MMA Draft: Creating the MMA Dream Team

MMA is the fastest growing sport int he world, and it is quickly approaching a golden age.

Right now, every division has a wealth of contenders and many, many fighters who could potentially dethrone current champions.

Imagine if there were an entirely new way to showcase all the talent.

Imagine if there were an MMA dream team.

What would it look like?

Bantamweight: Dominick Cruz and Joseph Benavidez

Dominick Cruz: Cruz is the current UFC bantamweight champion, and he has beaten No. 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2 in his division. Cruz is well on his way to becoming one of the most dominant champions in history.

Joseph Benavidez: Benavidez is 15-2 in his career, and both of those losses came at the hands of Cruz. The first was a unanimous decision loss, and the second was a split decision. Benavidez is the consensus No. 2 bantamweight in the world.

Reserves: Urijah Faber and Renan Barao.

Featherweight: Jose Aldo and Hatsu Hioki

Jose Aldo: Aldo is the current UFC featherweight champion and is one of the most explosive fighters in MMA today. Aldo is 20-1 in his career, and he has beaten such top fighters as Kenny Florian, Mark Hominick and Urijah Faber.

Hatsu Hioki: Hioki is a name many fans may not have heard, but he is one of the top three featherweights in the world. In his last fight, he made his UFC debut and defeated George Roop by split decision. He has also beaten Marlon Sandro and Mark Hominick (twice).

Reserves: Chad Mendes and Erik Koch.

Lightweight: Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard

Frankie Edgar: Edgar is the current UFC lightweight champion and arguably has the most heart of any fighter in the UFC today. Edgar came back from the brink of defeat against Maynard (twice) to fight to a draw and then eventually a win.

Gray Maynard: Maynard may have finally lost to Edgar, but his record against the champ is still 1-1-1, and a fourth fight will hopefully eventually happen. At this point, it would be safe to assume that all roads to the title go through Maynard.

Reserves: Donald Cerrone and Gilbert Melendez.

Welterweight: Georges St-Pierre and Jon Fitch

Georges St-Pierre: St-Pierre is the current UFC welterweight champion, and his place here should surprise no one. St-Pierre is the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in MMA today, and he easily makes this dream team.

Jon Fitch: Fitch may not be the No. 2 welterweight in some people's minds anymore (like mine), but he is more of a safe bet for a win than Nick Diaz would be. Fitch fought GSP at UFC 87 where he lost a unanimous decision. Since that time, he has gone 5-0-1.

Reserves: Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit.

Middleweight: Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen

Anderson Silva: Silva is the current UFC middleweight champion and is the most dominant fighter on the planet today. Silva has defeated all 14 opponents he has faced in the UFC, and he has an overall record of 31-4. Silva easily belongs on the dream team.

Chael Sonnen: Sonnen shouldn't surprise many people on here, as he is the only fighter who ever put Silva in trouble during his UFC tenure. For four and a half rounds, Sonnen absolutely dominated Silva. Sonnen can go out there and beat anyone on any given day—unless he gets caught in a triangle.

Reserves: Hector Lombard and Yushin Okami.

Light Heavyweight: Jon Jones and Rashad Evans

Jon Jones: Jones is well on his way to becoming the most dominant light heavyweight in the UFC in years. He has defended his title once already this year against Rampage Jackson, and he will defend it again against Lyoto Machida. If he wins, he will have had one of the most impressive years in UFC history.

Rashad Evans: Evans is pegged by many as one of the few fighters today who will have a chance of actually challenging Jones. Evans and Jones were supposed to fight three times already, but injuries have put off this dream matchup. We'll have to wait for the new year to see it.

Reserves: Lyoto Machida and Shogun Rua.

Heavyweight: Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos

Cain Velasquez: Velasquez is the current UFC heavyweight champion, with a 9-0 record and eight wins by (T)KO. Cain will face off against Junior this Saturday in the UFC's debut event on Fox. Both of these men are very respectful competitors and would make great additions to the dream team.

Junior dos Santos: JDS is the consensus No. 2 heavyweight in the world, and on Saturday, it will be the first time that the clear No. 1 heavyweight and No. 2 heavyweight face off in quite a long time. JDS-Cain is likely to be a war, and it could be the start of an epic trilogy.

Reserves: Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem.

Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow me on twitter @tmt2393.