Rory MacDonald and 10 UFC Fighters Destined to Wear Gold

Some fighters are destined to be gatekeepers. Some fighters are destined to bounce around on the regional circuit, never getting a shot at any real glory. Some fighters are destined to be relegated to a coaching or training role and live vicariously through their students.

But in the rarest of occasions, when all things line up just right, some fighters are destined to be champions.

While there are a lot of fighters who become champion when nobody expects it (I’m looking at you, Matt Serra and Frankie Edgar), occasionally we get a look at a fighter early in their career and just know that they are destined to be the best in the world someday.

This is a look at the top 10 prospects that are on their way to having Dana White strap a shiny gold belt around their waist.

Please keep in mind that I am not suggesting that all of these fighters are number-one contenders in their respective divisions, nor am I insisting that their title reign will happen anytime soon. I am simply stating that it will happen at some point in their careers.

Just for fun, I have also guessed what chance they have at winning their championship at any point during 2012.

Rory MacDonald

Anyone who witnessed MacDonald’s dismantling of welterweights Nate Diaz and Mike Pyle understands exactly why he is on this list. His raw potential has been molded well by coach Firas Zahabi and his incredible team of sparring partners.

Chances of Becoming Champion In 2012: 2%

Rory is just a win or two away from being ready to fight for the title. So, why do I only give Rory Mac a whopping two-percent chance of strapping on gold this year? Unfortunately, there are no factors working in Rory’s favor aside from his potential and momentum in the Octagon.

Current champion Georges St. Pierre is recovering from injury and interim champion Carlos Condit will wait on him for an anticipated November battle. The title is on lockdown until early 2013.

Contenders Jake Ellenberger and Martin Kampmann are scheduled to fight for the number-one contendership this June. With the winner of that fight getting the first crack at the belt, MacDonald wouldn’t be next in line even if GSP were ready to return by September.

Aside from time issues, MacDonald is a training partner of GSP and says he won't fight for the welterweight gold as long as his teammate and mentor is the champion.

Jim Hettes

The biggest reason that I’ve listed multiple featherweights to one day hold Jose Aldo’s belt is strictly due to the fact that Aldo plans an eventual move to the lightweight division as his frame continues to grow.

Once Aldo is gone, the division will be without their virtually unbeatable champion, and we will see a handful of new champions while we wait for a new divisional messiah.

Jim Hettes has been nothing short of spectacular in his short UFC career. "Jimy the Kid" quickly defeated Alex Caceres in his debut, winning via rear-naked choke in the second round. He followed it up with a surprisingly dominant performance over Nam Phan.

Hettes’ next bout comes against Steven Siler. If Hettes has continued to grow since his last fight, it’s not a question of if, but when, will Joe Silva start turning his opponents from TUF alumni into title contenders.

Chances of Becoming Champion In 2012: 5%

Michael McDonald

Michael McDonald is only 21 years old and has already amassed 15 professional fights and a three-fight streak in the largest organization in the world. The sky is the limit for this young bantamweight.

Some of you may recall that I've predicted that McDonald will fall to former champion Miguel Torres this weekend. This is true, and I still believe that this will be the outcome of a very close battle. However, Torres will show McDonald things that he has never before witnessed, which will help him continue to grow exponentially.

Although I don’t feel like McDonald is a member of the elite yet, he has another 10 to 12 years to continue growing in the UFC, barring any serious injuries. It may not be anytime soon, but McDonald is on his way to the record books. It's just a matter of time.

Chances of Becoming Champion in 2012: 5%

Charles Oliveira

Charles Oliveira has always been better suited as a featherweight. Despite his lengthy frame, Do Bronx was undersized at lightweight. Commonly, the 22 year old Brazilian would hit the scales at 153 pounds without cutting weight.

After losses to Jim Miller and Donald Cerrone, it became clear to Oliveira that it was time to move down. Now fighting men his own size, Oliveira will be able to better showcase his grappling skill. Another added perk is that he will not have to deal with the power of oversized lightweights like Mevlin Guillard, or Gleison Tibau.

An incredible reverse calf-slicer at UFC on Fox has Oliveira as the early frontrunner for Submission of the Year. If Do Bronx can follow his divisional debut with an equally impressive performance against Ultimate Fighter winner Jonathan Brookins at the Ultimate Fighter Live Finale, expect to hear the phrase “in the mix” from Dana in the near future.

Chances of Becoming Champion In 2012: 10%

Chael Sonnen

Do you think Chael won’t be using testosterone replacement therapy again this time? The smart bet is that his T/E levels will be as close to the allowed 6-1 ratio as possible. Sure, it won’t be as high as the levels in their first fight, so I’ll pose another question to you: Do you really think that testosterone is the only reason that Chael Sonnen was able to score takedowns on Anderson Silva?

The Division I All-American has been taking down wrestlers his entire life. No matter how much Silva has worked on his takedown defense since their first encounter, it will not be enough to keep this fight standing.

Chael Sonnen has a very good chance of dethroning Anderson Silva in June.

In the event that he doesn’t, Anderson has reigned over his division for nearly six years and just turned 37 earlier this week. There is a very real possibility that "The Spider" will retire immediately after the fight.

If this happens, who would beat Chael to stop him from claiming the newly vacant title?

Chances of Becoming Champion In 2012: 60%

Joseph Benavidez

Team Alpha Male’s Joseph Benavidez has worked hard to prove that he is an elite member of the lighter weight classes. As a matter of fact, Benavidez has only two professional losses, and both are at the hands of current bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz.

Now that the UFC has established a flyweight division, the 27-year-old can fight without being disadvantaged by size.

Many would say that “Joe B-Wan Kenobi” is the betting favorite in the tournament final, regardless of who wins the semifinal bout between Ian McCall and Demetrious Johnson. With the newly minted flyweight championship on the line, we should expect a war from either combination of fighters.

Chances of Becoming Champion In 2012: 70%

Jake Ellenberger

The timeline surrounding the return of Georges St. Pierre greatly lessened the chances of Ellenberger wearing gold in 2012.

After a stellar 2011, Ellenberger earned a crack at the belt when he defeated Diego Sanchez in February. While fans everywhere would love to see Condit versus Ellenberger for the interim championship, Carlos has decided to sit on the sidelines and wait for GSP.

Ellenberger will take on Martin Kampmann this June to crown a number one contender in a bout that could go either way. I like Ellenberger to win that fight, but Kampmann has excellent takedown defense and is a threat standing.

Ellenberger will likely get a title shot in early 2013, and with his tremendous wrestling and the dynamite that he conceals in his gloves, you've got to like his chances against either Condit or GSP.

Chances of Becoming Champion In 2012: 15%

Daniel Cormier

Daniel Cormier is a heavyweight in an organization that no longer has a heavyweight division. But before then, he was team captain of the 2008 Olympic wrestling team.

As a replacement for Alistair Overeem, Cormier stepped into the semifinals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight World Grand Prix and knocked out Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva. Now, he meets Josh Barnett in the finals on May 19th.

In a December conference call, Dana White reported that the Grand Prix winner will fight one more top heavyweight before being moved over to the UFC, so the chances of Cormier even reaching the UFC by the year’s end are slim.

That said, we are talking about a fighter who doesn’t know how to lose. Cormier has the power to knockout "Bigfoot" the fighter, and likely enough to knockout Bigfoot the mythical being. Need an indication of how good Cormier’s wrestling really is? He is the wrestling coach for a team that includes Cain Velasquez and Jon Fitch. 

Mark my words—Daniel Cormier will be the UFC Heavyweight Champion one day.

Chances of Becoming Champion In 2012: 1%

Renan Barao

Assuming that bantamweight Renan Barao gets past Ivan Menjivar, he will be fighting for the UFC bantamweight championship late in the fall.

While it’s wrong to look beyond a fighter with the skills of Ivan Menjivar, it’s hard to picture Barao losing. After all, he hasn’t tasted defeat in his last 29 bouts, which includes five wins under the Zuffa banner.

As a 25-year-old with 30 professional bouts to his credit, Barao is one of the most experienced fighters in his division. Champion Dominick Cruz and current contender Urijah Faber both possess fantastic skills across the board, but Barao is a dangerous opponent for any man.

While it’s debatable as to whether or not Barao will win the belt later this year, it’s pretty clear that the Nova Uniao stud will hold the gold at some point in his budding career.

Chances of Becoming Champion In 2012: 40%

The Ruffo Brothers

At this point, you must have seen the TapouT commercial featuring Carlos and Giovanni Ruffo. The two youngest members of Xtreme Couture (ages 11 and 10, respectively) have been training in mixed martial arts since they were 18 months old. I've attached the 10-minute documentary on them by Bobby Razak.

Fighters who start young have great bases in their fighting style, but these boys have worked with the best for their entire lives. With top level guidance from everyone including Randy Couture, Shawn Tompkins and a sponsorship with TapouT, the sky is the limit.

Although we can’t see either of these boys in the Octagon for at least six years, I think it’s safe to say that they will have the best pedigree in the history of the sport once they arrive.

The best thing is if I’m wrong about this prediction, in six years you will have all forgotten about this article.

Chances of Becoming Champion In 2012: 0%