Unlike many of the other weight classes in the UFC, the welterweight division is very much wide open. Sure, UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will defend his belt against Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 this November, but after Hendricks there’s no clear-cut top contender, and that’s why the 170-pound division is essentially up for grabs right now.
Obviously, if Hendricks beats St-Pierre, GSP is going to get an automatic rematch, just like Anderson Silva did after Chris Weidman defeated him at UFC 162. But if St-Pierre wins, the title picture suddenly becomes very interesting, because there is no one that stands out from the rest of the pack after “Bigg Rigg.”
Next weekend at UFC on FOX 8, a pivotal welterweight matchup between Jake Ellenberger and Rory MacDonald co-headlines, and the winner of the bout will be in a prime spot to call out the winner of St-Pierre vs. Hendricks for a title shot.
If Ellenberger wins, especially if it’s by TKO, I expect him to take the mic and ask for a title shot. With MacDonald, it’s a little tricky because as good as he is, he’s also the main training partner of GSP, and he’s said he doesn’t want to fight him, at least not this early in his career.
For the UFC’s sake then, it’s better if Ellenberger wins, because then there’s a fresh challenger for St-Pierre with no obstacles in the way. If MacDonald wins though, while a fight with GSP is intriguing as heck, it would to take a lot of money and sweet talking to convince “Ares” to fight his friend GSP, and honestly, I just don’t see those two fighting at this point of MacDonald’s career.
Other than Ellenberger and MacDonald, the other fighter at 170 pounds who presents an intriguing style matchup for GSP is Demian Maia, who is 3-0 since dropping down to welterweight. But Maia’s fight against Josh Koscheck at UFC 163 was scratched, and it wouldn’t make sense to throw him into a title fight without one more big win on his welterweight resume, so look for him to get booked against another top 10 fighter before he’s considered for a shot at the title.
But besides Ellenberger, MacDonald, and Maia, there really are no fresh matchups at 170 pounds for St-Pierre that could draw the fans’ interest and sell pay-per-views. Sure, there’s guy like Tarec Saffiedine, Robbie Lawler, Mike Pyle, or Erick Silva, but honestly, does anyone actually see any of those fighters giving GSP a competitive fight? I sure don’t.
And then, other than those fighters previously mentioned, the rest of the top 10 is full of fighters St-Pierre has already dismantled — guys like Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz, and Koscheck. So while the division is wide open for the taking for the first time in a long time, there just aren’t many fresh challengers, a problem that has plagued the UFC’s heavyweight division for years.
The welterweight division has always been one of the marquee weight classes in the UFC, but with GSP’s dominance, the title picture has gotten kind of boring. As a journalist I have to keep my objectivity, and I honestly don’t care who wins, but I admit things would be a lot more interesting if Hendricks managed to earn a knockout win, because it sure does open up a lot of possibilities. And it gives the fans a bevy of exciting matches to look forward to, fights that won’t ever happen if GSP retains his belt.
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UFC on Fox 8 is due to take place on July 27, 2013 at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington.
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