BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz: Power Ranking the Top 20 UFC Welterweights
With the announcement of the BJ Penn-Nick Diaz fight for UFC 137, the road to the welterweight title cleared up.
The winner of that fight will likely be a No. 1 contender's match. After that, Jake Shields or Jon Fitch is likely to fight for the title.
Originally I was going to do a top 10 list, but I felt that I was leaving too many people out. Then I was going to do a top 15, but I felt the same again.
I settled on a top 20 list, and this list will show how the welterweight division is one of the UFC's most stacked.
No. 20: Duane Ludwig
1 of 21Duane Ludwig (21-11) kicks off the list at No. 20.
Ludwig is currently riding a two fight winning streak since his return to the welterweight division, with wins over Nick Osipczak and Amir Sadollah.
No. 19: Paulo Thiago
2 of 21Paulo Thiago (14-3) made his return to the Octagon in a big way.
Thiago won a 30-27 unanimous decision at UFC 134 over David Mitchell, after almost one year off.
Many will remember Paulo for knocking out Josh Koscheck in his UFC debut, and he could be well on his way back to beating top contenders.
No. 18: Anthony Johnson
3 of 21Anthony Johnson (9-3) was last seen "punking" Dan Hardy at UFC Fight Night 24.
In that fight, Johnson utilized his wrestling to control Hardy en route to a 30-27 unanimous decision on all judges' scorecards.
Rumble's next fight will be at UFC Live 6 against Charlie Brenneman.
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No. 17: Brian Ebersole
4 of 21Brian Ebersole (48-14-1 [1 NC]) was last seen defeating "The Speedo Torpedo" Dennis Hallman at UFC 133.
Prior to that, Ebersole made his UFC debut and upset longtime UFC veteran Chris Lytle.
Ebersole has certainly proven that he is a good fighter, and he gets the chance to show how good when he goes into unfriendly territory and takes on Rory MacDonald at UFC 140.
No. 16: Jake Ellenberger
5 of 21Jake Ellenberger (24-5) was last seen at UFC 129 where he knocked out Sean Pierson in the first round.
Ellenberger is on a four fight winning streak and has won eight of his last nine. The only loss came in the form of a split decision in his UFC debut against Carlos Condit.
Ellenberger gets a big step up in competition for his next fight, as he takes on Jake Shields.
No. 15: Dong Hyun Kim
6 of 21Dong Hyun Kim (14-1-1 [1 NC]) was last seen at UFC 132, where he got knocked the **** out by Carlos Condit and his flying knee of doom.
Prior to that, Kim was on a 16 fight unbeaten streak, with wins over Nate Diaz and Amir Sadollah.
"Stun Gun" is now set to face James Wilks at UFC on Fox 1.
No. 14: Martin Kampmann
7 of 21Martin Kampmann (17-5) was last seen at UFC Live 3 where he dropped a unanimous (albeit controversial) decision to Diego Sanchez.
Prior to that, Kampmann dropped a split decision to Jake Shields in Shields' UFC debut.
Kampmann is now set to fight against Rick Story at UFC 139.
No. 13: Rory MacDonald
8 of 21Rory MacDonald (12-1) was last seen at UFC 133, where he TKO'd Mike Pyle in the first round.
MacDonald is 3-1 in the UFC, with his only loss being a TKO to Carlos Condit at UFC 115 with seven seconds remaining in the fight.
MacDonald's next fight will be against Brian Ebersole at UFC 140.
No. 12: Matt Hughes
9 of 21Matt Hughes (45-8) is the former UFC welterweight champion, and was last seen at UFC 123 where he was knocked out by BJ Penn in the first round.
Prior to that, Hughes was on a three fight winning streak, with finishes over Renzo Gracie and Ricardo Almeida.
Hughes was supposed to fight Diego Sanchez at UFC 135, but Sanchez broke his hand and was replaced by Josh Koscheck.
No. 11: Thiago Alves
10 of 21Thiago Alves (19-7) has taken quite a tumble down the rankings. In his last fight at UFC 130, he was upset by Rick Story, suffering a unanimous decision loss.
Overall in his last four, Alves is 1-3, losing to GSP, Jon Fitch, beating John Howard and losing to Story.
Alves' next fight will be against Papi Abedi at UFC 138.
No. 10: Rick Story
11 of 21Rick Story (13-4) is proof that one man's loss is another's gain—literally.
Story shot up the rankings after beating Alves at UFC 130, and then he dropped right back down when he lost to Charlie Brenneman on short notice at UFC Live 4.
Story returns to action against Martin Kampmann at UFC 139.
No. 9: Charlie Brenneman
12 of 21Charlie Brenneman (14-2) was last seen upsetting Rick Story at UFC Live 4.
Prior to that, Brenneman had defeated Amilcar Alvez and lost to Johny Hendricks.
Brenneman returns to action at UFC Live 6 when he takes on Anthony Johnson.
No. 8: Diego Sanchez
13 of 21Diego Sanchez (23-4) was last seen at UFC Live 3 where he edged out a competitive, and close, unanimous decision over Martin Kampmann.
Prior to that, Diego won another decision over Paulo Thiago at UFC 121. Since returning to Greg Jackson's MMA, Diego has gone 2-1, with the lone loss being his first fight in his return to welterweight to John Hathaway.
Diego was going to return to action at UFC 135 against Matt Hughes but an injury forced him out, and his next opponent is TBA.
No. 7: Nick Diaz
14 of 21Nick Diaz (25-7 [1 NC]) is the former Strikeforce welterweight champion, and was last seen defeating Paul Daley in one of the most entertaining rounds of the year.
Diaz is on a ten fight winning streak with nine finishes. His only loss in his last 16 fights was a doctor stoppage to cuts against KJ Noons. The only other fight he didn't officially win was a gogoplata over Takanori Gomi which was overturned due to Diaz having insane levels of THC in his system.
Diaz was going to make his return to the UFC against GSP for the welterweight title but he blew it, and instead takes on BJ Penn at the same event.
No. 6: Carlos Condit
15 of 21Carlos Condit (27-5) is the former WEC welterweight champion and was last seen at UFC 132, where he put Dong Hyun Kim to sleep with an incredibly impressive flying knee.
Prior to that, Condit defeated the likes of Dan Hardy, Rory MacDonald and Jake Ellenberger. In fact, his only loss in his last 13 fights came against Martin Kampmann in his UFC debut.
Due to the whole Nick Diaz situation, Condit now receives the title shot against GSP at UFC 137.
No. 5: Josh Koscheck
16 of 21Josh Koscheck (15-5) was last seen at UFC 124 where he got jabbed to death by GSP in a fight for the welterweight strap.
Koscheck was on a three fight winning streak before that, with victories over Paul Daley, Anthony Johnson and Frank Trigg.
Koscheck now replaces Diego Sanchez in the co-main event of UFC 135 and takes on Matt Hughes.
No. 4: BJ Penn
17 of 21BJ Penn (16-7-2) is the former UFC welterweight and lightweight champion. He was last seen at UFC 127 where he fought to a draw with Jon Fitch.
Penn made his return to the welterweight division after losing his lightweight title, and then a rematch, against Frankie Edgar at lightweight.
In his first fight at welterweight he knocked out Matt Hughes in 21 seconds and then had the draw with Jon Fitch.
Penn now faces off against Nick Diaz at UFC 137.
No. 3: Jake Shields
18 of 21Jake Shields (26-5-1) was last seen at UFC 129 where he lost a unanimous decision to Georges St-Pierre.
Prior to the fight against GSP, Shields made his UFC debut against Martin Kampmann and won a split decision. Counting that victory, Shields was on a 15 fight win streak, with victories over Carlos Condit, Mayhem Miller, Yushin Okami, Paul Daley, Robbie Lawler, Dan Henderson and Mike Pyle.
That's one hell of a resume.
Shields returns to action to headline UFC Fight Night 25 opposite Jake Ellenberger.
No. 2: Jon Fitch
19 of 21Jon Fitch (23-3-1 [1 NC]) was last seen fighting at UFC 127 where he fought to a majority draw with BJ Penn.
Fitch has one of the best records in the UFC, but everybody knows that his fighting style has not endeared him to UFC fans or Dana White, and he is yet to receive a second title shot against Georges St-Pierre.
Fitch's next fight has yet to be announced, but it should be sometime around December.
No. 1: Georges St-Pierre
20 of 21Duh.
Georges St-Pierre (22-2) is the current UFC welterweight champion and was last seen at UFC 129 where he defeated Jake Shields by unanimous decision.
GSP was supposed to fight against Nick Diaz in his next fight, but after the whole Diaz saga, GSP will now face a more dangerous opponent in Carlos Condit.
Expect fireworks in that one folks.
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