“I hate your guts, but damn do I respect you.”

I have never been a fan of the UFC Hall of Famer and former welterweight champion.

He has always been overly critical of other fighters while failing to evolve with the sport himself, in my opinion.

However, as he took to the octagon for perhaps the final time at UFC 135, I have to admit, I felt a little conflicted.

Though Hughes is not even a top 10 welterweight in my eyes, but his accomplishments are undeniable.

He was the longest-reigning champion in UFC history for quite some time and typically finished his fights with impressive submissions or ground-and-pound strikes.

Hughes clearly became a catalyst to today’s MMA and deserves credit for making Georges St. Pierre what he is today.

GSP spent most of his early career molding himself into a fighter that could beat one man, Matt Hughes.

St. Pierre knew he needed the combination of wrestling and striking to best Hughes, because Hughes was so dominant with his grappling.

GSP was one of the first of many well-rounded fighters to evolve into MMA and now, every fighter that enters the octagon is starting to show top-level skills in every area of combat.

Hughes is still Hughes, and he hasn’t been able to develop his striking to compete in today’s MMA. He showed some good boxing early on against Josh Koscheck, but he lacks that knockout power and it eventually led to him losing by KO at the end of round one.

However, there is a reason that the likes of Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Diego Sanchez, and many others have wanted to always fight Matt Hughes. It is because they started their careers looking up at him on top of the UFC mountain.

Just like young fighters are crafting their abilities to someday beat GSP or Anderson Silva, today’s stars were built to beat Matt Hughes.

Hughes changed the face of MMA into what it is today and that is perhaps his greatest accomplishment.

A lengthy recovery from an injury has caused the UFC veteran to be lost in the mix in the UFC welterweight division.

As you can see in the video, Fitch is not happy about being passed up for many of the big fights in the division and he is ready to do something about it.

Fitch has some good points. The guy has one loss in 15 UFC fights, and that was to current champ, Georges St. Pierre.

He is coming off a draw against B.J. Penn, but had that been a five-round fight, it appeared that Fitch was well on his way to another win.

Despite his lack of finishes, Fitch is still one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world and he deserves more respect than he is getting.

It has been a busy couple of months in this division as two of the top 10 suffered losses since my last 170-pound rankings came out.

So, without further ado, here are my top 10 in this division.

1. Georges St. Pierre (22-2) – St. Pierre successfully defeated Jake Shields, but did so by decision. His performance wasn’t great, but it was still enough to end a lengthy win streak by Shields. Instead of moving up to middleweight, St. Pierre will now take on Nick Diaz at UFC 137 in October.

2. Jon Fitch (23-3-1) – Fitch is coming off shoulder surgery and is targeting a return in late 2011. He was originally pushing for a title fight, but is now looking toward a rematch with B.J. Penn. With the UFC implementing five-round main events for non-title fights, Fitch would seem to have the edge there as he got stronger as the first fight with Penn went on.

3. Josh Koscheck (15-5) – Koscheck has been on the shelf for a few months now as he recovers from a broken orbital bone. Koscheck should return in late 2011, and hopefully he can continue to show some solid skills when he gets back. A powerful striker and wrestler, Koscheck has the skills to win it all if he can do the little things to put together the whole package.

4. Nick Diaz (25-7) – The Strikeforce Champion relinquished his belt to take on St. Pierre in October. I suspect he will give GSP a tougher fight than Shields did, as he isn’t afraid of anyone or any punch. Diaz will really have to improve his takedown defense to pose a problem for St. Pierre, but Diaz may have the striking edge in that contest.

5. Jake Shields (26-5-1) – Shields didn’t look his best against St. Pierre and he showed that if he can’t get his opponent to the ground, he probably isn’t going to win. Shields has struggled in his two UFC contests and he needs an impressive showing in his next contest.

6. Nate Marquardt (31-10-2) – It is hard to know just where Marquardt fits in to the welterweight rankings until he fights Rick Story on Sunday, but Marquardt’s overall package should fit in well at 170. I suspect his strength and grappling will be a real challenge for any opponent and his striking is pretty sound too. He can quickly work his way into the top contender spot if he handles the weight cut.

7. Carlos Condit (26-5) – Carlos Condit is similar to Diaz in that he isn’t afraid to fight anyone, anywhere. Condit was able to KO Dan Hardy and find a way to beat the likes of Rory MacDonald and Jake Ellenberger. Condit gets Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 132, in what will be a real test of his skills as Kim can be a very smothering grappler.

8. B.J. Penn (16-7-2) – Penn is still one of the all time greats, but he lacks a win over a solid opponent in nearly 18 months. Penn has some of the fastest hands in MMA and is still a tremendous jiu-jitsu specialist, but he doesn’t have the ability to stay off his back that he once had. A rematch with Jon Fitch could still happen this year and give him a chance to prove he is still relevant in the division.

9. Rick Story (13-3) – Story managed to knock Thiago Alves off this list and put himself into the ninth spot with his decision win over “The Pitbull”. Story has a chance to move up even higher this Sunday when he takes on Marquardt. I like Story’s relentless pressure, but he did show some fatigue against Alves in the third round that nearly cost him the bout.

10. Dong Hyun Kim (14-0-1) – I had Martin Kampmann ahead of Kim in my last rankings, but I couldn’t justify taking an unbeaten fighter off the list. I like what Kim does as he just finds a way to win. He is a big, strong grappler that has been tough for his opponents to figure out. He gets the biggest fight of his career at UFC 132 against Condit, but it will also be a chance for him to prove that he can be a contender at 170

After Rick Story called out Fitch following his win over Thiago Alves at UFC 130, Fitch has made it clear that he wants just one of two possible fights in an interview with MMAWeekly.com.

“I’m at a point in my career where I need to be fighting main events and main event fighters,” Fitch told MMAWeekly.com. “And if you don’t have a belt, currently, or you haven’t owned a belt in the UFC, I’m not really interested.”

“I’ve gone out of my way throughout my career to just fight everybody they put in front of me and it’s cost me dearly. When you fight somebody who no one knows and don’t recognize their name, it doesn’t matter how bad you beat them.

“I kind of had a talk with Rashad Evans during the expo up in Canada. (It) kind of opened up my eyes to it a little bit. He was telling me I (have to) stop screwing around, I have to think about my career, and I’m a main event fighter. I should only be fighting main event people.”

“I want BJ or GSP. Those are the only two guys I care (to fight) or have any interest in right now. If I (have to) sit out a year and wait for them, I’ll do it. That’s what I’m waiting to fight for.”

Fitch is currently out until late 2011 after shoulder surgery, but the 23-3-1 veteran of the UFC has a point. He has faced a number of unknown opponents during his UFC run and went through them all.

Fitch is a big enough name that he can demand top fights and not many people are going to argue. Still, the UFC doesn’t seem keen on giving him another bout with St. Pierre after GSP beat him up for five rounds in their first meeting.

Mike Chiappetta of MMAFighting.com is reporting that the UFC is looking into possible events in Montreal and Abu Dhabi for December of this year.

Sources with knowledge of the situation said there is “a good chance” the company returns to the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, likely in December, but that nothing is confirmed.

The promotion had been expected to host a show there in March before venue issues nixed the idea. Because there are no indoor arenas and the region has a hot climate, the timing of athletic events requires extra consideration. December through February is historically the coolest month in Abu Dhabi, with daytime high temperatures averaging around 80 degrees.

A December return engagement would bookend a rapidly filling 2011 calendar, as events have already been scheduled late into the year. On Thursday, UFC director of Canadian operations Tom Wright told Montreal radio station The Team 990 that the company could return to the city’s Bell Centre in December.

Rumors are swirling that Georges St. Pierre could face Nick Diaz at the event in Montreal, which would make three-straight events that the welterweight champion would be fighting in Canada.

As far as Abu Dhabi goes, the last time the UFC appeared there was UFC 112 where Anderson Silva had his embarrassing showing against Demian Maia and Frankie Edgar upset B.J. Penn for the first time to win the lightweight championship.

On Monday night B.J. Penn released the following statement on his Twitter account:

@jakeshieldsajj I would never challenge one of Cesar Gracie’s guys, but you’ve been calling me out for years.Let’s do it! I’ll contact Dana

This was a challenge to Jake Shields, who is coming off a decision loss to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 129.

Shields was quick to answer with this:

@bjpenndotcom even better, let’s make it the first 5 round non-title fight

B.J. then had his last reply:

@jakeshieldsajj If that makes you feel more confident….. sure.

This fight would be good for both men as Penn needs a marquee fight to get back into the hunt in the welterweight division and Shields needs to get a big-time win in the octagon after two shaky performances in the UFC.

A matchup with Penn and Shields would feature arguably the two best jiu-jitsu fighters in all of MMA and certainly in the 170-pound category.

Now, just because these two agree to fight on Twitter doesn’t mean the UFC will make it happen, but this is a fight they will have to strongly consider.

I know this article may come off as fandom, but I am merely sticking up for a great fighter.

While I will even admit that St. Pierre’s performance at UFC 129 was anything but impressive against Jake Shields, I don’t think that the long-reigning UFC Welterweight Champion deserves to be as criticized as he has been.

Finishing fights is a big aspect of MMA and a big part of the reason why fans love fighters like Anderson Silva. However, everyone has their flaws or even their bad fights.

I would compare GSP’s performance on Saturday night to the likes of Silva’s performances against Demian Maia or Thales Leites.

Clearly St. Pierre was the better fighter on Saturday, but he didn’t go for the kill when it was there. And after his eye was damaged, he balled up into somewhat of a shell.

But, I don’t think that his performance at UFC 129 was typical of his other performances.

Just for the record, Jake Shields has only been finished once in 32 career fights.

In GSP’s UFC 124 bout with Josh Koscheck, he broke Koscheck’s orbital bone and absolutely picked him apart for 25 minutes. He tried to land the big punch and score the knockout, but it didn’t happen. Just for the record, Koscheck has been stopped twice in 20 fights.

Dating back to UFC 111, GSP beat Dan Hardy by decision. While GSP could score takedowns at will against Hardy, he didn’t finish. But, he did have two very tough submissions on Hardy and the Brit wouldn’t tap. In 31 fights, Hardy has been stopped four times.

Add Thiago Alves and Jon Fitch to the list of fighters that St. Pierre has beaten by decision. But, once again, he did so in dominant fashion. In the case of Fitch, the fact that he survived the 25 minutes was more of a testament of his will that the lack of ability from GSP.

Let’s not forget that St. Pierre is just one of two fighters to have stopped B.J. Penn.

Could St. Pierre use a finish? Absolutely.

Did he look bad on Saturday? I think that is a fair statement.

Is he still one of the top two pound-for-pound fighters in the world? Yes.

I don’t think Saturday should change his ability to get a fight with Anderson Silva as he still has cleaned out his division.

There are some murmurs about a fight with Strikeforce Welterweight Champion, Nick Diaz, but I think that would be a fight where GSP would easily score takedown after takedown and ground and pound Diaz for 25 minutes.

The same people that are critical of GSP today are probably the same that were critical of Lyoto Machida in the past. But, I bet those same people are raving about Machida’s knockout of Randy Couture today.

Dominance is still dominance and greatness is still greatness. St. Pierre is still one of the greatest in MMA history.

Hughes, a current UFC Hall of Famer and former welterweight champion, is coming off a 21-second knockout loss to B.J. Penn at UFC 123, but had won his last three fights prior to that.

Sanchez is coming off back-to-back decision wins over Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann. He is 2-1 since making his return to welterweight after losing to Penn for the lightweight championship back in December of 2009.

This fight would be intriguing as Sanchez has a high motor and is somewhat reckless. He relies on his grappling and pressure to really win fights, but will be facing a stronger grappler in Hughes. Hughes also shows more composure and patience with his fighting.

I am a little surprised to see Hughes taking this fight as I felt like he was leaning toward retirement following the loss to Penn. If he was to fight again, I thought it would be more along the lines of another fight with Matt Serra or a fight against an older fighter to allow himself a better chance to go out on a win. This is a tough fight for Hughes, but is still one that he can win.

Like my middleweight rankings, the No. 1 spot is quite obvious and everyone else isn’t really all that close.

Still, here is my take. If you need to go back and find my pound-for-pound, heavyweight, or light heavyweight rankings, click on the links.

1. Georges St. Pierre (21-2) – GSP is the clear leader of this group and close to being the best fighter in any weight class. I would argue that St. Pierre is the most complete fighter in all of MMA as he exhibits diverse striking, superior wrestling, and solid submission skills. The beauty of GSP is, he is always looking for ways to evolve and stay ahead of the game and I am curious to see how he attacks his UFC 129 fight with Jake Shields this Saturday.

2. Jon Fitch (23-3-1) – Fitch is the fighter that can do no right. All he does is win, for the most part, but he isn’t able to do it in a flashy fashion, so he is often overlooked. He dominated B.J. Penn in the third round of their fight in February, but a slow start forced a draw and unfinished business. If St. Pierre is to beat Shields and move up to middleweight, I would suspect that Fitch is the favorite to become the new 170-pound champion in the UFC.

3. Jake Shields (26-4-1) – I am still a little unsure of what to think about Shields. He has some impressive wins, but I think he is kidding himself if he thinks getting St. Pierre to the ground is going to be a walk in the park. He is a world-class grappler, but I would dare say he is one of the worst strikers in the division. You would think a guy of his talents would really work at striking to become a complete fighter, but he still clerly lacks in that department. A win over St. Pierre on Saturday would be an upset, but it would surely catapult him to the top of my rankings.

4. Josh Koscheck (15-5) – Koscheck has had some bad losses in his career, but I still think he is one of the best welterweights in MMA. He has great wrestling ability, which he is starting to use more, and he has big power in his hands. If Koscheck can become more technical with his striking and use his wrestling more often, I think he is a very dangerous opponent for anyone.

5. Nick Diaz (25-7) – Like Shields, I am unsure of Diaz as he hasn’t beaten a lot of top competition. He has dominated Strikeforce and their welterweights, but wins over guys like Paul Daley and Scott Smith don’t really impress me. Diaz is entertaining and he is a warrior, but I think he would struggle against the strong wrestlers that make their home in the octagon.

6. Thiago Alves (18-7) – Alves is making his way back up the ladder after losses to GSP and Fitch and he is still one of the most powerful strikers in the division. His leg kicks may be the best of any welterweight, and he has a good strong jab. Alves needs to improve on his wrestling, as his clear flaw is being able to stay off his back against the top-level grapplers.

7. Carlos Condit (26-5) – I like what Condit brings to the table because he is fearless and he will let the fight go wherever it will and still be confident that he can be better than his opponent in that area. Condit is slowly making his way up the UFC ladder and another win may put him into top-5 status. A win at UFC 131 over strong grappler, Dong Hyun Kim, will be another big notch in his belt.

8. B.J. Penn (16-7-2) – I think we can all safely say that B.J. Penn is not the phenom he once was. Frankie Edgar handled him in the lightweight division and he moved up to welterweight where he beat an aged Matt Hughes. While he did fight to a draw with Fitch, the third round showed that Fitch was the better fighter. Penn just isn’t able to dominate like he used to and not doing anything to change up his game. He did surprise me by trying to takedown Fitch, but that strategy won’t get him far against bigger opponents.

9. Martin Kampmann (17-5) – I respect Martin Kampmann a lot and I think he has been on the raw end of some recent decisions. I thought he clearly beat Diego Sanchez back in March and I think he should have beaten Jake Shields at UFC 121 in October, but didn’t make the best decisions to help himself win that fight. Kampmann is well rounded but not outstanding in any one area. He reminds me of Nate Marquardt in the middleweight division in terms of his ability to beat some of the best, but not be able to get past the elite fighters in his division.

10. Dong Hyun Kim (14-0-1) – Has anyone realized that Kim is undefeated? He holds wins over some respectable opponents too, including Nate Diaz and Amir Sadollah. The burly wrestler has been very tough for his opponents to figure out. He is comparable in his style to Yushin Okami, but he has a judo background that makes him even more dangerous in the clinch. Kim can really breakout at UFC 131 by beating Condit, but that will be no small task.

Judging is gauged on a 10-point must system over an odd number of rounds, so in most cases there should be a winner when the bout goes to a decision.

However, recently there has been a pair of main events in the UFC to land a draw. Most notably was the Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard lightweight title fight at UFC 125.

A draw leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, including Dana White’s.

MMAMania.com recently made note that the UFC President made the following statement during the UFC’s web series “The Aftermath”, a show that airs after each episode of The Ultimate Fighter.

“I hate draws. I think it’s such a waste of everybody’s time and energy. (An overtime round is) something that I would definitely explore.”

The draw at UFC 125 was a problem for a couple reasons. For one, there was no winner. Secondly, Anthony Pettis was scheduled to face the winner in a unification bout.

Now, these two will have another match while Pettis is forced to put his potential title shot up for grabs in a bout with Clay Guida.

A draw was also the result of UFC 127 with Jon Fitch and B.J. Penn. The winner would have become the No. 1 contender to Georges St. Pierre’s welterweight title. Now, there is no top contender and Fitch will be unable to compete in the schedule rematch due to injury.

An overtime makes sense, but it would be tough for fighters to prepare for an extra five minutes of fighting if they have conditioned themselves to just 25 or 15 minutes.

Also, the time it takes to figure out the final scoring lasts a few minutes and in that time, fighters will have a huge dump in energy and their adrenaline levels will certainly fall back.

I am sure the UFC will explore the idea and try to come up with the best option, but clearly this isn’t something that Dana White can just make happen with a simple statement. It will take time to develop the rules behind it.

I for one would love to see it because everyone wants to have a clear winner and a clear loser. Especially in title fights. A draw just leaves an empty feeling.