Anthony Johnson surged to the top of the welterweight division buzz rankings in October following his first round destruction of Japanese competitor Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 104. Johnson’s aggressive, powerful style has resonated with fans and should he pull out a victory against Josh Koscheck in November, the UFC brass may seriously consider moving him up in line for a title shot. The champion, Georges St. Pierre, held onto second in the buzz rankings despite being inactive since July with no specific timetable for his return to action.
On the other side of the pond, Lithuanian dynamo Marius Zaromskis jumped to fourth in the welterweight rankings despite the relative anonymity among U.S. fans that fighting in Japan usually offers. Having won three straight bouts in highlight reel fashion seems to have been enough to get more American fans to pay attention, including the Strikeforce organization which reportedly signed Zaromskis to a new contract.
Several welterweights who had been active in September quickly lost their fan support in October. Paul Daley slipped beyond the cut to 22nd, Carlos Condit fell to 35th, and Jake Ellenberger had a precipitous fall to 89th after his impressive UFC debut.
| October Rank |
Welterweight Fighter |
September to October Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthony Johnson | Up 25 |
| 2 | Georges St. Pierre | No Change |
| 3 | Yoshiyuki Yoshida | Up 14 |
| 4 | Marius Zaromskis | Up 10 |
| 5 | Matt Hughes | Down 4 |
| 6 | Dan Hardy | Up 9 |
| 7 | Jon Fitch | Up 2 |
| 8 | Thiago Alves | Down 3 |
| 9 | Mike Swick | Up 1 |
| 10 | Matt Serra | Up 6 |
| 11 | Josh Koscheck | Down 5 |
| 12 | Karo Parisyan | Up 6 |
| 13 | Carlos Newton | Up 44 |
| 14 | Paulo Thiago | Down 2 |
| 15 | Edgar Garcia | Up 60 |
| 16 | Jay Hieron | Up 22 |
| 17 | Frank Trigg | Down 13 |
| 18 | War Machine | Up 7 |
| 19 | Tiki Ghosn | Up 21 |
| 20 | Phil Baroni | Down 12 |
Dropped out of Welterweight Top 20:
Paul Daley (#22), Carlos Condit (#35), Martin Kampmann (#61), Luke Cummo (#64), Ricky Story (#73), Jake Ellenberger (#89)
[...] 20 Welterweight Buzz Rankings for recent months: – October 2009 (#1 Rank: Anthony Johnson) – September 2009 (#1 Rank: Matt [...]
[...] 20 Welterweight Buzz Rankings for recent months: – November 2009 (#1 Rank: Dan Hardy) – October 2009 (#1 Rank: Anthony Johnson) – September 2009 (#1 Rank: Matt [...]