As in the animal kingdom, every fighter must face the reality that they can only be dominant for a certain number of years before a younger, fitter and hungrier fighter comes along. At any given time, there are a number of fighters who at one time were the dominant fighters of their weight divisions, but who are now facing the end of their reign.
The most recent fight demonstrating this was at UFC 103, in the fight between Mirko Cro Cop vs. Junior Dos Santos. Back in 2005 Cro Cop was arguably the most dominate heavy weight behind Fedor Emelianenko. His display of striking prowess won him the Pride Open Weight Grand Prix in a remarkable fashion. But against Dos Santos in 2009, Cro Cop was unable to execute any of his powerful kicks let alone any punches. Dos Santos, a fresh fighter was able to do all the right things to show the world he could be the next dominant heavy weight fighter.
This idea of young fighters beating once dominant, established fighters got us thinking – who are the next litter of up and coming fighters? Well Fight Burger has given this some thought, these are our picks:
Welter Weight
Based in Seattle, Lyle “Fancy Pants” Beerbohm is tipped by Fight Burger to go on to do great things. The former meth addict who was sent to prison for his indiscretions spent his time watching The Ultimate fighter on Spike TV and fell in love with the sport of mixed martial arts. Spending only 23 months learning about mixed martial arts before making his professional debut in April 2007, Beerbohm has developed an outstanding record of 13 consecutive victories. The 170 pounder has appeared in promotions such as King of the Cage, Exlite XC and Strike Force.
Middle Weight
Hector Lombard (22-2-1) has been in the martial arts business for a while. He competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics games for the Cuban judo team. As a result of his time in Sydney, Lombard now calls Australia home. Representing Australia in the mixed martial arts world, Lombard has constantly showcased his talent by annihilating the majority of his opponents on his way to becoming five times CFC (Cage Fighting Championships) Middleweight Champion and the first ever Bellator Middleweight Champion. Hector has also competed twice in the Pride Bushido series, unfortunately he lost both times to decision to tough opponents: Akihiro Gono and the current Stikeforce Light Heavy Weight Champion Gegard Mousasi. Make no mistake ladies and gentlemen, Hector Lombard is a hungry lion.
Light Heavy Weight
Hailing from Bulgaria, Stanislav Nedkov is enjoying a seven fight winning streak. The Bulgarian looks like he has a fair bit of potential – especially on the ground as Nedkov has earned himself a black belt in Brazilian Jujitsu, however his stand up game my require some work. He is already fighting in Sengoku and his next opponent is set to be Kevin Randleman. This will be the test to see if Nedkov will be a future MMA star.
Heavy Weight
Whilst not being a consistently active mixed martial artist, Roger Gracie has shown potential in his two professional bouts. Currently the heavy weight is undefeted (2-0) in his mixed martial arts career. Gracie, as his name may suggests has an astonishing list of Brazilian Jujitsu credentials, winning titles in top submission grappling competitions like ADCC (Abu Dhabi Combat Club), Submission Wrestling World Championship and the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship. Roger has the skills on the floor but will need to sharpen his striking skills in order to dominate and beat the best out there. Rumour has it that Roger Gracie will soon be signing on with StrikeForce to fight in the heavy weight division.
Stick with fightburger.com for part two of Who Are The Future Stars Of Mixed Martial Arts?
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