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Next weekend at UFC 278, current welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is set to defend his title against top contender Leon Edwards. If he wins, he’ll have put together six successful defenses during his reign.
Kamaru Usman’s goal is clearly to be recognized as the greatest welterweight in UFC history. To achieve that, he’ll have to outdo a number of great fighters, as the 170lb division has always been packed full of talent.
Overall, in fact, it’s arguable that the welterweight division has produced more all-time greats than any of the UFC’s other weight classes.
With that in mind, here are the 10 greatest welterweights in UFC history – ranked.
#10. Colby Covington – former interim UFC welterweight champion
He might be better known for his abrasive personality and trash talk, but it’s hard at this stage to dispute that Colby Covington is one of the greatest welterweights in UFC history.
‘Chaos’ arrived in the octagon for the first time back in 2014 as an unbeaten 5-0 prospect. In the years that have followed, outside of a flash submission in 2015 to Warlley Alves, he’s lost to just one fighter – current welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman.
More to the point, Covington pushed ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ further than any of his other opponents were able to, surviving the distance with him in their 2021 rematch.
Outside of that, he’s beaten two former welterweight champions in Tyron Woodley and Robbie Lawler, as well as whitewashed top-level contenders such as Rafael dos Anjos, Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia.
Sure, he might’ve harmed his legacy somewhat by failing to defend the interim title he won in his bout with dos Anjos due to a spat with the promotion’s power-brokers, but overall, it’s hard not to imagine that in a world without Usman, he’d be on a lengthy and dominant title run right now.
Overall, with a world-class wrestling game, relentless striking and endless gas tank, Covington is a handful for any foe and he’s clearly one of the best welterweights in UFC history.
Check out: Latest UFC Welterweight Rankings
#9. Carlos Condit – former interim UFC welterweight champion
While he was never the most dominant welterweight in the UFC, even during his short period as interim champion in the division, it’s probably fair to say that at his peak, Carlos Condit was definitely one of the most skilled and most exciting fighters on the roster.
‘The Natural Born Killer’ debuted in the promotion following a run as the WEC’s welterweight champion. While he lost his octagon debut in a tight clash with Martin Kampmann, a defeat he later avenged, it didn’t take him long to find his form.
Condit rebounded with four wins in a row, beating Jake Ellenberger, Rory MacDonald, Dan Hardy and Dong Hyun Kim, and was rewarded with a title bout against champ Georges St-Pierre.
When ‘GSP’ suffered a knee injury, the fight was canceled. Instead, Condit found himself matched with Nick Diaz in an interim title bout and ended up picking up the biggest win of his career to that point, albeit under slightly controversial circumstances.
The native of Albuquerque was beaten by St-Pierre in their eventual unification bout, but recovered to beat Kampmann and Thiago Alves to earn another title shot, this time against Robbie Lawler. After coming up short, though, his career quickly spiraled downwards – a consequence of simply taking too much damage – and he retired in 2021 after a number of disappointing defeats.
At his best, though, Condit had no real weaknesses. Even his lack of wrestling was compensated for with a venomous ground game. His achievements definitely warrant a spot on this list.
#8. Jon Fitch – former UFC welterweight contender
While he never won a title inside the octagon, it’s safe to say that any list of the UFC’s top welterweights has to include Jon Fitch, who was as dominant as most champions during his peak years just over a decade ago.
The standout wrestler made a quiet debut in the octagon in late 2005, taking a short-notice bout with fellow debutant Brock Larson and winning a decision. From there, he put together one of the most impressive win streaks in the division’s history, beating a further seven opponents to finally earn a title shot.
Fitch fell short to Georges St-Pierre in that title bout, but then reeled off another streak of five wins and a draw before finally being downed by Johny Hendricks in late 2011. Largely due to his clashes with UFC management, his career with the promotion only lasted two more fights.
The big knocks on Fitch would be his less-than-exciting fighting style, as well as the fact that, compared to some of the other fighters on this list, the strength of his competition wasn’t always that great.
However, he never dodged any opponents, and had it not been for the dominance of St-Pierre, he may well have had a lengthy title reign of his own. For his exceptional win streaks and overall octagon record of 14-3-1, Fitch definitely belongs on this list.
#7. Johny Hendricks – former UFC welterweight champion
It’d be easy for UFC fans to write off Johny Hendricks as almost a figure of fun thanks to the shoddy way in which his career with the promotion ended. After all, ‘Bigg Rigg’ fell down the ladder faster than most fighters, losing five of his last six bouts in the octagon and missing weight more than once.
However, at his best, Hendricks was a truly fearsome fighter who meshed world-class wrestling with remarkably heavy hands and an excellent gas tank. More to the point, he achieved victories over some of the best fighters of his generation, and pushed the great Georges St-Pierre harder than anyone else.
‘Bigg Rigg’ entered the UFC for the first time in 2009 after a brief run in the WEC and made an instant mark, winning six of his first seven bouts to climb into title contention. It was his brutal 12-second knockout of perennial contender Jon Fitch, though, that really put him on the map.
From there, ‘Bigg Rigg’ reeled off a further three wins to earn a title shot. Although he came up short against St-Pierre in a highly controversial bout that many fans felt he won, his next bout saw him claim the vacant title by defeating Robbie Lawler.
Hendricks’ title reign lasted just eight months before Lawler dethroned him in a rematch. From there, his downfall was swift and painful. Despite this, the fact that he held the title and beat the likes of Fitch, Lawler, Carlos Condit and Josh Koscheck, means that he remains one of the best welterweights in UFC history.
#6. Robbie Lawler – former UFC welterweight champion
While it’d be impossible to label him the greatest welterweight in UFC history, it’s safe to say that Robbie Lawler should probably be considered the most exciting. After all, ‘Ruthless’, who debuted in the octagon back in 2002 and still competes two decades later, was responsible for not one, but two of the greatest title bouts in the promotion’s history, period.
Lawler’s career in the octagon can essentially be split into three parts, and it’s the middle part that earns him a spot on this list. In his early years, he was an exciting but unrefined brawler. While he picked up some wild victories, he also suffered a handful of disappointing defeats.
Those defeats saw him wash out of the promotion in 2005. It would be nearly a decade before a refined, more experienced ‘Ruthless’ returned and went on a violent run, taking out the likes of Jake Ellenberger, Matt Brown and Josh Koscheck before unseating champ Johny Hendricks to claim the gold in late 2014.
Lawler’s title reign lasted a little under two years, but his two successful defenses came in instant classics with Rory MacDonald and Carlos Condit, writing his name into the history books for good.
Since losing his title to Tyron Woodley in 2016, times have been harder for ‘Ruthless’, who is probably close to retirement at this point. However, even during this period, his fights with Donald Cerrone and Ben Askren were wildly exciting, meaning that Lawler should be considered amongst the best 170lbers of all time.
#5. Pat Miletich – former UFC welterweight champion
Few modern-day UFC fans would recognize him, and many of those who do would probably remember him better as the coach of top fighters like Tim Sylvia and Matt Hughes, but it’d be impossible to put together a list of the UFC’s best welterweights without mentioning Pat Miletich.
‘The Croatian Sensation’ came into the promotion with plenty of MMA experience under his belt, holding a record of 17-1-1. After winning the welterweight tournament at UFC 16, he claimed the inaugural 170lb title by defeating Mikey Burnett in late 1998.
Miletich went onto record a total of four successful title defenses, defeating Jorge Patino, Andre Pederneiras, John Alessio and Kenechi Yamamoto before being dethroned by Carlos Newton in 2001.
By that point, ‘The Croatian Sensation’ was already 35 years old and he was only able to pull off one more UFC win, a brutal head-kick KO of Shonie Carter, before officially retiring in 2002.
However, while his biggest achievements came at the peak of the UFC’s ‘Dark Ages’, it’s hard to dispute that Miletich did a lot to build the 170lb division. The fact that only three fighters have been able to beat his record of four successful defenses means that he remains one of the best welterweights of all time.
#4. Tyron Woodley – former UFC welterweight champion
He might not have been UFC president Dana White’s favorite fighter, but it’s hard to deny Tyron Woodley his place as one of the greatest welterweights to ever step into the octagon.
An import from Strikeforce when that promotion was absorbed into the UFC in early 2013, Woodley had built a reputation as one of the most explosive athletes in the division and brought with him an impressive record of 10-1.
It didn’t take him long to make his mark in the octagon, as he debuted with a thunderous knockout of Jay Hieron and quickly reeled off three wins, with the only setback being a controversial decision loss to Jake Shields.
A defeat to Rory MacDonald in 2014 seemed to knock him off course again, but ‘The Chosen One’ then won two in a row to set up a fight with then-champion Robbie Lawler. In a mild upset, he knocked ‘Ruthless’ out to claim the title.
Woodley’s title reign really moved him into the realm of the all-time greats, as he was able to defend his crown successfully on four occasions before being dethroned by Kamaru Usman in 2019.
While his octagon career ended on a four-fight losing streak and he held on for a little too long, it’d be impossible to deny how effective he was in his prime, with his heavy-handed striking and powerful wrestling giving him the ability to shut basically any opponent down.
At his best, Woodley was seemingly unstoppable, and it’s likely he’d have beaten most of the other names on this list, justifying his high position here.
#3. Matt Hughes – former UFC welterweight champion
The UFC is often guilty of using extreme hyperbole, but back in 2006, when they marketed Matt Hughes as the greatest welterweight of all time, they probably weren’t too far off. Sure, the wrestler from Illinois has been surpassed now, but back then, he was incredibly dominant.
Hughes actually debuted in the octagon way back in 1999, but it was when he returned to the promotion in 2001 following a short period away that he really made an impact.
That impact was a literal one. Hughes slammed Carlos Newton into unconsciousness to claim the welterweight title and then went onto reel off five successful title defenses, crushing the likes of Hayato Sakurai and Frank Trigg to climb to the top of most observers’ pound-for-pound rankings.
2004 saw him lose his title to B.J. Penn in an upset, but when the Hawaiian vacated, Hughes quickly regained it and defended it a further two times – beating Penn in a rematch – and also crushed the legendary Royce Gracie in a non-title bout, extending his own legend further.
Sure, Hughes seemed to fall down the ladder into irrelevance quickly after losing his title to Georges St-Pierre in 2006, but in his prime, his brute force, tremendous wrestling and underrated submission game made him nearly impossible to beat.
As one of the UFC’s most dominant champions in his prime, Hughes remains one of the greatest welterweights in the promotion’s history, and one of its greatest fighters, period.
#2. Kamaru Usman – current UFC welterweight champion
Current UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has made no secret of the fact that his goal is to eventually be recognized as the greatest 170lber in the promotion’s history, but while every win he picks up brings him closer to that goal, he isn’t quite there yet.
For his accomplishments thus far, though, he definitely belongs in second place on this list. In fact, he already holds one record in the welterweight division – his streak of 15 victories in a row is the greatest run that any 170lber has produced.
‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ debuted in the summer of 2015 following a successful run on TUF 21. While he initially received criticism for a perceived dull style in the octagon, when he started to run over the likes of Rafael dos Anjos and Demian Maia, it was impossible to deny him a title shot.
Early 2019 saw him bully his way to a title victory over Tyron Woodley. Since becoming champion, he’s basically looked unstoppable. Not only has Usman reeled off five successful title defenses, but he’s silenced his critics with a number of brutal knockouts, too, most notably over Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington.
If ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ can defeat Leon Edwards in his upcoming bout, then he’ll be just three defenses from equalling the welterweight record. If he can do that, he might climb to the top of this list in the future.
#1. Georges St-Pierre – former UFC welterweight champion
While Kamaru Usman is beginning to run him close, right now, there’s no doubt that legendary former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is still the greatest 170lber to ever compete in the UFC. In fact, he’s probably the best fighter to ever step into the octagon, period.
The Canadian debuted in the octagon back in early 2004. While he fell short in his first attempt to claim gold, losing to the legendary Matt Hughes, it was clear that he had elite-level potential.
It didn’t take him long to realise that potential, as he ran through former title challengers like Frank Trigg and Sean Sherk before dethroning Hughes to claim the title two years after his first loss to the dominant champion.
And while ‘GSP’ lost the gold to Matt Serra in his first defense, it didn’t take him long to avenge the defeat. More to the point, the loss would be the final one he’d suffer in his storied career.
After downing Serra, St-Pierre basically ran roughshod over his division until his retirement in 2013. He turned back the challenges of nine different challengers, including tough fighters such as Jake Shields, Nick Diaz and Josh Koscheck.
More to the point, he’d often beat them at their own game, outclassing them in areas where that they were considered stronger in. While he wasn’t a ruthless finisher – only one of his title defenses ended before the final buzzer – many of his opponents didn’t seem the same again when he was done with them.
Essentially, ‘GSP’ was able to stay at the top of one of the UFC’s most loaded divisions for five years, dominating fighters from different backgrounds and even different generations. It’s a record that remains unmatched today, and so, almost a decade on from his final fight at 170lbs, the Canadian remains the GOAT of the welterweight division.
