Fantasy #1 Contender Tournament Round 1: #1 Alves vs. #16 Larson

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.

The first match up is between #1 ranked Thiago Alves and #16 Brock Larson.  Fighter details after the jump.

Thiago Alves 22-6 (9-3 UFC): The Pit Bull is a ferocious striker who can end a fight at any moment.  He also has truly evolved as a fighter through his UFC run and just recently fought for the championship against GSP.  As with most fights involving GSP, GSP dominated.  Alves has claimed that he did not get show his true wrestling ability, but he clearly struggled with St. Pierre's takedowns.  He will have to put together some wins to get another shot, but is clearly one of the top welterweights in the world.

Brock Larson 29-3 (3-2 UFC): Larson may only be 3-2 in his total UFC career, but previously to his recent loss he had won 14 of his last 15 fights and was rapidly rising in the welterweight ranks.  However, his recent decision loss to Mike Pierce has been a major setback and him not being on the main cards has hurt his notoriety.  Alves will most likely dominate the voting, but his wrestling pedigree could be a good match up for Larson.

#8 Matt Hughes vs. #9 Paul Daley