UFC 129: Power Ranking the Top 25 Welterweight Title Fights in UFC History

This Saturday, Georges St-Pierre will meet Jake Shields at UFC 129 in an attempt to defend his UFC Welterweight Championship for a divisional-record sixth consecutive time. Welterweight title fights have provided some of the greatest bouts in UFC history, and this matchup should be no different.

Having fought in nearly half of the 25 welterweight title fights the UFC has had in its history, St-Pierre has been involved in some epic battles for the belt already. Have any of them been great enough to top the list of the best welterweight title fights ever? Let's find out.

25. Matt Hughes vs. Gil Castillo

Defending the UFC Welterweight Championship for a third consecutive time at UFC 40, Matt Hughes proved to be on a different level than Gil Castillo. Hughes slammed Castillo and began to work his ground-and-pound for the entire first round.

At some point during the round, Hughes opened up a cut over the left eye of Castillo. As Castillo was getting ready for the second round, the ringside doctor determined that the fight should be stopped due to the cut.

24. Pat Miletich vs. Andre Pederneiras

Aware of his opponent’s ground skills, Pat Miletich attempted to keep his fight with Andre Pederneiras standing as much as possible. Early in the second round, Miletich landed a right hand that opened a deep cut above the left eye of Pederneiras.

Shortly after, there was a break in the action, and the ringside doctor determined that Pederneiras would not be allowed to continue.

The win was Miletich’s second straight title defense, but the unfortunate end to the fight took away some meaning from the victory.

23. Pat Miletich vs. Jorge Patino

In his first title defense, Pat Miletich fought another jiu-jitsu practitioner in Jorge Patino at UFC 18. As a result, Miletich did everything he could to keep the fight standing.

However, Patino wanted no part of getting into exchanges with Miletich. As Miletich continued to press forward, Patino continually backed up.

In one of the few exciting moments of the bout, Patino had Miletich in a deep guillotine choke attempt as the final overtime round came to an end. Miletich was able to defend, though, and took a decision victory.

22. Georges St-Pierre vs. Dan Hardy

Probably one of the more undeserving top contenders in recent memory, Dan Hardy did little to threaten Georges St-Pierre at UFC 111.

Because Hardy’s strength was in his striking, St-Pierre made sure to keep the British fighter on his back for the entire fight. St-Pierre attempted to submit Hardy multiple times, but Hardy was able to avoid submitting and forced a lopsided decision.

21. Pat Miletich vs. Kenichi Yamamoto

Heading into his fourth title defense, many were questioning whether or not Pat Miletich was beginning to lose a step after having lost his previous fight outside of the UFC.

After keeping the fight with Kenichi Yamamoto standing for the first round and landing some hard kicks, Miletich was able to submit his opponent early in the second round with a guillotine choke.

Making the win slightly more impressive, Miletich had injured his leg during the fight and limped away after Yamamoto tapped.

Miletich silenced some critics with his win, but the win over Yamamoto would end up being his final successful title defense.

20. Pat Miletich vs. John Alessio

Making his debut with the UFC, John Alessio had his hands full in attempting to spoil Pat Miletich’s third title defense.

After nearly submitting Miletich with a guillotine choke early in the fight, Alessio was eventually submitted in the second round with an armbar. Still, the UFC newcomer put up a much better fight than expected.

19. Georges St-Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck

In a rematch of a fight that Georges St-Pierre had already won the first time, Josh Koscheck challenged for the welterweight title at UFC 124.

After having been criticized for his reluctance to stand with previous opponents, St-Pierre was able to out-strike Koscheck with repeated jabs. By the end of the fight, Koscheck had sustained significant damage to his right eye and was forced to undergo surgery.

The decision victory gave St-Pierre his fifth straight title defense, which tied him with Matt Hughes for the most consecutive defenses in UFC welterweight history.

18. Pat Miletich vs. Mikey Burnett

In the first ever fight for the UFC Lightweight Championship, which later became known as the UFC Welterweight Championship, UFC 16 Lightweight Tournament Champion Pat Miletich met Lion’s Den fighter Mikey Burnett.

In a chess match that included a lot of clinch work, Miletich was awarded a split-decision victory. However, the decision was a very controversial one due to a penalty Burnett had received earlier in the fight for a knee to the groin of Miletich.

17. Georges St-Pierre vs. Thiago Alves

Coming off impressive victories against Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck, Thiago Alves was seen as a significant threat to UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre if he was able to keep the fight standing.

However, St-Pierre was able to take Alves down repeatedly at their UFC 100 fight. Alves showed a lot of heart by getting back to his feet on several occasions, but St-Pierre made sure to quickly return him to his back.

The takedown clinic resulted in a unanimous decision victory for St-Pierre and his third straight title defense.

16. Georges St-Pierre vs. Jon Fitch

Heading into his title shot at UFC 87, Jon Fitch had won 16 consecutive fights and was looking to prevent Georges St-Pierre from defending the UFC Welterweight Championship for the first time.

In the fight, St-Pierre beat Fitch at his own game by taking the former Purdue wrestler down and scoring with ground-and-pound. By the end of the fight, Fitch’s face was badly bruised and battered.

15. Matt Hughes vs. Hayato Sakurai

Matt Hughes received a stiff test for his first title defense as UFC Welterweight Champion. Heading into UFC 36, Hayato Sakurai was a former Shooto Middleweight Champion, and the only loss of his career had come against Anderson Silva.

Sakurai was unable to come up with an answer for Hughes’ ground-and-pound, though, and was eventually finished by technical knockout in the fourth round.

14. Matt Hughes vs. Sean Sherk

Attempting to tie Pat Miletich’s record of four consecutive title defenses, Matt Hughes met Sean Sherk at UFC 42. Prior to the fight, Sherk had been undefeated in 20 career fights.

After losing the first two rounds, Sherk gave Hughes all he could handle in the third round by taking him down and landing some solid ground-and-pound. Sherk couldn’t carry that success through the final two rounds, though, and lost in a unanimous decision.

Still, Sherk put up a valiant effort against Hughes, who became the greatest welterweight champion ever at that time with this win.

13. Georges St-Pierre vs. Matt Hughes III

Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes met at UFC 79 in a rubber match to determine an Interim UFC Welterweight Champion during the absence of Matt Serra.

St-Pierre submitted Hughes with an armbar with second remaining in the second round. The win confirmed to any remaining doubters that Hughes’ time at the top of the welterweight division was likely to be over for good.

12. Matt Hughes vs. Georges St-Pierre

After losing his belt to BJ Penn and having his record streak of title defenses come to an end, Matt Hughes was given an opportunity to reclaim his belt at UFC 50 against Georges St-Pierre.

Hughes made the most of his chance by submitting St-Pierre with one second to go in the first round. The exciting armbar submission reminded everyone that Hughes was not about to pass the welterweight torch without a fight.

11. Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg

Coming off a win over Dennis Hallman, who had been responsible for two of Matt Hughes’ three career losses at that point in time, Frank Trigg was seen as a worthy welterweight contender heading into UFC 45.

Trigg was able to take Hughes down early in the fight, but Hughes showed why he had become the greatest welterweight champion ever by reversing Trigg and taking his back.

From there, Hughes completed a standing rear-naked choke that gave him his record-breaking fifth consecutive welterweight title defense.

10. Matt Hughes vs. Carlos Newton II

At UFC 38, Carlos Newton was given a chance at revenge against Matt Hughes and the opportunity to regain the welterweight title.

Hughes’ wrestling proved to be too much for Newton once again, though. Newton tried his best to cause problems off his back, but Hughes was eventually able to finish the fight with punches from a mounted crucifix position.

With the win, Hughes defended the title for a second time and showed that it was going to take a new breed of fighter to be able to dethrone him.

9. Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg II

Matt Hughes met Frank Trigg once again at UFC 52 in a rematch of a bout that he had won only a few fights earlier in his career. This time the fight went much differently, though.

Early in the first round, Trigg landed a knee to the groin that caused Hughes to stop fighting and ask for time to recover. However, time was not given, and Hughes was rocked by a right hand from Trigg.

In one of the most memorable comebacks in MMA history, Hughes recovered and once again submitted Trigg with a rear-naked choke.

8. Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn II

During his second title run, Matt Hughes received a second chance at defending his belt against BJ Penn. This time, Hughes was successful, but the win was far from an easy one.

Penn arguably won the first two rounds before suffering a rib injury during the second round. Hughes took advantage and finished Penn with strikes from the crucifix position.

7. Georges St-Pierre vs. Matt Serra II

After suffering a monumental upset against Matt Serra in their first meeting, Georges St-Pierre reclaimed his title in a dominant performance at UFC 83.

After dominating the fight for nearly two full rounds, Serra finally broke and was finished by St-Pierre’s knees to the body.

St-Pierre hasn’t relinquished the belt to this day.

6. Pat Miletich vs. Carlos Newton

Still the only champion that the division had ever seen, Pat Miletich attempted to defend his belt against Carlos Newton at UFC 31.

Things were going well for Miletich through two rounds. However, Newton caught Miletich in a third-round scramble and submitted him with a rare bulldog choke.

The loss was the beginning of the end for Miletich, who temporarily retired two fights later.

5. Carlos Newton vs. Matt Hughes

In his first title defense, Carlos Newton met the up-and-coming Matt Hughes.

Early in the second round, Newton secured a triangle choke that looked to be extremely tight. However, Hughes showed amazing strength and lifted Newton over his head and carried him across the cage.

Just when it appeared that Hughes had no option remaining, he slammed Newton to the canvas and knocked the champion unconscious.

One of the great championship reigns in MMA history had begun.

4. Matt Hughes vs. Georges St-Pierre II

In the midst of a second title run, Matt Hughes appeared to be on his way to matching the success he had in his first title run when he met Georges St-Pierre at UFC 65.

In this rematch, St-Pierre was able to keep the fight standing long enough to land a head kick and right hand that rocked Hughes. St-Pierre then pounced on the opportunity to finish Hughes and become the new champion with a technical knockout.

The torch had been passed.

3. Georges St. Pierre vs. BJ Penn II

In terms of competitiveness, this rematch between Georges St-Pierre and B.J. Penn wasn’t one of the best fights ever. However, the fight was certainly one of the most meaningful in UFC history.

With a win against St-Pierre, Penn would have become the first fighter in UFC history to ever hold two belts at the same time.

St-Pierre was able to take Penn down and take away his desire with ground-and-pound. After multiple rounds of taking a beating, Penn didn’t answer the bell for the fifth round.

2. Matt Serra vs. Georges St-Pierre

By winning The Ultimate Fighter, Matt Serra earned a title shot against UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre. Serra wasn’t given much of a chance at victory heading into the fight, though.

Serra clipped St-Pierre in the first round and continued to overwhelm him. Unable to recover, St-Pierre was finished in a technical knockout.

Serra’s victory was one of the biggest upsets in MMA history and taught St-Pierre a valuable lesson.

1. Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn

Looking to extend his record of consecutive title defenses, Matt Hughes fought BJ Penn at UFC 46. The fight was Penn’s first at welterweight.

Penn came out strong by taking Hughes down and quickly taking his back. From there, Penn locked up a rear-naked choke and ended the greatest welterweight title run to date.

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Sean Smith is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. For the latest insights and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @BR_Sean_Smith.