View full size photo »

The UFC Welterweight Division has a plethora of young talent, a dominating champion, and many exciting match ups to choose from, but the one thing they lack is a true number one contender.  I doubt the UFC would ever put together a welterweight tournament to determine a true number one contender (oh do I hope to be wrong), but we at WKR can have our own virtual (we're dorks, deal with it) tournament.  The bracket and rankings have been set and it is time to begin the tournament.  Let your vote choose who wins the most prestigious, meaningless, fake, yet enjoyable UFC Welterweight number 1 contender tournament.

We have made it into the second round; yes we are only in the second round.  However, there are now no more gimme wins (Alves vs. Larson).  What I found most interesting from round 1 is how much a factor one fight is for a person's voting.  For example, Kampmann lost to Hazelett and it was not even close (never would have happened before Daley fight).  8 fighters left, let's get it on.

The next match up is between #4 ranked Mike Swick and #12 Dustin Hazelett.  Fighter details after the jump.

NOTES: The Second Round Voting Will Conclude Friday Night at Midnight and the Semifinals Will Follow Directly After On Saturday and Sunday.

Mike Swick 14-2 (9-1 UFC, 4-0 Welterweight): The man in the true number 1 contender fight is looking to advance to the semi-finals in our welterweight tourny.  Swick has a definite advantage on the feet against Hazelett and would probably do everything he could to keep the fight standing.  While we have not seen many submission victories from Swick he does train with some of the best at AKA and is, I believe, a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  He is no slouch on the ground.

Dustin Hazelett 12-4 (UFC 5-2): It would not be a true tournament without a 5 vs. 12 upset and we got one.  This probably had more to do with Kampmann's last performance since Hazelett has been out a year with a torn ligament.  While Swick pretty good on the mat, he is not at the same level as Hazelett.  Dustin is one of the most exciting and fundamentally sound grapplers in the UFC.  Swick is a more well-rounded fighter and further up the ladder than Dustin, but Dustin could prevent a stylistic problem for Swick if he got him to the ground.

#2 Jon Fitch vs. #10 Carlos Condit