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UFC President Dana White gave some solid names for fighters to look out for in the upcoming year.

If there was one thing to be grateful for in 2020, then it is all the spectacular moments brought to you by a number of up-and-coming talents in the UFC. In a year that may go down as one of the worst in modern day history, these men and women made the most of their appearances inside the Octagon and gave us plenty to talk about for years to come.

Although there are many fighters who certainly deserve recognition for their performances this year, UFC President Dana White says there are at least three that should be paid close attention to heading into 2021.

“Obviously, Khamzat [Chimaev],” said White to the SHOUT! The Buffalo Football Podcast. “What I love about the kid is that he wants to fight all the time. The guys that are as good as him and want to fight all the time, not everybody wants to fight him, so it’s tough to make fights.

You sprinkle some COVID on top of that and here we are. Everybody was asking about him this weekend why he pulled out of the fight. He got COVID. He’s a savage. He tried to get back in the gym and train through it, and I guess his lungs didn’t respond well, so the doctor wants him to take some time off before he trains again. He doesn’t even want him to start training until some time in January. So, you got him.”

Chimaev made his promotional debut on one of the first shows to take place on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi and announced his arrival with a submission over John Phillips at UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige. 10 days later, Chimaev would return and knock out Rhys McKee at UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till, picking up his second straight win as well as another ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus.

The momentum did not slow there as Chimaev fought again in September at UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley, where he knocked out Gerald Meerschaert in 17 seconds. The buzz around Chimaev only grew greater after this performance and there was talk of him blitzing his way to the top of the welterweight division sooner than expected. Unfortunately, as White mentioned, Chimaev will be on the sidelines for a bit as he recovers from complications stemming from his COVID-19 infection.

Sticking with the middleweight division, White gave the names of the other two breakout stars of the year.

“Kevin Holland,” said White. “Another guy like Chimaev [who] wants to fight all the time. The kid went 5-0 in 2020. He’s fun. He’s exciting. Good looking kid. And then another one would be Joaquin Buckley, who had in 2020 — not in 2020, but ever — the most viral win ever in UFC history with that knockout that he had.”

Both Holland and Buckley put their names on the map with unbelievable knockouts over their opponents this year. Holland recently knocked out Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza off of his back in the first round of their fight at UFC 256. Buckley stunned the world with his video game-esque spinning back kick knockout over Impa Kasanganay at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen in October.

White gives credit to those men and touts the discovery of much more talent like them by way of Contender Series.

“So, I mean those are just three. We’re putting together this piece right now for the Contender Series and the amount of talent that is coming off that show is phenomenal. That’s just three guys out of many.”

Sadly, not everyone will be joining him for a toast.

UFC President Dana White was the media’s favorite whipping boy in 2020, thanks to his decision to plow forward during a global pandemic. But his new bosses paid him several hundred million dollars to make sure UFC hit its marks and turned a profit.

Mission accomplished.

White had a lot of help along the way. It’s no secret the UFC machine is fueled by the blood of its fighters — both in the cage and at the bank — but without him at the helm, the combat sports landscape just wouldn’t be the same.

“Hey 2020!!! I beat the shit outta you and now I’m comin for you 2021!!!!” White wrote from his fancy yacht.

Whether or not things change in 2021, at least in terms of the coronavirus pandemic, has little to do with the promotion’s upcoming schedule. UFC may lose its gate during closed-door events, but between APEX in Las Vegas and Fight Island in Abu Dhabi there will always be a place to call home.

And keep that $750 million payday intact.

AKA’s Javier Mendez shared his thought on the future of the UFC lightweight title.

All signs are pointing to Khabib Nurmagomedov staying true to his word and retiring in the wake of his UFC 254 victory over Justin Gaethje. Despite UFC President Dana White’s insistence, Nurmagomedov seems set to hang up his gloves and, with them, his UFC lightweight championship.

With Nurmagomedov gone from the promotion’s hall of champions, and the pound-for-pound rankings, the UFC will now have to decide who gets to compete for the Eagle’s vacated 155 lb title.

The current UFC lightweight rankings have the recently defeated Gaethje sitting in the top contender spot. Directly below him are Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira, Conor McGregor and Tony Ferguson.

Poirier vs. McGregor is on tap for UFC 257 in January. However, it does not seem there will be a belt on the line.

Javier Mendez, who coached Nurmgomdeov at the American Kickboxing Academy, recently appeared on The Schmozone podcast, where he discussed what he thought would happen with the lightweight belt.

“Let’s face it, if in fact [Numagomedov is] not coming back, and we know that for a fact – and I don’t know that – but if in fact he’s not, then the rightful person that should be fighting for the title is Dustin against anybody,” Mendez said (ht MMA Fighting). “So to me, they got one of the right persons in there. Conor would be the second right one, or it could be Justin Gaethje or it could be Michael Chandler. It doesn’t matter. Or (Charles) Oliveira. What matters is that Dustin is in the title hunt because he’s the one that, in my opinion, is most deserving of a title shot.”

Poirier heads into his fight with McGregor on the heels of a unanimous (and thrilling) decision victory over Dan Hooker earlier this year. Prior to that win Poirier lost to Nurmagomedov, via submission, in a title fight in September 2019.

To earn his title fight Poirier went on a tear, going undefeated since a KO loss to Michael Johnson in 2016 and beating Jim Miller, Anthony Pettis, Justin Gaethje. Eddie Alvarez and Max Holloway.

In addition to talking about the future of the lightweight title, Mendez also touched on the future of Nurmagomedov. And Mendez continued to express his belief that Nurmagomedov was retired from the sport. However, he did leave some wiggle room open for the possibility the Dagestani returns for just one more fight against a man he has never faced before.

“I don’t know, because we never talked about it, but I can only tell you this. His father, his vision was for Khabib to fight GSP and retire at 30-0. So if Dana anything to do with anything, it isn’t a boatload of money because I don’t believe that’s gonna be the case. It would be something to the effect of something that very much interests him. So maybe a GSP fight. I don’t know, I’m guessing.

“But in order for that to happen, he’d have to go to the No. 1 person that he promised he would retire (to), and that would be his mother, not me. I’m on board for whatever he wants to do. So he’d have to clear it with his mother if he wants to do anything.”