By T.P. Grant

Mixed Martial Arts can be a difficult sport to follow at times, to all but the most hardcore of followers of the sport it can seem a confusing mess of weight classes and champions. The UFC roster currently sits at over 500 fighters, not to mention the thousands of fighters outside of the promotion, so it’s understandable to have a hard time keeping so many names straight.

So to help with that, FloCombat is going to run down each UFC weight class and highlighting fighters that the new or casual MMA fan should be watching.
The Welterweight division is the top end of the MMA sweet spot, where an abundance of talented, high level athletes making it an incredibly deep division. For 6 years Georges St. Pierre lorded over the division, but his retirement in 2013 opened a power vacuum in the division waiting to be filled. St. Pierre’s generation of fighters is fading and the division is in flux as and a new generation of young fighters is moving up to overtake the aging ones.

The current Welterweight champion is Robbie Lawler, a journeyman turned champion. His educated boxing in the pocket and strong wrestling has allowed him to defend the title twice. At 34-years-old and in the 15th year of his career Lawler is a remarkable champion, but it is unlikely he becomes a long reigning champion. This in no way to say that Lawler is a weak champion, rather a statement of the depth of the division. So in a division of turmoil and talent, here are four fighters to keep an eye on:

Rory MacDonald

A Canadian fighting prodigy, Rory MacDonald started training MMA at age 14 and turned pro just two years later. McDonald has been a major player in the Welterweight division for the last 6 years and since 2011 he has beaten every top Welterweight in front of his put in front of him with the exception of his two matches with Robbie Lawler.

MacDonald is one of the most well rounded fighters in the sport, an excellent athlete, and trains under Firas Zahabi at Tristar Gym, one of the very best coaches in MMA. MacDonald has a crisp jab on the feet, a diverse kicking game, and excellent transitions into his grappling.

His most recent bout Robbie Lawler was a bloody masterpiece of violence, and despite coming out the loser MacDonald is going to be in and around the title picture for the next few years.

Stephen Thompson

A former full contact karate fighter and professional kickboxer Stephen Thompson made his pro MMA debut 6 years ago. After just 2 years on the regional scene Thompson joined the UFC, but his initial lack of grappling skill caused him to be regarded as more flash than substance. That view of him was confirmed in April of 2012 when Thompson lost a one sided decision to Matt Brown. But since then Thompson has made himself a common sight on the east coast, traveling up and down the network of Renzo Gracie gyms working with top fighters, such as former UFC Middleweight Champion Matt Weidman. In that time Thompson’s MMA game has come together and in 2015 he tallied 2  first round knockout wins first over top ranked welterweight Jake Ellenberger and then against former Welterweight Champion Johny Hendricks.

Thompson’s karate base lends itself to a unique style, he tends to stand sideways and makes heavy use of lead leg kicks and spinning kicks, pair with more orthodox striking techniques. His wrestling and grappling have made great strides. By all indications Thompson is coming into his own as an MMA fighter and is just a win or two from a title shot, very much a fighter to watch.

Tyron Woodley

A native of Ferguson, Missouri Tyron Woodley grew up an athlete, joining both the football and wrestling teams in high school. Woodley won a state title in wrestling his senior year and received several offers, but committed to Mizzou, a rebuilding program. There he was teammates with 2008 Olympian Ben Askren. After Woodley’s graduation he became interested in MMA and began fighting amateur MMA in Missouri. Together he and Askren began training with an American Top Team affiliate and they made their professional MMA debuts on the same card in 2009.

Woodley tried out for The Ultimate Fighter show, but just barely missed the cut, shortly after that he signed with the Strikeforce promotion. Woodley was with Strikeforce for 3 years and beat some of their top names at Welterweight. It wasn’t until his last Strikeforce fight, after the UFC had bought Strikeforce, that Woodley suffered his first loss, fighting Nate Marquardt for the Strikeforce Middleweight title.

Since coming over to the UFC, Woodley is 5-2 and has developed in a powerful striker with an extremely strong wrestling and clinch game. His biggest struggle to date has been finding consistency in big fights, but at just 6 years into his pro MMA career Wooldey’s best days are in front of him.

Albert Tumenov

While Albert Tumenov may not be a name that is going to on a UFC poster this year, he is still very much a Welterweight name to know. One of the early names of the ‘Russian Invasion’, Tumenov is a product of the highly competitive Caucasus regional fight scene. A deeply skilled kickboxer, Tumenov puts together impressive punch-kick combinations that pack serious power. A touted prospect, Tumenov lost his UFC debut as some serious grappling deficiencies were exposed in his game. Since then Tumenov has run off 5 straight wins and seems to have shored up his game. Tumenov is going to get a stiff test of his new grappling game as he set to face another up-and-coming Welterweight Gunnar Nelson.