UFC: 15 Up-and-Coming Prospects to Watch in the Second Half of 2011

With more than 50 percent of the year 2011 under the collective belt, it’s time to do what any good, honest Internet denizen with the attention span of a water flea always does around this time. Take the past six months, wad them up and throw them in the trash. There's no time to think about the past when there are so many semi-baseless predictions to make about the second half of the year.

So in the spirit of the water flea, I offer this list of 15 of the UFC's hottest up-and-coming talents and prospects that I think will make waves in the promotion over the next five-and-a-half months.

This list is restricted to fighters currently signed in the UFC who are age 25 or younger and/or have 15 or fewer fights on their records. That's how I'm defining "up-and-coming."

Also, with all apologies to Phil Davis and recent winners of "The Ultimate Fighter," to me, “up and coming” doesn’t apply to those who have already clearly established a name for themselves.

Finally, there are pretty good indications that all of these guys will fight in the second half of this year.

Please enjoy.

15. Dong Yi Yang

Weight class:  Middleweight
Record:  10-1
Age: 26

Dong seems to prefer finishing fights by TKO, though mind you, that's just a guess based on the fact that he has nine of them. So perhaps it’s not a surprise, then, that Dong’s only loss also happens to be the only time one of his fights went the distance.

The exciting 185-pounder is now 1-1 in the UFC, and will look to get back into the black this September against Court McGee.

14. Chris Weidman

Weight class:  Middleweight
Record: 6-0
Age: 27

Weidman showed he was ready for a big step up the ladder when he dispatched Jesse Bongfeldt at UFC 131 in June.

13. Paul Sass

Weight class: Lightweight
Record:  11-0
Age:  22

The master of the Sassangle hooked another victim in his UFC debut last October. It marked his eighth submission win by triangle choke and garnered Submission of the Night honors.

A foot injury has slowed him down, but he is hoping to return “in the next few months.”  Allow me to suggest a fight with Cody McKenzietine.  Winner gets to keep his nickname.

12. Ronny Markes

Weight class:  Light heavyweight
Record: 11-1
Age: 23

After defeating Paulo Filho in April, Markes got The Call.

The UFC wanted Markes to step in for an injured Stephan Bonnar at UFC Live 5 in August. Would he be interested?

Markes' UFC opener will pit him against another up-and-coming knockout artist in Karlos Vemola.

11. Michael McDonald

Weight class: Bantamweight
Record: 13-1
Age:  20

McDonald pulled out a split decision over Chris Cariaso at UFC 130 in a fight McDonald accepted on short notice. A showdown with Renan Barao makes sense for Mayday's next test.

10. Charles Oliveira

Weight class: Lightweight
Record: 14-1-1
Age: 21

His approval numbers may have dipped after an illegal knee wrecked Nik Lentz in June. Luckily, the BJJ brown belt will be able to climb right back in the saddle this August. Unluckily, the saddle will also be occupied by "Cowboy" Donald Cerrone. Yee haw.

9. Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier

Weight class:  Featherweight
Record:  10-1
Age:  22

The Diamond defeated Josh Grispi on New Year’s Day in the Octagon debut for both fighters. After following that up by beating Jason Young last month, Poirier is now 2-0 in the UFC, while Grispi is 0-2.

So why do so many talk up Grispi as the hot up-and-comer?  I don’t know. What am I, your question answerer?

8. Edson Barboza

Weight class: Lightweight
Record: 8-0
Age: 25

In August, this undefeated dervish of Muay Thai devastation will tangle with British brawler Ross Pearson in what will surely be an entertaining matchup before Barboza’s home town of Rio de Janeiro.

7. Jung Chan-Sung “The Korean Zombie”

Weight class: Featherweight
Record:  11-3
Age: 24

Admittedly it's not my field of expertise, but Jung looks awfully smiley for a zombie.

Jung is an exciting submission artist with a lot of crazy moves in his arsenal. He won his UFC debut over Leonard Garcia in March, and has since called out Mark Hominick (Hominick reciprocated). The Zombie’s next fight has not yet been officially announced.

6. Papy Abedi

Weight class: Middleweight
Record: 8-0
Age:  32

The UFC inked Abedi to a four-fight contract just last month.  He has traditionally competed at 185, but will drop to 170 for the Octagon.

He is on the older side of this list age-wise, but seven finishes in eight fights made him one of the hottest prospects on planet MMA. No fight has yet been announced, but it stands to reason that Dana White will want to test-drive his new toy as soon as possible. 

5. Renan Barao

Weight class: Bantamweight
Record: 26-1-1
Age: 24

Barao won his UFC debut by unanimous decision in May. This Jose Aldo friend and training partner was supposedly set to fight Demetrious Johnson at UFC 130, but it fell through after Johnson moved up to replace an injured Brad Pickett in the main event.

The UFC could try to cash in that rain check, or perhaps make an eliminator-style fight between Barao and Mayday McDonald.

4. Rory "Ares" MacDonald

Weight class: Welterweight
Record: 11-1
Age: 21

This Canadian welterweight is already dominating dojos despite being barely old enough to buy a round of Molsons.

Everybody’s favorite phenom will have a chance to advance his UFC record to 3-1 when he tangles with Mike Pyle this August.

3. Mark Munoz

Weight class: Middleweight
Record: 11-2
Age: 33

He’s a little more advanced than some of the other guys on this list, but he’s still young in his MMA career. After decisioning a dangerous Demian Maia to run his win streak to three, Munoz is up and coming like a freight train and proving that a late bloomer can sometimes be the sweetest flower in the bunch. Or something like that.

Camp Munoz feels Chris Leben would be a great choice for Mark's next opponent. Unfortunately for them, however, that feeling may not be mutual.

2. Matt Mitrione

Weight class: Heavyweight
Record: 5-0
Age: 32

He’s no spring chicken, but the MMA newbie and former NFL defender hasn’t been letting his ripe age of 32 prevent him from moving quickly toward contender status in the top-heavy, bottom-thin heavyweight division.

Not content to sit by the phone, Mitrione recently took to Twitter and Facebook to get his fans’ input on who his next fight should be. After a little back and forth on the Intertubes, Roy Nelson emerged as a possible candidate. And hey, if I hear it on Twitter, it’s good enough for me. Nelson-Mitrione it is!

1. Demetrious Johnson

Weight class:  Bantamweight
Record:  10-1
Age:  24

Mighty Mouse beat big-name bantamweights back to back (say that five times fast) to begin his UFC career. Now, while Kid Yamamoto and Miguel Torres wander the desert, it's Johnson who appears to be fast-tracking toward stardom in the UFC's fledgling 135-pound division.

Though he may be injured at the moment, Mighty Mouse is still jockeying with Brian Bowles for the next title shot against Dominick Cruz.