UFC 127 Fight Card: Power Ranking All The Fighters On The Main Card

As UFC 127 approaches, UFC President Dana White has announced that the winner of the main event between B.J. Penn and Jon Fitch will be named the top contender in the welterweight division.

Penn has held titles in both the lightweight and welterweight divisions. Meanwhile, Fitch has long awaited a second chance at dethroning Georges St. Pierre from his UFC Welterweight Championship. Since losing to St. Pierre in August 2008, Fitch has won all 5 of his fights and was even promised a title shot with his win most recent win, which came against Thiago Alves. However, Fitch was passed over and Jake Shields was given the next opportunity to fight St. Pierre.

Aside from Penn and Fitch, UFC 127 also features several other fighters looking to climb the rankings of their respective divisions. George Sotiropoulos, Michael Bisping, and Chris Lytle have all been mentioned as fighters who could be a few wins away from fighting for a championship.

Given their past performances and the fact that they are being promoted as the headlining fighters of the event, Penn and Fitch are undoubtedly the best fighters on the card. Let's take a look at how the remaining participants stack up.

10. Chris Camozzi

Chris Camozzi picked up an important win over an undefeated fighter, Dong Yi Yang, in his last appearance. With that win, Camozzi stretched his UFC record to 2-0.

However, a participant on The Ultimate Fighter: Season 11, Camozzi is still in need of a big win to earn respect and gain job security with the UFC. Camozzi may have a chance to do just that at UFC 127, where he will fight fellow TUF alum Kyle Noke. 

Before getting his shot with the organization, Camozzi lost to UFC castoffs Jesse Taylor and Jesse Forbes. Those losses certainly don't help Camozzi in determining where he lies in comparison to the other fighters competing at UFC 127. 

9. Brian Ebersole

With seven consecutive wins, including one over former UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Newton, Brian Ebersole has more than earned his shot at competing in the UFC. However, his position on this list is limited by his loss to fellow UFC 127 competitor Kyle Noke.

Ebersole's opponent, Chris Lytle, is widely considered one of the top welterweights in the UFC and had been scheduled to fight Carlos Condit until Condit was forced to withdraw from the fight due to injury. On less than three weeks notice, Ebersole will have his hands full in his UFC debut.

8. Kyle Noke

After a disappointing run on The Ultimate Fighter: Season 11, Kyle Noke won the first two fights of his UFC career. Noke will look to keep on rolling with a win over Chris Camozzi at UFC 127.

Prior to appearing on TUF, Noke had already put together an impressive resume' with wins over George Sotiropoulos, Brian Ebersole, and Kyacey Uscola. Noke also earned a draw against current Bellator Middleweight Champion, Hector Lombard. 

7. Dennis Siver

After posting a 3-1 record in his first stint with the UFC, Dennis Siver has made the most of his second go around with the organization. Since returning to the UFC, Siver is 4-1 and has earned four fight bonuses. 

However, Siver has not fought anyone on the level of his UFC 127 opponent, George Sotiropoulos. A win over Sotiropoulos would make Siver an instant contender. A loss could have Siver back to battling for his position in the UFC.

6. Jorge Rivera

While the rest of the fighters on the UFC 127 main card have at least been on-and-off contenders for almost their entire UFC careers, Jorge Rivera has never been quite able to break through that ceiling into the elite middleweights in the organization.

Rivera's losses to Chris Leben and Martin Kampmann both served as major setbacks to his rise to the top. However, Rivera will get another chance to become a legitimate contender with a win in his UFC 127 fight against Michael Bisping.

5. Chris Lytle

Chris Lytle is on an impressive four fight winning streak. However, Lytle has never been able to get that signature win to earn him a shot at a title. In his last fight, Lytle defeated Matt Serra, but the win over an aging contender was not nearly enough to earn Lytle a title shot.

Originally scheduled to fight Carlos Condit at UFC 127, Lytle could have had an excellent chance to end the disappointment that has haunted him over the course of his career. Unfortunately, Condit was forced to withdraw from the fight due to injury, which left Condit with the relatively unknown Brian Ebersole as an opponent.  

4. Michael Bisping

Like Chris Lytle, Michael Bisping has had trouble getting that win over an elite fighter to earn himself a title shot. Despite his disappointments, Bisping has posted an impressive career record of 20-3.

Perhaps the most impressive stat Bisping has compiled is the fact that his only losses have come against former UFC or PRIDE champions.

3. George Sotiropoulos

With each passing victory, you get the feeling that George Sotiropoulos is becoming to Australia what Michael Bisping is to England. Perhaps the most impressive win of Sotiropoulos' career, his win over Joe Stevenson, came in Sydney, Australia.

Sotiropoulos will return to Sydney for UFC 127 to fight Dennis Siver. The Australian has been on the short list of lightweight title contenders for quite some time now, but it would be hard to imagine him earning a title shot with a win over Siver.

2. B.J. Penn

In terms of these fighters' entire careers, B.J. Penn would be far and away the top ranked fighter on this list. However, Penn is still in the process of redeeming himself for the back-to-back losses to Frankie Edgar, which stripped Penn of the UFC Lightweight Championship.

Penn's 21 second knockout of Matt Hughes in his last fight was a big step in the right direction, but Penn needs another win to show that he is really back. A win over Jon Fitch would earn Penn the number one contender spot in the welterweight division and prove that he hasn't lost a step.

1. Jon Fitch

Jon Fitch is the best fighter on the UFC 127 main card at this point in time. Fitch has won five consecutive fights and would be undefeated in the UFC if it weren't for a fighter named Georges St. Pierre.

While Fitch has been promised as much before only to see the promise broken, he will become the top contender with a win over B.J. Penn at UFC 127. 

UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch Results, News and More