Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Welterweight

1. Georges St. Pierre (19-2)
Another title defense, another elite contender, another dominant victory for St. Pierre. GSP’s lopsided decision over an elite challenger in Thiago Alves at UFC 100 showed why he remains one of the sport’s pound-for-pound kings and caused many fans and pundits to begin demanding a move to middleweight.

2. Jon Fitch (19-3, 1 NC)
Fitch earned himself a hard-fought and well-deserved unanimous verdict over Paulo Thiago in July. Next on tap for the American Kickboxing Academy product will be former middleweight King of Pancrase Ricardo Almeida in the Brazilian’s welterweight debut at UFC 106 on Nov. 21.

3. Thiago Alves (16-6)
Coming off a unanimous decision loss in his July UFC title bid against Georges St. Pierre, Alves’ return to the cage in December will not be a “gimme,” as he will meet once-beaten fellow Brazilian Paulo Thiago at UFC 107.

4. Jake Shields (23-4-1)
As expected, Shields will return to the middleweight division for Strikeforce’s Nov. 7 card on CBS, where he will take on Jason “Mayhem” Miller. As an extra perk for the former EliteXC champion, the bout will be for the promotion’s middleweight crown, recently vacated by Cung Le.

5. Josh Koscheck (13-4)
In his first appearance in the cage since his upset loss to Paulo Thiago in February, Koscheck -- who also rebounded from a broken toe that sidelined him in May -- needed less than a round to punch out sturdy veteran Frank Trigg. The win put Koscheck back in the welterweight title picture in the UFC.

6. Paulo Thiago (11-1)
Thiago is certainly getting no favors from UFC matchmaker Joe Silva. After meeting Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch in his first two UFC bouts, the Brazilian Military Police member will take on another elite 170-pounder at UFC 107 in December, when he meets fellow Brazilian Thiago Alves.

7. Mike Swick (14-2)
A concussion took Swick out of a proposed Sept. 19 bout with Martin Kampmann that would have given him the chance to fight Georges St. Pierre in the near future. However, the welterweight title picture is now foggier than before, with Kampmann getting blitzed in the first round by replacement Paul Daley.

8. Paul Daley (22-8-2)
Daley came to the UFC with a reputation as one of Britain’s best talents and one of the welterweight division’s most dangerous strikers. Even so, he was an underdog to divisional standout Martin Kampmann. However, Daley needed fewer than three minutes to blow away Kampmann at UFC 103 and signal his arrival in the UFC’s 170-pound division.

9. Martin Kampmann (15-3)
UFC 103 was supposed to feature Kampmann meeting Mike Swick with the next crack at Georges St. Pierre on the line. After Swick pulled out due to injury, Kampmann was a considerable favorite to debuting British banger Paul Daley, who responded by demolishing the Dane in the first round.

10. Carlos Condit (23-5)
Many hardcore fans felt Condit would find himself in rough waters in his Sept. 16 bout with the relatively unknown Jake Ellenberger, but few could have imagined the extent. Condit had to overcome an onslaught from Ellenberger in the opening stanza in order to take a split decision win by the skin of his teeth.

Other contenders: Marcus Davis, Dan Hardy, Jay Hieron, Dan Hornbuckle, Matt Hughes.

* With the entrance of Paul Daley into these rankings due to his Sept. 19 win over Martin Kampmann, Daley’s Rough House teammate, Dan Hardy, moves from 10th to the contenders list.