Tag: Rankings/List

The Beaten Path: 5 Middleweights the UFC Should Sign Now

It’s time to explore another edition of prospects the UFC Should Sign.
We last left off with the light heavyweights. Now it’s time to look at the middleweights.
The middleweight division has seen enormous competition emerge in the title reign of C…

It’s time to explore another edition of prospects the UFC Should Sign.

We last left off with the light heavyweights. Now it’s time to look at the middleweights.

The middleweight division has seen enormous competition emerge in the title reign of Chris Weidman. Guys are coming out of the woodwork to challenge for the title, from Vitor Belfort to Ronaldo Souza to Yoel Romero.

New faces are emerging in the upper part of the division. Prospects are starting to develop and threaten the old landscape of the division. In fact, the UFC has grabbed guys off my radar, such as Sultan Aliev, Pawel Pawlak, George Sullivan and Dhiego Lima, among others.

So with that, we look at five middleweights the UFC should consider signing soon. These men would add depth to the division and possibly be main carders.

Below are the previous installments of this series:

Heavyweight

Light Heavyweight 

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Power Ranking John Dodson’s 5 UFC Victories

Former flyweight title challenger John “The Magician” Dodson has been relegated to the sidelines since his lopsided second-round TKO of John Moraga in June.
The 30-year-old re-aggravated a lingering knee issue during his bout with Moraga and underwent …

Former flyweight title challenger John “The Magician” Dodson has been relegated to the sidelines since his lopsided second-round TKO of John Moraga in June.

The 30-year-old re-aggravated a lingering knee issue during his bout with Moraga and underwent surgery a month later to repair his ACL and MCL. Dodson has compiled a 5-1 record in the UFC, including a first-round TKO over current 135-pound champion T.J. Dillashaw that won him The Ultimate Fighter in December 2011.

“I’m looking at six to eight months of me actually being out before I can start going back in the gym and going hard and stuff,” Dodson told Fox Sports in July.

By the looks of his Instagram account, he is on his way to a full recovery. Dodson, who fights out of Jackson’s MMA, remains the No. 2 flyweight behind champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson. That doesn’t mean he’s set on a rematch.

“I’m trying to get whatever gold is available to get at that time,” Dodson told Bleacher Report’s Duane Finley in November. “I’ll take it from D.J. or T.J. It really doesn’t matter to me.

While we await his return at either 125 or 135 pounds—sometime later this year—let’s take a look at his most memorable wins in the UFC.

For the purpose of these rankings, difficulty of opponent and ease at which victory was achieved will be taken into account.

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The Beaten Path: 5 Light Heavyweights the UFC Should Sign Now

We started the series with the heavyweights, and now we move on to the light heavyweights. That’s right—The Beaten Path continues its “Prospects the UFC Should Sign” series.
The light heavyweight division is in need of bodies due to the small nu…

We started the series with the heavyweights, and now we move on to the light heavyweights. That’s right—The Beaten Path continues its “Prospects the UFC Should Sign” series.

The light heavyweight division is in need of bodies due to the small number of fighters in its ranks. To keep matchups fresh and provide different faces, the UFC needs to look at inking some 205-pounders.

The UFC already snagged a couple of guys off my radar recently in Corey Anderson, Antonio Carlos Jr. and Hans Stringer. That shows the company is serious about restocking the division, but it shouldn’t stop there.

So with that, we enter the world of possibilities. Here are five more light heavyweights the UFC should sign.

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MMA in 2015: 8 UFC Superfights That Could Happen by Year’s End

What is an MMA superfight? 
Is it one that crosses over promotional barriers, like Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva? Is it one that involves champions defying weight classes, as BJ Penn and Georges St-Pierre once did? Is it one that spans generat…

What is an MMA superfight? 

Is it one that crosses over promotional barriers, like Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva? Is it one that involves champions defying weight classes, as BJ Penn and Georges St-Pierre once did? Is it one that spans generations, like Matt Hughes vs. Royce Gracie? Is it one that captures the imaginations of people outside the exclusive sphere of MMA fandom, like Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier?

Who’s to say? Either way, 2015 is a year where numerous incredibly interesting fights could happen.

So what are the most compelling, superest fights out there? How must the stars align for them to go down? Can they happen? 

Read on to find out the answers!

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The Beaten Path: 5 Heavyweights the UFC Should Sign Now

Another year, another edition of the notorious “5 Prospects the UFC Should Sign” series.
We as MMA fans are a little older and a little wiser. We’re getting accustomed to more and more MMA popping up in the mainstream.
It wasn’t long ago that…

Another year, another edition of the notorious “5 Prospects the UFC Should Sign” series.

We as MMA fans are a little older and a little wiser. We’re getting accustomed to more and more MMA popping up in the mainstream.

It wasn’t long ago that the UFC and Bellator were seemingly the only options on TV. Now, in addition to the UFC being featured on the Fox networks and Bellator on Spike TV, CBS Sports has Titan Fighting Championship and NBC Sports has World Series of Fighting, among other things.

First, we take a look at the heavyweights. It’s a division that has brought in and passed out talent on a large scale. In the last year, top prospects such as Konstantin Erokhin, Josh Copeland and Ruslan Magomedov have all inked deals with the company, helping bring some new blood to the ranks.

For now, we focus on five more guys the UFC can bring in. They are a mix of vets and young guns, but all should be considered prospective fighters for the world’s largest MMA promotion.

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10 MMA Fighters Who Need a Big 2015

By most accounts, MMA didn’t see its best year in 2014. For the first time in a long time, the sport had to march forth without any of its biggest stars.
Anderson Silva was mending his broken leg. Georges St-Pierre was taking a leave of absence. Brock …

By most accounts, MMA didn’t see its best year in 2014. For the first time in a long time, the sport had to march forth without any of its biggest stars.

Anderson Silva was mending his broken leg. Georges St-Pierre was taking a leave of absence. Brock Lesnar was busy making history elsewhere, pinning the Undertaker under the WrestleMania lights for the first time in The Deadman’s storied pro wrestling career. 

Even the stars who fought in their stead couldn’t remain healthy enough to carry the load. 

But now we embark onto 2015, a year that should already excite most fans—so long as the following fighters have big years of their own. Scroll on as we list the fighters who need to have a big 2015. 

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