Despite being nearly two years removed from the welterweight crown, Matt Hughes remains a fan favorite and edged out Georges St. Pierre to top the divisional buzz rankings for September. Hughes inched to the top in a month where only a handful of meaningful welterweight bouts took place. Fighters from those bouts, including Paul Daley, Frank Trigg and Martin Kampmann, each enjoyed a shot up the rankings. The most notable move was made by British UFC newcomer Daley, with “Semtex” rising 29 spots to third place after making quick work of Kampmann at UFC 103.
Several other welterweights also made large gains in fan interest in September. Carlos Condit and Jake Ellenberger jumped up the rankings after an epic war at UFC Fight Night 19 in Oklahoma City. Despite not fighting in the U.S., Lithuanian fighter Marius Zaromskis managed to crack into the top 20 of buzz among American fans for the first time. The 2009 Dream Welterweight Grand Prix champion is scheduled to return to fight again in the Japanese promotion in October.
UFC pioneer Carlos Newton has been active in the sport again lately, yet dropped far down in the rankings in September along with Johny Hendricks, Matt Riddle, and Dan Cramer.
| September Rank |
Welterweight Fighter |
August to September Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Hughes | Up 1 |
| 2 | Georges St. Pierre | Down 1 |
| 3 | Paul Daley | Up 29 |
| 4 | Frank Trigg | Up 7 |
| 5 | Thiago Alves | Down 2 |
| 6 | Josh Koscheck | No Change |
| 7 | Martin Kampmann | Up 7 |
| 8 | Phil Baroni | Up 4 |
| 9 | Jon Fitch | Down 5 |
| 10 | Mike Swick | Up 5 |
| 11 | Carlos Condit | Up 17 |
| 12 | Paulo Thiago | Up 22 |
| 13 | Jake Ellenberger | Up 34 |
| 14 | Marius Zaromskis | Up 24 |
| 15 | Dan Hardy | Up 26 |
| 16 | Matt Serra | Down 3 |
| 17 | Yoshiyuki Yoshida | Up 6 |
| 18 | Karo Parisyan | Down 8 |
| 19 | Ricky Story | Up 89 |
| 20 | Luke Cummo | Up 11 |
Dropped out of Welterweight Top 20:
Amir Sadollah (#23), Ricardo Almeida (#24), Anthony Johnson (#27)
Jay Hieron (#39), John Howard (#45), Carlos Newton (#56), Johny Hendricks (#63), Matthew Riddle (#87), Dan Cramer (#90)
[...] Top 20 Welterweight Buzz Rankings for recent months: – November 2009 (#1 Rank: Dan Hardy) – October 2009 (#1 Rank: Anthony Johnson) – September 2009 (#1 Rank: Matt Hughes) [...]