Issue 101
May 2013
In the aftermath of last issue’s top 100 greatest fighters of all time list, Fighters Only presents the next generation of stars you’ll see lighting up pay-per-view cards in the coming years. Welcome to the future of mixed martial arts, and the hottest 25 prospects of Planet MMA.
There was a time when nobody knew, or cared, who pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva was. Once an up-and-comer with little fanfare he has ultimately become the greatest fighter in the game.
Equally, today’s unheralded local fighters competing in minor promotions for quiet applause and a handful of notes are the UFC’s next champions. And we believe we just might have found those future titleholders.
Following on from last issue where we peeked at the past for our landmark list of the 100 greatest mixed martial artists in history, we now peer into the distance to present to you the 25 most promising fighters in the world. Separated into five classifications, each group is poised to make an impact in the globe premier’s promotions.
Ever wondered where champions, such as longest-reigning UFC welterweight champ Georges St Pierre, and all these hotshot contenders, like UFC 185lb’er Chris Weidman, came from? One place: the local circuit. Before they experienced the bright lights, they were scrapping in small halls for the benefit of a few hundred people.
That’s exactly where the 25 men and women listed here are at this very moment. They are the cream of the lower-league crop, as selected by Fighters Only’s team of international editors and insiders. Not only do we tell you who they are but we’ve got coaches, experts and industry figures explaining exactly why you shouldn’t take your eyes off them in the next few years.
Don’t sleep on the future; discover it right now.
Barely legal: The planet’s leading five prospects aged 21 and under
Tom Breese, England
“Apart from Tom’s obvious physical attributes, gifts and skill-set, he has the hidden minerals, the things you can’t teach. The dedication and life he leads outside of the cage also play a huge factor in his approach. The question of how far he goes, I believe, is written already, but the secret ingredient is time... there is plenty of it and no rush. Young talents need building, maturing and learning carefully. They also need time to craft mentally, a much-overlooked aspect.”
Marc Goddard, international referee and head coach
Sergio Pettis, USA
“Sergio is just phenomenal, hence his nickname being ‘The Phenom.’ He has so much potential, plus the fact that he works hard and has a great attitude. I’ve been having some fantastic one-on-one training sessions with him recently. He’s been training here since he was 13 years old and he’s really just a fun guy to train. It’s been very cool watching him grow up and I think that he’s going to be a champion someday. Right now we’re taking it one step at a time.”
Duke Roufus, head coach
Doo Ho Choi, South Korea
“Choi is on another level. He’s absolutely destroyed everyone he has faced recently and is especially known for beating wrestlers. His stand-up is just phenomenal and has good defensive wrestling too. He’s a very young kid, who has not served his compulsory military service yet, and his mind may be a little questionable as he went missing before a title fight last year. But he’s definitely already on Joe Silva’s radar.”
Daniel Herbertson, FO Asia correspondent
Justin Scoggins, USA
“I’ve known Justin since he was 16 years old and I knew that he was going to be a prospect in the mixed martial arts world. When he first came to the gym he already had a lot of skills as far as his stand-up and wrestling. I’ve worked with him quite a bit on his defensive and offensive jiu-jitsu. In terms of improvement, he’s a natural athlete, so he’s not one of those guys that you’ll catch in the same thing over and over. I believe he’ll eventually be in the UFC, fighting the top competition and I think that he can do it for several years.”
Jimmy Fowler, Revolution Martial Arts head coach
Thomas Almeida, Brazil
“A gutsy, powerful, Muay Thai stylist, De Almeida pushes a high pace in fights, pressuring opponents to make mistakes. With one-punch knockout power, he loves to throw punishing elbows up close. Although his grappling has not been tested much, he is making the right moves after recently transitioning to fighting in the United States.”
Rory Vincent MacLeod, Bloody Elbow talent scout
Sure-fire vets: The world’s top five fighting prospects aged 25 and over
Joanne Calderwood, Scotland
“Her success has been a testament to the hard work she has put in. She has set goals and achieved them, becoming a Muay Thai world champion, and with the same drive she has thrown herself into all the aspects of MMA. Within her first year of competing she is already ranked eighth in the world. I’d also say she’s one of the best technical strikers in MMA, not just women’s MMA.”
Paul McVeigh, Griphouse coach & FO’s S&C columnist
Josh Hill, Canada
“Hill is a UFC-ready bantamweight at this point. He is a cut above athletically, bigger, stronger, faster and more explosive than most of his contemporaries at the weight. He also has really clean kickboxing as well as powerful wrestling and top control, which normally don’t go together as well as he blends them. I’d say he’s hurt by two things right now: one, he is more of a grinder than a finisher, so he’s not going to blow your doors off and get people drooling. And two, with the Score Fighting Series falling by the wayside, he doesn’t really have anywhere to keep facing good regional talent and rounding out his game.”
Jordan Breen, Sherdog administrative editor
Chris Gruetzemacher, USA
“Gritz is a really well-rounded fighter. He has a very underrated stand-up game. His style is high pressure, high volume, and it really causes problems for his opponents. He was a very good high school wrestler and is a second-degree purple belt in BJJ so he’s very good on the ground as well. That being said, his best attribute is his mental toughness, he is willing to go through whatever he needs to get the job done. The sky is the limit for this kid, he just needs his chance to shine!”
John Crouch, head coach
Lance Palmer, USA
“My first thoughts when I got to work with Lance and all the guys at Team Alpha Male were of excitement, as I was able to work with a stacked gym of athletes. Lance is a hard-nosed wrestler who is eager to learn and picks up on exactly what your saying, which is a coach’s dream.
“I’ve been most impressed with his open mind to training. He’s not afraid to ask questions, but he doesn’t question my requests. Like all the other guys at the gym, I tell him what to do and then he does it well.”
Duane Ludwig, coach
Jared Rosholt, USA
“Jared is a big, fast heavyweight who’s also a gifted athlete. His wrestling and grappling are obviously strong, but his striking has improved greatly too. He has begun to find a style that plays to his strengths. Jiu-jitsu has been the easiest transition for him, after training for three weeks he went and beat black belts in Vegas in a grappling tournament. He also qualified for the ADCC, winning the North American trials. I expect Jared to have many fights and gain valuable experience, level up his striking, BJJ and MMA, until he’s ready for the big show.”
Marc Laimon, head coach
Notorious novices: The five best prospects in the world with less than five pro fights
Chris Holdsworth, USA
“Holdsworth is a prodigy grappler and all-around talent with a good frame for 135lb. He’s quickly developing good kickboxing and splits his time between Marc Laimon’s and Team Alpha Male. A Tuff-N-Uff amateur champ, he’s also one of Resurrection Fighting Alliance’s top prospects.”
Rory Vincent MacLeod, Bloody Elbow talent scout
Lowen Tynanes, USA
“Tynanes is a former state champion wrestler and, not surprisingly, is very durable. He owns acclaimed finishing skills on the mat, although his striking – whilst improving – is still something of a work in progress. He had an epic fight with Vuyisile Colossa in One FC in February.”
Rory Vincent MacLeod, Bloody Elbow talent scout
Veronica Rothenhausler, USA
“We came across Veronica last July when she made headlines after scoring her second, consecutive five- second KO as an amateur. That was an incredible story that caught our attention and, after learning she was ready to turn pro, we felt she would be a strong fit for Invicta FC. She has shown tremendous potential so far, both as an amateur and in her pro debut, and she could quickly become a threat to the top 145lb fighters in the sport if her skill level continues to progress the way it has been to date. I believe we have a future superstar on our hands.”
Shannon Knapp, Invicta FC president
Gilbert Burns, Brazil
“One of the best 70kg grapplers in the world right now, Burns has already tasted the big time of the Octagon after being one of Vitor Belfort’s team coaches during The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 1. He also tried out for TUF Brazil 2, but the lightweight division was cut from the show. He defeated solid prospect Vinicius Bohrer in his last fight and is perfectly placed to land inside the Octagon soon.”
Rory Vincent MacLeod, Bloody Elbow talent scout
Michael Page, England
“Page is an athletic, explosive and unpredictable striker who utilizes his reach and speed to full effect during his fights. Fans may worry the number of kicks he throws will make him susceptible to the takedown, but his hips are so fast that he has a lightning sprawl, whilst his second fight proved he also has a solid ground game too.”
Aundre Jacobs, Fighters Only assistant editor
Natural-born finishers: The five best international prospects with knockout power
Sean Strickland, USA
I knew Sean was on his way to being a world champion from the first time I met him. He had the talent, the commitment, athleticism and the training to make it to the top. He would do well against any 185lb or 205lb fighter in the world today. He will follow in the footsteps of other past champions from KOTC and join the UFC. Sean will go down as one of the best fighters of his era.”
Terry Trebilcock, King of the Cage owner
Mussa Khamanaev, Russia
“A powerful grappler with strong ground ‘n’ pound, Khamanaev is the current lightweight M-1 champion. He’s very quick and confident, and although his striking game can get a little wild, he likes to finish fights. Recently retained his title against controversial Finnish fighter Niko Puhakka in Orenburg, Russia.”
Rory Vincent MacLeod, Bloody Elbow talent scout
Rick Glenn, USA
“Rick has a great attitude and works really hard. He moved here to Milwaukee from Iowa which is similar to Erik Koch (training partner). Since then he’s really embraced our style of striking and he was already good at wrestling and jiu-jitsu. Out of 12 wins he has 11 finishes so he’s definitely a finisher. He’s a fun guy to watch who is good with elbows and high kicks.
In his last fight, he did a really cool kick off the mat that Anthony Pettis did in the WEC. He’s a really long, lanky, creative striker, who has signed with the World Series of Fighting and I think he’ll do some big things over there.”
Duke Roufus, head coach
Alex Garcia, Dominican Republic
“A huge welterweight known for his ferocious style, immense power and strength, Garcia is often mistaken for UFC middleweight Hector Lombard both in and out of the cage. Make no mistake, though, the 25-year-old ‘Dominican Nightmare’ is hewing his own path.
At 8-1 with an even split of four submissions and four knockouts – all but one coming inside the first round – the Tristar product and training partner of Georges St Pierre can either finish the fight on the ground or standing.”
Mike Russell, FO Canada correspondent
Kyoji Horiguchi, Japan
“Horiguchi is seen as the successor to ‘Kid’ Yamamoto (the real Kid, not the UFC version) and aside from one close loss to Masakatsu Ueda, who was considered top three in the world at the time, he has dominated everyone. The 2010 Shooto rookie champion and Shooto rookie MVP, his strong wrestling is ably supported by a All-Japan karate background.”
Daniel Herbertson, FO Asia correspondent
Submission specialists: The world’s five best prospects with outrageous submission skills
Sean Santella, USA
“‘Shorty’ came to MMA about five years ago with a wrestling and jiu-jitsu base and was an 0–1 amateur fighter, and we have been together ever since. He has excellent cardio, wrestling and jiu-jitsu. His striking is ever-improving and I know he can fight any opponent in any area depending on the matchup. He will be defending his CFFC title until the UFC comes calling.”
Mike Constantino, head coach
Leandro Higo, Brazil
“Higo is a powerful, technical grappler similar to UFC star Hacran Dias. Great at transitions, he catches submissions in scrambles often and has solid conditioning. He often outperforms opponents, despite minimal training resources. He was due to rematch his previous loss, against Iliarde Santos, April 5th due to a controversial decision in their first encounter 12 months previous.”
Rory Vincent MacLeod, Bloody Elbow talent scout
Max Nunes, Sweden
“Max is currently training with us here in San Diego, California. He’s a great athlete and a very well-rounded fighter, very explosive and fast. It’s an honor to work with him. His coach in the UK is Dean Amasinger who is also part of our Alliance MMA team and he wanted to send Max out here to train. He’s been here for a few weeks so far, and he’s clearly a very good prospect. I am very excited to see how he develops over the next few months.”
Eric Del Fierro, Alliance head coach
Takasuke Kume, Japan
“A polished grappler and leading contender in Shooto, Pancrase and Road FC (Korea), Kume uses his striking mostly to set up takedowns to get that awesome submission game going (11 subs in 15 wins). He has good strength and speed and has battled against a strong level of opposition – yet remains untested at the top. He’s also small for 155lb, so a future switch to featherweight is definitely an option.”
Rory Vincent MacLeod, Bloody Elbow talent scout
Dileno Lopes, Brazil
“Dileno is one of the best flyweights in Brazil right now. Most of the fights on his undefeated record were fought in the north, where he has become a star. His fighting style has no secrets: he’ll study you patiently and make you pay on your first mistake by taking the fight to the ground and finishing it – watch for the guillotines especially.
He was eliminated from TUF Brazil 1 by Rony Jason – who ended up winning the season – by first-round TKO. But the premature stoppage doesn’t tell the story of the fight, as Dileno came closer to finishing Jason with strikes than getting knocked out.”
Guilherme Cruz, Tatame reporter
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