UFC 100 Editorials
POST-UFC 100 RAMIFICATIONS: Georges St. Pierre and Thiago Alves
Jul 15, 2008 - 10:19:36 PM POST-UFC 100 RAMIFICATIONS: Georges St. Pierre and Thiago Alves

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UFC 100 was just further proof that in the welterweight division its GSP...and everybody else. St. Pierre dominated Thiago Alves for five rounds on his way to a clear sweep unanimous decision. Oh, and he fought the last half of the fight with a pulled groin. Alves, for his part, put up the stiffest challenge that we may see for some time at 170 for GSP. He went all five rounds and didn't look half as bad as Jon Fitch did after his five round beating from St. Pierre. So there's no shame there. The question is; what's next for these two?


Georges St. Pierre

There's really nothing challenging left for him in the welterweight division, and he said it himself, "I don't fight to be champion anymore because I am the champion. If I fight, I fight for a challenge". Mike Swick? Please. Martin Kampmann? I love the guy, but he's not even on the level of Fitch or Alves, so why would a fight between he and GSP be the least bit compelling? Really, the only solution is for St. Pierre to announce that he's vacating his title and moving up to middleweight.

Being an average sized welterweight, I'm pretty sure he could find some challenges there. Regurgitating the cliche "match-ups make fights", Dan Henderson in particular would be a nightmare of a match-up for GSP. It's really only fair to leave the welterweight division to St. Pierre's victims. It's still a really deep division, and it would be much more evenly match and compelling without GSP ruling the roost.

St. Pierre can take nine months to a year off and let his injuries heal, while also using the time to add the necessary bulk to compete with men larger than him. I'd even wait to match him up with the Anderson Silva. If he truly loves a challenge, why not work your way up in the division. I'm not saying match him up with a debuting fighter at 185, but why not a Michael Bisping or a Thales Leites. GSP's journey to the middleweight belt would make all of his fights intriguing again.


Thiago Alves

Alves very well could be the second best welterweight in the world, and in my scenario where GSP leaves the division, Alves very well could be the champ. As it is, he'll go back to the drawing board, so to speak. He'll need at least a couple of decisive victories over top opponents before he's considered for another title shot, and there just so happens to be a perfect opponent waiting for him.

The UFC won't be eager to see rematches against GSP for both Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves, so an elimination fight makes perfect sense. It would also be a rematch of a fight Fitch won at Ultimate Fight Night 5 a little over three years ago. After that fight, Alves started a seven fight win streak that ended on Saturday.

Fitch wasn't overly impressive in his win over an underrated Paulo Thiago, but a win over Alves would go a long way towards restoring his name value with fans.

Apart from a fight with Fitch, a bout with the Swick-Kampmann winner or even loser would be fun for Alves. There's plenty of good opponents out there for Alves even without matching him up with up-and-coming contenders Anthony Johnson and Dan Hardy, who would likely have their momentum stopped against the well-seasoned Alves.