Ultimate Fighting Championship: The MMA Stars that Belong in the UFC
By Ryan Justason
The UFC has proven itself to be to most dominant promotion in MMA. The UFC also has the best talent out of any MMA promotion. That being said, the UFC still does not have all the best talent. This is a list of the top ten guys who should be in the UFC.
10. Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski
Never underestimate your opponent will most likely be Andrei’s latest MMA lesson. Andrei’s most recent fight was an upset 14 second knock out to up and coming heavyweight Brett Rogers. Andrei has since gone on to say he did underestimate Rogers and he was not in his right mind.
Although his most recent fight was a huge upset, we cannot forget about what this man has done. He was the UFC champion who beat the likes of Tim Sylvia, Paul Buentello and Vladimir Matyushenko. Then Andrei went where the money was and the money was at Affliction.
Since Affliction, Andrei has gone 2-2 defeating the likes of Ben Rothwell and Roy Nelson while getting knocked out by both Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers. Since these back to back losses, Andrei has started to reinvent himself by training at the world famous Greg Jackson camp. In the end Andrei could be on his way back to the UFC with a big win against a smaller promotion and then he could prove once again who the real Andrei Arlovski is.
9. Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa
Minowaman should also be known as the giant killing journeyman. He has beaten giant fighter like Hong Man Choi, Bob Sapp, Giant Silva and Butterbean. Although Minowaman has defeated such odds, his record stands at a not so impressive 44-30. This type of record is not what the UFC typically looks for. One thing the UFC does look for although is exciting fighters and Minowaman is one exciting fighter.
There aren’t too many fighters that will attempt to get the fight to the ground by doing a Judo roll straight in to the other fighters feet. Minowaman seems to have found an awkward fighting style that is very affective against certain fighters although close strikers such as Wanderlei Silva and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. This man is a true fighter and has proven to be so in his last three victories.
In Minowaman’s last three outings, he has put out notable fighters Bob Sapp, Hong Man Choi and Sokoudjou winning the DREAM 2009 Super Hulk Grand Prix. With having beaten names like that in his last three bouts, the UFC must have noticed how beneficial it would be to have such an exciting fighter who goes for the finish or is finished….something like a Japanese Wanderlei Silva.
8. Nick Diaz
Nick Diaz is truly the Stockton bad boy and he has proven himself so throughout his MMA career. Nick, who is always known going where the money is has been a dominant force in the UFC, Pride FC, Elite XC and now Strikeforce. Never one to shy away about how he really feels about judging, fighters and his belief that Marijuana should be legal, his believes have recently kept him out of the UFC limelight.
After returning to the UFC, Diaz went 2-0 defeating the likes of Gleison Tibau and Josh Neer before fighting once top ranked fighter Takanori Gomi in Pride. This was when the Marijuana trouble came in to place. At Pride 33, Nick Diaz defeated Takanori Gomi via Gogoplata although this was eventually overturned to a no-contest due to a failed post fight drug test. The NSAC (Nevada State Athletic Commission), suspended Diaz’s fighting license for 6 months as he tried to find a promotion that would take the fighter.
Since Diaz’s problems at Pride 33, he has fought eight times without problems of Marijuana testing. This happened up until Diaz was supposed to fight Jay Heiron at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg, although he failed to get a license after not attending the pre-fight drug test. Since then Diaz made quick work of DREAM welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis to win the Strikeforce welterweight championship without failing a test. Diaz also looks very hungry to feed his family as he has said in interviews and I doubt there will be another Marijuana issue leading up to any of his fights.
7. Hector “Shango” Lombard
The Cuban born Australian has been silently flying under the radar since 2004. He went 6-0 in his career until he was scheduled to meet MMA veteran Akihiro Gono at Pride Bushido 11 in which the bout went to a unanimous decision. The former Olympic Judokan then went on to plow through too more guys until he met Gegard Mousasi at Pride Bushido 13 where he also lost to a unanimous decision. Up to this point, this would be the end of loses for Lombard.
Since these loses, Lombard been defeating his opponents left and right and has even become the Bellator middleweight champion. He has racked his impressive MMA record to 23-2 with one draw. Lombard has defeated the likes of Jean-Francois Lenogue, Kalib Starnes and Daiju Takase.
6. Jake Shields
For most fans who are UFC fans and UFC fans alone, Jake Shields is the guy who most recently defeated Jason “Mayhem” Miller for some Strikeforce title. Jake Shields although he has never fought in the UFC has been a very dominant force in both MMA’s middleweight and welterweight division. He has notable wins over Hayoto Sakurai, Yushin Okami, Carlos Condit, Robbie Lawlor and knockout artist Paul Daley.
Jake Shields really made his name when he became the first Elite XC welterweight champion on network television defeating former Strikeforce lightweight champion Nick Thompson via guillotine choke. He then defended his title one time against Paul Daley where he won via arm bar. Things were going good for Jake Shields and his image up until Kimbo Slice lost 14 seconds into his fight against the smaller Seth Petruzelli. So why wasn’t Jake Shields who is a very close friend of Chuck Liddell signed with the UFC afterwards?
After the Elite XC promotion went bankrupt, in February 2009 Strikeforce bought several of the company’s assets. Among these assets were video library, fighter contracts that included Jake Shields, Nick Diaz, Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith. With Shields being in contract with Strikeforce as well as the current Strikeforce middleweight champion, it could be hard for the UFC to break that barrier to offer Jake a contract. Perhaps Jake Shields being a judge on The Ultimate Fighter 11 along side Chuck Liddell, who knows what will happen?
5. Dan “Hendo” Henderson
Every MMA fan knows who Dan Henderson is. He is the man that dominated the Pride middleweight division who went on the rack up a 3-2 record in the UFC defeating the likes of Michael Bisping, Rich Franklin and Rousimar Paulhares. Thing were looking great for Hendo when he devastatingly knocked out Michael Bisping at UFC 100. Hendo was also in stages to renegotiate his new contract with the UFC. Things took a huge u-turn when Dan Henderson signed with Strikeforce.
Reports indicate that Dan Henderson and Zuffa LCC could not reach an agreement because quote “Dan Henderson asked for too much money.” Dan on the other hand says that Zuffa was being unreasonable considering other reports of how much other guys such as Brock Lesnar, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Tito Ortiz made. These negotiations eventually lead to Dan childishly signing with a less talented promotion in Strikeforce. Since the signing both Dan Henderson and Dana White have been taking little jabs at each other but nothing major.
Although both Dan and Dana have been poking jabs at each other, I believe there is still room in the UFC for him. There is no denying what Hendo can do and not even Dana White can deny that. Dan Henderson has been the only one in the UFC to win a round against the spider. On his way out of the UFC, Hendo was on his way to another shot at Anderson Silva and he showed he can beat Anderson if he doesn’t get too excited and caught in a choke.
4. Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki
Some call Shinya Aoki the Japanese BJ Penn. Some call him the best lightweight fighter in the world. Others call him a rude little judo ninja but there is no denying the Shinya Aoki is no joke. Aoki has beaten the top lightweight fighters in DREAM including Eddie Alvarez, Joachim Hansen and Caol Uno. Shinya has racked up a 23-4 record with 1 no-contest. Some may know Shinya Aoki for his most recent show of lack of respect after his fight with Mizuto Hirota.
On December 22nd, 2009, at the Dynamite!! 2009 MMA event Shinya Aoki took on Sengoku Lightweight champion Mizuto Hirota. In this fight during the first round, Shinya secured a tight kimura on Hirota who did not tap. This resulted in Aoki breaking Hirotas arm without hesitation but this wasn’t the issue at hand. The issue at hand occurred after the arm was broke.
After the arm was broken, Aoki was seen giving Hirota the middle finger over his ailing body. Aoki wasn’t done there as he took to his opponent’s corner also flipping them the bird. Aoki then continued as he flipped off some of the crowd. Dana White has indicated interest in Shinya Aoki before but something tells me that Shinya’s after fight actions wouldn’t deter the UFC president from signing him. Hell Brock Lesnar did the same thing after his UFC 100 defeat of Frank Mir, so why not Shinya Aoki?
3. Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal
Before MMA, King Mo has received several amateur wrestling championships including NCAA National Collegiate wrestling champion. Coming from such a wrestling background and having the competitive drive, it was a no-brainer for King Mo to enter the world of MMA.
At 28 years of age, King Mo has defeated such notables in devastating fashion as Mike Whitehead, Mark Kerr and Travis Wiuff. Since then, King Mo has gained enough notice to be receiving a Strikeforce light heavyweight title shot at Gegard Mousasi. For some of you UFC and UFC fans only, you might remember King Mo from his “inside a van confrontation” with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. The confrontation was not anything more serious than aggressive joking around.
2. Gegard “The Dream Catcher” Mousasi
Many call Gegard “Mini Fedor” because of the fact that the two train together quite frequently. At only 24 years of age, Gegard is showing some great promise to be one of the greatest fighters to have ever lived. It’s hard to think of any other fighter who has accomplished what Gegard has at only 24 years of age and he continues to get better every day. At 24 years old, Gegard has compiled a record of 28-2 with his most recent loss being to Akihiro Gono at the young age of 22. Since then he has defeated the likes of Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Renato “Babalu” Sobral and most recently MMA veteran Gary Goodridge. With a resume like that it’s hard to imagine how Gegard could not already be in the UFC.
Like the fact that Gegard trains quite frequently with Fedor Emelianenko, he also shares the same management in M-1 Global. When M-1 Global started to co-promote with Strikeforce, Gegard came along with the deal. Dana White has since expressed his interest in acquiring the Dutch fighter. Gegard himself has also expressed interest in fighting in the UFC so hopefully we can see this kid get tested in the near future.
1. Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko
We all know the Fedor is arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the world and the best fighter in the world should be fighting the best fighters in the world. Sometimes it comes to a point with some fighters where it is all about the business and not about the fight. M-1 Global has always been the problem in the UFC signing Fedor Emelianenko. M-1 has in Dana White’s terms “tried to come over from Russia to the United States to try to strong-arm the neighborhood butcher.” Although most know that Fedor would fight any man put in front of him, some fans respectively believe that Fedor is afraid to take a notch of that near perfect record of his. Truly we shall only find out once and if “The Last Emperor” signs with the UFC.
As you can see, a lot of these guys are contracted with Strikeforce. Most of these fighters have also expressed interest in signing with the UFC. So could you imagine if the UFC were to take these fighters away from Strikeforce? Or could the UFC do challenges like they did when Dana White did to Chuck Liddell over to Pride? Either way, all parties should but the nonsense aside and let the best fight the best. Whether you may have to co-promote or not, let the best fight the best.
(Honorable mentions: Gilbert Melendez, Aleksander Emelianenko, Josh Barnett and Blagoi Ivanov)