I agree that Condit has merit as a contender, but let's not forget about the split decision win by Jake Shields - an untested UFC quantity (Jake's long and illustrious career spans Strikeforce, Elite XC, K1, Shooto and the IFC), who barely beat another excellent fighter - Martin Kampmann, who himself beat Condit in April of 2009.

Any challenge made to GSP by these three should first include a decisive matching between WEC star Carlos Condit and Jake Shields, with the winner facing Kampmann to determine who best deserves a title shot at GSP.

None of these three fellows have as solid a record as GSP nor have they fought against as many top contenders as GSP.

MMA Weekly lists the following fighters as the Top Ten Welterweights in the world:

WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION (170-pound limit)
Posted on October 17, 2010 by MMAWeekly.com Staff

1. Georges St-Pierre

2. Jon Fitch

3. Josh Koscheck

4. Thiago Alves

5. Paul Daley

6. Nick Diaz

7. Martin Kampmann

8. Carlos Condit

9. Matt Hughes

10. Paulo Thiago


All three of these up and coming contenders for GSP's throne, Jake Shields, Martin Kampmann and Carlos Condit need to be further tested by others shown on this list, such as Jon Fitch whom none of these three have fought.

There are a slew of great match-ups for the welterweight division on the horizon, nonetheless.

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