MMA's First Edition: My Top 10 B/R Young Guns

I have noticed, on more then one occasion, top writers in other sections profiling the younger writers in tribute articles. So, while I am not claiming originality, I wanted to take some time to profile some of the young writers I have noticed in our MMA section.

My intention is to build a better sense of camaraderie and encourage some our newer members who have taken the time leave some first-class comments and write a solid first article or two. It is not to play favorites – simply to give kudos to people who I have enjoyed interacting with.

My (convoluted) criteria for a “young gun” are:

A writer who has been on B/R for one month or less (unless they qualify by other criteria). To account for the crossover writers: those that have written 10 MMA articles or less or 100 comments or less can qualify.

Anyone ranked in the Top 15 is disqualified, while anyone outside of the top 25 is also given consideration depending on their other statistics. I hope I am able to stick to my own criteria!

While these rules are very subjective, I had to start somewhere. Again, this ranking is based on my personal interaction, so I do not intend to overlook anyone. If this is a success maybe fellow top writers, say those in the Top 10 or 20, can rotate writing a monthly article profiling our “young guns.”

I encourage all feedback–both positive and negative. (Future writers can come up with their own criteria).

With that said: On to the rankings. They are profiled by their own B/R writer ranking.

18. Brad- This talented writer joined our site two months ago. That, along with his ranking, makes him a senior ranking “young gun.” Brad started his career on B/R guns ablazin'. His first article, which talked about Brock Lesnar, garnered 65 comments and has almost 1700 reads!

I actually had the privilege of leaving the 65th comment on the article; I guess Brad didn’t feel the need to respond! My personal favorite of his was: The Apex Predators. It had 17 comments an a little less then 450 reads and I remember giving it my POTD, and several other people did so, too.

The article displayed a creativity which I hadn’t seen in an MMA article before. I hope Brad sticks around as I consider you an asset to our community.

Brad’s Stat line: 7 articles written. 89 comments posted. 7 fans. Brad qualified by having less then 10 articles and 100 comments posted.

21. Brandon Mcclinton- I must admit I got off to a dubious start with Brandon. It can be easy to do on a site where people are very passionate about their sport and the craft of writing. That being said, I really respect Brandon’s unique perspective. He has been in our community two months.

He has covered topics that include MMA: imagination, knowledge, and talent as well International MMA and the ethics of MMA. My favorite article of his so far is his most recent: The real fight: Business Ethics in the UFC. With titles and writing like that I am a fan. I hope Brandon stick around and continue to offer us his harder hitting pieces.

Brandon’s Stat line: 9 articles. 36 comments. 7 fans. He qualifies by having less then 10 articles and 100 comments.

23. Sean Shilling: I really get a kick out of Sean!!!!! If you have read his articles you will understand why I used so many exclamation points. His articles are filled with enthusiasm and creativity. Sean’s most popular article was,”5 Fighters That COULD Beat Anderson Silva.”

I received 28 comments and got about 400 reads. Ironically his article, “UFC 91 Is Over! What Now? A Must Read! LOL only got 66 reads. I thought I would give you a plug Sean—this is the only link I am putting in this article. And the !!!!! are starting to grow on me, so keep up the enthusiasm and creativity and I will continue to enjoy reading your articles man.

Sean’s Stat line: 17 articles. 60 comments. 5 fans. Sean qualified by being a member one month and having less then 100 comments.

26. Jeff Wackerly- I really enjoy Jeff and his comments. In fact, when he joined all he did was leave comments. With some encouragement from me and others (like Stoker) Jeff finally wrote his first article and it was a success. Jeff is a true MMA fan and a bigger Randy Couture fan then me.

Jeff has been in our community for one month and I hope he continues to leave great comments and write another article or two. Also he looks pretty jacked in his profile pic so you might not want to talk crap to him! Actually he is as humble as the come.

Jeff’s Stat Lines: 2 articles. 123 comments. 5 fans. Jeff qualifies based on being a member for one month and writing less then 10 articles.  

28. Flyin’ Hawaiian: Mr. Hawaii has only written five articles (all but one has double digit comments) and has already made his mark in the community. I think he managed to alienate and then garner the affection of our community leader Dorothy, all within one week. The alienation probably comes from his absolute love and respect for B.J. Penn.

And he will admittedly call himself a B.J. “nuthugger.” Mr. Hawaii is a very passionate and entertaining writer and he recently expressed to me his interested in rising to the top up the rankings and being a regular part of the community. I hope he is true to his word!

Flyin’ Hawaiian’s stat line: 5 articles. 108 comments. 6 fans. Flyin’ qualifies based on being a member for one month and having fewer than 10 articles. 

 30. Goober Taylor: Goober has only been in our community for only two days and has already written three articles! He recently wrote a poignant article on Tim Sylvia which I have a POTD as did others.

I am not so sure about someone who lists their favorite article as Tim Sylva – but he seems like a pretty cool guy and has a very promising writing style. Here is to your first month being a good one Goober.

Goober’s Stat line: 3 articles. 8 comments. 2 fans. Goober qualifies across the board.

31. Doug Drexler: Doug is another true young gun, being on the site for only 18 days. His latest article was very well received and I really liked the concept for generating fun comments. Doug has only written three articles but I think he has a bright future ahead of him. Doug is a part of the “I need a profile picture” club. You’ve still got time Doug.

Doug’s Stat line; 3 articles. 43 comments. 1 fan. Only one fan? Come on people, show some love! Doug qualifies across the board.

33. Jay Blackburn: Jay is no stranger to controversy in our community. But we won’t get into that! Jay is like the more strongly opinionated version of “Jeff Wackerly.” Both only have two articles but leave great well informed comments (both over 120).

It also took Jay to write his first article, but when he did, it definitely stirred some conversation. “Why Georges St. Pierre Cannot Stop BJ Pen” generated a whopping 46 comments on just under 400 reads. That’s a comment to read ratio of just under 1 to 10. Pretty good for a first article I would say.

Here is to more great comments and maybe another article or two. Jay is also a part of the “I need a profile picture” club. Your time is almost up Jay!

Jay’s Stat line: Two articles. 133 comments. 2 fans. Jay qualifies based on being a member one month and having less then 10 articles. .

40. David Ritchie: David is only 16 years old and hails from Ireland. He is off to a great start writing three solid articles in his first week. He is a big Rampage Jackson fan and we had a great exchange of comments about UFC 92 on one of my articles.

I hope David sticks with it and keeps writing and maybe leave some more comments. He has already picked up 4 fans.

David’s Stat Line: 3 articles. 8 comments. 4 fans. David qualifies across the board.

41. Brett Fullmore: Brett is a crossover writer—writing more about the NBA. But he has written some good articles; I especially like his article on Kenny Florian, which garnered 11 comments on only 130 reads. While Brett seems to be passionate about the NBA, I hope he continues to write for MMA as well.

-So there you have it, the first edition of “Young Guns” in the MMA community. I hope you enjoyed the profile of some of our younger yet talented writers. I also hope I didn’t forget anyone!

And hopefully if one of our top writers likes the idea they can volunteer to write next month’s article. Here’s to building our community, writing great articles on MMA, and just maybe—making a friend or two along the way. Be good fellow writers.