Last week, I examined the top contenders of the UFC’s Welterweight Division. Now, let’s look at the ten highest-ranked welterweights currently competing in other MMA organizations. The first two names on this list, WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit and his uncrowned Elite XC counterpart Jake Shields, are in a virtual tie – with Condit ahead by mere fractions of a percent due to more recent activity. Both men demonstrated the ability to perform at a very high level, and either could potentialy be ranked in the top five, however with all remaining top ten fighters locked into UFC contracts, Shields and Condit are held back by not being able to fight competitors at or above their level.

The remainder of this list is comprised of veterans who’ve been around the block many times, never quite reaching the top of their weightclass but ready to give any top contender a tough matchup. Several hold championship titles in smaller promotions, and most are familiar faces to American fans, having appeared in the UFC, IFL, and the now defunct BodogFIGHT league. Keep Reading

Fightmatrix.com MMA rankings are now officially recognized by the North American Boxing Council (http://nabc.net/) 

A word from the NABC President:

The NABC was the first boxing organization to sanction a MMA title fight when Jessie Chilton defeated Eddie Sanchez at Legends of Fighting 8 in Indianapolis to win the NABC 185lb MMA championship. NABC mixed martial arts championship matches have also been held by California Xtreme Fighting and have been televised on the HDNet cable channel and on Cage Fury Fighting Championships pay per view broadcasts.

The NABC has never charged MMA promoters or fighters for sanctioning title matchs. Our revenue model is based on sponsorships which allows us to bring greater exposure to fighters at no cost to them.

Your creation of an unbiased computerized MMA ratings system which isn’t influenced by promotions or broadcasters is another step to provide exposure to fighters at no cost to them and I’ll help pass the word along that it should be recognized as an official ranking.

Best Regards,
Ed Hutchison
President, NABC

Thanks Mr. Hutchison & NABC!

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• Effects from EliteXC, Adrenaline 1, and DREAM 4.

In the past week, a major change of guard occurred in the UFC’s storied welterweight division, as the long time former champion Matt Hughes was dismantled and knocked out by Thiago ‘Pitbull’ Alves. With Alves establishing himself as the top contender to the winner of the upcoming title bout between the seemingly unstoppable champion Georges St. Pierre and the challenger Jon Fitch (currently on a record-tying eight win streak in the UFC), it’s a good time to take a step back and look at the current state of the 170 lbs weight class.

Between stars like St. Pierre, veterans such as Hughes & Matt Serra, top contenders like Alves and Fitch, and newcomers such as Dan Hardy & David Baron, UFC has a tight lock on the welterweight division. According to the latest Fightmatrix.com ranking, all of the Top 5, 8 of the Top 10, and 14 of the Top 20 welterweights in the world are currently under UFC contract. The division is so deep that there are over 30 ranked welterweights competing in the UFC today! Here’s a look at the top echelon of the 170 division:

The Champion: [#1] Georges St. Pierre

MMA Record: 16-2 (10-2 UFC)

Last bout: Defeated Matt Serra by TKO at UFC 83

Next bout: A title defense against Jon Fitch at UFC 87

The Canadian superstar has come a long way since earning a decision victory over Karo Parisyan in his Octagon debut. After losing his first title shot to then-champion Matt Hughes, St.Pierre steamrolled his opponents, stopping most in the first or second round. Georges finally received another shot at Hughes, and stopped him in the second round to win his first UFC title. He suffered a setback with an upset loss to Matt Serra in the following bout, but avenged his loss and regained the belt in UFC 83 (the first UFC event held in Canada). St. Pierre will look toward making his first title defense when he takes on Jon Fitch at UFC 87.

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• Effects from UFC 85, Sengoku 3, TKO 34, and other recent events.

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• Effects from WEC 34 and Pancrase 6/1.

Miguel Torres and Urijah Faber both rocketed up the Division Dominance list due to their quality title defenses.  Torres now sits at #4 and Faber at #6.  Mike Thomas Brown took the moderately high point total he accumulated at Lightweight back down to a much weaker Featherweight division and ranks as 2nd to Faber.  Could we see this match-up in the near future?

Notable Info

• Effects from newly added historical shows and recent shows such as EliteXC, AFL, PrimetimeFC, etc.

I just realized that I totally forgot about the WEC show tonight!  There will be another update in the early part of the upcoming week.

I just had to share this one.

In Saturday’s match against Corey Wethey, Mitchell struck his opponent so hard that Wethey lost control of his bowels. The incident required a 10-minute intermission while officials scrubbed down the ring. Mitchell went on to win the fight by Wethey’s disqualification.

The fight — the seventh of the night – began like any other. Mitchell and Wethey left their corners, tapped gloves and traded punches. After landing a knee to Wethey’s body, Mitchell said he began to smell something foul.

As the fight prolonged, Mitchell said the smell continued to worsen. Eventually, he removed his mouth piece and expressed his concerns to the ring official.

“He s— himself,” Mitchell said repeatedly.

It was at that point Wethey gained the advantage and locked Mitchell’s head between his thighs.

As the round progressed, news about Wethey’s intestinal difficulties slowly made its way to the ring officials, who were at a loss of what to do.

Once the round ended, Wethey told his corner what happened and quickly was evacuated from the ring.

After Mitchell’s win was announced, he took the microphone and proclaimed to the crowd, “You can say I beat the crap out of him.”

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