AFTER THREE INTENSE weeks of MMA action inside the Octagon, it’s time to have a breather and take a closer look at some exciting fighters in the UFC at present.
Rory MacDonald
The 22-year-old Canadian welterweight is a relative newcomer to the UFC but has impressed many in a short time with wins over Nate Diaz and Mike Pyle already under his belt.
He doesn’t appear to have any real weaknesses in his game. He is very strong on his feet, is equally as comfortable on the ground and bounced back from the only loss of his career against number one contender Carlos Condit with back-to-back wins. He is due to face Brian Ebersole at UFC 140 in December.
Professionally, his record stands at 12-1, and his ability to finish a fight was demonstrated in his first ten wins as he either KO’d or submitted his opponent. He’s often been described as a “young GSP” and I think that if St. Pierre can retain his belt and MacDonald can string together a couple more wins, an all Canadian matchup could defiantly be on the cards in the future.
Phil Davis
While Jon Jones sits astride the top of the light heavyweight division, Phil Davis has been quietly trying to work back to full fitness after a serious knee injury.
Having already brushed aside Rampage Jackson and Shogun Rua, Jones is in danger of sweeping out the division. Lyoto Machida is next in line to face the current champ but if he beats “The Dragon” one of the last real contenders in the division would be Davis.
The self-titled “Mr Wonderful” is unbeaten in his MMA career and has gone 5-0 in the UFC with wins over Brian Stann and Antonio Nogueira in the book before he was injured.
A four-time All American wrestling champion, he is up there with the best when it comes to wrestling, and although that style doesn’t usually make for exciting fights, it is a very effective way of winning.
It could be his wrestling that could help him triumph in a possible match-up with Jones as no-one has really been able to close the distance and bully him and that is exactly what Davis does. I suspect he will get one fight when he comes back to full fitness and this could be against Rashad Evans with the winner getting a long overdue title shot.
Chad Mendes
Mendes is a top contender in the newly-formed featherweight division of the UFC. He is another fighter that comes from a strong wrestling background and is an example of how effective wrestling is in MMA.
The Californian native is still relatively young, and at twenty six, he arguably still has his best years ahead of him. His unbeaten record boasts wins over Eric Koch and most recently Rani Yahya and because he relies so much on his wrestling, seven of his eleven wins have come via the judge’s decision.
While his boxing may not be up to his namesake’s standard, “Money” effectively uses his stand-up to set up his takedowns and is a very big and strong 145 pounder. After Jose Aldo outpointed Kenny Florian at last week’s event, Mendes is rumoured to be next in line to take a shot at the current champ.
