Mma Fighters List
Well, another decade of mixed martial arts action is in the books.
= Fighter moves up in the rankings after recent fight = Fighter moves down in the rankings after recent fight Reasons a fighter is ineligible for UFC Rankings = Inactivity over 15 months = Changing weight classes. A fighter must debut in their new weight class in order to officially be ranked there. MMA Junkie: The MMA Road Show with John Morgan, No. 310: Drew Dober, Aleksandar Rakic, Joseph Benavidez MMA Junkie: Defining Fights: UFC 259 co-headliner Megan Anderson MMA Junkie: Defining Fights: UFC 259 co-headliner Amanda Nunes MMA Junkie: Megan Anderson plots upset of Amanda Nunes: 'Everyone's invincible until they're not'.
The 2010s featured the emergence of superstars such as Jon Jones, Conor McGregor, and Ronda Rousey. For the first time in UFC history, a simultaneous double champion was crowned in McGregor. And then it happened again (Daniel Cormier, and again (Amanda Nunes, and again (Henry Cejudo).
The next decade almost is guaranteed to provide us with the next generation of UFC, Bellator and PFL champions. But who are the likely candidates to become future stars?
From hot UFC and Bellator prospects to fighters on the regional scene, to athletes yet to compete in MMA, the up-and-comer harvest is plentiful. Who could be the next McGregor? The next Israel Adesanya? The next Zhang Weili?
List Of Male Mma Fighters
Let’s take a look into MMA Junkie’s crystal ball and see who could cross the threshold into stardom over the span of the next decade.
Two parameters were set for this list:
Fighters must be younger than 30.Fighters must not yet have held a major organization’s title.Fighters who fit the criteria but seemingly already have achieved stardom were not considered.
Without further ado …
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Maycee Barber
Record: 8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC
Age: 21
Weight class: Flyweight
Height: 5’5″
Birthplace: Greeley, Colo.
Next Fight: Jan. 18 vs. Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 246 in Las Vegas
Nicknamed “The Future,” Maycee Barber is just that. The strawweight has proven her worth in a short period of time, competing for LFA and on Dana White’s Contender Series prior to her UFC debut. Three fights into her promotional tenure, Barber sports a 100 percent finishing rate. In her most recent outing in October, Barber blitzed and TKO’d fellow top prospect Gillian Robertson. The win moved Barber one step closer to her publicly set goal of becoming the youngest UFC champion ever. She’ll look to continue her climb when she takes on her highest-ranked opponent to date, Roxanne Modafferi, at UFC 246 on Jan. 18.
Paulo Costa
Female Mma Fighters List
Record: 13-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC
Age: 28
Weight class: Middleweight
Height: 6’1″
Birthplace: Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Next Fight: TBA
It almost seems like a misprint that Paulo Costa can qualify for this list – but he does. It’s easy to forget his age and relatively brief UFC tenure when looking at his accomplishments. A physical specimen, the Brazilian middleweight Costa has quickly risen through the ranks en route to title contention. Costa went the distance for the first time in his career in August. In doing so, he defeated his most notable opponent to date, two-time title challenger Yoel Romero. The victory presumably has set Costa up for a title shot against champion Israel Adesanya. However, a shoulder injury has delayed “Borrachinha’s” return – but the rivalry with Adesanya is continuing to build in the meantime.
Black Mma Fighters List
Mike Davis
Record: 8-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC
Age: 27
Weight class: Lightweight
Height: 6’0″
Birthplace: South Cairo, N.Y.
Next Fight: TBA
With an 80 percent winning percentage, Mike Davis doesn’t have a bad record by any means. But still, it isn’t representative of the skills he possesses. The Florida-based lightweight has only lost to two top-tier talents in Sodiq Yusuff and Gilbert Burns. With crisp boxing and a strong ground game, Davis is a scary matchup for any member of the UFC’s 155-pound division. Just imagine how good he could become. The man hasn’t even hit the dozen-fight mark of his pro MMA career. In his most recent bout, Davis administered one of the year’s biggest beatdowns, pummeling Thomas Gifford at UFC on ESPN+ 19 in October.
Ciryl Gane
Record: 6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC
Age: 29
Weight class: Heavyweight
Height: 6’5″
Birthplace: France
Next Fight: TBA
It’s been a long time since MMA has seen a heavyweight prospect with the upside of Ciryl Gane. Working under esteemed MMA coach Fernand Lopez, France’s Gane has served as a main training partner for Francis Ngannou. Now, it’s his time. Possessing many of the same skills as Ngannou, Gane also brings some differences to the table. His athleticism and quickness is unusual for a heavyweight. Possessing a strong kickboxing background, Gane has shown he’s evolved past being a one-dimensional competitor. In two out of his three UFC outings, Gane has won by submission.