UFC Welterweight division

With the announcement of BJ Penn returning to the UFC along with the emergence over the past couple of months of several tough 170lb. fighters, the Welterweight division of the UFC is setting up to be the most exciting division the UFC has to offer. Champion Matt Hughes seems to still be learning and evolving in the sport, which he will have to do to keep pace with the up and comers in the division. Georges St. Pierre has been extrememly impressive in decisive victories over Frank Trigg and Sean Sherk. I don't think St. Pierre needed to drop to his knees and beg in order to get the rematch he wants with Hughes. It should be coming in short order.

With St. Pierre the logical choice for the next Welterweight title shot, the question becomes how does the division shake down after that? BJ Penn, the former champ who owns a submission victory over Matt Hughes, has to be high on the list. But with Hughes busy with St. Pierre at the moment, do you hold Penn back to face the winner, or do you match him up with someone in a return match. I would think Penn needs a fight to reintroduce him to the post-TUF fans and establish himself. Drew Fickett earned some respect from defeating TUF I participant Josh Koscheck. Perhaps Fickett, or Thiago Alves, or another opponent along the same level would be appropriate for a Penn return match. As talented as BJ is, it seems it would be a matter of time before he has fights against both St. Pierre and Hughes.

Next to figure out is how to handle TUF winner Diego Sanchez. Diego proved his ability to compete on a high level with his win over Nick Diaz. Now that he has competed and won with a top notch fighter, it doesn't seem like they would move him down and compete against a lower level fighter. His next opponent needs to be a "name" opponent. Perhaps if the UFC comes to terms with Frank Trigg, this would be a good fight for Diego to try to propell himself to a title shot. Or perhpas Renato Verissimo, which would be quite a test.

The UFC still wants to build up other fighters that appeared on the reality show. The rumor is Koshcheck will fight Jeremy Jackson in January. Spencer Fisher won his fight at the last UFC Fight Night and is rumored to be facing the always tough Aaron Riley in January.

Even after all those fighters, the division still has up and comers like Kenny Florian, Nick Thompson, Joe Stevenson, Luke Cummo, Melvin Guillard, Josh Burkman, and others. These guys need a chance to prove themselves in 2006 and weed out who will eventually compete for a title.

The depth and talent of this division is staggering. 2006 will be a very good year for the UFC Welterweight division and should provide some of the most exciting and highly anticipated fights of the year.

Until next time,
Jason