Tag: Stephen Wonderboy Thompson

UFC Rankings Update: ‘Wonderboy’ Tops Welterweight List

Following what was a crazy night at UFC Fight Night 89 in Ottawa this past Saturday (June 18, 2016), some big moves have been made to the 170-pound rankings following a pair of electrifying welterweight contests. Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson bested former title challenger Rory MacDonald in their main event contest, after five rounds of what turned

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Following what was a crazy night at UFC Fight Night 89 in Ottawa this past Saturday (June 18, 2016), some big moves have been made to the 170-pound rankings following a pair of electrifying welterweight contests.

Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson bested former title challenger Rory MacDonald in their main event contest, after five rounds of what turned out to be a beautiful technical war between the two mixed martial artists, by taking home a unanimous decision win over ‘The Red King’ in his home country of Canada. The one-sided victory boosted Thompson past MacDonald into the top spot on the 170-pound rankings. Heading into his murky contract negotiations, MacDonald sits at the No. 2 spot following two losses to the champion and top-ranked combatant.

Also at 170 pounds, Demian Maia moved up to the No. 3 spot without fighting, tying title contender Tyron Woodley.

In the co-main event of the evening, Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone made some noise of his own in the welterweight division even though he typically competes in the deeply talented pool that is the UFC 155-pound weight class, by appearing on the 170-pound rankings after knocking out Patrick Cote in the third round of their bout in Ottawa. The dominant win saw Cerrone debut at No. 14, pushing Thiago Alves down to No. 15.

The next biggest move of significance was Joanne Calderwood’s rise up the women’s strawweight rankings following her brutal third-round TKO of former title contender Valerie Letourneau. Calderwood skyrocketed five spots up the 115-pound ranks to No.7 for the win, after which she declared she was ‘broke as hell’ and would have to get a job in order to continue fighting.

You can check out the full updated rankings in their entirety courtesy of UFC.com right here:

POUND-FOR-POUND
1 Jon Jones
2 Demetrious Johnson
3 Dominick Cruz
4 Robbie Lawler
5 Rafael Dos Anjos
6 Conor McGregor
7 Daniel Cormier
8 Jose Aldo
9 Michael Bisping
10 Frankie Edgar
11 Stipe Miocic
12 Joanna Jedrzejczyk
13 Luke Rockhold
14 Chris Weidman
15 Fabricio Werdum

FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Demetrious Johnson
1 Joseph Benavidez
2 Henry Cejudo
3 Jussier Formiga
4 Kyoji Horiguchi
5 Ian McCall
6 John Moraga
7 Zach Makovsky
8 Wilson Reis
9 Ali Bagautinov +1
10 Dustin Ortiz -1
11 Justin Scoggins
12 Louis Smolka
13 Ray Borg
14 Sergio Pettis
15 Ben Nguyen

BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Dominick Cruz
1 TJ Dillashaw
2 Urijah Faber
3 Raphael Assuncao
4 Bryan Caraway
5 Michael McDonald
6 Aljamain Sterling
7 Cody Garbrandt
8 John Lineker
9 John Dodson -1
10 Thomas Almeida
11 Takeya Mizugaki
12 Frankie Saenz
13 Johnny Eduardo
14 Jimmie Rivera
15 Eddie Wineland

FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Conor McGregor
1 Jose Aldo
2 Frankie Edgar
3 Max Holloway
4 Chad Mendes
5 Ricardo Lamas
6 Cub Swanson
7 Charles Oliveira
8 Jeremy Stephens
9 Dennis Bermudez
10 Brian Ortega
11 Hacran Dias
12 Darren Elkins
13 Yair Rodriguez
14 Tatsuya Kawajiri
15 Mirsad Bektic

LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Rafael Dos Anjos
1 Khabib Nurmagomedov
2 Eddie Alvarez
3 Tony Ferguson
4 Donald Cerrone
5 Nate Diaz
6 Edson Barboza
7 Anthony Pettis
8 Michael Johnson
9 Dustin Poirier
10 Michael Chiesa
11 Beneil Dariush
12 Al Iaquinta
13 Evan Dunham +1
14 Rashid Magomedov -1
15 Francisco Trinaldo

WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Robbie Lawler
1 Stephen Thompson +1
2 Rory MacDonald -1
3 Tyron Woodley
3 Demian Maia +1
5 Carlos Condit
6 Johny Hendricks
7 Neil Magny
8 Matt Brown
9 Rick Story +1
9 Dong Hyun Kim
11 Gunnar Nelson
12 Kelvin Gastelum
13 Tarec Saffiedine
14 Donald Cerrone *NR
15 Thiago Alves -1

MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Michael Bisping
1 Luke Rockhold
2 Chris Weidman
3 Jacare Souza
4 Vitor Belfort
5 Anderson Silva
6 Robert Whittaker
7 Lyoto Machida
8 Gegard Mousasi
9 Uriah Hall
10 Derek Brunson +1
11 Tim Kennedy -1
12 Thales Leites
13 Dan Henderson
14 Rafael Natal
15 Thiago Santos -1

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Daniel Cormier
1 Jon Jones (Interim Champion)
2 Anthony Johnson
3 Glover Teixeira
4 Alexander Gustafsson
5 Ryan Bader
6 Ovince Saint Preux
7 Mauricio Rua
8 Rashad Evans
9 Jimi Manuwa
10 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
11 Nikita Krylov
12 Corey Anderson
13 Ilir Latifi
14 Patrick Cummins
15 Gian Villante

HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Stipe Miocic
1 Fabricio Werdum
2 Cain Velasquez
3 Alistair Overeem
4 Junior Dos Santos
5 Ben Rothwell
6 Andrei Arlovski
7 Travis Browne
8 Mark Hunt
9 Josh Barnett
10 Roy Nelson
11 Frank Mir +1
12 Derrick Lewis -1
13 Stefan Struve
14 Ruslan Magomedov
15 Alexey Oliynyk

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Joanna Jedrzejczyk
1 Claudia Gadelha
2 Carla Esparza
3 Rose Namajunas
4 Tecia Torres
5 Karolina Kowalkiewicz +1
6 Jessica Andrade +1
7 Joanne Calderwood +5
8 Maryna Moroz
9 Valerie Letourneau -4
10 Paige VanZant -1
11 Michelle Waterson
12 Jessica Penne -2
13 Randa Markos +1
14 Jessica Aguilar -1
15 Juliana Lima

WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Miesha Tate
1 Holly Holm
2 Ronda Rousey
3 Cat Zingano
4 Amanda Nunes
5 Julianna Pena
6 Sara McMann
7 Valentina Shevchenko
8 Liz Carmouche
9 Raquel Pennington
10 Jessica Eye
11 Bethe Correia
12 Germaine de Randamie
13 Lauren Murphy
14 Ashlee Evans-Smith
15 Marion Reneau

 

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UFC Fight Night 89 Main Card Breakdown & Preview

The UFC is back in Canada tomorrow night (June 18, 2016) for UFC Fight Night 89, and the huge night of fights is headlined by hometown hero, and No. 1-ranked welterweight in the world, Rory MacDonald and No. 2-ranked Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson. The card is also co-main evented by Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and Patrick Cote

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The UFC is back in Canada tomorrow night (June 18, 2016) for UFC Fight Night 89, and the huge night of fights is headlined by hometown hero, and No. 1-ranked welterweight in the world, Rory MacDonald and No. 2-ranked Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.

The card is also co-main evented by Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and Patrick Cote in a welterweight bout, granted Cerrone typically competes in the 155-pound division.

Aside from the two colossal bouts set to headline the night of fights in Ottawa, theres plenty of more action fight fans seem to be overlooking that we’re going to look into today. Here is an in-depth look at the UFC Fight Night 89 main card:

LetourneouFight 1: Valerie Letourneau vs Joanne Calderwood (Women’s Flyweight Bout)

Set to kick off the night is the first ever women’s flyweight bout in UFC history, when No. 5-ranked women’s starawweight Valerie Letourneau takes on No. 12-ranked Joanne Calderwood.

Letourneau (8-4) is coming off of a 115-pound title bout defeat to current champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 193, via unanimous decision in the night’s co-main event.

The American Top Team (ATT) product is a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Bruno Fernandes, and also possesses some of the best striking in the women’s 115-pound division.

Calderwood (10-1) is an impressive prospect out of Scotland, being the country’s first female mixed martial artist, who is also alumni from The Ultimate Fighter 20 (TUF 20) in which she made it as far as the quarterfinals of the tournament.

‘JoJo’ has only lost one bout in her professional career, and is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Cortney Casey at UFC Fight Night 72 nearly a year ago in July. Calderwood holds a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and is a Muay Thai specialist having held four titles in the sport.

Both women possess incredible standup skills and have proven to be fairly even on the ground, however, Letourneau is ranked as high as a -190 favorite to win the bout and has faced far greater competition throughout her career. Expect a standup brawl from these two women when they step inside the Octagon.

ThibaultFight 2: Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs Thibault Gouti (Lightweight)

Next up is a lightweight bout between young UFC veteran Olivier Aubin-Mercier, and a man who comes off his first career loss in Thibault Gouti.

Mercier (7-2) has won three of his last five career UFC bouts, however, his last Octagon appearance in January saw him dropping a unanimous decision bout to Carlos Diego Ferreira at UFC on FOX 18.

‘The Quebec Kid’ is extremely talented on the ground as he holds a black belt in Judo to go along with a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Seven of Mercier’s eight career victories have come via submission, giving him the clear edge in the ground game department.

Gouti (11-1) comes off of the first loss of his professional mixed martial arts career, when he was defeated by Teemu Packalen via rear-naked choke at UFC Fight Night 84 in the first round.

The 29-year-old Frenchman is no slouch on the ground himself, however, as six of his eleven career victories have come via submission.

Mercier is a highly skilled ground practitioner and could dictate the majority of the fight should it go to the ground, which is most likely why he is ranked as much as a -450 favorite to win the bout.

O'ConnellFight 3: Steve Bosse vs Sean O’Connell (Light Heavyweight)

The third bout slated for the main card is set to go down in the 205-pound division, when Steve ‘The Boss’ Bosse takes on Sean ‘The Real OC’ O’Connell.

Bosse (11-2) comes off of a first round knockout victory over James Te-Huna at UFC Fight Night 85 in his second UFC bout, once again utilizing his vicious striking power.

‘The Boss’ possesses game changing power in his hands, holding nine knockout wins of his eleven career victories.

O’Connell (17-7) has won two of his last four bouts inside the Octagon, including most recently a devastating knockout loss to the heavy handed Illir Latifi at UFC Fight Night 81 this past January.

‘The Real OC’ is an exciting fighter who isn’t afraid to stand and bang with any man in the 205-divison, and has even taken home Fight of the Night honors two times in his two-year UFC career.

Bosse is as much as a -160 favorite to walk away with the win Saturday night, and it’s most likely due in large part to the Canadian’s vicious knockout power.

CowboyFight 4: Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone vs Patrick Cote (Welterweight) 

Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone is making his second appearance in the UFC’s 170-pound division, to take on former middleweight title-challenger Patrick Cote in the evenings co-main event.

Cerrone (29-7-1) has only lost once in his last three years inside the Octagon, with his last bout resulting in a first round submission victory over Alex Oliveira in his welterweight debut.

‘Cowboy’ is an excellent striker due in large part to his extensive kickboxing and Muay Thai background, and also holds a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Cote (23-9) is on a three-fight win streak as his only loss in four years came in a unanimous decision loss to Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson. ‘The Predator’ is an extremely well rounded fighter as well, as he holds black belts in Muay Thai, Judo, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

These two men are pretty evenly matched up and will most likely put on a very exciting contest, however, ‘Cowboy’ is as much as a -175 favorite to emerge victorious.

MacDonaldRory MacDonald vs Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson (Welterweight)

The main of event of the evening is headlined by No. 1-ranked Rory MacDonald and No. 2-ranked Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson for a possible shot at the 170-pound title.

MacDonald (18-3) is coming off a one-year-layoff from the sport after engaging in a bloody title bout brawl with Robbie Lawler back at UFC 189 last July.

The Tristar Gym product is an extremely well rounded mixed martial artist who shows some incredibly technical striking, and possessing a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under David Lea.

Thompson (12-1) is currently on a six-fight win streak since suffering his first career loss to Matt Brown in 2012, with his most recent victory saw ‘Wonderboy’ finishing former 170-pound champion Johnny Hendricks in their bout at UFC Fight Night 82.

‘Wonderboy’ is one of the UFC’s most dynamic and feared strikers due to his impressive kickboxing career, that included fifty-seven wins in route to an undefeated record.

Due to the undeniably elite striking level of both men, oddsmakers results have revealed to be scattered on who they believe will emerge victorious in the night’s main event.

UFC Fight Night 89 is live on FS1 tomorrow (June 18, 2016) and is headlined by a welterweight clash between Rory MacDonald and Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.

Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass, 6:45 p.m. ET)

Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 2, 8:30 p.m. ET)

Main Card (FOX Sports 1, 10:30 p.m. ET)

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‘Wonderboy’ Thompson Isn’t Looking To Knock Out MacDonald Saturday

UFC Fight Night 89 is live this weekend (June 18, 2016) from Ottawa, Canada and is headlined by the cream of the crop in the welterweight division, when No. 1-ranked Rory MacDonald takes on No. 2-ranked Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson. Thompson is coming off of a first round TKO victory over former 170-pound champion Johnny Hendricks, which

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UFC Fight Night 89 is live this weekend (June 18, 2016) from Ottawa, Canada and is headlined by the cream of the crop in the welterweight division, when No. 1-ranked Rory MacDonald takes on No. 2-ranked Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.

Thompson is coming off of a first round TKO victory over former 170-pound champion Johnny Hendricks, which he initially believed was enough to earn him title contender-ship.

That proved not to be the case, as the UFC instead chose No. 3-ranked Tyron Woodley to take on champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 201.

Lawler vs MacdonaldNow that MacDonald and Thompson sit atop the welterweight rankings ‘Wonderboy’ is convinced that no matter who wins the perennial 170-pound contest, the winner has to be given the next shot at UFC gold:

“Win or lose, me or Rory, they have to give it to us,” he said (Courtesy of MMAJunkie). “I understand he fought for the title back in July, but he’s been at the top of the game for a long time.”

“With a good win over Rory, they have to give it to me. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

MacDonald has challenged for the title once before as well as having been amongst the elite of the elite in the talented pool that is the welterweight class, a fact Thompson is sure not to overlook when they tangle this weekend:

“I’m prepared for the best Rory, especially after a loss,” Thompson said. “I became the fighter that I am after my loss to Matt Brown. Mentally, I want to be prepared for the best.

If I’m thinking he may not feel this way or may not be the same after that fight with Lawler, I don’t like to think that. I think I’m facing the toughest Rory MacDonald on Saturday. To me, I don’t think it affects him.”

“(MacDonald) is the best well-rounded fighter I’ve faced so far,” Thompson said. “Fairly similar to St-Pierre. My goal is to keep it standing on my feet, obviously.

I would not want to go to the ground with this guy. He’s the No. 1 contender and been at the top of the game for a long time for a good reason. He’s a good martial artist.”

05_Brown_Thompson_03It was also revealed that MacDonald has brought in karate champion Raymond Daniels to mimic Thompson’s style ahead of their clash:

“Rory is bringing him in to get used to the movement. It is a different movement, and it is very frustrating if you’ve never been standing in front of somebody with that type of movement.”

While Thompson would love to go in there and finish the job early against MacDonald Saturday night, ‘Wonderboy’ is fully prepared to go five rounds with ‘The Red King’ as opposed to fully committing to a knockout:

“I always go out there and prepare for a five, five-minute round war,” Thompson said. “Mentally, that’s just how I look at it. I never go out there looking for the knockout.

I’ve done that in the past in kickboxing and worn myself out trying. Sometimes, that can break people mentally.

You go out there looking for the knockout and it doesn’t happen? I just let it happen. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. You can’t go out there looking for it, because you’ll wear yourself out trying.”

MacDonald and Thompson are set to headline UFC Fight Night 89, which takes place live from the TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Canada, live on FS1 on June 18, 2016.

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Rory MacDonald ‘Surprised’ Tyron Woodley Got A Title Shot

The UFC’s welterweight division is set for a huge shake-up when No. 1-ranked Rory MacDonald takes on the surging No. 2-ranked Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, at UFC Fight Night 89 next week in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. MacDonald was last seen inside the Octagon in July of 2015, when the Canadian suffered a fifth round TKO loss

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The UFC’s welterweight division is set for a huge shake-up when No. 1-ranked Rory MacDonald takes on the surging No. 2-ranked Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, at UFC Fight Night 89 next week in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Lawler vs MacdonaldMacDonald was last seen inside the Octagon in July of 2015, when the Canadian suffered a fifth round TKO loss to Robbie Lawler in their championship bout at UFC 189. Now Lawler is set to make his second title defense since his bout with MacDonald, against the No. 3-ranked Tyron Woodley in July’s UFC 201 main event.

MacDonald recently spoke with MMAJunkie, stating that he was a bit surprised that the title opportunity was given to Woodley and that he believed the next man up for the title should have been Brazilian jiu-jitsu wiz Damian Maia:

“I thought they were going to give it to Demian Maia,” MacDonald said. “I was a bit surprised that Woodley got it. But the champ needs to stay busy, wants to fight, and Woodley was patiently waiting. He was ready. It’s how it plays out.

Sometimes it’s not always the rightful guy gets the shot. You look at boxing, they have like tune-up fights in between their title fights. They’re not always fighting the No. 1 guy year around.

It’s a little different in our sport. Everyone thinks it always has to be the next guy, because it’s the next top guy. Woodley’s a good challenge. I’m not saying it’s not going to be a good fight, I just would have expected Demian to be the next guy because of his success.”

WonderboyTKOSHendricks2MacDonald was also adamant that if he can finish Wonderboy, like he believes he will, there will be no question he will be next up for another opportunity at the title:

“I’ve beat everybody,” MacDonald said. “If I put away ‘Wonderboy’ like I think I am, it’s going to be no question that everyone’s going to want to see me in that title fight because I feel like I’m going to take that title and hold it for a long time.”

MacDonald vs Thompson is set to go down at UFC Fight Night 89, live on FS1 from the TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on June 18, 2016.

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UFC Fight Night 82 Predictions

Johny Hendricks vs. Stephen Thompson: Mike Drahota: There’s a likely outcome to this impromptu main event, and then there’s a second (and more unlikely) one. The first is the clear pick that sees former champion ‘Bigg Rigg’ use his NCAA Championship-level wrestling skills to grind ‘Wonderboy’ down, as that’s really the only way Thompson has

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Johny Hendricks vs. Stephen Thompson:

Mike Drahota:

There’s a likely outcome to this impromptu main event, and then there’s a second (and more unlikely) one. The first is the clear pick that sees former champion ‘Bigg Rigg’ use his NCAA Championship-level wrestling skills to grind ‘Wonderboy’ down, as that’s really the only way Thompson has been shut down in the UFC.

The second is Thompson using his striking and range to blast ‘Bigg Rigg’ with a surprising shot and/or piecing him up with fast, relentless combos to win a huge upset. Hendricks has taken the best shots current welterweight champion Robbie Lawler could dish out, however, and I don’t think he’ll get knocked out here. I envision a fight like Hendricks’ latest win over Matt Brown, who, interestingly enough, defeated Thompson with a similar gameplan I foresee Hendricks using. ‘Bigg Rigg’ via unanimous decision.

Rory Kernaghan:

Hendricks vs. Thompson is a very interesting contrast of styles. On one hand you have the wrestling base and power striking of Hendricks, and on the other there’s ‘Wonderboy’ with his karate base and crazy kicks. Once again this is a fight that will be won and lost in the range department. The longer reach and better arsenal goes to Thompson on the outside, but Hendricks will rule this fight in short range. The weight issue for ‘Bigg Rigg’ will hopefully be a thing of the past, but a rough cut could mean a sub par performance. Providing there’s no hiccups, I see Hendricks taking a decision here.

Mike Henken:

This was a tough one to call for me, but I’m going to go with the upset here. Hendricks is a former champion with one-punch knockout power and one of the best wrestling pedigrees in the game today. Looking ripped and in shape, it appears he has left his weight cutting issues in the past, but he has tired in five-round fights before. That being said, he will be going up against the rangy “Wonderboy” Thompson, a man amongst the very best strikers in all of MMA. In my opinion, if Thompson can stop the takedown, and he has trained with former middleweight champion Chris Weidman, it’s his fight to lose. I expect him to use his length, movement, and vicious arsenal of kicks to pick up the biggest victory of his career. “Wonderboy” by fourth round TKO.

Roy Nelson vs. Jared Rosholt:

Mike Drahota:

I just can’t seem to get motivated by this fight in the co-main event slot, as fan favorite as sputtered as a one-dimensional knockout striker (who really only uses one move, a thunderous overhand right), while Rosholt is a talented enough but middling prospect in the UFC’s most boring – and slow-moving – division.

This bout certainly isn’t going to change that, and outside of a huge fight-ending [punch from ‘Big Country,’ I see Rosholt largely controlling the rotund Nelson, who’s failed against elite grapplers in losing five out of his last six, to win the decision here. Rosholt by decision is the pick.

Rory Kernaghan:

Roy Nelson vs. Jared Rosholt is a strange match to say the least, with one heavy hitting knockout artist in ‘Big Country’ and a smothering wrestler in Rosholt. The truth to this one is I feel Rosholt has no place being in the Octagon with someone of Roy’s caliber, with notable wins over some legends of the sport to his credit and a missile for a right hand. Nelson, first round KO, take that one to the bank.

Mike Henken:

Nelson has looked, well, rather awful as of late to say the least. Losing his last three bouts, it appears as if Nelson may be nearing the end of his time, and he will be facing off with a hungry Division I wrestler here in Rosholt. I wouldn’t be surprised to Rosholt to tire Nelson, who has never had the best cardio, and grind out a victory, but “Big Country” does possess that one game-changing tool: the right hand from hell. With the ability to put a man to sleep at any given point, I think we see one more bomb from “Big Country” here. Nelson by second round KO.

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Movin’ on Up: The UFC’s Five Fastest Rising Prospects


(A preview of Gustafsson’s placement on the list? There’s only one way to find out.) 

A great man once said that geology was the study of pressure and time. That man’s name was Red, and although he was simply using the phrase as a metaphor for prison life, he could’ve just as easily been talking about hype. Because hype, not unlike geology, has the ability to form diamonds from coal, and just as easily crush the greatest boulders into dust.

As MMA fans, we know the hype game more than any; if we’re not prematurely declaring it “The_____Era,” then we’re likely discrediting legends of the sport, even going as far to say that their wins never held any validity in the first place. Sounds insane, doesn’t it? Well, welcome to the world of cyberhype, the deadliest, fastest spreading strand of hype there is. And as with Kei$ha and CSI spin-offs, there is little we can do to stop this disease, so instead we’ll just try and act like we were into it before it got popular.

Here are five of the hottest prospects in the UFC, ranked in order of how long we knew about them before you did.

5. Stephen Thompson

Last three fights: (W) Dan Stittgen via KO, (W) Patrick Mandio via UD, (W)  William Kuhn via UD

There isn’t much we can say about Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson that his kickboxing and MMA records don’t. The man has strung together 63 consecutive wins in mixed competition, most recently starching Daniel Stittgen ^ at UFC 143. The hype surrounding Thompson has been overlooked by some, and will be put to the test when he takes on TUF 7 vet Matt Brown at UFC 145.


(A preview of Gustafsson’s placement on the list? There’s only one way to find out.) 

A great man once said that geology was the study of pressure and time. That man’s name was Red, and although he was simply using the phrase as a metaphor for prison life, he could’ve just as easily been talking about hype. Because hype, not unlike geology, has the ability to form diamonds from coal, and just as easily crush the greatest boulders into dust.

As MMA fans, we know the hype game more than any; if we’re not prematurely declaring it “The_____Era,” then we’re likely discrediting legends of the sport, even going as far to say that their wins never held any validity in the first place. Sounds insane, doesn’t it? Well, welcome to the world of cyberhype, the deadliest, fastest spreading strand of hype there is. And as with Kei$ha and CSI spin-offs, there is little we can do to stop this disease, so instead we’ll just try and act like we were into it before it got popular.

Here are five of the hottest prospects in the UFC, ranked in order of how long we knew about them before you did.

5. Stephen Thompson

Last three fights: (W) Dan Stittgen via KO, (W) Patrick Mandio via UD, (W)  William Kuhn via UD

There isn’t much we can say about Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson that his kickboxing and MMA records don’t. The man has strung together 63 consecutive wins in mixed competition, most recently starching Daniel Stittgen ^ at UFC 143. The hype surrounding Thompson has been overlooked by some, and will be put to the test when he takes on TUF 7 vet Matt Brown at UFC 145.

4. Che Mills

Last three fights: (W) Chris Cope via TKO, (W) Marcio Cesar via KO, (W) Magomed Shikshabekov via UD

Former Cage Rage Welterweight champ Che “Beautiful” Mills had a rough start to his UFC career, falling to a heel hook in a preliminary match on the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter to eventual season winner James Wilks. In the time since, however, Mills has gone 7-2, including wins over Jake Hecht and the above destruction of Chris Cope. Fun Fact: He also holds a pair of (T)KO wins over current DREAM Welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis. Mills will be squaring off against Rory MacDonald at UFC 145 in a match that will truly show us what he’s made of. Speaking of “Ares”…

3. Rory Macdonald

Last three fights: (W) Mike Pyle via TKO, (W) Nate Diaz via UD, (L) Carlos Condit via TKO

With his solid submission prowess, aggressive and diverse striking attack, and powerful wrestling base, it’s hard to really spot a weakness in Macdonald’s game. The only blemish on his record came via last second TKO loss to current welterweight interim champ Carlos Condit, in a match that many would argue he was ahead on going into the third round. We hate to speak in cliches, but the sky is the limit for this kid. In fact, we imagine he’ll be getting a much deserved rematch with Condit in the not-to-distant future. Unless Che Mills has something to say about it, of course.