UFC Welterweight Power Rankings

The UFC Welterweight Title is on the line at UFC 100 as UFC betting favorite Georges St. Pierre takes on his biggest challenge yet – Thiago Alves.

Is Alves really the second best fighter in the division?

The oddsmakers at Betus.com don’t think he is. They give that honorific to Jon Fitch, and I’m inclined to agree with them.

1. Georges St. Pierre (18-2)

St. Pierre has the power and explosiveness of someone much heavier than 170 pounds to go with incredible speed, heart, intelligence, and athleticism.

The popular mantra in the media heading into UFC 100 is that his opponent Thiago Alves is stronger than him but that might be in aesthetics only. St. Pierre just might use his wrestling ability to toss Alves around like he’s done to everyone else in the division.

2. Jon Fitch (18-3)

Holding a win over Alves but not quite the same amount of fanfare, Fitch deserves this spot until we see how Alves fares against St. Pierre.

Fitch was outclassed on his feet against St. Pierre in their UFC 87 title match but still hung in for five rounds and got some shots in. He has an interesting fight with Paulo Thiago at UFC 100 in which he’ll be the favorite, but his teammate Josh Koscheck didn’t do too well in that role as he lost to Thiago.

3. Thiago Alves (16-3)

He’s had a couple of impressive wins over Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck but it is worth noting that he came in overweight against Hughes (giving him an advantage) and that Koscheck took him on at short notice.

Still, Alves has the skill set, power, and aggressiveness to take out St. Pierre at UFC 100 despite being the underdog on the BetUs.com sports book.

4. Mike Swick (14-2)

“Quick” had a nice win over Ben Saunders at UFC 99 where he again showed off his uncanny hand speed and athletic ability. He needs a bigger test and Matt Hughes might provide it for him soon.

5. Martin Kampmann (15-2)

The Danish rising star turned down a bout with TJ Grant in search of bigger and better things. Perhaps he should get a shot at Swick, a fighter in a similar position career-wise. Kampmann isn’t a head-turner but he is solid in all facets of his game right now.

Paulo Thiago (11-0)

A virtual unknown coming into his UFC 95 match with welterweight Josh Koscheck, Thiago delivered a shocking result with his TKO stoppage win. The ref may have called it too soon, but we’ll never know and it was an impressive victory.

Thiago has the opportunity of a lifetime when he faces Jon Fitch – as an underdog  – at UFC 100. A win there would put him on the fast track to UFC Welterweight Title contention.

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