March Madness: The Welterweights

Will Georges St. Pierre be able to celebrate a "First Round March Madness" tournament championship?

Three champions crowned and two more to go. It's always easy to get off track with the actual March Madness happening, but I will do my best to give this welterweight tournament the attention it deserves.

The clear No. 1 in this field is Georges "Rush" St. Pierre. Just as the case in the heavyweight and middleweight divisions, St. Pierre is one of those freak athletes with an uncanny ability to exceed in every area of mixed martial arts. 

The Canadian has shown signs of mental weakness before though, as was the case in his loss to Matt Serra. He will face some stiff competition in this tournament and these men are capable of dethroning him. 

Six fighters from outside the UFC will be involved in this tournament with two of them gaining No. 1 seeds, showing once again there is top talent the UFC could still sign. 

Pool A

#1. Georges St. Pierre

#2. Josh Koscheck

#3. Mike Swick

#4. Karo Parisyan 

Pool B

#1. Jake Shields

#2. Nick Thompson

#3. Jay Hieron

#4. Marcus Davis

Pool C

#1. Carlos Condit

#2. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai

#3. Matt Hughes

#4. Matt Serra

Pool D

#1. Thiago Alves

#2. Jon Fitch

#3. Brock Larson

#4. Anthony Johnson

Here is the breakdown of each pool.

Pool A: Clearly St. Pierre is the best welterweight in the world right now and if he keeps improving at the rate he is going, he might be the best of all time. Koscheck is a little controversial at the two spot, especially with his recent loss. His tremendous athleticism and wrestling always makes him a threat. Swick is a special talent with blinding hand speed. Parisyan is a top judoka, but his last few performances have been uninspired and he is lucky to make it.

Pool B: I can't say enough about Jake Shields. His wrestling and jujitsu are top notch and his striking keeps improving. There is a reason he always has a championship on his waist. Nick Thompson is 14-1 in his last 15 fights with his lone loss coming to Shields. Jay Hieron is making noise and dominated the IFL. His athleticism is starting to shine through. Marcus Davis is one of the most exciting fighters on the planet and knocks almost everyone out. 

Pool C: The nickname "Natural Born Killer" is no joke when talking about Carlos Condit. It's hard to describe how violent Condit can be. It has to be seen to be appreciated. "Mach" Sakurai is a true legend of the sport and is still competitive despite getting up in age. At 34-8, he has to be respected. Speaking of legends, Matt Hughes is the greatest of all-time. He's not the fighter he once was, but 42-7 gets you a 3-seed in my book. Serra has always been underrated and as former champion, he deserves a spot in the tourney. 

Pool D: Thiago Alves is the No. 1 contender and I don't know if you have seen his leg kicks, but he could knock a tree down with those kicks. He is a dangerous threat to St. Pierre's title. Jon Fitch is one of the best wrestlers in MMA and is one of the toughest and most conditioned athletes. Brock Larson could seem like a surprise, but he is 24-2 and has only lost to Fitch and Condit. That's impressive. Anthony Johnson is in the tournament based completely on potential and athleticism. I'm not sure I have ever seen a bigger welterweight. 

The snubbed: As previously stated, Johnson is in the tournament on potential and Parisyan on reputation. Two men who could make an argument to get in the tournament are Paulo Thiago and Dong Hyun Kim. Thiago surprised everyone with his win over Koscheck and is 11-0 now. He could be a future star. In my opinion, Kim won the fight against Parisyan, but at least it was overturned to a no contest instead of a loss. I think Kim has all the tools to challenge for the title one day. 

Results of the tournament will be up later tonight.