Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Welterweight

1. Tyron Woodley (18-3-1)

With three successful UFC title defenses under his belt now, Woodley has taken to calling out the likes of Georges St. Pierre and Nick Diaz, hoping to cash in with some sort of lucrative fight. With GSP aiming to make history by coming out of retirement to take the middleweight title from Michael Bisping, Woodley may be pressured to defend his UFC crown again, and realistically, he may never get his chance to meet the all-time greatest welterweight, whose return figures to be brief.

2. Robbie Lawler (28-11, 1 NC)

It may not earn him a fourth consecutive “Fight of the Year” distinction, but Lawler's oft-delayed, much-anticipated showdown with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 214 was worth the wait. After a year away from the cage following his knockout loss to Tyron Woodley at UFC 201, Lawler was sterling and violent in winning a well-deserved unanimous decision and reminding us that the “Ruthless” one is far from a relic at 170 pounds.

3. Demian Maia (25-7)

Maia's title challenge against Tyron Woodley in July went anything but swimmingly for the jiu-jitsu legend. Fortunately for Maia, the UFC schedule is taking the Octagon back to his hometown of Sao Paulo, and the Brazilian will get a chance to get back into the win column, albeit against a dangerous prospect. Maia is expected to take on Colby Covington at UFC Fight Night 119 on Oct. 28.

4. Stephen Thompson (13-2-1)

Thompson could not take the UFC welterweight title in his two-fight series with Tyron Woodley, and now he finds himself on the comeback trail following knee surgery. “Wonderboy” is not looking to take any sort of tune-up bout, though. After an organic social media game got fans revved up, the UFC has rubber stamped a Thompson-Jorge Masvidal clash for UFC 217 at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 4.

5. Douglas Lima (29-6)

Even after he regained the Bellator welterweight crown in devastating fashion from the man who took it from him, Russia's Andrey Koreshkov, criticisms persisted that Lima “had not faced anybody” yet. Those criticisms, at least temporarily, have been put to bed: At Bellator 180, Lima outstruck slick, savvy striker and new Bellator free agent acquisition Lorenz Larkin over 25 minutes, not just to retain his 170-pound title but to affirm the notion he is truly one of MMA's welterweight elite.

6. Rory MacDonald (19-4)

It had been 11 months since MacDonald's disastrous final bout in the UFC against Stephen Thompson, as “The Red King” made his long-awaited Bellator debut in London on May 19 and blew dangerous veteran Paul Daley out of the water. It was a much-needed win for MacDonald, who had not had his hand raised in two and a half years. He is expected to challenge Douglas Lima for Bellator's 170-pound title next time out.

7. Lorenz Larkin (18-6, 1 NC)

Entering Bellator MMA fresh off UFC wins over Jorge Masvidal and Neil Magny, it was a disappointment when Larkin had little to offer in his promotional debut at Bellator 180, losing the vast majority of his 25-minute title bout with champion Douglas Lima. However, Larkin is nonetheless skilled, entertaining and just signed a plum free-agent deal, so Bellator is still going to be keen to use him. “The Monsoon” will return to action against brash-talking British striker Paul Daley at Bellator 183 on Sept. 23 in San Jose, California.

8. Jorge Masvidal (32-12)

Losing a close split decision to Demian Maia in May did nothing to slow Masvidal's hype or trash talking. Having hit his stride at 170 pounds, Masvidal continued incessant public call-outs of notable welterweights until his social media campaign to face former title challenger Stephen Thompson clicked. The exciting Masvidal-Thompson pairing will be featured on the UFC 217 card on Nov. 4 at Madison Square Garden.

9. Neil Magny (19-5)

After topping former UFC champion Johny Hendricks by unanimous decision in December, Magny seemed prime to break out in 2017, but he has spent the year on the sidelines recovering from injury. Magny now has a booking, and it is by no means an easy tune-up fight. At UFC 215 on Sept. 9, Magny will mix it up with another former champ in ex-lightweight king Rafael dos Anjos, who looks revitalized at 170 pounds.

10. Donald Cerrone (32-9, 1 NC)

Given how badly Jorge Masvidal put the screws to him in January, no one would have blamed Cerrone if he did not want to re-book his previously scheduled bout with former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler. However, “Cowboy” is “Cowboy,” so he took the fight anyhow. We were treated to a “Round of the Year” contender and one of the best fights of 2017 so far, even if Cerrone took another loss. It marks the first time in his 11-year career that he has suffered back-to-back defeats.

Other Contenders: Colby Covington, Leon Edwards, Dong Hyun Kim, Santiago Ponzinibbio, Kamaru Usman.

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