All-Time Welterweight Rankings – Behind the Scenes Timeline

With the big Welterweight Championship fight approaching, I thought I would do a repeat of our Light Heavyweight analysis from yesterday, but for the Welterweight division.

The noise and fluctuations in this division are minimal in comparison.  Furthermore, the gaps seen in this list between #2-#3, and #3-#4 are quite comical.

First, some general info:

• All fighters listed have been in the Top 10 at Welterweight since we started storing the career rankings.
• Only Top 10 point totals are displayed for the listed fighters.
• Fighters with dotted data lines are no longer in the Top 10.
• I’ve often commented to readers that effects on the list are not entirely immediate.  There is usually some immediate effect to results, but as you can see in the graph, the term “rolling average” is probably a much more accurate way to explain the movement.  The methodology was created in such a way for many reasons.
• Everyone gained an automatic ~15% in the 18 months due to increased quality of data, amongst other things.  Essentially, the value of a point decreased.
• Kiuma Kunioku saw his all-time point eligibility change from Welterweight to Middleweight for his early Pancrase accomplishments.  This was due to some minor division re-adjustment and how we considered those pioneer day results.  The other three “dotted line” fighters were simply surpassed.

In early iterations of the list (before this graph), Hughes held the top spot, and although St. Pierre took the lead, he hasn’t clearly distanced himself from Hughes yet.  A return to action and a win over Condit would certainly assist him in doing so.  Condit on the other hand is on the upswing and a win over GSP would likely propel him into the gulf between #3 and #4.

How fitting is it for Jon Fitch to reside relatively comfortably in the #3 spot, as he has done for quite a long time?  Though currently, he too is getting swept away in the rip current that the new Welterweight blood is producing.