Fantasy #1 Contender Tournament Round 1: #7 Paulo Thiago vs. #10 Carlos Condit

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 next match up is between #7 ranked Paulo Thiago and #10 Carlos Condit.  Fighter details after the jump.

Paulo Thiago 11-1 (1-1 UFC): The UFC hates Paulo Thiago.  Thiago was bait for Josh Koscheck until he shocked us all and knocked Koscheck out cold.  Thiago's victory earned him a fight against top welterweight Jon Fitch and took him to a hard fought decision.  His next fight is against the other top welterweight Thiago Alves.  Like I said, the UFC hates him.  Thiago is possesses a solid ground game, but struggles on his feet (despite his uppercut against Koscheck).  It is odd to say that a fight against Carlos Condit is a drop off in competition, but it would be.

Carlos Condit 24-5 (1-1 UFC): A WEC Welterweight Champion with a ton of experience and no major weaknesses makes Condit a very strong fighter.  He has found mixed success in the UFC so far with two split decisions; one win and one loss.  After his first two fights it looks as if Condit might have trouble against larger and stronger fighters.  Thiago would not be a stronger fighter, but would be a fighter to match Condit on the ground. 

#1 Thiago Alves vs. #16 Brock Larson

#8 Matt Hughes vs. #9 Paul Daley