MMA Fighter Rankings: Welterweight

On the first Wednesday of every month, theScore's MMA editors compile a list of the top 10 fighters in each of the major weight classes.

Rankings
Heavyweight | Light Heavyweight
Middleweight | Welterweight
Lightweight | Featherweight
Bantamweight | Flyweight
Women: Bantamweight | Strawweight

Welterweight

• Two of the division's foremost purveyors of violence, Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit, will exchange bombs and pleasantries at UFC 195 in January. Condit is coming off a thrilling TKO victory over Thiago Alves, while Lawler successfully defended his title against Rory MacDonald in one of the greatest championship bouts in promotion history.
• MacDonald will likely restart his quest for a trilogy bout against Lawler in early 2016, and his first opponent may be Hector Lombard. Suspended for a failed drug test in early 2015, Lombard is eligible to return in January.
• Former WSOF champion Rousimar Palhares drops out of the top 10 completely after receiving a two-year suspension from the NSAC for his reckless actions against Jake Shields in August. Palhares' drop allows Shields to sneak onto the bottom of the list.
• Originally scheduled to chuck knucks with Kelvin Gastelum on Nov. 21, the impossibly rugged Matt Brown was forced to pull out of the bout with an ankle injury. A replacement opponent for Gastelum has not been named at this point.