight Two: Dan Hardy vs. Paulo Thiago

It's safe to say that these two men have made quite the impact in the UFC so far.

Dan Hardy rose to fame pretty fast with wins over Akihiro Gono, Rory Markham, Marcus Davis, and most recently over Mike Swick. Hardy has very good hands; he's shown that in all of his fights so far and he's still improving. Although still a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he has never been in trouble on the ground since coming to the UFC.

Paulo Thiago shocked the world when he got a KO win in his UFC debut against Josh Koscheck at UFC 95. Still, Thiago isn't known for his strikes, but rather his very good ground game. He's a BJJ black belt who has seven submission wins in a total of 13 fights. Still, he hasn't shown us his submissions in the UFC yet.

Paulo Thiago would most likely test Hardy's submission defense, that's if Paulo can take him down. Hardy has great strikes and has KO power in both hands. What's so impressive about him is his confidence in himself and that alone could win him the fight.

This would be a simple game plan for both fighters. Dan Hardy would love to keep the fight on it's feet while Paulo Thiago would love to take it to the ground.

Who gets the win?

First Round, Fight Three: Thiago Alves vs. Mike Swick

This would definitely be an explosive fight. Mike Swick actually requested a fight against Thiago Alves after Alves destroyed Josh Koscheck, but unfortunately it hasn't happened...at least not yet.

Swick has a well-rounded game and he's very aggressive. He earned his nickname ''Quick'' because of how fast he finished off his early UFC opponents. Swick has good submissions, good wrestling, and great strikes, which have led him to an impressive overall record of 9-2 in the UFC.

Thiago Alves has been an unstoppable machine since his loss to Jon Fitch. With feared strikes and great take-down defense, it's safe to say that Alves is one of the most feared fighters in the UFC. He's was also GSP's toughest opponent in recent fights.

A fight between Alves and Swick would more more explosive then an atomic bomb. Both guys are fast and have great striking abilities. Swick would most likely have the advantage should the fight hit the ground, but how long could he keep Alves on his back?

Who wins?

First Round, Fight Four: Paul Daley vs. Josh Koscheck

We are fast forwarding here to UFC 113 here, where Josh Koscheck will battle Paul Daley.

Daley has looked really dominant in his recent wins over Martin Kampmann and Dustin Hazelett. His striking skills and KO power make him one of the most dangerous fighters in the division. So far nobody has been able to exploit his weaker ground game, so as speak, who knows what his ground game looks like?.

If there's one fighter who can exploit Daley's weak spot, it's Josh Koscheck. Koscheck is a great wrestler who can pretty much take anybody down. Koscheck has also greatly improved his strikes. In his most recent fight, he took one of the best strikers in the division, Anthony Johnson, and submitted him.

The scenarios in this fight are endless, but it's safe to say that Josh Koscheck has more ways of beating Paul Daley then Paul Daley has of beating Josh Koscheck. If Koscheck can take Daley down it will be a long night for the Brit. But who knows what will happen?

Who advances to the semis?

Here you have it folks. Eight of the best UFC welterweights competing in the Fantasy Tournament. Leave your votes and check out the semifinals next week.