The UFC welterweight division is heating up…
This weekend, Rory MacDonald will be fighting Stephen Thompson in a match up between the #1 and #2 contenders (respectively) in the UFC welterweight division. The winner of this bout is expected to get a title shot after Robbie Lawler defends against #3 contender Tyron Woodley at UFC 201. With those two match ups alone we have a possible 4 different outcomes (not including a potential immediate rematch between Lawler and Woodley, fingers crossed).
But there are other fighters in the mix: Demian Maia, Carlos Condit, and a couple wild cards. Let’s take a look at #4 ranked Demian Maia – one of the best grapplers to ever step on Octagon mats.
Demian Maia is fresh off a submission win over Matt Brown where he dominated the top 10 welterweight on the mat. Prior to this, Maia put on another shut-out performance against prospect Gunnar Nelson. Maia has shown time and time again that his grappling is an ultimate force against even the very best welterweights. Maia’s only welterweight losses are to Jake Shields (a five-round split decision loss) and Rory MacDonald (a 29-28 unanimous decision loss), but his recent five fight win-streak is enough to seriously consider him for a title shot.
Carlos Condit, who fought for the UFC welterweight title earlier this year at UFC 195, nearly stole Robbie Lawler’s belt after their five round contest. Many felt Condit did not deserve the title shot initially (a lone Thiago Alves victory was virtually all he had for merit, but his performance against the champion quickly justified the opportunity. Nevertheless, Lawler retained his belt. Now, Condit sits at #5 in the division. While he may have debated retirement after coming up short against Lawler, the “Natural Born Killer” hinted at a possible return this year. An opponent is unknown.
Additional to Maia and Condit, we have a couple wild cards that we should be considering for future match ups this year. One of these wild cards is Nick Diaz, who was suspended by the NSAC after testing positive for marijuana metabolites; he will be able to fight again August of this year. Diaz is a high-profile fighter who has a KO win over Robbie Lawler albeit being several years ago. Diaz is on a losing streak however as Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre, and Carlos Condit consist of his last three opponents.
Another wild card to consider is the return of former UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. While GSP has been flirting with the possibility of a return for quite some time, I think it’s appropriate to actually assume he will return at some point. After all, he never lost his UFC welterweight crown, and was rumored to be returning against Robbie Lawler for UFC 200. While this fight never materialized, another match up currently interests St. Pierre – a middleweight title fight against Michael Bisping. Both sides have reported to want this fight, and even though it’s at middleweight, it’s enough to think a welterweight return would not be out of question.
So this is what we have:
(C) Robbie Lawler vs. #3 Tyron Woodley – UFC 201
#1 Rory MacDonald vs. #2 Stephen Thompson – UFC Fight Night 89
#4 Demian Maia vs. TBA
#5 Carlos Condit vs. TBA
Nick Diaz vs. TBA
Georges St. Pierre vs. TBA
I can see the UFC booking #4 Demian Maia vs. #5 Carlos Condit to headline a Fight Night or be featured on the main card of a Pay-per-View event. However, Carlos Condit has made it no secret that he wants to another crack at the title, and something tells me he isn’t willing do “one more” if it’s not going to have title implications. The problem with that is regardless of what match ups and outcomes materialize, I still see MacDonald vs. Thompson being for the next shot at the title. Sorry Condit, you’re going to have to get in line.
But where does that leave Diaz and St. Pierre?
Obviously, they can fight each other again later this year, and while I’m sure Diaz would like this fight, I’m not sure GSP would. With the rumors of GSP returning to middleweight circulating, I suppose a title shot against Bisping would be his ideal contract to sign, but a superfight between against Anderson Silva is another fight I can see him pursuing. It’d be several years too late, but a massive fight to make nonetheless.
For Diaz, there have been rumors of his return being against Carlos Condit. With a title shot no longer on the table, I see this match up being the only one Condit might be willing to return to. However, this would obviously take the Maia/Condit match up off the table, leaving Maia against another top ranked opponent. The loser of Lawler/Woodley would be ideal.
Only time will tell with these match ups. What we know right now is that the UFC welterweight division is going to have some massive fights in the near future. It’s a great time to be an MMA fan! Thanks for reading.
