Last Saturday witnessed a shake-up in the UFC's most unshakeupable division.
Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson melted Johny Hendricks with long punches and a massive head kick to earn a first-round knockout and contender status at welterweight.
There hasn't been a lot of fresh blood at the top of the welterweight division for some time. Furthermore, there is a lot of inaction at the moment. You might even call it a logjam. But in the case of the welterweights, at least the logs are all mahogany, or whatever type of wood is the fanciest.
Even though most of the names are familiar, the 170-pound weight class has recently hosted some of the best fights of this or any other time period in the UFC.
Is the logjam loosening at the top? Where is the new blood coming from? Here's a look at the state of one of the UFC's most action-packed and star-studded divisions.
The Champion
Robbie Lawler
Robbie Lawler can turn it on.
Everyone talks about that metaphorical light switch. But the ability to actually do it—to find that extra gear and excel in those crunch-time moments when it matters most? That's rare.
Granted, Lawler's strong finishes are informed, maybe necessitated, by his notorious slow starts. But even if that's the case, the way he employs energy, shakes off injury and wields that devastating power when he needs it most is special.
It leads to close fights. Most recently, plenty of onlookers (including UFC President Dana White) thought Carlos Condit did enough to dethrone Lawler at UFC 195. Two fights with Hendricks were split between the two men and were razor-close.
And then there was that thing with Rory MacDonald. It was only one of the best fights in MMA history and one MacDonald was probably winning until Lawler pulverized his face in the fifth and final round. I still get the chicken skins just thinking about it.
All to say, the welterweight division has a cool champion right now in Lawler. Is he unbeatable? Heck no. Will he inevitably deliver memories? Heck yes. You know what you're getting with Lawler, and the getting is good.
The Contenders
Rory MacDonald
You think MacDonald wouldn't love a rematch with Lawler? Actually, maybe he wouldn't. If my nose got caved in like Voldemort's, I wouldn't be in much of a hurry to recreate those conditions.
The Red King hasn't fought since that fateful evening last July. A tangle with knockout artist Hector Lombard was iced after Lombard failed a drug test, and despite rumblings from White, it was never rescheduled.
So, it's uncertain what's next for the ultra-talented (and still just 26) Tristar trainee. Here's hoping whatever it is arrives sooner rather than later. The division needs its top contender back in the mix.
Carlos Condit
Even more so than MacDonald, it's hard to see a path for Condit that doesn't include a title fight in the near future. The muay thai dervish said as much recently on The MMA Hour (h/t MMA Fighting), noting that a Lawler rematch is the "only fight that raises my pulse."
Who can blame him? There are quite a few people, including Condit, who think he is the rightful champ right now. According to FightMetric, Condit landed more significant strikes than Lawler in each and every round and landed only one fewer strike (176) than Lawler threw in total (177). Obviously, this is not how fights are scored, but it is a strong piece of evidence in Condit's favor.
Maybe UFC officials will make the rematch. Maybe they will find a way coughmoneycough to make another fight worth Condit's while. One thing is true: The company better find a way to keep this retirement stuff out of Condit's head. The welterweight division is a better place with The Natural Born Killer in it.
Tyron Woodley
Tyron Woodley doesn't always get the credit he deserves. That may be a function of his meat-and-potatoes style, which generally relies on clinch rides and one punch (see below) to get the job done.
A scheduled bout with Hendricks fell by the wayside last fall when the former champ's weight cut went awry. Woodley hasn't fought since, exacerbating the stagnation at the top of this division. Though Hendricks' withdrawal had nothing to do with Woodley, the subsequent inaction is by his design.
@UFCONFOX My next fight will be a title shot! I'm not fighting anybody in between! @UFC #UFC I deserve that and my win bonus
— Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) October 2, 2015
Will he get his title shot? It hasn't materialized yet.
One bout that might make sense is Woodley vs. Condit 2. It loosens the logjam, it's an easy main or co-main event, and the winner gets a title shot. Over and above the obvious talent involved, the bout is easy to sell: When they first met in 2014, Condit suffered a freak knee injury and had to stop, which resulted in a TKO win for Woodley.
A chance for Condit to erase that loss—and for Woodley to prove his win was no fluke—might be too much for either man to resist.
Stephen Thompson
Wonder no more: Wonderboy is for real.
It took me four hours to write that.
Good on Thompson for calling for the title shot after the biggest win of his MMA career Saturday night. Wonderboy vs. Lawler would be a terrific fight with a compelling blend of styles.
Even so, it might be a little early for that. After all, Thompson is still only 13 fights in. There's no need to rush things. After that win over Hendricks, he could have some nice matchups headed his way. If he keeps improving like he has, that title shot won't be far away.
The Prospects
Donald Cerrone
It's weird to call Cerrone a prospect. But at welterweight, that's exactly what he is. The longtime lightweight traded up after his first-round TKO loss in December to champ Rafael dos Anjos. An exciting personality and a talented all-around fighter, Cowboy will make his 170-pound against Alex Oliveira later this month.
Albert Tumenov
Tumenov is the brightest "true" prospect in the division these days. And the 24-year-old is not afraid to say it or show it, as evidenced by his 11 knockout wins in 19 pro fights (he's 17-2 overall) and his frequent trash talk.
Just Tuesday, Tumenov called out Thompson for what he said would be a battle of the "best strikers" at welterweight. I don't know if I'd go that far, but I do know I'd watch this matchup or just about any other involving the electrifying North Caucasian.
Kelvin Gastelum
Some bloom is off the Gastelum rose.
Once dubbed "Mini-Cain" in reference to then-heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez, Gastelum has dropped two of his last three, most recently in a terrific fight with Neil Magny.
Gastelum's continued struggles to make 170 pounds also have fueled fan frustration; he has missed weight twice in six welterweight bouts in the UFC. Last January, he missed by an astonishing 10 pounds before losing to Woodley.
As if that weren't enough, Gastelum had to pull out of a January bout with Kyle Noke after suffering a wrist injury. The 24-year-old has plenty of time to make up ground, but make no mistake: There is ground to make up.
Kamaru Usman
The winner of The Ultimate Fighter 21 has a high ceiling. The power wrestling and Blackzilians trainee has mind-bending athleticism and skill, honed during his time on the University of Nebraska wrestling team.
His striking is behind his wrestling, but just about everything is behind Usman's wrestling. And his stand-up game is already improving and should continue to develop under well-known Blackzilians striking coach Henri Hooft, not to mention teammates such as Anthony Johnson and Tyrone Spong.
The 27-year-old is 2-0 in the UFC but still seeking a signature win. Here's guessing he gets it this year.
A Long Way to Go
Johny Hendricks
It's been nothing but stormy weather for Hendricks of late. He suffered kidney stones last fall while cutting weight for the Woodley fight and had to pull out. Then, Thompson knocked him out. And just weeks before, he had to close his steakhouse because, well, apparently it sucked. No word yet on when the locusts will arrive.
On the official ledger, Hendricks is 2-3 in his last five bouts. Is he still elite? Oh yes. But the Thompson loss probably means he'll need to start a new run from a few pegs farther down than those to which he's recently been accustomed.
Gunnar Nelson
Poor Gunnar Nelson.
It's hard to recall a fighter that talented getting pantsed that definitively. But that's exactly what happened when he lost the grappler's dream matchup with Demian Maia at UFC 194. Nelson is still a world grappling champ and a jiu-jitsu wizard. He'll be back. But with the Maia loss being his second in three contests and with it being so, well, thorough, he'll need to head back to the drawing board before he gets another high-profile bout.
Hey, speaking of Maia...
Best of the Rest
Demian Maia
Maia is enjoying a career renaissance at welterweight and at the age of 38. He spent 2015 running through Nelson, Neil Magny and Ryan LaFlare, and he doesn't show any signs of slowing.
A tantalizing striker-grappler matchup with Matt Brown looms at UFC 198 in May. If Maia can control Brown on the mat for the win (and I'm guessing he can), we'll have another fresh blood infusion at the top of the division.
Neil Magny
What does Magny have to do to get your attention?
All he's done in the past two years is go an astounding 9-1, with his only loss coming against Maia. A well-rounded and ever-improving fighter with long reach and solid grappling, Magny is a likable welterweight with a deep gas tank and, one would hope, an even deeper reservoir of goodwill with the UFC.
He has another seemingly impossible task in front of him when he takes on Lombard in March in the latter's native Australia. Lombard is a terrifying knockout artist and the favorite to win. It looks like Magny will just have to prove everyone wrong once again.
Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more stuff like this, follow Scott on Twitter.
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