Top Five Welterweights following UFC 154

UFC Welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has successfully returned from ACL surgery and unified the two 170 lb. belts with a convincing decision win over Carlos Condit. What’s next for the division is now up in the air, with Dana White clamoring for the superfight between GSP and Anderson Silva while St-Pierre acknowledges that there are still top-flight contenders left at Welterweight. The situation only becomes more complicated as Nick Diaz soon returns if and when he is reinstated in February. Let’s take a look at the top five fighters in a stacked and talented division.

1. Georges St-Pierre: The obvious choice here, St-Pierre looked to be in phenomenal shape following his long path back from a potentially devastating injury. He went back to the well with his wrestling, and looked like he hadn’t missed a beat against Condit. Some may still deride him for not finishing fights, but the fact remains that he is one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in all of MMA.

2. Johny Hendricks: While Hendricks may not be popular with casual fans quite yet, the truth is that he is the Welterweight with the most momentum right now. Three fights since the end of 2011 have all ended with Hendricks having his hand raised, and they were all against top competition. Brutal knockouts of Jon Fitch and Martin Kampmann that totaled a time of 58 seconds show that this fighter is for real. Now he has stated he will wait for his title shot, but that may be quite far away if GSP-Silva does happen.

3. Carlos Condit: Condit fought hard in the main event of last weekend’s UFC 154, even rocking GSP with a third round headkick that had the champ in deep water. However, this time St-Pierre weathered the storm to survive and seemingly take Condit down at will. Condit is no doubt a great fighter and finisher, but questions have to be raise about his ability to defeat top-level wrestlers. And in this division, you have no choice but to be able to do just that. It will be interesting to see where Condit’s career heads, because while he is very good, I just don’t see him beating GSP.

4. Nick Diaz: Diaz is a great fighter for sure, but one has to wonder if his antics outside the cage will continue to hinder a career that could be potentially great. His decisions could be described as head-scratching, and while many think he defeated Condit last February, the fact remains that his failed post-fight drug test would have lead to a reversal of the decision. He is set to return early next year, and could make some waves after letting GSP know he was not impressed by his performance at UFC 154. Dana White has stated he will not receive an immediate title shot, so he could possibly face Hendricks in a title eliminator. Or GSP. We’ll see.

5. Jon Fitch: Fitch is a fighter that has been known to bore fans with his grinding style, playing the perennial second-fiddle to Georges St-Pierre for much of his career. He has battled injuries and a devastating KO loss to Hendricks in recent times, but rebounded nicely in a bout versus surging contender Erick Silva. Now Fitch will face a different kind of fighter in BJJ whiz Demian Maia at UFC 156, and a win there could further solidify Fitch’s spot near the top of the division. He probably can’t beat GSP, and no one really wants to see that rematch anyway, but Jon Fitch is still good enough to grind out a win over most of the division.