MMA's top 25-and-younger fighters

Part 1

http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/02/part-1-barao-mcdonald-and-mmas-top-25-and-younger-fighters


Part 1: Barao, McDonald and MMA's top 25-and-younger fighters


by Danny Acosta on Feb 12, 2013 at 10:00 am ET

This weekend's UFC interim bantamweight title fight at London's Wembley
Arena is a rare contest: Titleholder Renan Barao (29-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC),
25, and challenger Michael McDonald (15-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC), 22, combine for
the most youthful title fight in UFC history.

If Barao wins, he extends his current seven-year win streak to 30
fights. If "Mayday" walks away victorious, he's the youngest fighter to
ever hold a UFC title.

UFC on FUEL TV 7's five-round headliner pits a challenger with an 87
percent finishing rate against a virtually undefeated titlist with a 66
percent finishing mark.

Fighting is a young man's game, so MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has compiled the top 25 MMA fighters who are 25 years old and younger.

This is the first of a three-part series that runs throughout the week.


* * * *

25. Chidi Njokuani (9-3)

The younger brother of WEC and UFC striking staple Anthony Njokuani,
Chidi "Chidi Bang Bang" Njokuani is a tall welterweight at 6-foot-3 with
a dangerous combination of "One Kick" Nick Blomgren muay Thai and
Sergio Penha jiu-jitsu. Only one of his nine wins went the distance.
Njokuani's 89 percent finishing rate is better than his seasoned
brother. Despite Anthony being eight years older than 24-year-old Chidi,
the younger Njokuani only trails his sibling's veteran status by two
years. Njokuani's slow and steady approach to the big show is yielding
big dividends.

24. Diego Brandao (15-8 MMA, 2-1 UFC)

"The Ultimate Fighter's" first-ever featherweight winner, Diego Brandao,
has a Greg Jackson-trained skillset packaged in a compact 145-pound
frame. A pro since his 18th birthday, the 25-year-old stumbled in his
first fight beyond the reality-TV tournament after surging spoiler
Darren Elkins grinded him down at UFC 146 this past May. "Ceara"
rebounded successfully against Joey Gambino five months later. If he
betters his cardio, his power becomes all the more threatening over a
three-round fight.

23. Charles Oliveira (16-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC)

Charles Oliveira's submitted two "TUF" winners, Efrain Escudero and
Jonathan Brookins, in his two years in the UFC. The 23-year-old's
setbacks in the octagon to 155-pound contenders Jim Miller and Donald
"Cowboy" Cerrone are nothing to be ashamed about. Most recently, he
suffered a KO loss to Cub Swanson, who resurrected his career with a big
comeback campaign in 2012. It was another instance of growing up in the
octagon via growing pains. Just one of Oliveira's 16 victories heard
the final bell, so the kid is a finisher with years ahead for a proper
upswing.

22. Max Holloway (7-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC)

One of the youngest competitors in the octagon, 21-year-old Max Holloway
knows how to work over opponents. The Hawaiian featherweight's
high-volume punching output made Pat Schilling appear lost, and it upset
hot "TUF" prospect Justin Lawrence. No one in the UFC was busier at 145
pounds than Holloway, who turned around an early-2012 submission defeat
to contender Dustin Poirier with a three-fight win streak rounded out
by a late-notice split-decision win over long-time Zuffa scrapper
Leonard Garcia.

21. Marlon Moraes (9-4)

Marlon Moraes, 24, toppled former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel
Torres at the inaugural World Series of Fighting event this past
November. In the promotion's second installment next month, Moraes
squares off with lineal Bellator 135-pound champion Tyson Nam. Nam
knocked out Bellator's titleholder Eduardo Dantas in just 96 seconds,
which allows Moraes an opportunity to syphon some of Nam's justifiable
hype.

20. Jim Hettes (10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC)

In winning efforts, Jim Hettes finished all of his opponents except Nam
Phan. Against the well-traveled veteran, Hettes splashed onto the UFC
scene with a judo and jiu-jitsu grappling display that shut down Phan
for 15 minutes. The 25-year-old Midwesterner fought only once in 2012,
and he suffered his first career defeat, to fellow promising 145-pound
prospect Marcus Brimage. Hettes' potent grappling certainly will
continue to trouble featherweights while his overall game catches up.

19. Gunnar Nelson (10-0-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC)

Renzo Gracie-John Danaher grappling protege Gunnar Nelson is putting
Icelandic fighters on the map. The ADCC circuit veteran submitted
DeMarques Johnson in his octagon debut in less than five minutes. After
starting his career with a draw, Nelson has scored 10 consecutive
finishes, including seven by tap-out. The 24-year-old welterweight meets
former World Victory Road/Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago
in London this weekend. Spoiling the Brazilian's 170-pound octagon debut
would be a critical and successful talent jump in Nelson's second UFC
contest.

18. Brad Tavares (9-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC)

Brad Tavares' most impressive performance in the UFC may be a loss.
Dropping a decision to Aaron Simpson in July 2011, Tavares defended the
All-American wrestler's takedowns stubbornly for 15 minutes. It signaled
Tavares' gym time translates well to the cage as he slowed the
"A-Train" despite having no wrestling credentials. His current UFC stint
features a takedown-defense rate of 86 percent and wins over tough men
Phil Baroni, Dongi Yang and Tom Watson – solid building blocks for the
25-year-old Xtreme Couture middleweight. If he bests Riki Fukuda in
Japan in March, he'll have the resume to mix it up with bigger-name
185-pounders.

17. John Hathaway (17-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC)

English prospect John Hathaway has endured defeat just once since he
arrived in the UFC four years ago. He hasn't had a finish since his
debut; however, that amounts to great developmental cage time, including
a signature win against the first-ever "TUF" winner, former UFC
lightweight title challenger Diego Sanchez. The 25-year-old has strung
together a three-fight win streak since the steadily progressing veteran
Mike Pyle handed him a defeat. A sizable 170-pound fighter, "The
Hitman" is growing into a future U.K. torchbearer in the UFC.

16. Myles Jury (11-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC)

Myles Jury's "Fury" nickname doesn't tell the whole story. The
undefeated 24-year-old concluded 2012 with his first post-"TUF" contest –
a sound decision captured from Blackzilian team member Michael Johnson.
Alliance MMA's Jury demonstrated composure beyond his 24 years as he
did what he needed in his first career bout that went the distance.
Between his heated battles on "TUF" and marked improvement since the
reality-show tournament, Jury is a lightweight worth developing in the
sport's busiest division.

Tune in Wednesday for the fighters ranked No. 6 to 15. The final five are revealed on Thursday.

http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/02/part-2-barao-mcdonald-and-mmas-top-25-and-younger-fighters
15. T.J. Waldburger (16-7 MMA, 4-2 UFC)

T.J. Waldburger, 24, has been a professional fighter since he was 17. Competing in a hurt sport against grown men as a teenager is always admirable, but to rack up 13 submission wins in the process is even more impressive. Most recently, Waldburger spoiled Nick Catone's welterweight debut in December with a sleep-inducing triangle choke, one of 2012's nicest "Submission of the Night" performances.

A Texas-tough fighter on a self-proclaimed jiu-jitsu mission, Waldburger has gone the distance just once in the UFC – in his promotional debut. His two octagon losses have come against current top contender Johny Hendricks and consummate veteran Brian Ebersole.

14. Carla Esparza (9-2 MMA, 3-0 IFC)

The Team Oyama standout has turned it up a notch. Invicta FC's inaugural strawweight champion went 25-minutes to capture the vacant title over Bec Hyatt. Her only two defeats were under the Bellator banner to elite fighters Megumi Fujii and Jessica Aguilar. "Cookie Monster" currently rides a four-fight win streak, which includes a perfect 3-0 Invicta record, since dropping a split decision to Aguilar. Esparza's affinity for tagging leg kicks to the end of her combinations – along with apt counters and increased takedown ability – showcases her ability to build championship tools on the job. Female fighting expands thanks in part to dedicated 115-pound competitors such as Esparza and others not in the UFC's 135-pound women's division.

13. Erik Koch (13-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC)

The 24-year-old Duke Roufus protege's nickname "New Breed" rings true. The WEC vet's recent four-fight win streak included two wins upon his arrival in the UFC. That earned Koch a shot at Jose Aldo for the UFC's featherweight crown. Injuries bounced Koch from the fight until Ricardo Lamas' elbows further removed the five-year veteran from 145-pound title shots. The image of a bloody KO loss on UFC on FOX 6 in January is difficult to forget; however, Koch's 77 percent finishing rate and four consecutive wins after losing to Chad Mendes suggest Koch is capable of coming back and asserting his contender aspirations once again.

12. Patricio "Pitbull" Freire (17-2 MMA, 5-2 BFC)

The 25-year-old Bellator tournament champion came up short against featherweight titleholder Pat Curran this past month, but the 25-minute contest showcased Freire's technique and sheer toughness. His other career defeat also came in a high-stakes Bellator bout, where he lost a dubious split decision to "The Baddest Man on the Planet," world champion wrestler and future Bellator featherweight champ Joe Warren. Freire's 76 percent finishing rate includes wins against Bellator staples Wilson Reis and Georgi Karakhanyan.

His competitive Bellator resume and Team Nogueira banner bodes well for the young Brazilian's future.

11. Stefan Struve (25-5 MMA, UFC 9-3)

Stefan Struve is the tallest fighter in UFC history and possesses an 84.5-inch reach. At 24 years old, he's got four years in the octagon and a current four-fight win streak he carries into Japan versus Mark Hunt at UFC on FUEL TV 8 in March. Six consecutive UFC finishes in victory reminds us that "Skyscraper" learns how to utilize his height, reach and flirtation with the UFC's 265-pound limit better in each outing. Increased confidence and world-class training are the only elements standing between Struve and a serious heavyweight title opportunity. Those things accumulate over time. The giant from the Netherlands awaits opportune timing to coincide with his evolving talent.

10. Eduardo Dantas (14-3 MMA, 4-0 BFC)

Eduardo Dantas is another of Nova Uniao's prodigious, threatening Brazilian talents. An undefeated Bellator stretch allowed him to knock out Wilson Reis, upset Olympic wrestler Alexis Vila, and subtract the bantamweight title from Zach Makovsky via second-round arm-triangle choke.

His detour to fight in Brazil in a Bellator-approved Shooto affair didn't go according to anyone's plan as Tyson Nam knocked him out in the worst way imaginable. He cut Dantas' flying-knee attempt out of the air with a conscious-stealing right hook. "Dudu" returns to Bellator Thursday to defend his 135-pound title against teammate and Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champ Marcos Galvao. Whether or not the devastating KO derailed his dynamic game will be on display, but at 24 years old and backed by such a respected camp, Dantas is unlikely to lose a step.

9. Khabib Nurmagomedov (19-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC)

Khabib Nurmagomedov is living up to his epic "The Eagle" nickname. The Russian transplant trains alongside Gray Maynard, Josh Thomson, Jon Fitch, Luke Rockhold and Cain Velasquez at the renowned American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif. Trading in the bear winter for the California sun is already shining a light on the 24-year-old's bright future. Undefeated in his five-year career, which includes 14 finishes, is one reason for lightweights to learn how to pronounce his name. Another: No one debuts in the UFC's lightweight division with a three-fight win streak like Nurmagomedov has. Defeating Kamal Shalorus, Gleison Tibau and Thiago Tavares is a hell of a way to break onto the scene.

8. Erik Perez (13-4 MMA, 4-0 UFC)

Erik "El Goyito" Perez dawns a Mexican wrestler mask while walking to the cage to celebrate the fact he's the UFC's first Mexican-born fighter. Anchored at Greg Jackson's camp in New Mexico, Perez's three-for-three first-round finishes in 2012 made him a solid Rookie of the Year pick. Knocking out Ken Stone in 17 seconds is Perez's first major accolade – the fastest KO in Zuffa's bantamweight history.

Perez genuinely enjoys being in the fighting arena. The 23-year-old borrows traditions from Mexico's rich boxing history, his chosen combat sport. It's unveiled in his busy schedule as he's pieced together an eight-fight win streak in the past two years. Both in and out of the cage, Perez contains the proper ingredients to mobilize fans while advancing up the 135-pound ladder.

7. Dustin Poirier (13-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC)

Dustin "Diamond" Poirier's three submission victories in his past four fights demonstrate how aggression pays off in a division gunning for featherweight champ Jose Aldo. Against the "Korean Zombie" Chang Sung Jung, Poirier gave up a fourth-round brabo choke in a 2012 "Fight of the Year" candidate, which made for the lone blemish in his otherwise spotless UFC run. He successfully rebounded from his first UFC defeat with a wildly exciting December scrap that caused Jonathan Brookins to go soul-searching.

The 24-year-old, who's now anchored at American Top Team, has 11 finishes in his 13 career wins. Stepping up against Cub Swanson on short notice this weekend at UFC on FUEL TV 7 inserts Poirier into another likely title eliminator. Swanson undeniably attained Comeback Fighter of the Year honors in 2012, so Poirier is in a stellar position to resume his foray into the upper echelon of the 145-pound weight class.

6. Pat Curran (18-4 MMA, 8-1 BFC)

Pat Curran is Bellator's first fighter to capture tournament titles in two divisions. The Team Curran combatant worked his way to a lightweight title shot versus Eddie Alvarez, and he went the distance with the respected top-10 155-pounder, which prompted praise for his hard-fought performance. He affirmed he was fighting outside his natural weight class.

So Curran ventured to 145 pounds, where he seized Bellator's tournament title versus former World Victory Road/Sengoku champ Marlon Sandro, which set up Curran's relentless and unforgiving beatdown of featherweight champ Joe Warren. It was the kind of knockout that easily could have taken KO of the Year honors in 2012 if everyone wasn't so eager to forget just how ugly the drubbing actually was (Late Stoppage 101). The 25-year-old won Bellator's first title fight on Spike TV in an entertaining, technical 25-minute striking battle with Patricky "Pitbull" Freire. Curran is truly a world-class fighter and the most promising one not signed to a UFC contract.

5. Rory MacDonald (14-1 MMA, UFC 5-1)

Rory MacDonald beat down former UFC lightweight and welterweight
champion B.J. Penn on network TV in December. The 23-year-old Tristar
representative breezed past one of two two-division champs in UFC
history and brutalized him with roughly five times as many significant
strikes (116 to 24) in the three-round fight. While the larger, younger
fighter diminished a surefire UFC Hall of Famer in the standup
department, MacDonald shuffled his feet to confuse Penn technically (or
to taunt him, depending on whom you ask).

MacDonald's "Ares" nickname certainly is apt, though his stoic battering
of Penn and cold challenge to the only man to defeat him in six UFC
appearances, Carlos Condit, drew comparisons to Christian Bale's
"American Psycho" character. The 23-year-old wields an 86 percent
finishing rate in his seven-year career. The only two fighters to hear
the final bell against MacDonald in his 14 career wins are Nate Diaz and
Penn, who, in 51 combined career fights at various weights, have been
finished just three times.

MacDonald has an upcoming UFC 158 rematch with former interim champ Condit, whom he first fought when he was just 20 years old.

4. Michael McDonald (15-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC)

Michael "Mayday" McDonald trains in a central California gym so small it
houses a cowboy church (whatever that is). He trains with his brothers
at Last Stand Fight Team in Oakdale, Calif., while foregoing training in
Sacramento, Stockton, San Francisco or San Jose, where world-class
top-10 talent prepares for major UFC fights a sizable but doable drive
away.

At 22 years old, McDonald holds a win over former WEC bantamweight king
Miguel Torres and pocketed fight-night bonuses in half of his four UFC
outings. He's finished all but two opponents in victory while racking up
a 60-percent knockout mark. It's further proof that McDonald is one the
hardest hitters in the UFC's lighter weight divisions.

McDonald challenges Renan Barao on Saturday for the UFC's interim
bantamweight title in London. Victory crowns the 22-year-old the
youngest fighter in UFC history to hold gold, even if it is of the
disputable interim variety. McDonald's "Mayday" nickname doesn't lie;
this kid's power can cause trouble at the championship level.

3. Chang Sung Jung (13-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC)

A perfect 3-0 mark in the UFC accentuates the possibility Jose Aldo and
the featherweight division are experiencing "The Korean Zombie"
apocalypse.

In his UFC debut, Chang Sung Jung avenged a controversial split-decision
defeat to Leonard Garcia in the WEC by securing the first twister
submission in the UFC's 20-year history. The win over Garcia netted him a
"Submission of the Night" bonus check, as well as Submission of the
Year accolades. He followed it up with a $75,000 "Knockout of the Night"
win over former title challenger Mark Hominick in just seven seconds.
For the bonus grand finale, the 25-year-old defeated Dustin Poirier to
net an additional $80,000 ($40,000 for "Fight of the Night" and a
matching sum for "Submission of the Night").

He's finished all but two opponents in his 13 career victories.

"The Korean Zombie" has been sidelined with an injury ever since the
breakout headliner with Poirier, but make no mistake: Nearly a
quarter-million dollars in award bonuses (three for finishing) in three
UFC bouts renders the Korean Top Team fighter a top contender upon his
return.

2. Renan Barao (29-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC)

Renan Barao is much more than the UFC interim bantamweight champion.
He's a 25-year-old fighter who's undefeated for seven years.

The Nova Uniao fighter has been winning for the same amount of time as
middleweight champion Anderson Silva – and just three years shy of Fedor
Emelianenko's legendary decade-long stretch. Sure, only six of those
fights have been against Zuffa-level competition, but he's submitted
half his opposition in the past two years and shut out
lower-weight-class pioneer and former WEC featherweight kingpin Urijah
Faber in his first pay-per-view headliner.

With his signature victory against Faber secured, Barao carries 19
career finishes (66 percent) into this weekend's interim title fight
against McDonald.

1. Jon Jones (17-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC)

Was there any question?

The youngest champion in UFC history was crowned when Jon Jones, 23
years old in March 2011, beat Mauricio "Shogun" Rua for the UFC
light-heavyweight title. Jones has retained the belt in four title
fights since then (one shy of the record). The now-25-year-old touts an
unprecedented achievement that seems impossible to replicate: He is
undefeated in his five UFC title fights against five former UFC
champions – four of whom he finished: Rua, "Rampage Jackson," Lyoto
Machida and Vitor Belfort (Rashad Evans is his only title opponent to go
the distance).

"Bones" stands to match the octagon's 205-pound defense record held by
Tito Ortiz when he fights Chael Sonnen, a fighter 0-3 in Zuffa title
bouts, in April.

It's criminally negligent the UFC bypassed 43-year-old Dan Henderson –
U.S. wrestling Olympian, UFC tournament winner, PRIDE's two-division
titleholder, Strikeforce 205-pound champ and a legendary open-weight
fighter with 10 champions on his 16-year ledger – in the story of Jones'
meteoric legacy. Jones-Henderson is the most historic, generational and
American narrative available to the UFC.

Henderson is a threat to Jones' virtually undefeated five years in the
octagon. The veteran battled Rua in arguably the greatest UFC bout in
history in his most recent outing and is on the best four-fight win
streak of his career (which included a first-round crumbling of
heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko).

Conversely, all Jones has ever had to do to define his greatness is
reign in the UFC. He can fuel a marketing machine as LeBron James and
Michael Jordan have done in the NBA. Yet Henderson represents the most
significant contest to extend his already-unreal domination.

It's a passing of the torch title fight for world-class credibility and
American MMA pioneering that may or not happen depending on Henderson's
UFC 157 co-main event bout with Machida. The three-round contest between
two former champs is Henderson's pulling-out-of-UFC 151-due-to-injury
punishment.

Competitively, the upcoming Jones-Sonnen PPV matchup fails to increase
the stakes for Jones like each title fight prior did. It's the opposite
of Jones-Henderson. It's a move that's especially puzzling since the UFC
recently announced stellar star-building bouts such as Benson Henderson
vs. Gilbert Melendez for the lightweight belt, and Jose Aldo vs.
Anthony Pettis for the featherweight crown.

Regardless, Jones is proof that fighting is a young man's game, and he's
clearly the best of MMA's newest generation of fighters.


* * * *

Danny Acosta is thewellversed.com's
MMA editor. Listen to his "Acosta KO" segment on SiriusXM Fight Club
(Sirius 92, XM 208) every Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. PT). Follow
him on Twitter and Instagram @acostaislegend.

Disagree heavily on the order of some of those

bobbitt15 wrote:

Disagree heavily on the order of some of those

Same here. Zombie over Curran?