We’ve now officially entered a new era in the UFC’s welterweight division.

Georges St-Pierre is no longer in the picture, which has resulted in a huge shakeup in both the welterweight and Canadian MMA rankings.

Johny Hendricks edged Robbie Lawler at UFC 171 in a five-round classic to win the vacant 170-pound title. The new champ now sits at the head of the class with a handful of viable contenders chomping at the bit to get a crack at him.

Canadian Rory MacDonald raised his stock and made a strong case that he should be next in line for a title shot following an impressive win over Demian Maia at UFC 170. Not only does MacDonald jump up to No. 3 on our welterweight rankings, but he also leapfrogged T.J. Grant, who is still sidelined with a concussion, as the top Canadian currently in MMA. GSP recently told The MMA Hour he feels MacDonald deserves the next title shot.

Tryon Woodley and Hector Lombard believe they’ve also done enough to warrant a title shot with impressive UFC 171 victories over Carlos Condit and Jake Shields, respectively.

Earlier in the month, Dong Hyun Kim picked up a highlight-reel knockout win over John Hathaway to add his name to the list of growing contenders.

In addition to fighters mentioned above, you can add names like Tarec Saffiedine, Matt Brown, Jake Ellenberger and Erick Silva to the growing list of contenders. Then you think of fighters like Thiago Alves and potentially Nick Diaz who could be back in the mix in the near future, or fast risers like Stephen Thompson, Kelvin Gastelum and Brandon Thatch, the welterweight division is as exciting as it has been in years.

You’d be silly to argue that GSP’s absence is a good thing for the UFC, but it certainly opens up more opportunities for fighters who in the past weren’t thought to have a legitimate shot at winning the title.

Here are sportsnet.ca’s latest mixed martial arts rankings:

Jump to: Pound-for-pound | Canadians | Women

Jump to: Heavyweight | Light heavyweight | Middleweight

Jump to: Welterweight | Lightweight | Featherweight

Jump to: Bantamweight | Flyweight

POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Jose Aldo

He has barely been in trouble in the UFC/WEC and has outclassed all of his opponents.

2. Cain Velasquez

Between size and skill, he is the most dangerous fighter in the UFC.

3. Jon Jones

Not invincible as some previously thought, but a still a special athlete.

4. Demetrious Johnson

Has added finishing power to his impeccable technique and speed.

5. Renan Barao

He can win a fight in any manner he wishes.

6. Chris Weidman

Proved becoming champ wasn’t a fluke.

7. Anthony Pettis

Lightweight champ is as dynamic as they come.

8. Lyoto Machida

The former 205-pound champ is close to becoming the 185-pound kingpin.

9. Vitor Belfort

Appears unstoppable in two divisions at the moment.

10. Urijah Faber

He only loses to champions and when he does it’s just by a hair.

NOTE: Georges St-Pierre has been removed after he vacated his UFC title and Dominick Cruz would be on the list, but due to his inactivity he has been left off the list.

Honourable mention: Ronaldo Souza, Anderson Silva, Chad Mendes, John Dodson, Johny Hendricks, Joseph Benavidez, Benson Henderson, Junior dos Santos



CANADIAN POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Rory MacDonald

Man on a mission after second career loss.

2. T.J. Grant

Still sidelined with a concussion.

3. Mitch Gagnon

Could move into bantamweight title picture in 2014.

4. John Makdessi

Lost baffling decision to Alan Patrick at UFC 169. He did enough to win.

5. Jordan Mein

Will return against Hernani Perpetuo on April 19.

6. Mark Bocek

Finally set to return against Evan Dunham at the TUF Nations Finale.

7. Ivan Menjivar

Coming off loss to Hatsu Hioki at TUF China Finale.

8. Sam Stout

Set for a brawl with KJ Noons at the TUF Nations Finale.

9. Nick Ring

Looked great against Caio Magalhaes until he blew out his knee.

10. Roland Delorme

Had a fight with Davey Grant in London cancelled due to a last-minute Grant injury.

Honourable mention: Yves Jabouin, Ryan Jimmo, Antonio Carvalho, Patrick Cote, Jesse Ronson, Ryan Ford, Chad Laprise

FEMALE POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Cristiane Santos

Explosive power, well-rounded offence, great defence. A scary individual.

2. Ronda Rousey

Proved against McMann that her striking can be deadly too.

3. Cat Zingano

Recovering from knee surgery and the death of her husband. Still No. 1 contender.

4. Alexis Davis

She’s 3-0 in the UFC and closing in on a title shot.

5. Sara McMann

Many believe her fight with Rousey was stopped prematurely.

6. Sarah Kaufman

Scheduled to fight Shayna Baszler at TUF Nations Finale.

7. Jessica Eye

Did well, but fell short against Davis at UFC 170.

8. Miesha Tate

Gave Rousey a tough test UFC 168; faces Carmouche next.

9. Jessica Andrade

The pint-sized Brazilian is on a roll.

10. Barb Honchak

Beat Leslie Smith at Invicta FC 7 to retain flyweight title.

Honourable mention: Michelle Waterson, Amanda Nunes, Leslie Smith, Liz Carmouche, Marloes Coenen, Jessica Aguilar, Joanne Calderwood, Claudia Gadelha, Jessica Penne



HEAVYWEIGHT

1. Cain Velasquez

Recovering from surgery; aiming for November return.

2. Junior dos Santos

Faces Stipe Miocic at UFC 173.

3. Fabricio Werdum

Meets Browne with title shot on the line in April.

4. Travis Browne

Was an absolute savage in 2013. See above.

5. Antonio Silva

Fought Mark Hunt to a draw in classic then failed drug test.

6. Stipe Miocic

Rising contender faces biggest challenge in JDS.

7. Josh Barnett

Was on the wrong side of some Browne elbows at UFC 168.

8. Alistair Overeem

Win over Mir was huge for his career.

9. Frank Mir

Has now lost four straight.

10. Gabriel Gonzaga

Broke hand early in decision loss to Miocic.

Honourable mention: Mark Hunt, Roy Nelson, Ben Rothwell, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Stefan Struve, Matt Mitrione

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

1. Jon Jones

Headlines UFC 172 against Teixeira, who could be his toughest challenge.

2. Alexander Gustafsson

Demolished Jimi Manuwa in London March 8 to send message to Jones.

3. Glover Teixeira

Has the tools to beat Jones.

4. Rashad Evans

Suffered knee injury that will sideline him for most of 2014.

5. Daniel Cormier

Showed his potential in UFC 170 beat down of Pat Cummins.

6. Phil Davis

A win over Anthony Johnson will keep him in title picture.

7. Vitor Belfort

Middleweight contender fights in two divisions and became the first person to knock out Henderson.

8. Dan Henderson

Interesting to see how no more TRT will affect Hendo in the future.

9. Chael Sonnen

Preparing for grudge match with Wanderlei Silva.

10. Mauricio Rua

Will get another crack at Hendo.

Honourable mention: Anthony Johnson, Quinton Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Ryan Bader, Emanuel Newton

MIDDLEWEIGHT

1. Chris Weidman

Machida will be an interesting stylistic challenge for him.

2. Lyoto Machida

Meets Weidman for title on May 24 at UFC 173.

3. Vitor Belfort

Pulled out of UFC 173 due to new TRT standards.

4. Ronaldo Souza

Showed how dominant he can be on the ground against Francis Carmont.

5. Anderson Silva

On the road to recovery. Hopes to fight before end of 2014.

6. Luke Rockhold

Expected to fight Tim Boetsch at UFC 172.

7. Michael Bisping

Meets Kennedy at TUF Nations Finale.

8. Gegard Mousasi

Lost to Machida, but can still be contender in this division.

9. Tim Kennedy

Wants to shut Bisping up at TUF Nations Finale.

10. Yoel Romero

Coming off three straight impressive knockouts. Fights Brad Tavares next.

Honourable mention: Mark Munoz, Yushin Okami, Alan Belcher, Francis Carmont, Constantinos Philippou, Tim Boetsch

WELTERWEIGHT

1. Johny Hendricks

Won the vacant title after five-round classic against Lawler at UFC 171.

2. Robbie Lawler

Fell just short against Hendricks; some scored the fight for him.

3. Rory MacDonald

Beat Demian Maia in exciting UFC 170 tilt.

4. Tyron Woodley

Looked great against Condit.

5. Carlos Condit

Suffered torn meniscus at UFC 171

6. Hector Lombard

Tossed around Jakes Shields at UFC 171.

7. Tarec Saffiedine

Looked great in UFC debut. Meets Ellenberger at UFC 172.

8. Jake Ellenberger

See above.

9. Matt Brown

Headlines UFC Fight Night 40 in Cincinnati against Erick Silva.

10. Dong Hyun Kim

Picked up huge, highlight-reel KO win over John Hathaway.

NOTE: Georges St-Pierre was removed after he vacated his title; Nick Diaz is off the list since he is currently retired.

Honourable mention: Demian Maia, Jake Shields, Rick Story, Kelvin Gastelum, Stephen Thompson, Mike Pyle, Erick Silva, Ben Askren, Brandon Thatch

LIGHTWEIGHT

1. Anthony Pettis

Rocovering from knee injury; Melendez is next.

2. Benson Henderson

Headlines UFC Fight Night event June 7 against Rustam Khabilov.

3. Michael Chandler

Lost controversial split decision to Alvarez in Bellator 106 classic. Trilogy bout set for May 17.

4. Eddie Alvarez

See above.

5. TJ Grant

Still recovering from concussion.

6. Gilbert Melendez

Faces Pettis for title after TUF 20 gig.

7. Josh Thomson

Says he’s contemplating calling it a career after close loss to Bendo.

8. Khabib Nurmagomedov

Close to title shot; fights Rafael dos Anjos April 19.

9. Rafael dos Anjos

See above.

10. Nate Diaz

Was a man possessed in his knockout of Gray Maynard.

Honourable mention: Donald Cerrone, Michael Johnson, Jim Miller, Edson Barboza, Myles Jury, Pat Healy, Joe Lauzon

FEATHERWEIGHT

1. Jose Aldo

Was on point in win over Lamas at UFC 169.

2. Chad Mendes

Has won five straight since loss to Aldo.

3. Ricardo Lamas

Had Aldo in trouble in fifth round.

4. Chan Sung Jung

Likely to be on the shelf for most of 2014.

5. Cub Swanson

Working his way back from an elbow injury.

6. Dustin Poirier

Fights Akira Corassani on April 16. A confusing step down in competition.

7. Frankie Edgar

Coaches TUF 19 against B.J. Penn.

8. Pat Curran

Showed champion’s heart as he regained his Bellator title against Daniel Straus.

9. Nik Lentz

Meets Manny Gamburyan on May 10.

10. Dennis Bermudez

Showed continued improvement on his current six-fight win streak.

Honourable mention: Dennis Siver, Jeremy Stephens, Patricio Friere, Hacran Dias, Hatsu Hioki, Daniel Straus, Rani Yahya

BANTAMWEIGHT

1. Renan Barao

Outclassed Faber at UFC 169.

2. Urijah Faber

Lost by controversial stoppage to Barao, but is still world class.

3. Michael McDonald

Will be on sidelines for a while with hand injury.

4. Raphael Assuncao

Is 6-0 at bantamweight and deserves a title shot.

5. T.J. Dillashaw

Expected to fight Takeya Mizugaki at UFC 173.

6. Eddie Wineland

Demoted to prelims when he fights Johnny Eduardo in May.

7. Yuri Alcantara

Beat a difficult Wilson Reis at UFC Fight Night 36 in Brazil.

8. Eduardo Dantas

Submitted Anthony Leone in spectacular fashion at Bellator 111.

9. Takeya Mizugaki

A win over Dillashaw would be five straight.

10. Bibiano Fernandes

The ONE FC champ headlines event against Masakatsu Ueda May 2.

NOTE: Dominick Cruz has been removed from the list due to his inactivity.

Honourable mention: Mitch Gagnon, Vaughan Lee, Mike Easton, Ivan Menjivar, Erik Perez

FLYWEIGHT

1. Demetrious Johnson

Finished Benavidez in devastating fashion.

2. Joseph Benavidez

Now in no man’s land in two divisions.

3. John Dodson

Pulled out of bout with Scott Jorgensen.

4. Zach Makovsky

Beat Josh Sampo at UFC 170; now 2-0 in the UFC.

5. Ian McCall

Pulled out of fight with Brad Pickett due to injury.

6. John Moraga

Beat Dustin Ortiz by decision at UFC Fight Night 35.

7. Ali Bagautinov

Picked up big win over Lineker at UFC 169.

8. Justin Scoggins

Looked phenomenal in win over Will Campuzano at UFC 171.

9. Brad Pickett

Earned a confident decision win in London in his flyweight debut.

10. Darrell Montague

Faces Kyoji Horiguchi at UFC Fight Night 40.

Honourable mention: Jussier da Silva, John Lineker, Tim Elliott, Louis Gaudinot, Chris Cariaso, Dustin Ortiz, Mamoru Yamaguchi

MMA rankings are subjective, and ultimately have no real bearing on how fights should or do play out, but they inevitably get fans talking about the sport and its best fighters. Send your thoughts and arguments to @MikeyJ_MMA.