MMA: Top 10 Heavyweight Prospects Ready To Break Out in 2011
Heavyweight has always been the weakest division in MMA. The combination of size and skill is simply too hard to find.
But help is on the way. These 10 prospects look to break out in the upcoming year. Look for all of them to make big names for themselves, whether in the UFC or not.
10. Todd Duffee
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Once considered one of the brightest prospects at 206+, Duffee has slid into the 10th spot following consecutive losses.
His loss to Mike Russow was nothing more than a fluke. Duffee was dominating him for two-and-a-half rounds until one single punch put his lights out. His striking looked decent enough and his defensive wrestling top notch.
Then he lost to Alistair Overeem over in Japan. Nothing wrong with losing to one of the top 10 heavyweights in the world.
Look for Duffee to rebound in a big way in 2011.
9. Abe Wagner
2 of 10Granted, I haven't been following Wagner religiously, but what I have seen has been rather impressive.
In his debut fight on The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 he lost unanimous decision to Jon Madsen. It wasn't very competitive as Madsen was able to take Wagner down and execute some relatively strong ground-and-pound.
Madsen honestly didn't do that much damage though, outside of one elbow that opened up a hideous cut. The cut man after the fight was able to see Wagner's skull, if that's any indication of how bad the cut was.
So yes, he lost, but he didn't quit even after having his head slashed open. That shows some heart.
In his most recent outing, Wagner made a 311-pound Tim Sylvia look like an amateur, stopping him with strikes in the first round. Wagner looked pretty good in the striking department.
His only recent loss is to hot UFC prospect Travis Browne, which is nothing to be ashamed of.
8. Pat Barry
3 of 10Kickboxer Pat Barry has assembled a pretty loyal legion of fans thanks to his personality and fighting style. While he is undoubtedly popular, his skills have seem to lag behind.
While Barry is a gifted striker, he seems to be entirely too hesitant. He refuses to throw combos or set up his leg kicks capable of chopping down a tree. Even when he does land, he almost refuses to go in and finish the fight. He almost wills his opponents to continue.
With all that said, Barry is working with Duke Roufus. Training with guys like Matt Mitrione and Anthony Pettis is going to make him better. His ground game and wrestling is improving. If he begins to reach the top of his striking potential, watch out.
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7. Shane Del Rosario
4 of 10Del Rosario has quietly put together a 10-0 MMA record. What's even more impressive is the fact that only one of those fights got out of the first round.
Del Rosario combines dynamite striking with a surprisingly agile ground game. He throws absolutely everything: knees, punches, leg kicks, head kicks, whatever. If it can hurt his opponent, Del Rosario can use it.
He is quick and puts combos together very well. Unlike a lot of heavyweights, Del Rosario actually looks fluid in the cage.
And he has a win with an omoplata. You can't beat that.
6. Travis Browne
5 of 10Travis Browne announced his presence in the UFC in his first fight with the promotion. He shrugged off punches from the Brit James McSweeney, and dumped him on his back. Browne proceeded to annihilate the bully from The Ultimate Fighter until the referee had finally seen enough.
The entire heavyweight roster was put on notice.
Browne has some outrageous power in his hands. To steal a quote from Pat Barry, "he doesn't hit hard, he hits scary."
If anyone gets tagged with one of his punches, you better bet they are going down.
Unfortunately Browne has shown some suspect cardio and a serious penchant for winging haymakers instead of using actual technique. His ground game and wrestling have been largely untested in the UFC as well.
5. Cole Konrad
6 of 10The aptly named "Polar Bear" has used his NCAA championship level wrestling to perfection in his short MMA career. Konrad has propelled himself to a 7-0 record thanks to his ridiculous credentials.
Konrad trains out of the DeathClutch camp with Brock Lesnar. DeathClutch is invite only, so you know Konrad has some skills.
You can say he is "boring" or a point fighter but at the end of the day he wins. He uses his wrestling to stifle opponents and prevent any sort of offense. Instead of complaining about it, opponents should learn some takedown defense.
4. Jon Madsen
7 of 10Another wrestler and another DeathClutch product.
Madsen came into the spotlight thanks to his participation on season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter, when he cut a whole the size of the Marianas Trench on Abe Wagner's forehead.
He then defeated three straight opponents (Justin Wren, Mostapha Al-Turk and Karlos Vemola) via decision.
Sure, this looks like the making of another boring wrestler, but the Vemola fight was a primarily stand-up affair. Madsen controlled the tempo and used surprisingly effective striking to defeat the Czech version of the Hulk.
Oh, and then Madsen ran through Gilbert Yvel like a wet paper towel, the same Yvel who eye gouged the immortal Don Frye and punched out a referee simply because he didn't want to be placed up against the ropes.
Needless to say, look out for Jon Madsen.
3. Daniel Cormier
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An Olympic level wrestler training with AKA and UFC champion Cain Velasquez? That's just a recipe for success.
Cormier has been forced to take fights in Australia and against journeymen because NO ONE wants to fight him. No one wants to be absolutely embarrassed by someone with fewer than 10 fights to his name.
People praised Brock Lesnar for winning the UFC belt in his fourth professional bout. Well, Cormier had TWO titles by his fourth fight. He defeated Lucas Browne in his third fight to win the XMMA heavyweight championship and then Tony Johnson in his fourth fight to capture the KOTC title.
Look for Cormier to rocket up the heavyweight charts in 2011. If anyone actually wants to fight him.
2. Matt Mitrione
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If you told anyone that Matt Mitrione could potentially be the best fighter to emerge off of the 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter, you would have been slapped.
Who would have guessed that after four professional fights, Meathead would actually look like a legitimate mixed martial artist?
Looking at the 260+ pound heavyweight, you wouldn't believe that he could throw a headkick that actually had a chance of landing. But Mitrione makes it happen. The former professional football player uses his surprisingly agile frame and athletic ability to throw ninja like strikes.
Both his punches and kicks are very dangerous. His ground game has also been evolving nicely during his time in mixed martial arts. His wrestling remains a question mark, but his sheer athleticism should be able to mask the problem for the time being.
1. Brendan Schaub
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Golden Gloves boxing champ? Check. Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? Check. Training with top trainers Greg Jackson and Trevor Wittman? Check. Training with partners Shane Carwin, Rashad Evans and Nate Marquardt? Checkmate.
After knocking out Chase Gormley and Chris Tuchscherer in a combined 1:54, Schaub was given a bout with Gabriel Gonzaga. In the bout, the TUF Season 10 runner-up dominated the Brazilian for all three rounds of their bout. He had him rocked and wobbled multiple times. For his troubles he has received a fight with PRIDE legend Mirko Cro Cop.
Schaub will finally enter the realm of title contendership when he firmly places legend Mirko Cro Cop into retirement after their bout at UFC 128.
Schaub is fast, technical and powerful, the ultimate package for strikers. His Jiu Jitsu has looked solid in past bouts as well. I would be seriously surprised if we don't see Schaub in a heavyweight title bout before his career is over.
Did I miss any promising heavyweights? List them in the comments below.
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