What Does 2015 Hold For The UFC Welterweight Division?
The UFC welterweight division has always been a hard place to survive. The talent stacked weight class has long-been the promotion’s marquee division, but has also seen a massive shift in the landscape recently. Just one year ago we were all bleating on about how dominant Georges St-Pierre was. “Rush” sat atop the division that he dominated for so long, but he was also preparing to shake things up after his last fight.
After he controversial decision win at UFC 167 over Johny Hendricks, GSP vacated the belt and paved way for two new champions this year alone. There has only been two different champions since 2006, and all of a sudden we had “Bigg Rigg” as new champ after UFC 171. Then Robbie Lawler defeated a slob-like Hendricks at UFC 181, and the division is still wide open. So what does 2015 hold for the UFC welterweight division?
Well, there are plenty of interesting matches to ponder, even if the UFC decides to make Lawler vs Hendricks III. First up, what about Kelvin Gastelum vs Tyron Woodley? “The Chosen One” got derailed in June of this year by a sharp Rory MacDonald, but had a quick turn around in the form of a brutal knockout against Dong Hyun Kim. Now the ATT wrestler turned striker will look to take out up-and-comer “Mini Cain” at UFC 183.
Gastelum had a coming of age fight at UFC 180 in Mexico, taking out the veteran Jake Ellenberger in dominant fashion and extending his tally to 10-0. A win over the #3 ranked Woodley would mark KG’s arrival as a legit title contender. Then we have the Rory MacDonald enigma; he punched his ticket to a title shot with his TKO win against Tarec Saffiedine in Halifax, but was then told that he would take a back seat to a trilogy maker.
Expect a top flight booking for “Ares” in the not too distant, possible opponents include Matt Brown if he beats “Sponge”, or maybe even the returning Carlos Condit? “The Natural Born Killer” scored a late TKO win over MacDonald back in 2010 at UFC 115, so there is always the scope for a rematch there. There could even be the potential for a rematch with Tyron Woodley, if he beats KG, considering their placement in the rankings.
Hector Lombard will face a returning Josh Burkman at UFC 182: Jones vs Cormier, in a fight that will either solidify “Lightning” as a top flight contender, or will have JB emerge as a wild card at 170 pounds. Demain Maia is being linked to a bout with Ryan LaFlare once the Brazilian returns from injury, as the division continues to flourish in St-Pierre’s absence.
The obvious huge ‘if’ of 2015 is whether the former champion will return or not. If he does, will he be too far down the line of fresh contenders to get back the title he held for so many years? Either way, 2015 seems to be the year of the UFC welterweight division.
