MMA Prospects: The Good, The Bad,and The Ugly

Now everyone knows you can build a solid MMA organization around a few top fighters and some solid veterans. However to keep that organization going you have to bring some prospects to help keep the talent pool from getting stale. Now prospects can come out of nowhere like recent rising star Charles Oliveria or they can be brought up through The Ultimate Fighter. However this is doesn't always mean that the fighter in question is going to be a star. So I present to you The Good,The Bad,and The Ugly of prospects from the past and the present time.

The Good:
Jon Jones(11-1):Jones is probably the fastest rising prospect the UFC has ever had on their hands. The kid combines everything that makes a fighter exciting:he's got some of the flashiest(read:flashy not technical)stand up I've ever seen,he's got amazing greco-roman wrestling skills and tosses guys around like ragdolls. And the UFC did the right thing they brought him along slowly instead of throwing the kid to the lions early in his career. He showed great poise and class after his DQ loss to Matt Hammill. After another first round decimation of Vladimir Matyushenko Jones has been set to face Ryan Bader in a De Facto title eliminator matchup at UFC 126.

Ryan Bader(12-0): Darth Bader as he's called is one of the top fighters ever to come out of The Ultimate Fighter. He combines brutal knockout power and a wrestling pedigree to compliment it as well. He started slowly in the UFC winning a few fights by decision then announced to the world he was the real deal with a brutal knockout of Keith Jardine. Bader defeated grizzled veteran Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 119 and is set to face fellow fast rising prospect Jon Jones at UFC 126.
The Bad:

Brandon Vera(11-6): Where to start with Vera...He's got a huge skill set but has yet to utilize it on a consistent basis. His start at heavyweight was impressive to say the least with 4 straight finishes in 4 fights including one over Frank Mir. However two straight losses to Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum saw him drop to light heavyweight where he has been underwhelming to put it bluntly. We no longer see his brutal muay thai he seems timid to throw strikes and pays for it. After having his face rearranged by an elbow courtesy of Jon Jones,Vera suffered a similar fate against Thiago Silva. Vera was totally dominated throughout the fight and for the last minute he was utterly humilated as Silva slapped him in the face(and broke his nose in the process)and even played the bongos on his back. Following the loss the former title contender was cut from the UFC.
Luis Arthur Cane(10-3): Cane came into the UFC with a bang with 3 wins in 4 fights...then he hit a wall or more accurately Rogerio Nogueria hit him...HARD. The tko loss saw Cane dominated the duration of the fight and dropped Cane back down the ladder at light heavyweight. Then he was matched up with Cyrille Diabate and once again Cane cracked under pressure and succumbed to punches in the first round again.


The Ugly:

Anthony Johnson(8-3): Oh boy what an enigma Rumble can be when he's on fire and facing sub par competition he looks like a future champion for sure. Hes got power,wrestling,and strength but he also as the startling ability to miss weight by almost 6 pounds. Once he fought decent competition he fell harder then Enron's stock. His inability to make weight has prompted him to begin a move up to middleweight where honestly I think he won't have much impact seeing as he won't have a size advantage anymore and he won't be ready for a guy his size swinging fists at his face.

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou(9-7):Sigh...where to start with Soko so much hype followed him after his KO of Rogerio Nogueria at Pride 33 and his follow up KO of Ricardo Arona at Pride 34. However upon entering the UFC that man was gone,all the fans saw was a guy with little to no cardio dance around for a round or two before getting tko'd or choked out. Since his KO of Arona he's 5-6 overall and all his losses come by tko,ko,or submission and his wins over the likes of Bob Sapp,Kazuhiro Nakamura,and Jan Nortje. Now this guy had so much potential, he has great strength,good kickboxing and decent takedown defense. However he has no cardio at all and it costs him in every single fight he loses.


Theres plenty more potential fallen prospects to write about but i chose a select few that stood out the most in my mind. Feedback is always welcomed and if you have any ideas for future topics look me up on facebook or check out the Addicted to Mixed Martial Arts group anytime.