The UFC Title Holders

Only an elite group of contenders can say they pose eminent threats to the seven UFC titleholders. So which up-and-coming fighter can dethrone one of the current kings of mixed martial arts ?

Here’s a peek of what’s around the corner for UFC champions Cain Velasquez , Jon Jones, Anderson Silva , Georges St. Pierre, Frankie Edgar, José Aldo and Dominick Cruz.

CAIN VELASQUEZ

The biggest and arguably most vicious fighter in the list of seven, Velasquez took the UFC heavyweight title by force in 2010 after lullabying former top contender Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and bullying former champion Brock Lesnar .

Anyone who’s watched the 28-year-old Velasquez could easily run out of superlatives to describe the former Arizona State All-American wrestler. He’s outdone each of his seven opponents in the UFC in every facet of the game, and eagerly awaits his first challenger, ferocious Brazilian Junior Dos Santos.

Surgical repair on a torn rotator cuff will delay the Velasquez/Dos Santos fight until UFC 136 on Oct. 18.

Dos Santos and Lesnar, the Ultimate Fighter season 13 coaches, were originally billed to fight at UFC 131 for the No. 1 contendership, but another bout of diverticulitis forced the former champ to withdrawal from the bout, giving way to former No. 1 contender Shane Carwin.

Carwin, 36, narrowly survived a brutal beating from the 26-year-old Dos Santos in the first round, and then spent the second and third rounds absorbing similar punishment en route to a unanimous decision loss.

Dos Santos not only displayed impressive takedown defense against the NCAA Division II national champion, he also showed off his extraordinarily sturdy chin, getting tagged several times by Carwin’s patent right hand and never once flinching.

Dos Santos may be the only heavyweight in the UFC that can match Velasquez in the striking and conditioning categories, and like Carwin, possesses the ability to deliver a fight-altering punch at any time.

But problems could arise for Dos Santos if Velasquez executes a game plan revolving on his takedown and ground-and-pound skills. Velasquez’s high-paced wrestling style is problematic for any fighter, and once he gets an opponent to the ground, he knows how to end fights.

JON JONES

Utilizing his superior reach and dexterity, Jones has strong-armed the light heavyweight title in astounding fashion over the last three years.

In 2010, at 22, Jones dispatched contenders Brandon Vera and Vladimir Matyushenko via first-round TKOs in back-to-back matches. Six months later, Jones upstaged formerly unbeaten Ryan Bader, finishing the former Arizona State wrestler with a guillotine choke early in the second round. The wins over Vera, Matyushenko and Bader, coupled with previous victories over Jake O’Brien, Stephan Bonnar and Andre Gusmao, earned Jones a title shot against Mauricio Rua at UFC 128 on March 19.

Jones used his range and quickness to stifle Rua’s typically ferocious standup attacks, and then exposed Rua’s wrestling prowess by repeatedly grounding and brutalizing the Brazilian with punches and elbows. Jones notched a third-round TKO and became the youngest champion in the UFC’s history.

Jones initially got wind from UFC president Dana White that he’d make his first tile defense against former Jackson’s MMA teammate and former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans at UFC 133 on Aug. 6. Jones, however, pulled out of the fight because of a ligament injury in his right hand, and Evans decided that he will instead face surging prospect Phil Davis.

With Evans out of the picture until his fight with Davis, White hoped the winner of the Quinton Jackson/Matt Hamill bout would become Jones’ first challenger. But, the 32-year-old Jackson, a former light heavyweight champion who notched a unanimous decision victory over Hamill at UFC 130, sustained a fracture in his right hand before the fight with Hamill, and may not receive clearance in time to fight Jones in the fall.

If Jackson’s broken hand prevents him from fighting, White could plug in a worthy substitute to face Jones. Another former light heavyweight champion, Lyoto Machida, likely tops White’s list. The 33-year-old Machida bounced back after consecutive setbacks to Rua and Jackson with a crane kick that rendered UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture momentarily unconscious at UFC 129.

The only certainty in this equation is that Jackson and Machida will need all the momentum they can get to derail the seemingly unstoppable Jones. With an 84½-inch reach and freakish wrestling skills, Jones poses a serious threat to any fighter, including studs like Jackson and Machida.

ANDERSON SILVA

Since crushing Chris Leben in his UFC debut nearly five years ago, the 36-year-old Silva has earned 12 straight wins, including eight victories in defense of his middle weight tile. Silva has amazingly finished all but two of those opponents, only going the distance with Thales Leites and Demian Maia.

His most recent victory and title defense ended in a spectacular front kick knockout of former heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort. The win spawned talks of a super fight between Silva and longtime welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. White, however, squashed the immediate idea of a Silva/St. Pierre fight by slating Yushin Okami as Silva’s next challenger at UFC 134 on Aug. 27.

Silva coincidentally suffered his last defeat at the hands of Okami in 2007, albeit a disqualification loss because of a kick to a downed opponent. Regardless, the 29-year-old Okami didn’t earn a title shot against Silva because of a disqualification win.

Okami has won 10 of 12 fights since joining the UFC in 2006, and in 2010, decisioned both contender Mark Munoz and former No.1 contender Nate Marquardt.

Okami possesses better-than-average boxing and muay thai skills, but probably won’t succeed in outstriking the rangy and ever dangerous Silva. Okami also holds a black belt in judo and ranks in the upper echelon of grapplers in the middleweight division, although he has yet to submit an opponent in the UFC.

If Okami wants to become the first Japanese UFC champion he’ll need to duplicate Chael Sonnen’s game plan in his title fight with Silva — at least up until the point in which Sonnen got submitted.

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GEORGES ST. PIERRE

Twenty days before celebrating his 30th birthday, St. Pierre solidified his stature as the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter when he snapped Jake Shields’ prolific 15-fight win streak with a unanimous decision victory in a title fight at UFC 129.

St. Pierre kept the venomous Shields at bay with his stiff jab and stingy takedown defense. Extraordinarily determined and in tremendous shape, Shields tried to outwork the champion in the standup department, only to get outclassed like St. Pierre’s previous eight opponents.

The Canadian’s supremacy in the welterweight division forced White to satisfy fans and set up a super fight between St. Pierre and Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz at UFC 137 on Oct. 29.

Since Zuffa’s purchase of the company on March 12, Diaz is just one of several Strikeforce fighters who have emerged as potential candidates to challenge for UFC titles.

Riding a 10-fight win streak that includes four defenses of his belt, Diaz crowbarred his way into the UFC welterweight title picture with a thrilling TKO victory over Paul Daley in front of White in a Strikeforce title match on April 9.

The seventh fighter to challenge St. Pierre’s strap, the 27-year-old Diaz will not only need to stay off his back, he’ll also need to find a way to penetrate St. Pierre’s jab. Diaz has a 74-inch reach and is well-known for his boxing chops, but must learn from teammate Shields how to find the distance against St. Pierre and his 76-inch reach.

The most intriguing detail regarding the Diaz/St. Pierre tilt is that Diaz has either knocked out or TKO’d six of his last 10 opponents, while St. Pierre has decisioned five of his last six foes.

If Diaz can stave off St. Pierre’s signature double-leg takedown and outbox the cunning Canadian, he could become the first fighter since Matt Serra to defeat the champion in over four years.

FRANKIE EDGAR

For the first time in UFC history, both men billed to fight in a main event were forced to withdrawal because of injuries when Edgar and Gray Maynard withdrew from their second title bout at UFC 130.
The 29-year-old Edgar suffered broken ribs and the 32-year-old Maynard injured a knee, putting the UFC lightweight title in limbo until they both recover.

Maynard, who handed Edgar his only loss in 2008, punished the New Jersey native in the first round of their second bout, but failed to finish him and had to settle for a draw.

Edgar recovered remarkably from Maynard’s first-round beating and resiliently battled back to win the last four rounds. Edgar did so by using quickness, superior footwork and precise takedowns, but like Maynard, couldn’t force a stoppage.

Maynard and Edgar are expected to face off for the third time in the fall. In the meantime, top contenders Clay Guida and Jim Miller are inching closer to facing off in a title eliminator fight.

Guida, 29, has experienced a resurrection since losing consecutive fights to Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian in 2009. He finished three straight foes, including Takanori Gomi, and decisioned surging contender Anthony Pettis at the Ulitmate Fighter 13 Finale.

The 27-year-old Miller, whose only two defeats were decision losses to Edgar and Maynard, has notched seven wins in a row, including notable finishes of Charles Oliveira and Kamal Shalorus.

JOSÉ ALDO

At 24, Aldo has a stronghold on the featherweight title, thanks mostly in part to his surgical standup abilities and air-tight grappling defense.

Aldo won six of his seven fights in the WEC via form of knockout, and recently decisioned Mark Hominick using brutal strikes in the first UFC featherweight title match at UFC 129.

Hominick endured Aldo’s kicks and punches better than Manny Gamburyan, Urijah Faber and Mike Brown, but the Canadian challenger didn’t threaten the champ until the waning seconds of the fifth round.

Aldo didn’t leave the match unscathed, however. He suffered several injuries and will likely be sidelined until the fall.

Until then, Aldo will wait to see if Faber’s teammate, Chad Mendes, can get passed Rani Yahya at UFC 133. If the unbeaten Mendes stays unbeaten, he could get the call from White to fight for the belt.

Mendes easily handled each of his four opponents in the WEC before snapping Michihiro Omigawa’s five-fight win streak at UFC 131.

Like stablemates Faber and Joseph Benavidez, Mendes uses his wrestling pedigree and explosiveness to ground-and-pound opponents.

But, Aldo proved in his title bout against Faber that he’s difficult to get to the mat, and that he’s willing to punish anyone who tries to get him there.

In order to unseat Aldo, Mendes must learn from the losses of Faber and Hominick, and find a way to make his wrestling the focal point of his game plan. Aldo primarily used strikes to stave off the takedown attempts of high-level grapplers Mike Brown, Faber and Gamburyan. Mendes can beat Aldo if he solves that riddle.

DOMINICK CRUZ

Cruz has steamrolled several of the world’s best bantamweights since suffering his only career loss to Faber over four years ago.

After reeling off eight straight wins, including seven in the WEC, the 25-year-old Cruz gets a chance to avenge his only loss when he faces Faber for the first UFC bantamweight title at UFC 132 on July 2.

Faber submitted Cruz with a guillotine choke 1 minute, 38 seconds into their WEC featherweight title bout on March 24, 2007. Since then, Cruz has twice defeated Faber’s teammate, Benavidez, once for the WEC bantamweight belt.

Faber, 32, has won seven of his last 10 fights, including two in a row since losing to Aldo on April 24, 2010. He submitted Takeya Mizugaki in his last fight in the WEC; then snapped Eddie Wineland’s four-fight winning streak with a decision victory at UFC 128.

Cruz, who has noticeably improved his submission defense and cardio since tapping to Faber, outgrappled Benavidez and Brian Bowles, and did the same in his last fight to three-time PAC 10 wrestling champion, Scott Jorgensen (Boise State University). Cruz has also showed dazzling footwork since dropping to 135, a skill he didn’t possess in his loss to Faber.

All things considered, Faber and Cruz make a fascinating matchup. Ultimately, Faber must do what Cruz’s last eight opponents haven’t been able to do — outwork him.

By Dustin Filloy
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer