Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Georges "Rush" St. Pierre

Welterweight

Other contenders:

For five rounds, St. Pierre beat on Dan Hardy and cranked on his arms. However, the welterweight king was unable to get “The Outlaw” out of the Octagon. With his third five-round decision win in his last four bouts, St. Pierre has become a target of criticism from many for his inability to polish off his challengers, however dubious those critiques may be.The much-anticipated rematch between Fitch and fellow former title challenger Thiago Alves has now been targeted for June 12, when UFC 115 heads to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Now, fans can only hope the bout does not fall apart for a third time.With a successful angiogram completed and a clean MRI pending, Alves should get a chance to erase his June 2006 loss to Jon Fitch at UFC 115 in June. The “Pitbull” now has to stay healthy, as last-minute medical issues have cancelled the meeting the last two times it was scheduled.Hardy lost all five rounds of his March 27 title matchup against Georges St. Pierre. Despite a nasty armbar and kimura from “Rush,” Hardy was bloody-but-unbowed in defeat and perhaps extracted a measure of respect from a previously skeptical public regarding his status in the welterweight division.Thiago entered his UFC 109 bout with Mike Swick, once again, as an underdog. Once again, he blew away an American Kickboxing Academy product, choking Swick out cold in the second round to prove definitively that his victory over Josh Koscheck was no fluke. Next comes a UFC 115 matchup with Martin Kampmann.Despite his evolution since appearing on the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Koscheck has yet to challenge for the UFC welterweight crown. In order to earn that right, he will need to take out fast-rising British star Paul Daley at UFC 113 on May 8.In his first two UFC appearances, Daley blew the doors off of quality fighters in Martin Kampmann and Dustin Hazelett . Now, a UFC welterweight title shot may hang in the balance when he takes on Josh Koscheck at UFC 113 on May 8 in what amounts to a de facto title eliminator.Coming off a disappointing decision loss to Dan Hardy in November, Swick’s bout with Paulo Thiago at UFC 109 left him in even worse shape. He was choked unconscious in the second round and pushed further back in the UFC welterweight title picture.Diaz might be facing punishment of some kind due to his involvement with the Strikeforce melee on April 17 in Nashville. The Strikeforce welterweight champ is nonetheless scheduled for international duty, as he's slated to meet veteran Hayato "Mach" Sakurai at Dream 14 on May 29 in Saitama, Japan.Kampmann was scheduled to get back in the saddle against rising contender Ben Saunders at UFC 111 on March 27. However, a nasty gash on his forehead nixed the Dane from the bout. Kampmann will instead meet Paulo Thiago at UFC 115.