The public’s attention has been directed at the UFC’s welterweight division over the past couple of weeks, especially after the organization officially announced a very intriguing title fight between champion Georges St-Pierre and contender…
The public’s attention has been directed at the UFC’s welterweight division over the past couple of weeks, especially after the organization officially announced a very intriguing title fight between champion Georges St-Pierre and contender/Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz.
What has made this particular division a hotbed of headlines has been the developments of key match-ups, injuries, replacements, talent depth and the future of some of its most notable and young competitors.
The UFC’s 170-pound stable is fresher than ever, stockpiled with legitimate contenders to challenge the champ, if he manages to get past Diaz.
Obviously, most eyeballs have been firmly locked on the division’s highly touted, pound-for-pound title holder and his surrounding possibilities—a natural obsession from fans that love or hate him for being so dominant.
GSP may be the eye of the welterweight hurricane, the center of gravity, but he is accompanied by a line of eager contenders aiming to continually change the landscape.
Comparatively, the most intriguing divisional possibilities in the UFC are at 170 pounds right now, regardless of the misconception that the division is on the brink of being cleaned out. That sentiment couldn’t be further from the truth.
Here are the top five welterweight puzzle pieces, who have made impressive strides within the last year and will be within arm’s reach of a shot at the prized belt soon, keeping the champion busy enough to bury ideas of moving up weight classes.
Since its creation in 2005, The Ultimate Fighter has given up and coming MMA fighters a chance to win a UFC contract and $100,000. Season four of the show added an extra bonus. Because it featured UFC vets who had not won a championship, the winners wo…
Since its creation in 2005, The Ultimate Fighter has given up and coming MMA fighters a chance to win a UFC contract and $100,000.
Season four of the show added an extra bonus. Because it featured UFC vets who had not won a championship, the winners would get a chance to compete for a title.
Matt Serra and Travis Lutter would go on to win the show in their respective weight classes. Serra went on to score the biggest upset in UFC history, beating Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight title.
Lutter on the other hand blew his title chances against Anderson Silva before he even stepped foot in the cage, coming into the fight overweight.
A visibly tired and disappointed Lutter walked into the match with the crowd booing. After taking Silva down a few times and threatening to stop him with ground and pound in the first round, Lutter was submitted in the second by triangle and elbows.
Lutter had just one more UFC fight against Rich Franklin before becoming the first Ultimate Fighter winner to be cut from the UFC. He has only had two fights since, going 1-1.
Some may argue that fighters like Kendall Grove and Efrain Escudero have been worse TUF winners. Grove has gone 6-6 since winning TUF back in 2006 while Escudero was cut after going 2-2 and failing to make weight in his last UFC bout. He has since gone 3-1.
What sets these guys apart from Lutter is that they have continued to fight consistently. Lutter has only had four fights since winning the show back in 2006.
Another thing that makes Lutter a special case is he was promised a title shot after winning the show. Something other winners, besides Serra, had to work their way up to. This was the opportunity of a life time and he blew it.
Lutter is now 38 and possibly on the tail end of his career. What was once a promising MMA career after winning the Ultimate Fighter, has now become a thing of the past.
Do you believe Lutter is the worst TUF winner of all time? Share your thoughts and check out why I believe Rashad Evans is the Best TUF winner of all time.
Who Won?With TUF 13 happening on Saturday June 4, 2011, all mixed martial art fans are focused on the Palms in Las Vegas for an up-close look at the finale. But with so much attention locked in on Vegas, let’s take a few rounds to discus…
Who Won?
With TUF 13 happening on Saturday June 4, 2011, all mixed martial art fans are focused on the Palms in Las Vegas for an up-close look at the finale. But with so much attention locked in on Vegas, let’s take a few rounds to discuss some other hot-button topics currently residing in the UFC.
Two of Bleacher Report’s UFC contributors get together to debate three hot-button topics currently surrounding the UFC.
Danny Acosta (@AcostaIsLegend) is a B/R contributor and a lead writer for Fight! Magazine. Keith Thomas is a regular B/R contributor and a huge MMA fan.
Watch now as they debate who’s better pound-for-pound, Anderson Silva or Georges St-Pierre, the merits of Rampage Jackson and if he deserves a shot at Jon Jones and whether or not fans still interested after Penn vs. Fitch.
Watch the video now and let us know: Who do you think won this debate?
Also click here to watch more videos from Bleacher Report Productions.
After weeks of hoping and pleading, fans will finally get their wish on October 29 when UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre takes on Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz. The idea of champion versus champion is a rare and interesting occ…
After weeks of hoping and pleading, fans will finally get their wish on October 29 when UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre takes on Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz.
The idea of champion versus champion is a rare and interesting occurrence in combat sports.
The lines are no longer blurred by contracts and organizations, and fans are given the opportunity to watch two champions duke it out for undisputed supremacy.
Since leaving the UFC, Diaz has amassed an extensive résumé over notable opposition. His recent success has skyrocketed him to superstardom.
Despite major names like Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem, and Dan Henderson, it was Diaz that became the face of the Strikeforce promotion. Some have even threw out Tito Ortiz comparisons. Like Ortiz in his prime, fans care about watching Diaz fight, whether they love him or hate him.
The outspoken Stockton native has never been shy about expressing his feelings, and he has quickly become one of the most controversial figures in the sport. Still, fans always tune in to watch him fight.
Some watch in hopes that Diaz will finally get his mouth shut, and others love Diaz’s personality and hope for his continued climb up the MMA hierarchy.
At UFC 137, Diaz will get an opportunity to ascend all the way to the top of the welterweight division. St-Pierre has defended his UFC title six consecutive times, and he is widely considered as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
While he’s definitely a top-10 welterweight, Diaz hasn’t necessarily faced upper-echelon opposition. The only ranked welterweight he’s defeated in his run is Paul Daley, but history is far harsher on Diaz’s leap into UFC title contention.
During his earlier UFC run, Diaz struggled against strong grapplers with good submission defense. This led to a 2-4 stint, where Diaz incurred losses to Diego Sanchez, Sean Sherk, Karo Pariyan, and Joe Riggs.
Despite his world class Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and improved striking, Diaz has never been known for his wrestling.
St-Pierre is arguably the best wrestler in the entire sport, and he possesses the BJJ chops to stay out of danger and muster up offense of his own.
It’s dangerous in this sport to purely look at things from a black and white perspective, but on paper, this is as bad as it gets for Diaz. Still, people are overly excited to see the guy that will finally “take the fight to St-Pierre.”
What is it about Diaz that makes him more worthy of a title shot than Jon Fitch, Carlos Condit, Diego Sanchez, or even Rick Story?
Some may laugh at the addition of Story, but he recently routed Thiago Alves, who was widely considered the number three welterweight in the world. Sanchez is coming off back to back wins over ranked opposition in Martin Kampmann and Paulo Thiago.
After losing a controversial decision to Kampmann, Condit rebounded with wins over Jake Ellenberger, Rory MacDonald, and Dan Hardy.
Fitch has defeated a plethora of upper-echelon talent, and outside of his loss to St-Pierre, he hasn’t been defeated since December 2002.
The champion versus champion bout is more aesthetically pleasing to fans. Like any other sport, the title serves as recognition for being the best in the world, but in MMA, all of the best fighters don’t compete under one umbrella. They are scattered throughout the world in various organizations.
The majority of the top fighters compete in the UFC, and Diaz hasn’t faced the best in the 170-pound division.
Does any of this even matter?
The UFC has prided itself on delivering the fights fans want to see, and UFC President Dana White has done a tremendous job in putting this fight together.
The majority don’t care about Diaz’s past UFC tenure or his struggles with world class wrestlers.
They see a superstar brandishing a golden strap and 10 straight victories. People also see a fresh opponent for the French-Canadian.
Diaz has been seeking a superfight with St-Pierre for over a year now. This is the chance he’s been waiting for to finally prove that he is the best fighter in the world, but as the saying goes, be careful what you wish for.
Rick Story is making big waves in the UFC’s welterweight division.There has been hype surrounding Story for a while now and at UFC 130 he proved he could back the hype up.The young up-and-comer was considered an underdog going into his bout with perenn…
Rick Story is making big waves in the UFC’s welterweight division.
There has been hype surrounding Story for a while now and at UFC 130 he proved he could back the hype up.
The young up-and-comer was considered an underdog going into his bout with perennial top five welterweight Thiago Alves. Not to be counted out, Story came out at UFC 130 and fought the fight of his life.
Rick came into the fight with an excellent game plan. Using a strategy similar to Jon Fitch’s when he fought Alves for the second time, the young contender pressed forward, pinned Alves up against the cage and took him down. He kept Alves off balance and gave him little space to get comfortable striking.
The strategy proved effective for the first two rounds and that was enough to earn Story the biggest victory in his young career.
Shortly after his victory of Thiago Alves, Rick was presented with the a huge, albeit risky opportunity.
Rick Story was offered the chance to fight Nate Marquardt in less than a month after his victory over Alves; an opportunity that could skyrocket him to the top of the welterweight division—or completely halt the momentum he established with his recent victory.
Story accepted the fight with Marquardt, replacing an injured Anthony Johnson.
What I’m wondering is whether or not this was an intelligent move for Rick.
One big advantage is that taking this fight will get him on Dana White‘s good side, for sure. It’s no secret that Dana loves fighters who will fight anyone at any time. In the UFC’s stacked welterweight division, with so many guys vying for a shot at the title, being in White’s good graces is definitely a good thing.
Another obvious advantage is that a victory over Nate Marquardt would put Rick Story no more than one win away from a title shot. He might even get the next title shot, just based on beating Nate. Beating Marquart would put Story on a seven fight win streak, with his past two victories coming over top contenders. It would be hard to argue that anyone else deserves the shot more.
Now, let’s enter the disadvantages to Story taking this fight.
He does not have enough time for a proper training camp. Nate is arguably more dangerous than any opponent Rick has faced and certainly the most experienced. Marquardt has faced some of the best in the world; he is not a man you want to face on short notice.
Many people are surprised that Story was even able to take this fight, given the beating he took against Alves in the third round. The fight with Marquardt is in less than a month and so Story would need to receive the minimum medical suspension in order to partake in the bout. So, there is a reasonable chance that Story will still be feeling some of the effects of his fight with Alves when he goes into his fight with Nate.
As far as how well these two match up, things don’t look good for Story. Marquardt has beat better strikers than Rick, as well as better submission specialists. Nate may not have defeated a better wrestler than Story, but he was able to mostly neutralize the wrestling of Yushin Okami at UFC 122. Based on that, it’s not a stretch to think that Rick will have a tough time getting this fight to the ground.
His best chance will likely be to push the pace against Marquardt and try to wear him out. This is Nate’s first time fighting at welterweight and there is a good chance he’ll have a tough time with the weight cut.
This is the biggest fight in Story’s career. He will either shoot up to the top of the welterweight division, or destroy the momentum he’s worked so hard to build up.
Has Rick Story bitten off more than he can chew? Tune into Versus on June 26th and find out.
“Speed kills.” Ask anyone in the sports of boxing who will win between a fighter who has fast hands and someone who possesses power but lacks speed, and you will often get the former as the answer. If this will apply in the upcoming title-eliminat…
“Speed kills.” Ask anyone in the sports of boxing who will win between a fighter who has fast hands and someone who possesses power but lacks speed, and you will often get the former as the answer.
If this will apply in the upcoming title-eliminator match between former title contender Shane Carwin and upcoming superstar Junior dos Santos, then it is much likely that the Brazilian will take the victory, as he is known to be the faster fighter.
Just take a look at “Cigano’s” last six fights in the UFC, and you’ll find out how he managed to win by out-striking notable stand-up fighters known for their power: Fabricio Werdum, Stefan Struve, Mirco Flipovic, Gilbert Yvel, Gabriel Gonzaga and Roy Nelson—all of which ended with a finish except for the last one.
In dos Santos’ fight with Nelson at UFC 117, he managed to out-point the former IFL heavyweight champion who is known for his knockout power. Nelson tried to land power shots during the fight but was overwhelmed with the speed that dos Santos possesses.
Even though “Cigano” had not managed to end the fight with a finish, he had still done enough to earn a unanimous decision by turning “the Big Country” into a punching bag.
Meanwhile, Shane Carwin can brag about his own record of knockout wins over four of his last five opponents in the UFC. Nonetheless, none of those fighters possessed the same striking skills as dos Santos, with the only notable ones being Frank Mir and Gabriel Gonzaga—two fighters who are not even classified as “pure strikers.”
If Carwin’s fight against dos Santos turns out to be a boxing match, as most predict, then Carwin might be in for a long night with dos Santos.
Remember how boxing’s pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao defeated his supposed-to-be toughest test in Miguel Cotto? The Pacman used more of his speed than his power to win, making Cotto, who is known for his power-punching, quit due to the number of punches he received.
The strategy of using speed as an advantage is well-supported by Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddy Roach.
For instance, in one of his trainee’s fight, he was quoted saying, “We took a lot of the muscle out of the upper body and put it in his lower body, into his legs. If you have a guy with speed, it’s the best asset in the world, why would you take away from that and try to build him up? There’s no sense in that whatsoever. Speed kills,” when asked about the camp’s strategy in Amir Khan’s title fight against Andreas Kotelnik.
In order to win, Carwin should use more of his wrestling to gain control of the fight. He can try to test the water in the stand-up department but must be wise in choosing where the fight goes should he discover that he is in a certain disadvantageous position.
Perhaps Carwin should take a lesson or two from fellow contender Brock Lesnar on using power for wrestling rather than boxing. In my opinion, this is the only way he can gain victory from dos Santos and align himself to get another title shot.
