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Warriors on the Rise: 2010’s Breakout Fighters

Every year, a handful of MMA fighters ascend from obscurity to contendership, from prospect status to championship gold — from nothing to something. In honor of The Warrior’s Way, which hits theaters next Friday, we’d like to salute MMA’s breakou…

Every year, a handful of MMA fighters ascend from obscurity to contendership, from prospect status to championship gold — from nothing to something. In honor of The Warrior’s Way, which hits theaters next Friday, we’d like to salute MMA’s breakout class of 2010, whose careers exploded this year, and who are all poised for even larger accomplishments in 2011.

PHIL DAVIS

Notable 2010 victories: Brian Stann (unanimous decision, UFC 109), Alexander Gustafsson (submission R1, UFC 112), Tim Boetsch (submission R2, UFC 123)
Between his pink shorts, action-figure physique, and aggressive grappling, Mr. Wonderful has become an unmistakable figure in the UFC’s light-heavyweight division. A year ago, he was a relatively unknown 4-0 prospect trying to re-invent himself as a cage-fighter after a brilliant collegiate wrestling career at Penn State, which culminated in a 2008 NCAA title. Davis made his Octagon debut this February, and has since sent four straight opponents back to the drawing board, beginning with former WEC champ Brian Stann, and ending with a Submission of the Night performance against Tim Boetsch. Having proven himself against gritty veterans and promising rookies, we’re about to find out if Davis can keep his dominant run going against the next level of UFC contenders.

COURT McGEE

Notable 2010 victories: Kris McCray (submission R2, TUF 11 Finale), Ryan Jensen (submission R3, UFC 121)
Court McGee’s life is an object lesson in never, ever giving up, no matter how dire the circumstances. A former drug-addict who was declared clinically dead after an overdose in 2005, McGee got clean and devoted his life to MMA. His stint on The Ultimate Fighter 11 this year was almost cut short after he lost a bum decision to Nick Ring, but McGee re-entered the competition as an injury replacement, and went on to choke out James Hammortree, Brad Tavares, and Kris McCray to earn the season’s middleweight trophy. In his first post-TUF test at UFC 121, he survived getting bombed out on by Ryan Jensen in the first round, and turned the momentum around when Jensen began to fade in round two. In the end, Jensen was tapping like the rest of them, and Court McGee had secured his reputation as one of toughest (and most likable) bastards TUF has ever produced.

Efrain Escudero Hopes to Fight His Way Back Into UFC With Shine Fights Deal

Filed under: UFCEfrain Escudero didn’t dance around his reasons for deciding to sign with Shine Fights after being cut by the UFC following his most recent loss.

“I was offered pretty good money and for [a contract] that wasn’t for more than one year,…

Filed under: UFC

Efrain Escudero didn’t dance around his reasons for deciding to sign with Shine Fights after being cut by the UFC following his most recent loss.

“I was offered pretty good money and for [a contract] that wasn’t for more than one year,” Escudero told MMA Fighting on Wednesday afternoon. “Eventually I want to make my run back to the UFC and prove to Dana White and everybody else that I can do the job they hired me to do.”

The chance to sign a year-long, three-fight deal rather than get locked down in a longer agreement played a major role in his decision-making process, said Escudero, who described the decisions facing him after his release from the UFC following a loss to Charles Oliveira in Sepember as “very difficult.”

“Why they released me, I have no idea,” Escudero said. “Do I feel bad? Yes, I feel bad. But I have to put it aside. We don’t live in the past.”

Four Fights Added to UFC 124 in Montreal December 11

("Tough loss against CB." "Yeah. How’s your leg doing?"
The card for UFC 124 is filling in nicely with the addition of four fights reported by various sources today.
MMAFighting reports that Jason MacDonald will return to action …

("Tough loss against CB." "Yeah. How’s your leg doing?"

The card for UFC 124 is filling in nicely with the addition of four fights reported by various sources today.

MMAFighting reports that Jason MacDonald will return to action following one of the most gruesome leg-break injuries in UFC history he incurred in his UFC 113 bout seven months ago in Montreal against John Salter.

MacDonald (24-14), who is on his second go-around in the UFC will be looking to make this stay in the Octagon a permanent one when he takes on Gracie jiu-jitsu black belt, Rafael Natal (12-3) who lost by decision in his Octagon debut against Rich Attonito at UFN 22 in September.

Also on the card, according to MMAJunkie and MMADiehards will be MacDonald’s fellow Canadians Joe Doerksen and TJ Grant who will take on Dan Miller and Ricardo Almeida, respectively.

And Now He’s Fired: Efrain Escudero

(Poor kid. He didn’t even get a chance to go on a three-fight losing streak. Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com)
Following his submission loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 22, TUF 8 lightweight winner Efrain Escudero has been released f…

(Poor kid. He didn’t even get a chance to go on a three-fight losing streak. Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com)

Following his submission loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 22, TUF 8 lightweight winner Efrain Escudero has been released from his UFC contract. Escudero confirmed the news last night via Twitter, writing "I was released by the Ufc today speaking to strikeforce and bellator. Taking a week off and make my way back!!!!!"

Escudero becomes just the second Ultimate Fighter-winner to be pink-slipped in the show’s five-and-a-half-year history; TUF 4‘s Travis Lutter got canned in April 2008. TUF winners tend to get a lot of leeway in their UFC careers — check out the spotty records of guys like Mac Danzig and Kendall Grove — but missing weight and garbage-ass performances will get you on the UFC’s bad side no matter who you are. Escudero struck out big time last week when he missed weight by an unacceptable four pounds, then lost to an up-and-comer in a fight that was entertaining despite Efrain’s best efforts to stall.

We’re sure Effy will land on his feet, and may even battle his way back to the UFC one day. But between this and Todd Duffee‘s firing two weeks ago, it seems like the UFC is becoming less interested in giving second (or third) chances to fighters who aren’t performing up to expectations.

UFC Fight Night 22 Live Blog: Efrain Escudero vs. Charles Oliveira Updates

Filed under: UFCThis is the UFC Fight Night 22 live blog for Efrain Escudero vs. Charles Oliveira, a catchweight bout on tonight’s UFC on Spike TV event from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.

Escudero (13-1), the winner of season eight’s The Ul…

Filed under: UFC

This is the UFC Fight Night 22 live blog for Efrain Escudero vs. Charles Oliveira, a catchweight bout on tonight’s UFC on Spike TV event from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.

Escudero (13-1), the winner of season eight’s The Ultimate Fighter, suffered his first career loss in January against Evan Dunham and bounced back with a victory over Dan Lauzon in May. Oliveira (13-0) is a jiu-jitsu guy who impressed in his UFC debut at UFC on Versus 2 in August, tapping out Darren Elkins with an armbar and in the process earned the Submission of the Night.

The live blog is below.

Charles Oliveira Submits Efrain Escudero at UFC Fight Night 22

Filed under: UFCOne of the most exciting young prospects in mixed martial arts got the biggest win of his career Wednesday night at UFC Fight Night 22, as Charles Oliveira beat Efrain Escudero with a beautiful standing rear-naked choke in the third rou…

Filed under: UFC

One of the most exciting young prospects in mixed martial arts got the biggest win of his career Wednesday night at UFC Fight Night 22, as Charles Oliveira beat Efrain Escudero with a beautiful standing rear-naked choke in the third round of what had been a very competitive fight.

At the age of 20, the Brazilian Oliveira has already developed a well-rounded game, as he showed against Escudero by hurting him standing up with an array of kicks before eventually using his excellent jiu jitsu to win by submission. Escudero also has a little bit of a mean streak in him, as he really went for the kill in the third round after Escudero hurt him with a knee to the groin. At one point in the second round Oliveira even did a little Anderson Silva routine, dancing around in front of Escudero and then interrupting the dancing to land a couple strikes.