Jon Jones Leads Group Of Exciting Prospects In The UFC

MMA: Five UFC Prospects Worth Watching

            In the relatively young sport of MMA, the Pound for Pound lists seem to change weekly. A few short years ago, champions such as Chuck Liddell, Rich Franklin, and Matt Hughes seemed virtually unbeatable in their respective weight classes. Even as recently as April, the MMA media was complaining that the champions of the UFC were too dominant. Then in back-to-back events, BJ Penn and Lyoto Machida both lost their gold, (to Frankie Edgar and Shogun Rua, respectively.)

            No matter how indestructible the current leaders of their divisions seem, there is always someone on the rise, ready to take that title at the first opportunity. These five prospects, which are all under contracts with the UFC, are the brightest upcoming stars in MMA.

5. Rory Macdonald (10-1)

            Macdonald is currently the youngest person under contract with the UFC, and at just 20 years old, he is the first of a new breed of fighters that have grown up training strictly MMA. After going 9-0 in his first career bouts, Macdonald made his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 20 in January, earning a first round Armbar victory over 11-year veteran Mike Guyman. His next fight was a huge step up in competition as he faced former WEC champion Carlos Condit at UFC 115. Macdonald appeared to win the first two rounds using good striking and takedowns, yet Condit proved to be too much for him in the third, and forced the fight to be stopped with just seven seconds left in the fight. After suffering the first loss of his career, (undoubtedly made easier by his $85,000 Fight of the Night bonus) Macdonald looks to have a bright future ahead of him.

4. Ryan Bader (11-0)

            The winner of The Ultimate Fighter 8, Ryan “Darth” Bader has been quietly moving his way up the UFC’s 205lb division. Coming into the reality show, Bader was the immediate favorite to win due to his wrestling credentials at Arizona State University, and he was chosen first by Team Nogueria. After winning the TUF title, he had back-to-back victories against Carmelo Marrero and Eric Schafer, both by unanimous decision. His next fight was against fan favorite Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine at UFC 110. Bader dominated the fight both standing and on the ground, and scored a TKO victory in the third and final round. After suffering a shoulder injury, Bader looks to improve on his undefeated record this fall.

3.John Hathaway (14-0)

            The brightest up and coming star in the UFC’s Welterweight division, England’s John Hathaway debuted at UFC 93 with a victory over Ireland’s Tom Egan via first round TKO. He followed that performance with impressive unanimous decision victories over established fighters Rick Story and Paul Taylor at UFC 99 and 103, leading to his first spot on a pay-per-view main card against Ultimate Fighter 1 winner Diego Sanchez at UFC 114. Sanchez came into the fight as the heavy favorite, having moved back up to Welterweight after losing a Lightweight title fight to BJ Penn. Hathaway rocked Sanchez with a knee in the first round and followed up with brutal ground and pound, nearly stopping the fight. However Sanchez was able to recover and Hathaway had to settle for a lopsided unanimous decision victory. Having passed his first big test in the UFC, Hathaway will look to put his name into title contention later this year.

2. Evan Dunham (11-0)

A rising lightweight prospect, Dunham has had a series of difficult opponents in the UFC and he has passed all tests with flying colors. After winning his UFC debut at UFC 95 against Per Eklund, Dunham faced the daunting task of facing veteran Marcus Aurelio in just his second UFC fight. He used his technical striking to his advantage and survived a few scary moments on the ground with the Brazilian Ju-Jitsu Black Belt and won the fight by a close split decision. He then faced Ultimate Fighter 8 winner Efrain Escudero at UFC Fight Night 20 in the co-main event slot and dominated the bout, winning by armbar in the third round and almost broke Escudero’s arm in the process.

Soon after he accepted a fight against Xtreme Couture teammate and training partner Tyson Griffin. In a contest that many fans predicted would earn fight of the night honors at UFC 115, Dunham beat the top-five lightweight in all areas in the game earning a controversial split decision, in which most observers thought he had won unanimously.

1. Jon Jones (10-1)

            The fastest rising star in MMA, Jon “Bones” Jones is quickly earning fans in the UFC’s Light-heavy weight division. A former Junior College National Champion wrestler at Iowa Central Community College, Jones burst onto the scene with a unanimous decision win over Andre Gusmao at UFC 87, made even more impressive due to having accepted the fight on just three weeks notice. He then took his first step up in the division, fighting veteran Stephan Bonner at UFC 94. Jones found ways to make Bonner look amateur throughout the fight, using highlight reel moves, such as a suplex and a spinning back elbow to take another unanimous decision.

After a submission victory over Jake O’Brien at UFC 100, Jones fought the durable Matt Hamill at The Ultimate Fighter 10 finale. Jones quickly took the fight to the ground and landed several big shots and seemed to walk away with his fourth straight victory. However the referee decided that Jones used illegal downward elbows to end the fight, thus giving him his first career loss.

            Jones rebounded in his first ever main event fight, crushing the highly regarded Brandon Vera at UFC on Versus 1. “Bones” took the fight to the mat and landed several hard punches and an elbow that broke Vera’s orbital socket at 3:19 in the very first round. Jones will look to build on his win with another headlining fight against Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC on Versus 2, and with a win, he will solidify himself as a title contender.