Jon Jones, Alistair Overeem and 10 Fighters Who Could Become the Face of the UFC

With Brock Lesnar retiring after UFC 141, the UFC needs Jon Jones, Frankie Edgar and Junior Dos Santos to become the new faces of the UFC.

With the UFC growing in popularity because of their Fox deal, they’ll be looking to market young, exciting fighters, and those three fighters exemplify those characteristics.

Their fanbases are growing with every impressive performance, and quite frankly, these fighters are a joy to watch. But which fighter will become the new face of the UFC?

With Georges St-Pierre out of action because of his knee injury, Anderson Silva getting older in his legendary career and Lesnar retired, these are the 10 fighters who could become the face of the UFC.

10. Alistair Overeem

The guy that retired Lesnar could end up being the guy to take his place as the face of the company.

Alistair Overeem is benefiting from a huge win over Lesnar that attracted a lot of media attention. His exciting fighting style and superhero-like body frame will be an easy sell for the UFC.

If Overeem dethrones Junior dos Santos and becomes the new heavyweight champion, he just might become the main attraction in MMA.

9. Ben Henderson

Ben Henderson will have his chance to dethrone Frankie Edgar and become the new lightweight champion in February.

That’s a real possibility for Henderson, as he’s completely turned the page in his MMA career. Henderson was a great fighter in the WEC, but he’s become a stud in the UFC.

After losing his championship to Anthony Pettis at WEC 53, Henderson won three fights in a row and looked like a completely different fighter. A little UFC gold could very well be in Henderson’s future.

8. Nick Diaz

He might not do everything by the book, but Nick Diaz is a future superstar.

Heck, he’s already a superstar. Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that he’s one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC.

In fact, if I had to pay to watch one fighter, I would pay to watch Diaz because I know I would be getting a great fight. Diaz made his mark in the UFC years ago, but took his game to another level in Strikeforce.

Diaz went 6-0 in Strikeforce and dismantled B.J. Penn in his first fight back in the UFC at UFC 137.

The bad boy from Stockton could add another championship in 2012 with a victory over Carlos Condit.

7. Michael McDonald

If Michael McDonald represents the young prospects that will be fighting in the UFC in the future, we are in for a treat.

McDonald has the full package and puts on exciting fights, including his first-round knockout victory over Alex Soto at UFC 139. In the victory McDonald showed off his sweet boxing as he picked Soto apart on the feet and finished him within the first minute of the fight.

McDonald is 3-0 in the UFC, and is quickly becoming Dominick Cruz’s most dangerous contender.

6. Urijah Faber

Urijah Faber was the poster boy of the WEC, and after coaching this upcoming season of the Ultimate Fighter and defeating Dominick Cruz, he could become the face of the UFC.

Faber is the only man to ever beat Cruz and came up short in a razor-thin decision back at UFC 132 of dethroning the bantamweight champion.

The rubber match between the two plus the exposure of The Ultimate Fighter on FX is sure to boost both fighters' popularity, and a victory over Cruz could establish Faber as one of the best MMA fighters to ever grace the Octagon.

5. Chael Sonnen

Chael Sonnen can talk the talk, and you better believe he can back it up in the cage.

Sonnen has the most charisma in the UFC, as he’s shown through his various interviews with witty comments and hilarious one-liners.

More importantly, Sonnen was less than three minutes away from being the only man to defeat Anderson Silva in the UFC, and had Silva not caught Sonnen in a triangle, Sonnen would be your middleweight championship.

A rematch with Silva could very well be the biggest fight in UFC history.

4. Junior dos Santos

Junior dos Santos is arguably the nicest fighter in the UFC, but when he steps into the Octagon, he’s an absolute beast.

Dos Santos wins 70 percent of his fights by way of knockout and with the exception of Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin, he knocked out every fighter in his path to capturing the heavyweight gold.

Dos Santos is a champion that’s ready for superstardom.

3. Dominick Cruz

Dominick Cruz might just be the most exciting champion in the UFC.

He doesn’t have a knack for finishing fights, but his fights are always fun to watch. Cruz uses a unique style to frustrate his opponents and it’s proven to be a successful recipe.

Cruz’s unorthodox style of moving in and out while mixing up strikes with takedowns elevated him in becoming the bantamweight champion. He’s 19-1 in his MMA career, and I have a feeling Cruz's best is still to come.

2. Frankie Edgar

Frankie Edgar turned the MMA world upside down in 2010 when he beat B.J. Penn twice in a row to become the lightweight champion, and became a crowd favorite in 2011 with comeback victories over Gray Maynard.

Edgar went from being criticized for not finishing fights to winning the crowd over with his heart and skill. Against Maynard, Edgar was battered badly in the first round and rallied to come back and end the first fight with a draw and second fight with a fourth-round knockout.

Fans can’t help but be attracted to Edgar’s heart of gold.

1. Jon Jones

The must-see MMA fighter in the UFC right now has to be Jon Jones.

Jones capped off his remarkable 4-0 2011 by submitting Lyoto Machida, and barely broke a sweat defeating the division’s elite.

Jones has the full package, as he’s not only one of the most dangerous men on the planet, he’s a smart guy who knows how to market himself.

Combine that with fans loving him and most hardcore fans hating him with a passion, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for big pay-per-view dollars.