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

• Taking a backseat to the Conor McGregor/Jose Aldo show at UFC 189, Robbie Lawler - quite possibly the man with the greatest career arc in MMA history - will defend his welterweight title against Canadian Rory MacDonald in July. The two men faced off during Lawler's implausible road to the championship at UFC 167, with "Ruthless" emerging victorious via razor-thin split-decision.
• After sitting out for more than a year with a torn ACL, the appropriately nicknamed "Natural Born Killer" Carlos Condit will try to reignite a title campaign against Thiago Alves at a Fight Night event in May.
• It wasn't the all-out slobberknocker people expected, but Johny Hendricks kept himself in line for a title shot with a smart, workman-like victory over the impossibly rugged Matt Brown at UFC 185 in March. Eschewing the fire-fight most fans craved, Hendricks used his superior wrestling to ground Brown over 15 minutes en route to a lopsided unanimous decision.
• Demian Maia half-impressed in his bout against the previously undefeated Ryan LaFlare at UFC Fight Night 62 last month. The BJJ ace dominated LaFLare on the floor for four rounds, before completely gassing out and holding on for dear life in the fifth frame.