The current state of UFC’s welterweight division
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The UFC welterweight division has become the most interesting, if not, second-most interesting division in the UFC since 2019 kicked off. I mean, we saw the debut of Ben Askren at UFC 235, where he tapped Robbie Lawler inside one round.
Then, later on that night, we saw the welterweight title switch hands, as Kamaru Usman basically dominated Tyron Woodley over 5 rounds.
From there, we found a new champion and a new top contender in Ben Askren, who is very talkative lately about wanting fights with top guys. Including Kamaru Usman, who also seems rather interested in fighting Askren.
To add to that, we saw former #1 contender Colby Covington in Las Vegas that weekend. Covington and Usman got into a situation at the MGM Grand, where Covington was basically taunting Usman and his camp. Usman’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, was saying some things to Covington and it looked like he even tried to throw a punch. Pure madness. And it goes on!
After that, we saw a double welterweight headliner at UFC London, where they had four of the division’s top contenders all going at it. In the night’s co-main event, they had #10 ranked Leon Edwards and #13 ranked Gunnar Nelson go at it. Edwards had a good performance, finding his way to a unanimous decision victory after 3 rounds of action. So that definitely lifted Edwards stock in the division. Then, they had #3 ranked Darren Till vs #11 ranked Jorge Masvidal. Masvidal knocked out Till in round 2, solidifying himself a spot in the division’s top 5.
Later on that night, Masvidal was doing an interview and Leon Edwards happened to be walking by. Edwards said some things to Masvidal which led to an altercation. On camera, it looked as if Masvidal hit Edwards with a couple quick shots to the face. But it is still a bit disputed, as to what really happened in that situation.
As a result, I could definitely believe in a Leon Edwards vs Jorge Masvidal fight happening somewhere down the line. Possibly this year. We will just have to see what happens.
Masvidal has been doing a lot of press since his win over Till. In one of his interviews, he told a reporter about how Edwards was talking crazy to him first, which led to the altercation afterwards. Masvidal told a reporter, “I had to give ’em the three-piece with the soda”.
So, at this point, Masvidal has definitely solidified himself as a top contender in the division, once again. Edwards and Masvidal will likely fight pretty soon. Askren will likely be fighting Lawler in a rematch, due to the controversy. Either that or, Askren might possibly be fighting Covington or Usman. We will have to wait and see what happens.
There are also a couple of other moving parts in the division right now. Santiago Ponzinibbio and Rafael dos Anjos are supposed to be fighting soon. Ponzinibbio is coming off of a big win over Neil Magny. RDA is coming off of back-to-back losses and really needs a win but if he does conquer Ponzinibbio, that will surely throw his name back in the mix. And I’m thinking that the UFC could possibly wait to see how that fight pans out and give the winner a fight with former champion, Tyron Woodley. I’m sure Woodley will want to sit out for a while because of losing his title. Not just that, but, the fashion in which he lost his title, he really didn’t have a good performance and I’m sure he’s going to wait it out and take a fight later this year. Likely vs the winner of Ponzinibbio/RDA or maybe a fight with Covington or Usman.
The welterweight division is looking very crazy right now and there is so much going on. There is so many fights to make now. So many pivotal match-ups that are coming up. Keep you eyes open to see what happens in this division over the next couple of months.
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