1 Thing Every Contender Must Improve Before Winning a Title
Top contenders fly by the few.
Given the chance to ascend their respective divisions in an effort to hoist UFC gold, these select competitors are often thrown to the wolves.
But as vicious and dominating as the UFC's current champions can be, they aren't untouchable.
That leaves a small window for these rising threats to overcome the odds, bolster their skills and challenge the best titleholders in the world.
However, they themselves are not perfect and must also iron out wrinkles in their game.
Here is one thing every current top contender must improve on before challenging for a championship and actually winning it.
*Fighters already scheduled for a title shot are excluded from this list
Ian McCall
1 of 10
Besides recuperating from a brutal weight cut that subsequently knocked him out his UFC Fight Night 56 showdown with John Lineker, flyweight mainstay Ian McCall has a few things to work out before challenging Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson for the divisional crown.
His abilities to stay patient and maintain potency are a few changes Uncle Creepy should adopt, but it's his inability to finish that lands him on this list.
For example, he nearly defeated Johnson the first time they met back in 2012. However, he was ultimately unable to do so, despite thrashing DJ's head back and forth like an angry shark.
If McCall is to ascend the flyweight depths and actually capture gold, he'll have to be ready and able to finish off the champ any way he can.
A flash and unsuspecting finish is seemingly the only way Johnson is ever going to lose.
John Lineker
2 of 10
Notorious for missing weight cuts and signing a major portion of his purse over to his opponent and the commission, flyweight juggernaut John Lineker needs to be a little more diligent with his pre-fight procedures moving forward.
His inability to make a healthy and efficient cut down to 125 pounds has not only affected Lineker's bank account, but (more importantly) his mid-fight gas tank.
As a fighter who prides himself on slinging leather and connecting his fist to an opponent's chin, the Brazilian needs all the energy he can find.
But in a division jam-packed with long-burning super novas and athletic freaks of nature, Lineker simply comes up short.
If he ever finds himself competing for a UFC championship, his cardio and conditioning better have had a serious tune-up.
Dominick Cruz
3 of 10
Dominick Cruz is still one of the very best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
His near-three-year absence from the Octagon undoubtedly rattled his emotions and made him question his professional future, but in no way, shape or form did it affect his actual skill set inside the cage.
As a bantamweight who may very well possess the best footwork in the sport today, Cruz is as tough of a puzzle to solve as Lyoto Machida.
But no matter how proficient his attributes remain, Cruz has still only competed once since October 2011.
That type of shelf life translates into undeniable cage rust and a sense of "fighting cold" that Cruz needs to air out before he challenges TJ Dillashaw for divisional supremacy.
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Cub Swanson
4 of 10
With one of the more impressive win streaks in recent UFC history (six), resurgent featherweight Cub Swanson has more or less transcended all career expectations in becoming one of the most proficient fighters in the sport today.
Equipped with a mastermind head coach in Greg Jackson and the athletic prowess comparable to any unorthodox striker around, Killer Cub would truly give champion Jose Aldo a run for his money.
But what Swanson considers an offensive ability is actually sometimes an over-confident tendency.
The natural skill is certainly present in most things that he does in the striking department, but his fluidity and creativity know no limit.
Now, while that may seem like a blessing, it's actually a curse.
If Swanson is unable to manifest his output at the correct moments throughout a fight, he could find himself overcommitting to the point of no return—especially when it comes to fighting a guy like Aldo.
Conor McGregor
5 of 10
Irish phenom Conor McGregor's rise to stardom is overwhelmingly unprecedented.
His calculated microphone work and sometimes overbearing ego are exactly what this sport needed in the absence of Chael Sonnen and the Diaz brothers.
But as promising of a talent as Notorious truly is—and he's one of the most promising of all time—his overall game is nowhere near perfect.
Untested on the ground and off his back, McGregor has been ridiculed for only taking fights opposite strikers who are eager to trade with him only to wake up the next morning not knowing what happened.
Now while it's never intelligent to veer off course and change a working plan on the heels of public scrutiny, the facts at hand are pretty substantial.
McGregor hasn't been tested on the ground and hasn't been forced to defend timely takedowns to the point that we have to assume that he isn't very good in that department—at least to the level in which his striking consistently meets.
That said, the 26-year-old has plenty of time to sift through his weaknesses on the ground, plug the holes and resume his feast of divisional lamb.
Khabib Nurmagomedov
6 of 10
Being a strong wrestler and high-motor bully is a good way to make a name for oneself.
But when the time comes to pull out all the stops, showcase all that you've got and attempt to defeat one of the best defensive champions on the planet in Anthony Pettis, can you say you're truly prepared?
In Khabib Nurmagomedov's case, you shouldn't.
Not that the young Russian dynamo doesn't possess the vicious ground-and-pound and menacing pace to push Pettis to the brink of defeat, but when you can only manipulate a fighter one of two ways, a lack of versatility and unpredictability could spell disaster.
It's a reality that Nurmagomedov must face as he finally enters the upper echelon of lightweight contenders with an evident weakness that opponents should aim to exploit.
Without a truly diverse repertoire at his disposal, the rising contender must be perfect at all times in his own discipline to even stand a chance.
That's a lot of pressure when you think about. He's got nothing to fall back on.
Rory Macdonald
7 of 10
Equipped with all the natural talent known to man, welterweight prince Rory MacDonald is essentially a champion in training.
Unofficially labeled as the division's new Georges St-Pierre, MacDonald's success and undeniable dominance suggest he may in fact be ready to carry such a heavy torch.
But somewhere along the lines, specifically in his loss to top contender Robbie Lawler, MacDonald's genius prohibits his inner beast from ever coming out.
Instead of going in for the kill and pouncing on an opponent clinging to life, Ares will more or less initiate auto-pilot in an effort to "fight smart."
But this isn't 2040, and MacDonald isn't a robot. His inhibitions can be thrown to the wind—and should be in many cases.
Until he adopts that downloadable upgrade, he might not have what it takes to outlast the brutality of Lawler, Johny Hendricks or even Carlos Condit.
Luke Rockhold
8 of 10
Luke Rockhold - 1. Michael Bisping - 0.
It wasn't the first-round knockout that many people thought the former Strikeforce kingpin was going to pull off, but a second-round submission of The Count at UFC Fight Night 55 certainly turned some heads.
Now while Rockhold is a much more athletic and naturally gifted fighter than Bisping, the Brit's experience and point boxing was supposed to frustrate the well-rounded Rockhold, at the very least.
Bisping's efforts not only showcased his prominent decline, but, more importantly, Rockhold's budding potential.
As a fighter who can defeat an opponent standing, in the clinch, on the ground or circling away from the cage, the 30-year-old is a true force in the middleweight division.
The only problem is that Rockhold may not know how good he really can be. Sure, he believes in his talents and understands that fighting intelligently will reward him with the results he wants, but there's nothing wrong with pushing the pace, letting loose and trying to rip someone's head off.
If Rockhold can show a little bit of that primal rage, his natural abilities would further surface.
Anthony Johnson
9 of 10
We all know that Alexander Gustafsson doesn't have to alter his game much at all to hang with champion Jon Jones, so let's turn our focus to the curious case of Anthony "Rumble" Johnson.
An ex-welterweight dud turned light heavyweight spark plug, Johnson has transformed his career from one of much regret to one of promise and praise.
In just a matter of a few years, the 30-year-old has become one of the best 205-pound fighters on the planet.
Not to mention his power remains unparalleled in a division overrun with exceptional strikers and heavy hitters.
But when you strip Johnson's striking down, drag him to deep waters in a five-round fight and test his true colors, you'll see that he's still the same fighter who struggles to fight off his back and defend submissions.
To truly evolve into the title-ready storm that he's slowly churning into, Johnson needs to pad his ground game and make sure he can escape back to his feet.
Stipe Miocic
10 of 10
Stipe Miocic's resume is very impressive.
But when you take into account that he got knocked out by a guy like Stefan Struve, who is known more for his submissions than his punching power, you have to wonder just how good the Ohioan truly is.
From a bird's eye view, Miocic is a super-talented wrestler with a background in boxing and the natural quickness to dodge, duck and...dodge most heavyweights competing in the UFC today.
But when you take a closer look into the specifics of Miocic's fight game, you start to see a trend that could lead the 32-year-old down the wrong path.
He's stubborn.
Not in the personal sense, but, instead, the professional.
As a fighter who has an iron chin capable of withstanding copious amounts of damage, Miocic often stands in the way of punishment.
Instead, he can easily protect the goods, weave away from conflict and regroup before unloading his bottomless battery life.
If he's unable to manifest this calculated approach opposite Junior Dos Santos at UFC on Fox 13, then that could spell the end of yet another highly-touted heavyweight prospect turned gatekeeper.
For more UFC news and coverage, Follow @DHiergesell
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