By James Brydon

SPORTSNET.CA

There weren’t too many fights over the weekend that shook up the MMA rankings (Arlovski won as expected, and no, Kimbo Slice was never going to crack any top 10 even if he won.)

But welterweight Jake Shields definitely improved his standing, even if his standup isn’t the greatest. Shields beat a tough striker in Paul Daley, who had knocked out six straight, for his 11th consecutive victory. And he demonstrated why he is one of the best jiu-jitsu fighters in the world.

And that will make him the only 170-pounder not currently under contract with Zuffa in Sportsnet.ca’s first Top 10 welterweight snapshot.

Top 10 Welterweights

1. Georges St. Pierre

2. Jon Fitch

3. Thiago Alves

4. Jake Shields

5. Carlos Condit

6. Josh Koscheck

7. Mike Swick

8. Matt Serra

9. Matt Hughes

10. Diego Sanchez

Who’s left out?

Karo Parisyan and Frank Trigg, two guys with virtually identical records (18-5, 18-6, respectively). Both are immensely talented and each was a top UFC welterweight contender and one time. But their performances have tailed off of late. Parisyan lost to two guys on the above list (Alves, Sanchez) and didn’t have a really big win in between. Trigg has lost to Condit, St. Pierre and Hughes (twice). That’s not that bad, but he too hasn’t had a really big win lately.

Then why are the two Matts still there?

The last two guys to wear the UFC welterweight belt other than GSP are still two dangerous guys. They haven’t had enough losses since to drop them off, just yet. Everyone loses to GSP so they can’t be faulted for that.

Why isn’t Mike Swick (12-2) ranked higher?

He hasn’t had enough fights at 170 pounds. Most of his wins have come at 185. Let’s see how he does against a scrappy Jonathan Goulet at the TUF 8 finale in December.

Next week: It’s Canadian Thanksgiving, so we’ll do something a little different and look at the Top 10 Canadians.