Top 20 MMA Prospects of 2011

2011 represented a changing of the guard for contenders in the world of Mixed Martial Arts.

Top contenders such as Jon Fitch, Gray Maynard, Lyoto Machida, and Kenny Florian had solidified their spot near title contention for years, but as these top fighters started to pile on losses, it opened doors for new prospects to enter the title picture.

The men (and woman) on this list either started to make their claim as one of the top fighters in the sport or fully entrenched themselves into the top of their respective divisions in the last 12 months, and have quickly become some of the best and most dangerous fighters in MMA.

20. Diego Brandao

The first of two Ultimate Fighter winners on this list, Diego Brandao instantly became a fan favorite during his time in the TUF house due to his relentless pace and ability to knock anyone out with a single shot.

After winning each of his three bouts on TUF by first-round knockout, Brandao earned his spot in the finals against Dennis Bermudez, and the two put on one of the best fights in the history of the show.

After Bermudez dropped him with a punch, Brandao was able to secure a fight-ending armbar attempt amidst all of the ground and pound and earned himself both a Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night bonus.

19. Erik Koch

Erik Koch went 3-1 in his WEC career, with the lone loss coming at the hands of Chad Mendes, so expectations were high when he entered the Octagon in early 2011.

Koch went out and made a statement against Raphael Assuncao at UFC 128, earning a Knockout of the Night bonus for his first round decimation of the former contender and followed up the win with a gritty performance against Jonathan Brookins in September.

Heading into 2012, Koch is now one of the top contenders at 145 pounds, and is likely just a win or two away from a title shot.

18. Phil Davis

2011 was supposed to be a breakout year for “Mr. Wonderful” but a knee injury suffered midway through training for a bout with Rashad Evans caused his momentum to come to an abrupt halt.

Still, not all was lost for Davis last year, as he took out a former PRIDE FC veteran in Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in his lone Octagon appearance, scoring a decision victory over “Little Nog” for the biggest win of his young career.

Davis will finally get his shot at Evans at UFC on FOX 2 on Jan. 28. 

17. Patricio Freire

After coming so close to earning a shot at the featherweight title in Bellator’s Season 2  tournament, Patricio Freire entered the Season 4 tournament with a purpose, and he took out Georgi Karakhanyan and Wilson Reis in consecutive bouts by knockout.

In the finals, Freire took on Daniel Straus, and while he was unable to finish his opponent, he earned himself the unanimous decision win and is now in line for a featherweight title shot sometime in the future.

16. Tony Ferguson

Tony Ferguson became the latest fighter to go on a drunken rampage inside the Ultimate Fighter house during his run on TUF 13, but fans are now starting to know him more for his fighting ability than his in-house antics.

Ferguson beat Ramsey Nijem to earn the Season 13 crown, and soon followed up with impressive victories over tough veterans Aaron Riley and Yves Edwards to end the year.

He still has a long way to go in order to enter contention in the shark tank that is the lightweight division, but Ferguson has definitely forced people to pay attention to him in 2012.

15. Michael McDonald

At just 20 years old, Michael McDonald entered 2011 with a ton of potential and more experience than a fighter of his age should probably have.

But McDonald made the most of every single opportunity given to him over 12 months, winning three straight fights inside the Octagon, including a Fight of the Night win over Edwin Figueroa in his promotional debut and a Knockout of the Night against Alex Soto at UFC 139.

“Mayday” has now entered the top ten in the division and is going to get a significant step up in competition in 2012.

14. Edson Barboza

A former professional Muay Thai fighter, Barboza came into 2011 with quite a bit of hype after fans saw him destroy Mike Lullo in his promotional debut back at UFC 123.

Barboza ended up showing the world that he is the real deal on two separate occasions last year, as he won two very hard fought Fight of the Night bouts against Anthony Njokuani and Ross Pearson.

Barboza hasn’t slowed down any in the New Year, as he is already the favorite to win Knockout of the Year honors at the end of 2012 after his devastatingly beautiful spinning wheel-kick knockout of Terry Etim at UFC 142.

13. Dustin Poirier

Many people forget that Josh Grispi was the next fighter in line for a featherweight title shot when Dustin Poirier took him out at UFC 125.

In fact, Grispi was booked to fight champion Jose Aldo at on that card at one point, but an injury to Aldo forced the fight to be scratched and Grispi took what was thought to be a tune-up fight against Poirier.

Poirier proved to be anything but that in the bout, as he dominated Grispi from the opening bell and then went on to defeat Jason Young and Pablo Garza later on in the year.

12. Chris Weidman

Widely regarded as one of the best prospects in the sport heading into 2011, Chris Weidman didn’t have to wait longer for the UFC to come knocking.

“The All American” drew UFC veteran Alessio Sakara on just two weeks notice in his UFC debut, but Weidman was unfazed and earned a dominant decision win.

Since then the Team Serra-Longo fighter has earned back-to-back submission wins over Jesse Bongsfeldt and Tom Lawlor.

Weidman is now in prime position to start 2012 with a bang, as he will face top ranked Demian Maia on short notice at UFC on FOX 2.

11. Renan Barao

Currently on a 27-fight run without a loss, Renan Barao is quickly establishing himself as a legitimate threat to Dominick Cruz in the bantamweight division.

Barao entered the Octagon with a lot of hype and showed a bit of rust in his debut against Cole Escovedo at UFC 130, but he was able to put it behind him during his fight against Brad Pickett at UFC 138.

Co-headlining a fight card for the first time in his Zuffa career, Barao went out and made a statement against Pickett, finishing him inside the first round and establishing himself as a contender.

10. Pat Curran

After an eye-opening 2010 where he upset both Roger Huerta and Toby Imada in Bellator’s lightweight tournament, Pat Curran got off to a rough start in 2011 when he lost his guaranteed title fight against Eddie Alvarez in April.

Soon after the loss, Curran announced a drop to his more natural weight, joining Bellator’s featherweight tournament in June.

Curran took out Luis Palomino and Ronnie Mann to earn his place in the finals, where he upset the heavily favored Marlon Sandro by throwing a picture-perfect head kick, thus winning his second consecutive Bellator tournament.

He now awaits current featherweight champion Joe Warren and will likely get his title shot in early 2012.

9. Alexander Gustafsson

As Jon Jones and Phil Davis earned all of the attention as the top prospects going into 2011, Alexander Gustafsson was quietly turning himself into one of the most dangerous fighters in the light heavyweight division.

After submitting James Te Huna inside of the first round at UFC 127 in February, Gustafsson followed up with back-to-back knockouts victories over UFC veterans Matt Hamill and Vladimir Matyushenko to end his year.

Gustafsson will now get a chance to headline a fight card in his native Sweden in April, where he will take on Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

8. Tyron Woodley

The top prospect in any Strikeforce men's division, Tyron Woodley earned himself some big wins in 2011 and put himself at the forefront of the welterweight title picture.

Woodley took out the other rising star in Strikeforce in Tarec Saffiedine early in the year, and was rumored to be next in line for a title fight at some point in 2011.

However, Woodley was told he would have to do a little more to get a shot at gold, so he went out and beat one of the best strikers in the welterweight division in Paul Daley.

Woodley has already earned a win in 2012, as he beat Jordan Mein in a lackluster fight on Jan. 7, and it is unknown whether he will get a shot at the title in his next bout.

7. Ronda Rousey

A former Olympic bronze medalist in judo, Ronda Rousey started her MMA career off in impressive fashion, winning all of her first four professional bouts in 2011.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a fighter who seems to have mastered a certain ground technique that they can use at will, but Rousey is an armbar specialist, having won all of her bouts by the submission lock.

The former featherweight contender has had a sudden burst of popularity over the last few months, with her trash talk and good looks forcing fans to start to notice her, and she will get a shot at Miesha Tate and the Strikeforce bantamweight title in March.

6. Rory MacDonald

Being called the next Georges St-Pierre is a lot of pressure to put on any young fighter, but Rory MacDonald may have given some legitimacy to those claims in 2011.

“Ares” fought in his home country in front of the biggest crowd in UFC history at UFC 129, and he showed no signs of nervousness, throwing Nate Diaz all over the cage and earning a decision win over the tough kid from Stockton.

Shortly after defeating Diaz, MacDonald destroyed tough veteran Mike Pyle at UFC 133 and joined the ever-growing list of title contenders at 170.

5. Johny Hendricks

After ending 2010 on a sour note, losing a decision to fellow up-and-comer Rick Story, Hendricks made the most of his octagon appearances in 2011.

After a first-round smashing of TJ Waldburger in March, Hendricks took on another fighter on the rise in Mike Pierce at UFC 133, a grueling fight that Hendricks was able to sneak away from with a split-decision win.

Then came the defining moment of his career thus far, when Hendricks took on the winning machine known as Jon Fitch at UFC 141.

Hendricks was able to avoid Fitch’s smothering ground game the best way he knew how, as he smashed Fitch with a huge left hand and ended the fight in just 12 seconds.

4. Jake Ellenberger

After an impressive 2010 that saw him take out tough opponents in Mike Pyle and John Howard, Jake Ellenberger was gaining a ton of momentum heading into the New Year.

After surviving a three-round battle with a surprisingly tricky Carlos Eduardo Rocha at UFC 126, Ellenberger stepped in on short notice against Sean Pierson at UFC 129 and quickly ended the fight with his heavy hands.

A few months later, “The Juggernaut” earned the best win of his career when he smashed former title challenger Jake Shields in under a minute and put himself in the mix for a title opportunity in 2012.

3. Chad Mendes

Seen as a future title contender when 2011 opened, Chad Mendes did everything he could to get his hands on Jose Aldo in 2011.

Mendes had a highly successful year as he soundly defeated Michihiro Omigawa and Rani Yahya in consecutive fights, and with the two impressive performances earned himself the title fight he had been gunning for.

Unfortunately for Mendes, 2012 started out as badly as it possibly could, as he was soundly dominated by Aldo at UFC 142 last weekend.

2. Michael Chandler

Entering the Bellator lightweight tournament seemed like entering a contest to get beaten down by Eddie Alvarez at one time, but Michael Chandler put an end to Alvarez’s reign atop the division in one of the best fights of 2011.

In order to get to Alvarez, Chandler had to get past Marcin Held, Lloyd Woodard and, most notably, Patricky Freire in the tournament, and once he got his shot he made the most of it.

Chandler won a back-and-forth bout by rear naked choke in the fourth round, thus becoming the second-ever Bellator lightweight champion.

1. Jon Jones

Going into his bout with Ryan Bader, Jones was the most highly touted young fighter in the sport, and when he was given a title fight immediately after defeating Bader, some critics were wondering if it was too much too soon for the up and coming fighter.

Of course, Jones proved those same critics wrong almost immediately when he took the title from Shogun Rua at UFC 128, and he then defended that title twice more in 2011.

He started the year as a prospect on the rise, but Jon Jones ended 2011 as one of the best fighters in the sport.