Fighters.com's June Welterweight Rankings

Third-ranked “Pitbull” Thiago Alves (15-3) is the big mover in Fighters.coms’s June Welterweight Rankings after, of course, crashing knee-first into the side of seventh-ranked Matt Hughes‘s (42-7) cranium in London 7 June.

Alves established himself as the top contender to the winner between Fighters.com’s Welterweight Champion “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (16-2) and second-ranked Jon Fitch (17-2), to be fought in Minneapolis 9 August.

Hughes finds himself at a crossroads as confidants close to H.I.T. Squad have confided to Fighters.com that Hughes didn’t prepare for his tussle with “Pitbull” with the determination that’s marked his storied career.

The day after Alves finished Hughes, ninth-ranked “The Goat” Nick Thompson (36-9-1) finished hard-punching “Maicon” Michael Costa (9-4) in Tokyo.

Thompson is negotiating to fight eighth-ranked Jake Shields (20-4-1) for the EliteXC title, but tells Fighters.com, “I would really like the fight but I am not willing to fight below my value in order to make it happen.”

Tenth-ranked “Zenko” Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2) made an even bigger American splash than Fighters.com predicted 24 May in Las Vegas when he choked “War Machine” Jon Koppenhaver (5-2) unconcious in 56 seconds.

Fourth-ranked “Kos” Josh Koscheck (10-2) loses his third-ranking to Alves and is scheduled to fight tough brawler “Lights Out” Chris Lytle (35-15-4) 5 July in Las Vegas.

Fifth-ranked “The Terror” Matt Serra (9-5) also drops a rung in favor of Alves’s ascent.  Somewhere on Long Island, Serra is on a mat plotting to hammer a nail on Hughes’s career.

Sixth-ranked “Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (18-2) takes a step up as Hughes fills his May seventh ranking.  Sanchez fights Luigi Fioravanti (12-3) Saturday in Las Vegas.

June Welterweight Rankings

1. “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (16-2)

Since “Terror” struck at UFC 69, “Rush” has had to scrape pieces of Koscheck, Hughes, and Serra off the bottom of his feet on his steamroll back to the UFC belt many believe the 27-year old will wear for a generation.

2. Jon Fitch (17-2)

While louder fighters have claimed title contendership, Fitch has quietly earned it with a stoppage of Alves and decision over Sanchez, plus UDs over tough Chris Wilson and Kuniyoshi Hironaka.  The wrestler is next in line for a UFC title shot.

3. “Pitbull” Thiago Alves (15-3)

Alves has dealt four big stoppages to Hughes, Karo Parisyan, Chris Lytle, and Kuniyoshi  Hironaka.  St. Pierre and Fitch hear “Pitbull” scraping at the door.

4. “Kos” Josh Koscheck (10-2)

After revenge over Sanchez, Koschek was overwhelmed with a St. Pierre bouncing back from a loss. Like St. Pierre, “Kos” has all the physical tools to be a champion and absorbs new skills like a sponge. Time and continued top competition will tell.

5. “The Terror” Matt Serra (9-5)

After knocking out the 170-pound division’s champion, St. Pierre, Serra was outclassed in their ’08 rematch.  However, Serra looked no worse than St. Pierre’s two previous victims, Koscheck and Hughes and looks forward to his own fight with Hughes.

6. “Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (18-2)

All the hype can’t replace a loss in the Octagon, and, in Sanchez’s case, two losses to Fitch and Koschek.  An ’06 decision over Karo Parisyan in one of the fights of that year proves he has the talent, but does he have the focus?

7. Matt Hughes (42-7)

Since getting KO’d by St. Pierre for the first time since ’01, Hughes hasn’t fought the same in a throw-away decision over Christ Lytle, another stoppage by St. Pierre, and a KO by Alves. It’s apparent a return to MFS is required.

8. Jake Shields (20-4-1)

Shields may be the world’s top welterweight, but a lack of competition outside the UFC keeps him from breaking through.  Still, he’s stopped all opponents in the last two years except in a unanimous decision over WEC champ Carlos Condit.

9. “The Goat” Nick Thompson (36-9-1)

“The Goat” has bucked twelve straight challengers, eleven by stoppage, since leaving the UFC after a TKO by Karo Parisyan; and, though no top tenners, it’s a list including Chris Wilson, Ansar Chalangov, Eddie Alvarez, and Fabricio Monteiro, all tough.

10. “Zenko” Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2)

“Zenko” debuted in the UFC with 56 second stoppage of Jon Koppenhaver and is without an “L” in two years, all wins also by stoppage. With overseas wins over Katsuya Inoue and Akira Kikuchi, Yoshida hopes to fare better than countryman Kuniyoshi Hironaka.