UFC

Ridiculous list! Wouldn't be my Top 10 either.

Where's
Cain Velasquez

Josh Koscheck

BJ Penn

Ryan Bader


All these dudes would make my Top Ten.

Watching some of his fights on Youtube, im loving the new UFC fighter Edson Barboza Jr.

A real fucking moster at 155 pounds.

Totally Agree Cainan.

This knockout is insane.

Knew the dude was a monster but he puts Out in Knocked the fuck Out

Sweeeet!!! I'll put my hands up... Just like Jose Figeuroa should've done i've never heard of Edson Barboza before, i thought for some reason he was in the Full Tilt shorts. That KO came from nowhere, it was the kind of shit you see at 3am on a Sunday morning.

From his Wiki page he looks like he might entertain a the crowd a few times in the near future???

The Ultimate Fighter is on Thursday instead of Tuesday this week people.Thursday @ 22.45 on SS2.

I found these rundowns of the Title pictures in each Weight Division.

Thought it would give a good insight into whats going on.

There's a decent amount of reading in them but at your leisure lads.

Bantamweight
As 2011 draws near - and in a later more than a month, it will be here - the time to examine what the title picture in each of the UFC's seven division might look like. Some divisions already have contenders lined up, while others are in a state of flux. This coming year will also see new names emerge just like every year, as well as long-time challengers make one more run at the gold.

To kick off this seven-part series, we'll look at one of the newest additions to the UFC stable - the 135-pound bantamweight division, and weight class that could see a change at the top before January arrives.

Champion: Dominick Cruz
The current champion won the belt in March and looked dominant in his first title defense this past August, beating Joseph Benavidez for a second time in convincing fashion. With some of the best footwork and unique striking angles in the sport, Cruz is a lightning quick counter-striker who has solid wrestling in his back pocket as well.

Cruz stands atop a very deep division that could get deeper in the next few months, as the move into the UFC puts more money into play for the lightest-weight fighters competing at the elite level in North America. Cruz has amassed six-straight wins since dropping to the 135-pound division and stands as the unquestioned ruler of the bantamweight division... for now.

The Challengers

First up for Cruz, before the end of the year, is Scott Jorgensen, another talented bantamweight who has put together an impressive winning streak. Inside Scoop: that winning streak began after my first of many interviews with Jorgensen. Coincidence? Five solid wins, including my personal selection of Submission of the Year over Chad George, has put "Young Guns" across the cage from Cruz in December with a chance to enter the UFC as the organization's initial bantamweight champion. A stand-out wrestler at Boise State, Jorgensen has tremendous cardio and improving hands, as well as an outstanding "Warhawk" haircut.

Like many divisions, the bantamweight class has a competitor seemingly stuck in limbo. Joseph Benavidez has faced Cruz twice, first in a bout to determine the #1 contender and then again after Cruz captured the belt. Both times, the Team Alpha Male standout looked good, but not good enough, as Cruz took a pair of unanimous decisions from the New Mexico native. The problem for Benavidez is that he's dominated everyone else he's faced in the division; he's stopped Miguel Torres, Rani Yahya, and Wagnney Fabiano, leaving him without many options, perhaps until the UFC introduces a flyweight division.

Former champion Brian Bowles is almost the forgotten man of the bantamweight division, and it is his body that is to blame. A broken hand after the second round of his initial title defense cost him the championship, and he's yet to return to the cage since that night in March. He pulled out of a WEC 52 bout with Wagnney Fabiano due to another injury, and as more and more fighters establish themselves in the title hunt, Bowles keeps sliding further down the contender ladder, despite being just one fight removed from winning the 135-pound championship.

Urijah Faber might be the most intriguing fighter in the division right now, and that says a lot for "The California Kid" considering he's only recently moved to the bantamweight limit. The former featherweight champion made quick work of Takeya Mizugaki in his divisional debut, and being that he's (a) one of the few established commodities coming into the UFC from the WEC and (b) the only man to defeat current champion Cruz, an accelerated climb up the ladder wouldn't be unexpected.

Another former champion who should have something to say about the championship belt in the coming year is Miguel Torres. After suffering back-to-back defeats in the middle of 2010, Torres switched camps, joining forces with Firas Zahabi at TriStar in Montreal and returned in impressive fashion in September with a second-round submission win over Charlie Valencia. Though he might need another win to truly put him in the title picture, Torres joins Faber as one of the only recognizable fighters making the move to the UFC, so his connection to the fans and natural charisma could aid his ascension.

Two younger talents who announced their presence in the division at WEC 52 are Michael McDonald and Demetrious Johnson.

The former is one of the most promising prospects in the entire sport, barely 20-years-old and already in possession of 11 professional wins, including a couple quality victories over veteran competitors. Johnson is a Matt Hume product who proved he belongs at 135 with a dominant performance opposite Damacio Page, a fighter always on the cusp of contendership and packing enough power to ruin anyone's night in a heartbeat. While many believe Johnson would be even better in the not-yet-introduced flyweight division, "Mighty Mouse" has more than held his own as a bantamweight and could be a dark horse contender by this time next year.

The Others You'll See

While the fighters mentioned above are the group that should standout in 2011, there are a number of other names that will continue to appear in the 135-pound division and have the potential to upset the apple cart at any stop along the way.

Takeya Mizugaki has offered stiff competition to Torres and Jorgensen in the past, and while Faber made quick work of the Japanese star in his divisional debut, Mizugaki will surely be back and in the thick of things in 2011.

The first bantamweight champion in WEC history, Eddie Wineland has enjoyed a renaissance of late, winning his last three bouts to put himself back into the conversation in the division. He'll try to make it four-in-a-row in December, and if he keeps his winning streak alive into 2011, we could see Wineland opposite one of the bigger name competitors in the division.

Antonio Banuelos gets an early opportunity to rise up this list at UFC 126 in February as he faces Miguel Torres. A member of the team training out of The Pit with John Hackleman, Banuelos bounced back from a hard-fought loss to Jorgensen with a strong showing against Chad George in his last outing. He's tough-as-nails and possesses heavy hands, so an upset of the former bantamweight champ in early 2011 isn't entirely out of the question.

Wagnney Fabiano, Rani Yahya, Damacio Page and Brad Pickett will all be around at the outset of 2011, but with the increased size of the UFC roster, collecting wins will be the only way each of these men will remain employed as winter turns to spring and beyond.

Featherweight

Those who have yet to witness the brilliance that is Jose Aldo will unfortunately have to wait a little longer

As was first reported by my man Jeremy Botter at Heavy.com, the newly-minted UFC featherweight champion has been forced to withdraw from his organizational debut at UFC 125 due to a compacted vertebrae. While the delay puts a slight damper on the New Year's Day event, 2011 will still be a breakout year for the 145-pound division now that they've become a part of the biggest organization in the business.

Champion: Jose Aldo

This kid is the real deal and might be the very best all-around fighter in the sport today. The 24-year-old from Manaus, Brazil has obliterated everyone set before him under the WEC banner, including a pair of former champions, a TUF 12 semi-finalists, and Alexandre "Pequeno" Nogueira, the six-year Shooto lightweight champion.

There are a number of things that make Aldo an incredibly entertaining and dangerous fighter. Lightning quick with lethal striking, the featherweight champion can knock you out in an instant, as he did Cub Swanson courtesy of a double flying knee eight seconds into their meeting at WEC 41. Aldo can also be insanely meticulous in his approach, choosing to chop down Urijah Faber with brutal leg kicks for a full five rounds. Mix in a Nova Uniao black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu that we've yet to see in action and you have the makings of one of the most complete weapons we've seen in MMA in some time, and a champion who could reign over the featherweight division for quite some time.

The Challengers

Josh Grispi was supposed to get the initial shot at Aldo's now-UFC featherweight title at UFC 125, but for now, "The Fluke" will have to face Dustin Poirier instead and look to extend his current winning streak to eleven. Normally fighters with on that kind of run can't fly under the radar, but Grispi has twice been sidelined for extended periods during that streak, causing many to forget about the 22-year-old Massachusetts native, but a look at his track record shows he belongs in the upper echelon of the division.

Canadian content hits the list in the form of Mark "The Machine" Hominick. The long-time Team Tompkins members was also under consideration for a shot at Aldo's championship belt, but a broken hand sustained in his last outing kept the matchup from being made. Hominick has made the most of his second opportunity in the WEC, earning three straight wins and climbing the featherweight ladder. He'll stand in with fellow Team Tompkins trainee George Roop at UFC Fight for th Troops in January, and a win should put him right in the mix in the 145-pound division.

The last man to stand across from Aldo in the cage was Manvel Gamburyan, and while that meeting didn't go so well for the former TUF 5 finalist, the Armenian judoka is still a formidable challenge for anyone in the division. Prior to dropping his WEC 51 meeting to Aldo, Gamburyan rattled off three-straight wins after dropping from the lightweight division, including a crushing first-round finish of former champion Mike Brown. Starting a similar run in 2011 is far from out of the question, and being a former UFC competitor could give Gamburyan the inside track to some upper tier competiton early on.

Speaking of Mike Thomas Brown, the former champion got back on the winning track in September, stopping Cole Province early in the first round of the preliminary card pairing. Just over a year ago, Brown was considered the top featherweight in the sport, riding a ten-fight winning streak into his showdown with a Brazilian upstart named Aldo. He would lose his belt to the still-reigning champion, and get dropped early into his own meeting with Gamburyan shortly thereafter. Still, the win over Province was impressive and showed that Brown still has the strength and power to hang with just about anyone in the division. He'll get an early chance to prove that point as he meets Diego Nunes at UFC 125 on January 1st.

In the next year, Chad Mendes will most likely earn a featherweight title shot. The Team Alpha Male member has been impressive since making the transition from collegiate wrestling to MMA, earning nine straight wins, the last four of which have come in the WEC. A powerful wrestler with tremendous cardio, Mendes has yet to fully develop his stand-up arsenal, but his top game is so good that it hasn't mattered as of yet. With another win or two in the next six-to-eight months, Mendes will find himself opposite the featherweight champion.

The Outsiders

The interesting thing about the featherweight division is that not all the top talents in the weight class compete under the UFC banner at this time. While some might not share my excitement about the impressive talents who display their skills outside of the premier organization in the sport, the possibility of having any of these elite competitors come over to the UFC in 2011 is a storyline I look forward to following all year.

Leading off the list of potential newcomers for the coming year is Marlon Sandro, the featherweight King of Pancrase and current Sengoku Raiden Championships title holder in the 135-pound division. Like Aldo, Sandro is a fierce Brazilian striker, earning his last two wins by way of knockout in a combined 47 seconds. If you haven't seen his finishes of either Masanori Kanehara or Tomonari Kanomata, you should check them out... and then thank me.

Michihiro Omigawa has fought inside the Octagon twice before, competing as a lightweight in losses to Matt Wiman and Thiago Tavares. Since a January 2009 draw dropped his record to 4-7-1, Omigawa has gone an impressive 8-1, including a split decision wins over Sandro and Hatsu Hioki. Of all the non-UFC competitors on this list, Omigawa is the one most likely to make an appearance in the UFC next year, as it is something he's discussed openly as of late. Now that he's found his ideal weight class and his fighting spirit, Omigawa would be a welcomed addition in 2011.

Vancouver-based Bibiano Fernandes would be an outstanding addition to the organization a well, but "The Flash" has repeatedly said he wants to keep competing in Japan or shift his focus to competitive jiu jitsu instead. Next up is a New Year's Eve engagement with Hiroyuki Takaya where he will defend his DREAM featherweight title. Now that the featherweight division has been elevated to the big leagues, making the money available in the UFC a little closer to the lucrative pay days available to Fernandes in Japan, perhaps the Revolution Fight Team member will reconsider his position in the coming year.

In just seven professional fights, Joe Warren has established himself as one of the elite featherweight fighters in the world. The current Bellator champion began his career with wins over Chase Beebe and Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto before being stopped by Fernandes. Since then, he's rattled off four straight wins, including his impressive comeback stoppage of Joe Soto to claim the Bellator belt in September. A world-class Greco-Roman wrestler, Warren got a late start on his MMA career, but the 34-year-old has proven he can compete with the younger talents all the same.

The Others You'll See

For right now, Erik Koch is the odd man out in the 135-pound division, but that might not last long. The Duke Roufus student was slated to meet Grispi before he was promoted to a pairing with Aldo, leaving Koch to blast Francisco Rivera with a filthy (in a good way) headkick in the first round of their WEC 52 encounter. The lone loss of his career came to Mendes, and has been followed by back-to-back first round finishes. Continued impressive outings will send Koch rocketing up the rankings in 2011.

L.C. Davis is a fierce wrestler and dangerous all-around competitor who will remain a talented gatekeeper in the division after the merger takes full hold in 2011. He's battle-tested, having competed around the world against some high-level talents, though back-to-back losses to close out 2010 will make a quick win extremely important.

One half of the probably Fight of the Year winning pair, Leonard "Bad Boy" Garcia is a wildly entertaining brawler who smiles when he's punched and keeps coming forward no matter what the situation. His battle with "The Korean Zombie" will most likely be recognized as the best fight of 2010 - though I would choose another encounter - and his penchant for exciting stand-up affairs will keep Garcia in the thick of things moving forward.

George Roop will get a chance to prove he belongs with the elite of the featherweight division when he meets Mark Hominick in late January. The former TUF 8 cast member has fought in three divisions over the last few years, finally finding a home at 135. His serious height and reach advantages will serve him will in the weight class, just as they did in his upset win over Chan Sung Jung in September.

A New Year's Day meeting with Mike Brown will give Diego Nunes the chance to establish himself as a legitimate threat in the featherweight division. Another native of Brazil with a Nova Uniao jiu jitsu pedigree, Nunes has earned back-to-back wins since dropping the first - and only - fight of his career to Davis via unanimous decision back last November. The Team Nogueira member is a grinder, having gone to the cards in his last five fights, a fact that will likely need to change in 2011 if he wants to mke his way up the featherweight ladder.

Raphael Assuncao has the skills to shoot right back up the rankings in the 135-pound weight class. A tremendous grappler with heavy hands, Assuncao dropped back-to-back bouts to former featherweight champion Urijah Faber and the aforementioned Diego Nunes before rebounding with a win over L.C. Davis just a couple weeks ago. It wasn't long ago that he was considered a Top 5 featherweight, and another couple impressive outings could have him right back in that position again in 2011. Of course, a couple more poor showings could have him looking for fights on the regional circuit as well.

Lightweight
I don't know about you, but no other division in the sport has me more excited for 2011 than the ridiculously deep 155-pound weight class in the UFC. Before the year even ends, we'll know who the next contender for the UFC gold is, and on New Year's Day we'll find out who the final WEC champion will meet in a title unifcation clash somewhere down the line.

The scariest part of the lightweight division is that there are fighter who would up the ante even more competing outside of the UFC at this moment, something I believe will remain that way through the next year. Talents like Gilbert Melendez, Eddie Alvarez, Shinya Aoki and Tatsuya Kawajiri would all be impressive additions to the already bonkers lineup assembled in the UFC, but the likelihood that we'll see any of those stars in the UFC this coming year is minimal; contracts, championship clauses and commitment to Japanese MMA are some of the hurdles that will not be cleared... at least not this year.

That being said, there is no greater display of roster riches than the UFC lightweight division, so here is our look at what 2011 could offer.

UFC Champion: Frankie Edgar

I really don't care about admitting this: I love Frankie Edgar and think it is awesome that he is the UFC lightweight champion. He is proof that hard work and dedication pay off, and that you don't have to be the biggest name - or biggest fighter - to be champion. His two wins over B.J. Penn are enough for him to earn Fighter of the Year in my books.

Though he's already put the belt on the line once and came away still holding the gold, Edgar's next outing will be the most daunting of his career; a rematch with the only man to defeat him thus far, Gray Maynard, that will test not only his evolution as a fighter, but also his mental toughness in getting over the memories of his lone professional defeat.

Edgar is a slightly heavier version of current WEC / UFC Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz; both have exceptional footwork that helps them land-and-leave in the striking game, while their wrestling background gives them an outstanding base on both offence and defence. Even though many suggested a move to 145 would be beneficial for Edgar, the New Jersey native is proof that you don't need to cut a great deal of weight to be successful. In fact, dropping only a few pounds to make the lightweight limit allows Edgar to maintain his incredible conditioning without giving up anything in the speed and power categories.

Perhaps a few more fighters should follow the lead of the lightweight champion.

WEC Champion: Ben Henderson

"Smooth" gets second billing simply because Edgar is universally recognized as the top lightweight in the world, while Henderson, unfortunately, is believed to be holding a second-rate title and not at the same talent level as the elite fighters in the UFC.

Before he gets the chance to prove he belongs in the conversation with the best 155-pound fighters in the world, Henderson must defend his WEC strap in front of a partisan crowd in Glendale, Arizona at WEC 53 against Anthony Pettis. The fight will be a "home game" for Henderson who trains at The Lab in Glendale, but it will also be as stiff a test as he's faced to date; Pettis is on a roll and brings a well-rounded and underrated arsenal into the cage.

There is an added reward for winning this bout as well, as the victor has been promised a place opposite the reigning UFC lightweight champion to unify the two titles. After hearing all year that he's not worthy of being in the Top 10 in the division, you can be sure that the chance to collect a win in front of his friends and family while earning an opportunity to prove the critics wrong will motivate Henderson that much more come mid-December.

The Challengers

Gray Maynard has to be licking his chops right now.

"The Bully" handily beat Edgar when they met two years ago and he's maintained an unbeaten record through the first eleven fights of his MMA career. A teammate of Rashad Evans at Michigan State, Maynard is the prototypical collegiate wrestler-turned-mixed martial artist, relying on his suffocating ground game and steadily improving boxing to impose his will on each opponent. While the approach sometimes sacrifices style for substance and has earned Maynard more than a few "Bronx Cheers," the Xtreme Couture product has beaten everyone the UFC has place before him, including dominating perennial contender Kenny Florian prior to Edgar's second meeting with Penn. He'll get his chance at the gold on New Year's Day, facing off with Edgar for a second time in the main event of UFC 125: Resolution.

While Ben Henderson sits as the WEC champion right now, that could all change before next year begins, as Anthony Pettis squares off with "Smooth" on December 16th at WEC 53. Training out of Duke Roufus' gym in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Pettis has enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2010, and would like nothing more than to cap it off with a championship victory. An inventive striker with slept-on skills on the ground, Pettis has finished his last three fights in impressive fashion, choking out both Shane Roller and Alex Karalexis after knocking out Danny Castillo with a highlight reel headkick. After earning a boost in recognition from being featured on MTV's World of Jenks earlier this year, this is a prime opportunity for Pettis to capitalize on that momentum and catapult himself into the conversation at the top of the lightweight division.

Though we may not ever see him compete in the lightweight division again, no discussion of the possible contenders for the crown is complete with mentioning B.J. Penn. Arguably the best lightweight to ever compete, Penn looked far better in his last outing at 170 than he did in 2010 as a lightweight, which has led many to conclude his future rests in the welterweight division. That being said, a focused and motivated Penn is capable of a dominant run through the 155-pound division if he ever makes his return, so while he is currently lined up against Jon Fitch, don't rule out seeing "The Prodigy" back in the lightweight ranks at some point in 2011.

You've gotta feel for George Sotiropoulos a little; the guy has won seven-straight in the Octagon, including three consecutive wins over quality opponents, but he stil can't buy a title shot. Due to the merger with the WEC, a potential championship bout has been bumped by the scheduled title unification tilt, leaving Sotiropoulos to face Dennis Siver in the meantime. While not necessarily as formidable a foe as the UFC could have thrown at the former TUF 6 competitor in the company's return to Australia, anything can happen and a loss would be an unfortunate blow to the impressive Aussie's current climb up the ladder.

Despite losing his last fight, Evan Dunham remains in the thick of things in the lightweight division, partially because a whole lot of people feel he deserved the decision over Sean Sherk at UFC 119. It was the first loss of his career, and one Dunham will look to rebound from as he headlines UFC Fight for the Troops 2 opposite Kenny Florian. More than any other current UFC lightweight, the crowded situation in the division might benefit Dunham most. A win over Florian will certainly show he belongs in the upper echelon, but with a couple of challengers ahead of him in the pecking order, Dunham should be able to add more seasoning to his skill set over the coming year.

The aforementioned Sean Sherk remains in the conversation, at least for now, as he won an exceptionally close decision over Dunham in September and is a former lightweight champion. Regardless of your thoughts on the decision from UFC 119, Sherk is still a tough out for anyone in the division, especially if he decides to use his wrestling again; like many wrestlers, Sherk has fallen in love with his boxing and eschewed the ground game that helped him get to the top of the mountain in the first place. It will be interesting to see who the UFC pairs the former champion up with in early 2011, as Sherk could play spoiler to some championship dreams and go on a run of his own with the right matchups.

Just as George Sotiropoulos has been pushed back in the peaking order, so too has Jim Miller. One half of the New Jersey-based Fighting Miller Brothers, a five-fight winning streak has moved Miller no close to title contention due to the crowded situation in the lightweight division. He has a chance to run that streak to six before the year is out, facing upstart Charles Oliveira at UFC 124 in Montreal next month. Having spoken to Miller on multiple occasions, one thing working in his favor is that he has no sense of entitlement to a move up the rankings; he takes each fight as it comes and maintains that continued success in the cage will eventually bring him to a title shot, even if that means racking up two or three more victories before reaching his ultimate goal.

If I'm including Jim Miller in the mix as a contender - which he rightfully deserves - I have to make mention of his UFC 124 opponent Charles Oliveira as well. The hyperactive young Brazilian burst onto the UFC lightweight sene in the summer with a quick triangle choke finish of Darren Elkins, following it up with a tremendous showing against Efrain Escudero just six-weeks later. Miller is a big step up in competition, but "Do Bronx" has done nothing but impress to this point, earning comparisons to Jon Jones in the process. His bout at UFC 124 wil certainly help determine where his ceiling rests and what to expect from the unbeaten Brazilian in 2011.

The Other You'll See

Donald Cerrone might become one of the biggest names in the sport now that he'll have the full force of the UFC marketing and promotions department behind him, and it might won't just be for his performance in the cage. "Cowboy" is a dangerous opponent for anyone in the lightweight division, as he brings a quality kickboxing pedigree and strong submission game into the Octagon, but his personality is what will put him over the top in his new organization. A very outspoken and sometimes controversial fighter, Cerrone has the makings of a lightweight Josh Koscheck in terms of media and fan attention and attitudes. You're either going to love him or hate him, but either way, you'll know the name Donald Cerrone by the time 2011 is up, if you don't already

Somebody is going to object to my leaving Takanori Gomi out of the initial list of challengers, but I'm sorry - one knockout win does not a true contender make. While "The Fireball Kid" certainly showed that his quick and powerful hands remain dangerous in dropping Tyson Griffin last August, he was dominated by Kenny Florian in his UFC debut and faces a stern challenge on New Year's Day in the form of Clay Guida. While I would love to see a renaissance for the former Top 5 lightweight, for now I will take the wait-and-see approach with Gomi, hoping for the best, but not getting too far ahead of myself.

Clay Guida is always going to be around, both because of his exciting style of fighting and his insanely charismatic and popular persona. That being said, "The Carpenter" is the quinessential gatekeeper, a tough out for anyone, but not quite at the elite level necessary to propel him into title contention. He'll spend 2011 doing the same things he's done in 2010: slugging it out with potential contenders, singing his entire walkout song, jumping around in the prep point and burping with extreme force between rounds.

Former WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner will remain in the mix as well, though how high up he climbs is yet to be determined. After losing his long-awaited rematch with Cerrone during the summer, the Arizona Combat Sports member has a meeting with Shane Roller scheduled for WEC 53, and the outcome of that contest could help dictate what 2011 has in store for "C-4." For all his accomplishments and abilities, Varner is 0-2-1 in his last three fights and hasn't found the win column since January 2009. He has the skills to be a staple in the division, it's just a matter of if he can put it all together in time to get the chance in 2011.

The same goes for Varner's opponent at WEC 53, Shane Roller. A talented wrestler out of the Team Takedown camp, Roller had won three-straight before being dominated by Anthony Pettis in a #1 contenders match at WEC 50. For the former Oklahoma State All-American to swim in the deep waters of the division moving forward, he will need to really improve his stand-up game, as high-level wrestling isn't enough to get you through the shark tank that is now the UFC lightweight ranks.

After being on the wrong end of the worst decision of the year, Tyson Griffin is at a serious crossroad. He's now lost three-straight fights and while his employment status with the UFC hasn't changed, he won't be able to say the same thing if he drops a fourth consecutive contest. Following his surprisingly undiscussed robbery opposite Nik Lentz last weekend, Griffin expressed an interest in dropping down to the featherweight division, a move that would make a lot of sense in my opinion. The 145-pound weight class was probably always a better fit for the compact Xtreme Couture student, and now that the division is under the UFC umbrella, the money will be enough to merit the move.

Joe Stevenson will continue to stick around, though a loss to Mac Danzig at UFC 124 before the year's end could change those plans. The winner of Season 2 of The Ultimate Fighter has never really evolved beyond his original skill set, despite the praise that was heap upon him initially following his move to Greg Jackson's in the summer of 2009. He is still a solid wrestler with decent hands, but his time as a title contender are through.

One name that will get some early run in the lightweight ranks in 2011 is Marcus Davis, simply because "The Irish Hand Grenade" is a fan favorite and move down the scale should garner some interest off the bat. We'll find out early on if Davis has anything left in the tank - my guess is no - as he meets powerful Jeremy Stephens at UFC 125 on New Year's Day.

I honestly could keep going for another six or eight fighters, as guys like Melvin Guillard, Chris Horodecki, Kurt Pellegrino, Sam Stout and Joe Lauzon all deserve some recognition in the ranks of the lightweight division, but including a paragraph on each of them would mean I own the same to Kamal Shalorus, Bart Palaszewski, Ross Pearson, Edson Barbosa, Mark Bocek and another ten guys who will all be fighting hard for a place in this insanely competitive class in 2011.

Now do you see why I'm so excited by the lightweight division?

Welterweight
Just as we'll know more about the lightweight division on the opening evening of 2011, the welterweight title picture for the year will be further clarified in just a few short weeks at UFC 124 in Montreal.

To tide you over until then, here is our look at the welterweight division and how it will shape up in the new year.

Champion: Georges St-Pierre

All hail King Georges!

There is no question that GSP is the very best welterweight on the planet, and he's on the short list that names the best fighters in the world period as well. Beginning with his first meeting with Josh Koscheck at UFC 74 in Houston, Texas, St-Pierre has been a different fighter, a blend of athleticism, skill and strategic decisions that cannot be matched.

When you have a champion starting down the list of challengers for a second time, it is clear that you're watching something special. While some have started to switch-up on St-Pierre, expecting more than the systematic annihilation of elite-level competition he's delivered in his last four fights, there is no way to argue against the French-Canadian's place atop the division.

Here's the scary thing: St-Pierre doesn't turn 30 until May, meaning he's got more than a few great years left in him.

The Challengers

Josh Koscheck gets a second crack at St-Pierre in the champion's backyard two weeks from now in Montreal, and the vocal American Kickboxing Academy product would have it no other way. For all his trash talking, one thing that often gets overlooked with Koscheck is the evolution he has exhibited since debuting on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter. Long gone is the one-dimensional wrestler, replaced by a complete mixed martial artist who can finish you in a number of ways. If he happens to pull the upset at UFC 124, the Bell Centre will be torn to shreds and there will be riots in the street, both of which would put a big, goofy grin on the face f the UFC's best bad boy.

While Koscheck is next up against GSP, Jon Fitch has proven himself to be the unquestioned #2 welterweight in the world. You may not like his style, but you cannot question his results: 13-1 in the UFC with his lone loss coming to St-Pierre at UFC 87. Instead of getting a second shot at the welterweight crown, Fitch is being handed another difficult test in February when he meets B.J. Penn in the main event of UFC 127 in Australia. I'd say a win would guarantee him a title shot, but this is Jon Fitch we're talking about...

Since we've already mentioned him, let's address B.J. Penn right here, right now. Focused, the former lightweight and welterweight champion is a force of nature, one of the very best to ever step into the cage. The problem, as we all know, is that predicting whether that focus will find a way into Penn's training camp and in-ring appearance is hit-or-miss. Fitch is a tremendous challenge for "The Prodigy," a big, strong wrestler who will force the Hawaiian to be at his best or be bounced down the ladder, or maybe even back to the lightweight division.

Jake Shields entered the UFC with a great deal of fanfare, and while his debut was far-from stellar, the former Strikeforce middleweight champion still managed to pull out a win against Martin Kampmann. That victory earned him a meeting with whoever walks out of Montreal with the welterweight title. Whenever that fight finally goes down, the Cesar Gracie student will definitely be in better condition than in his debut when he cut 20 pounds in the final 24 hours before weigh-ins.

Prior to learning who will start 2011 with the welterweight belt wrapped around their waist, we will find out if Thiago Alves has solved his weight-cutting issues. The American Top Team product will meet John Howard in his first fight since losing to Fitch for a second time this past summer, but the most important part of his week will come Friday when he steps on the scale. Having missed weight against Fitch and two other times before that - including one where he popped hot for a banned diuretic - coming in over the limit will all but end his welterweight career. If he hits 170-pounds, Alves will remain a perennial threat. If he doesn't, well, we'll address that later today in the middleweight breakdown.

The Others You'll See

Let me say this before I start breaking out the rest of the welterweight fighters you'll hear from in 2011: someone, if not two or three someones, from this collection will emerge as a legitimate challenger in the next 12 months. That said, no one in this group has a complete enough arsenal to actually be considered a threat to GSP's welterweight throne right now.

Carlos Condit might be the closest of the bunch. I know that will sound like a stretch for some people, but here's the thing: Condit has been in big-time fights before, has shown the ability to pull victories from the jaws of defeat, and brings a diverse offensive attack that is only going to continue to evolve under the guidance of Mike Winklejohn and Greg Jackson at home in New Mexico.

There are some people who believe that Martin Kampmann threw away an upset win of Jake Shields by deciding to fight on the ground with the grappling star. I would be one of those people, and it is because of that decision that I can't call the Dane a legitimate challenger right now. All the elements are there for Kampmann - good hands, underrated grappling, size, and strength - but the mental element seems to be missing. How he rebounds from his most recent loss will say a lot about Kampmann's chances in 2011.

Dan Hardy will tell you that he is an elite welterweight. He'll tell you that he learned a lot from the beating that GSP put on him in March and that things would be different a second time around. I don't buy it and you shouldn't either, at least not until Hardy shows that he has developed some takedown defense. For all his boasts, Hardy has dropped two-straight inside the Octagon. When you're the guy who is supposed to be a top-notch boxer and you get KTFO'd in your hometown, you have a long way to go to convince me - and others - that you belong in the title picture in 2011.

Paulo Thiago is a hard fighter to figure out. After going 2-1 in three fights with the American Kickboxing Academy welterweight triplets (the loss came to Jon Fitch) and 3-1 to start his UFC career, the Brazilian Special Forces officer has now lost two straight. Kampmann handled Thiago at UFC 115 in Vancouver and that was followed by a resurgent Diego Sanchez putting it on him for the final two rounds of their encounter at UFC 121. He's still a quality fighter, but until he can get back to stringing together victories, Thiago is stuck in the middle of the pack in the welterweight division.

One of the most promising young fighters in the UFC, Rory MacDonald has impressed in his two appearances thus far. He earned a first-round submission against Mike Guymon in his debut, and while he lost to Carlos Condit in Vancouver this summer, the Toshido Martial Arts product dominated the first two rounds before "The Natural Born Killer" lived up to his name in the final frame. He's currently recovering from a knee injury that forced him out of a UFC 123 fight with Matt Brown, but once he comes back, expect MacDonald to be brought along a little more patiently than he has to date.

Mike Pyle is an absolute question mark in this division. After splitting his first four UFC appearances, few thought he would walk into the O2 Arena and hand John Hathaway the first loss of his career, but that is exactly what he did. Always touted as the best guy in the talent-rich Xtreme Couture gym, Pyle looks like he's finally figured it out. The only way to know, of course, is to see how "Quicksand" holds up in his next outing.

Speaking of John Hathaway, the young Brit is still an impressive looking prospect, but the beating he suffered to Pyle took some of the shine off his star. He's still young and the great depth in the division will afford Hathaway the ability to be brought along a little slower now that the zero has vanished from his loss column. While I don't truly believe that losing is good for you at any point of your career, it will afford Hathaway the opportunity to be scaled back and paired up with opponents at a similar stage of development in 2011.

I love watching Chris Lytle fight, and while "Lights Out" has looked pretty damn good over his last three fights, he's not going any higher up the rankings than where he currently rests right now. He's slated to face Carlos Condit in Australia, and though he could certainly score the victory, I just don't see Lytle matching up at all with the guys at the top of the division.

Who the hell knows what to expect from Diego Sanchez anymore? The fighter formerly known as "The Nightmare" got smashed on in his return to the welterweight division, and looked to be following the same path in his second fight back against Paulo Thiago in October. Then something happened; Sanchez came to life, slammed the Brazilian into the canvas and manhandled him over the final two rounds to score a much-needed victory. But then he said he was planning on going back down to lightweight. Once Sanchez makes a decision about where he's fighting, we'll come back and address his contendership in 2011. Sound fair?

I feel bad for taking so long to get around to Jake Ellenberger because he is one of the guys that I think could establish himself as a legitimate threat in the division in the coming year. The Nebraska native has strong wrestling and heavy hands to go along with 2-1 record in the UFC. Some would argue that he should be 3-0, as his split decision loss to Carlos Condit was seriously close. He was bumped from a UFC 127 bout with Jon Fitch in favor of B.J. Penn, and I think the announcement of Ellenberger's next opponent will show where the UFC views him within the division.