OK, I know I haven't contributed to this BLOG thing in quite some time, but today I have decided to take some time to share a few things that have been on my mind. When I take a look at the UFC welterweight picture I see a very clear image of what to do and where to go with the top guys and who should fight for the title.  First things first, Georges St-Pierre is an absolute monster! I had a chance to see St-Pierre prepare for Dan Hardy at Tristar in Montreal and he is looking bigger and stronger than ever, so, Hardy could be in big trouble. St-Pierre's team is training for this fight like they were training to fight Fedor, so that coupled with the fact that St-Pierre holds wins over Fitch, Alves, Penn (2), Koscheck, Hughes (2), Serra and Trigg plus, the betting odds have the French Canadian at -650, which leads me to believe that he will retain his title at UFC 111. If he does indeed retain his belt who will be next in line?

The easy solution might be to have GSP take on the winner of the Alves vs. Fitch rematch, which will take place on the main card of the same event (UFC 111). The only problem is both guys have lost to the champion. But both guys are still the number two and three guys in the division, which makes it a difficult decision to make. The solution in my opinion is to have the winner of the said Alves vs. Fitch matchup fight BJ Penn to determine the No. 1 contender. Why Penn? Well, even though St-Pierre dominated the Hawaiian, he WAS caught with grease on his body which could have, and I said could have, neutralized Penn's attack from his back. I don't know if that actually affected the outcome of the fight, but it did give Penn a bi. Penn wants to fight St-Pierre and is willing to rematch, so if Penn beats Fitch or Alves - make it happen. Besides, who wouldn't want to watch BJ fight either one of those two animals, especially Alves.

Paulo Thiago has been slowly climbing the 170 pounds ranks and has to be considered in the welterweight title picture. Although he may not be a household name, he has shown in his four fights inside of the octagon to be a threat anywhere the fight may go. He holds a KO win over Josh Koscheck and most recently choked out Mike Swick, the same man Dan Hardy beat to get a crack at the championship. Thiago has put together a 13-1 record in his career and his only blemish is a decision loss to Jon Fitch. Not even the mighty GSP could put Fitch away so Thiago going the distance with the AKA star is pretty impressive. I think the best scenario for both the fans and the rankings is to pair the Brazilian against Matt Serra. Serra deserves to be in the title picture considering he is only one of two men to beat St-Pierre. In his last outing Serra looked incredible, stopping Frank Trigg by strikes in the first round. In his fight before that, Serra dropped a decision to Matt Hughes in a fight many felt Serra won. Stylistically, it would be a hell of a fight! Both guys are great on the ground and both men possess knockout power, so what's not to love? If Thiago wins you have a man ready to challenge for the belt and if "The Terror" emerges victorious you have tons of options (Fights with Alves, Koscheck or even a Penn rematch at welterweight). Figuring out what to do with Serra, I guarantee won't be a problem.

Koscheck vs. Daley: These two men are set to clash at UFC 113 in Montreal, which, in my opinion, is terrific matchmaking by Joe Silva. OK, this is where things get a little tricky because we have to assume a few things. Let's say that Koscheck manages to use his wrestling skills to hold Daley down and grind out a decision the same way Nick Thompson did. Koscheck could go on to fight the winner of the Serra vs. Thiago matchup I proposed, although it would make the most sense if Thiago won, so we can see the rematch between him and Kos. If that is the case, it would be Serra possibly fighting Paul Daley and I don't think the fans would have any issues with that. If Daley manages to beat Koscheck (Which is very possible) the UFC can take their time with "Semtex" since it will only be his third time fighting in the octagon.

We can't forget about "The Nightmare." Diego Sanchez will be returning to the welterweight division after the savage beating he suffered at the hands (and feet) of Penn. I'm sure Sanchez is eager to get back into the cage to unleash his merciless fury against some poor bugger. Who could that be? Well, why not make it Matt Hughes, if he is willing to except the fight. Sanchez is an incredible competitor who sports a 21-3 record only losing to Penn, Koscheck and Fitch and there is nothing wrong with that. Over his career he has beaten the likes of Karo Parisyan, Nick Diaz, Joe Stevenson, Kenny Florian and Clay Guida, so he should only be involved in high profile fights. Hughes fits the bill if he can take out Renzo Gracie in Abu Dhabi. If for some reason that fight can't happen, match Sanchez up against Mike Swick. Swick is coming off of a loss and Sanchez is moving up in weight. It makes sense to me. Oh, that's if Sanchez doesn't lose to 12-0 John Hathaway.

The rest of the UFC welterweight division: Martin Kampmann was on his way to a title shot before Paul Daley took him out and dashed his hopes. With a couple of big wins over guys like Ben Saunders, Dustin Hazelett or Anthony Johnson, Kampmann could be well on his way back to the top.

Carlos Condit has had two very tough fights so far in the UFC losing to Martin Kampmann and winning a split decision against Jake Ellenberger.  It seems it would be a waste not to utilize this guy as much as you can. After all, he does hold wins over Frank Trigg, John Alessio and some feel he should've gotten the decision in his fight against Jake Shields. Condit is set to take on 20-year-old Canadian welterweight standout Rory MacDonald in a fight that doesn't makes any sense. Condit was the former WEC welterweight champion and has a ton of experience and you expect the UFC to want to maximize his potential star power. MacDonald looked fantastic in his UFC debut taking out Mike Guymon by first round armbar. MacDonald is a kid that could make huge waves down the road so why the risk with such little reward?

I think the dark horse in the welterweight race is Korean fighter Dong Hyun Kim. Kim continues to look fantastic in each of his bouts. He possesses an awesome skillset and is very resilient; just ask Parisyan. I think a matchup against Chris Lytle is just what the doctor ordered. (Ringside or otherwise)

I know this is wishful thinking and that there are a lot of other guys that could be considered in the mix but I feel I have touched on the best of the bunch. Let me know what you think should happen.

Oh, and yes I am aware that Nathan Diaz is now fighting at welterweight.

To contact me, email me at jramdeen@thefightnetwork.com.