Blood on the Mat 07.02.09: 11 Fighters The UFC Needs

Posted by  on 07.02.2009

From Fedor Emelianenko and Jake Shields to Eddie Alvarez and even Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal, 411’s Adam Tool thinks that these are some of the 11 fighters that need to be in the UFC! Check out the full column for all the details!

Welcome to the second edition of Blood On The Mat, my name is Adam Tool and I'll just say right now that I am a dreamer. I have dreams and ideas and as of now this is my primary outlet for them. I have eleven ideas at the moment, but we'll get to those soon enough.

Firstly I'd like to address some comments and questions in reference to last week's column, so if you didn't read it then here‘s your chance to catch up. Comments are in italics, my responses are not. If you aren't interested in such things, simply scroll down until you see the big banner and then let this week's column smack you in the face like the cool kiss of a freshly turned-on air conditioner.

First off let me say a big fat thank you to everyone that had something nice to say about my debut edition last week. Excellent examples of humanity like wylun, 411 Forums superstar BK, fellow 411mania staffers Steve Gustafson and Todd Vote, chris.crowing, stronelis, One Addition, and GeeSpotter.

I really feel like Ross Pearson is catching too much shit. He may not be a heavy handed guy, but he's very good at doing things people tend to not give credit for. He stifles the offense of his opponent, and imposes his will by making them fight his fight. You don't have to have a great amount of technique when you can do those two things on a regular basis, and he did so with every fight he had on TUF and into the finale against Andre Winner. Ross has an undeniable toughness and work ethic much like Clay Guida does, and look at how far its carried Guida. -Patrick Mullin

I give Pearson credit for winning the fight, as I had figured Winner would be running away with it. He also did a nice job with the elimination fights on the show, and there's definitely some potential there. Your comparison to Guida could prove correct in time, but for now Pearson doesn't have the wrestling to match "The Carpenter," nor does he have Guida's legendary gas tank (then again, few fighters do). My opinion remains that neither Pearson nor Wilks seems to have the necessary skills to compete in the two deepest divisions in the UFC.

Being a top five lightweight in the UFC (Stevenson) gets you only a 3/5?

Nate Diaz gets the same rating as the colossal failure that is Kendall Grove?

Really? -Pwnage

You could argue for Stevenson being a top 5 guy in the UFC, but the fact remains that he's 7-4 in the octagon, and he lost (badly) in his lone title shot. Again, average career equals average score.

As for the Diaz thing…

Nate Diaz deserves more then Kendall. They've each gone the same 5-2 since their TUF finale, but Nate has done it in a years' less time, and is much more marketable (guy has many more fans/ enemies). Granted, he's lost 2 in a row the exact same way exposing his wrestling weakness... I'd still say he's earned at least 2.5 Forrests.

Amir is another one who's too low. While his string of bad luck/ injuries has kept him out of the cage, it hasn't kept him out of the spotlight. Hosting one of their shows and being one of the faces of the UFC easily earns him more then 1.

Stevenson deserves only 3. While he may be a top 5 LW, I don't see him ever becoming top 3. He's a good fighter, and seems like a nice enough guy, but he's too one-dimensional in the cage and doesn't come across as marketable. He'll always be right next to the top, but doubt he'll hit it. -cyks

I actually started out give Nate a 2.5, then dropped it half a Forrest because I didn't feel he had done enough to be so close to Stevenson's score. You do make an excellent point in regards to the comparison to Grove, and if I had to do the column over again I'd probably just give Nate the 2.5 Forrests.

I couldn't in good faith give Amir or Efrain more than 1 Forrest, simply because they haven't fought yet since the Finale. There's still too many questions about both guys, but as you mentioned Amir has done a good job of staying visible and if the ratings were a popularity contest I would've given him a 5.

So would it be ironic for Forrest if he didn't get 5 Forrest's -Str8EdgeCoop

Not sure if it would be ironic so much as it would be stupid on my part for basing the scoring system on him.

Focusing on the heavyweights is a good idea, as the division is easily the weakest in UFC - otherwise why would a former 'fake fighter' like Brock with a so-so 2-1 record have gotten a shot at the Heavyweight title in such short order? -chris.crowing

Brock's a special case. Not just physically, but in terms of drawing power and name appeal. Just a reminder friends, Randy Couture got his first title shot in his fourth fight as well.

Great Column, but the exclusion of Season Four is kind of a letdown. I understand the idea of the Farm system, but Matt Serra was on his way out. And not only did it give him a title run, it provided him with money fight against Matt Hughes (albeit to much less enthusiasm due to the injury delays). While not a farm candidate, it did provide the UFC with an intriguing storyline and an additional (yet temporary) marketing line. -One Addition

Season four is interesting as hell for all the reasons you said and more. Matt Serra is easily one of the most surprising success stories to come out of this little reality show, but the format of the show didn't fit with point of my article.

Seriously, great article.

I think what made matters worse for Season 9 of TUF was the fact that:

1. We all rooted for a no-talent fighter like Frank Lester to keep overcoming odds;

2. Frank Lester beat a guy (in the qualifying fights) that was already knocked out cold.

3. Frank Lester was fired today for being a no-talent fighter that lost in the first round of his post-TUF career.

4. Frank Lester only has a handful of real teeth in his mouth (the rest are in his dresser) -GeeSpotter

Lester's story throughout the season was one of the few highlights of the season (Dave Faulkner's shenanigans being another), but it was pretty clear even before he lost at the Finale that he wasn't going to be going far in the UFC.

Season 6 wasn't as bad as everyone says it is. Ben Saunders & George Sotoropolis are still in the UFC, with winning records none the less. -the dude

I can abide by that. Season six was enjoyable to watch, but you have to admit that the talent pool was fairly shallow. Saunders and Sotoropolis are good, but let's not forget some of their housemates like Joe Scarola, Richie Hightower, John Kolosci, Dan Barrera, Blake Bowman, and the infamous War Machine (a.k.a. Jon Koppenhaver).



As the title of this week's column so clearly stated, this week I'll be taking a look at eleven of the top talents not currently plying their trade inside the Zuffa Empire. Some have been in the octagon before, some have never even been close, but all of them stand to make an impact should they make the UFC their home. We'll kick this off with the one that appears to be the closest to reality.

Vitor Belfort

Vitor Belfort is as old school as they come. He burst onto the scene at UFC 12, taking a total of two minutes to win that event's heavyweight tournament. Following his win over Wanderlei Silva at UFC Brazil, Belfort made his way to Japan and had a 4-1 run there before returning to the UFC. He nearly ended Randy Couture's career to win the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, only to lose the belt right back to "The Natural" in his first title defense. The last time we saw Belfort in the UFC was when he lost to Tito Ortiz, and since then he's been all over the place.

While his personal and professional lives have taken plenty of sharp turns, Belfort has shown a renewed focus since his drop to middleweight. He's 2-0 with big knockout wins over Terry Martin and Matt Lindland, and as a 13 year veteran of the sport he could provide some much needed star power to the UFC's 185 lbs. weight class. As I mentioned this one appears to be close to happening, as UFC President Dana White recently talked up Belfort during an "Inside The Octagon" segment. White hasn't been known to promote fighters he doesn't have under contract, so expect to see "The Phenom" back in the octagon sooner than later.


Okay, you got the picture. Can I go back to looking at LOLCats now?

Who do I think he should face in his first fight? Whoever wins the upcoming Nate Marquardt/Demian Maia fight. Belfort hasn't gotten enough big wins under his belt at middleweight to justify an immediate title shot, but he could easily cut to the front of the pack with a win over the fighter that emerges victorious at UFC 102.

Dave "Pee-Wee" Herman

Dave Herman is probably best known for his role as "Michael Bolton" in the cult comedy hit Office Space. He's appeared in a number of other movies as well, along with numerous guest starring roles on television. He first rose to fame as a member of the original cast of "MadTV." He is, however, not a professional fighter.


Gentlemen, I have called this meeting to find out who has been stealing articles of clothing off my person

This Dave Herman is one of the most exciting prospects in the heavyweight division. Herman cut his teeth fighting all over the Midwest, amassing a 9-0 record before signing with EliteXC. He added three more wins to his record while fighting with the doomed promotion, and has bounced all over since then. He got his first career loss earlier this year in Sengoku, but came right back with a win over Josh Barnes in his Bellator debut this past May. What's perhaps even more amazing is that up until his first loss, Herman had never done any professional MMA training. None. If that doesn't show you the kind of raw talent he has, I don't know what will.

Herman is a perfect fit for the UFC, and not just because of the lack of depth in their heavyweight division. He'd be perfect for the UFC because he's an exciting fighter, one that has never seen the judges' scorecards in 15 pro fights. Herman also has plenty of charisma, as he's shown in various interviews (include his appearance on InsideMMA in a very silly wig). He's training professionally now and at the age of 25 he is only going to get better, so put him on the Zuffa payroll and see what he can do.

Who do I think he should face in his first fight? Antoni Hardonk. You can't give him a complete softball, but Hardonk is one dimensional enough that Herman should have little trouble imposing his will. Much like the other heavyweight prospects it's important to build Herman up gradually, before eventually giving him a sterner test in the form of perennial gatekeeper Heath Herring.

Nick Diaz

I'll just get this right out of the way: I love the Diaz brothers. Despite his recent setbacks (and the rating I gave him last week), I still have high hopes for Nate in the UFC's lightweight division. What I really want to see though, is the return of his older brother to the company that made him famous.

Diaz was a fixture in the UFC's welterweight division before dropping three straight and being cut from the company. He was brought back in on short notice but then left to sign with the doomed Gracie Fighting Championship promotion. Afterwards he made an appearance in PRIDE, scoring a big victory by submitting lightweight champion Takanori Gomi (in a non-title fight). It was the biggest win of his career at that point, however the result would later be overturned when it was revealed that Diaz had tested positive for marijuana (which is hardly a performance enhancer, if we're being realistic).

Since the Gomi fight, Diaz is 6-1 and has been on a stellar roll as of late. Since coming to Strikeforce he's gotten notable victories over Frank Shamrock and Scott Smith, but I wonder just how far he can go in the company's non-existent welterweight division. In the UFC he'd have a ton of options for new and exciting fights, and of course he's got the personality to get plenty of attention from the slew of new fans that have started watching the sport since his last run in the octagon.


Rampage learned that Diaz is a great fighter, but a horrible wingman

Who do I think he should face in his first fight? Josh Koscheck. Two reasons why: 1. because Diaz should get right in there with the upper level guys in the division and 2. because it's a great match-up stylistically. Both fighters have a base in grappling (Diaz with BJJ and Koscheck with wrestling), but each man has favored the striking as of late.

Jake Shields

He's fought all over the world. He has notable wins over Yushin Okami, Carlos Condit, Hayato "Mach" Sakurai, Nick Thompson, and most recently, Robbie Lawler. He has not been beaten in almost five years. He was the first, and last, EliteXC Welterweight Champion. So why the hell isn't he in the UFC already?


Anyone wanna buy a belt?

According to our most recent 411mania rankings, Shields is the #4 welterweight in the world. Almost everyone else on the list is in the UFC, so how can Shields ever hope to improve if he's not challenging himself? Much like his training partner Diaz, Shields is a very big fish in an extremely small pond. That pond is obviously made smaller by the fact that the two Gracie jiu-jitsu fighters will not be facing each other at any point in the near future.

While the UFC's welterweight ranks are riddled with talent, at the moment they're starting to run out of potential challengers thanks to Georges St. Pierre's steady cleaning out of the division (pending the results of his fight with Thiago Alves next week, of course). The company needs more top-level talent soon, otherwise they could run the risk of having a situation similar to Anderson Silva and the recent "contenders" for his middleweight belt. Shields could come into the promotion with instant credibility, and I don't think he would need more than a win or two to establish himself as a contender.

Who do I think he should face in his first fight? Jon Fitch. It would be the toughest opponent Shields has had in his career, but that's the whole reason for going to the UFC in the first place isn't it?

Takanori Gomi

Dana White and Co. are not content with being the biggest MMA promotion in North America. They have their sights set on a number of markets around the world, with Japan being one area already marked for conquest. If the UFC truly wants to extend their reach to the Far East, then they're going to need some more of Japan's biggest stars. They've already got Akiyama, Okami, Uno, and Yoshida, but one name that would certainly bring them plenty of attention from the Japanese MMA faithful is Takanori Gomi.


Here we see Gomi's new profile picture for BreakYourFacebook.com

Gomi was once the dominant force in PRIDE's lightweight division, going 13-1 (with 1 NC, the aforementioned fight with Diaz) with the promotion. Since the demise of that company he's done little of note, and is 3-2 in his last five fights. He's already expressed an interest in fighting in America, so why not the UFC?

Should he come to the octagon, Gomi gives the lightweight division a big boost in star power. He's not going to draw in the casual crowd right away, but hardcore fans will certainly be salivating at the chance to see "The Fireball Kid" here in America. If he is fully focused and goes on a winning streak, a big-money rematch with BJ Penn is certainly not out of the question.

The only issue is money. Gomi wants a lot of it, as he's used to big paydays in Japan. His star power in the rest of the world may not justify the heavy price tag, but if the UFC is serious about putting on a show in Japan then he'd undoubtedly be worth every penny.

Who do I think he should face in his first fight? Tyson Griffin. You can't softball Gomi when he comes in, otherwise there's no point in hyping him up as something special (as the UFC would be expected to do). He needs to come into the octagon and jump right into the deep waters, and Griffin represents a tough enough test that a win by Gomi would be impressive at this stage of his career.

Andrei Arlovski

Yes, I'm totally serious.

When Arlovski left the UFC last year, Dana White made it known that the former heavyweight champ was one fighter he really didn't want to let go of. Since that time Arlovski has had some nice wins (Rothwell, Nelson) and some crushing defeats (Fedor, Rogers). He's on a two-fight skid and currently has no place to fight.

So why shouldn't the UFC bring him back?

He's an instantly recognizable force in the heavyweight division, with name recognition that can still sell a fight. Match him up with one of their up-and-comers (Carwin, Velasquez, Barry) or stick him in there for a big-time showdown with a veteran he's never faced (Couture, Nogueira, Mir). His stock is pretty low at the moment, so I would think that contract negotiations would run smoothly enough.

Besides, you never know in this sport. He could just go on a tear and make it back to the top of the mountain. Or he could suffer several more embarrassing knockout losses. Either way, I would like to see it.


Don‘t worry about him, he‘s doing just fine

Who do I think he should face in his first fight? Cheick Kongo. Kongo presents a very dangerous threat, particularly on the feet. A win over the Frenchman would certainly be a great start to putting Andrei's career back in the right direction.

Lyle "Fancy Pants" Beerbohm

Three years ago, Lyle Beerbohm was sitting in a Washington state prison serving a sentence for felonies stemming from his addiction to crystal meth. During his stay he saw an episode of "The Ultimate Fighter" and instantly decided that that's what he wanted to do with his life. After serving a year and a half Beerbohm was picked up from prison by his father.

During the ride home Lyle insisted that they stop at an MMA gym, where he told the instructors that he wanted to start training. He got his mother to make his fight shorts, and they would quickly inspire his unusual nickname. Less than a year later he had his first amateur fight, and he would go 12-0 before turning pro. Since then he's undefeated in 10 pro fights, with only one of those fights going to a decision. He got his biggest win last month when he submitted Duane "Bang" Ludwig at Strikeforce: Challengers.


Yeah, "Fancy Pants." You got a problem with that?

No way around it, Beerbohm has the kind of compelling story that could easily attract positive mainstream attention. He's not too bad of a fighter either, but he'd certainly be taking a big step up in competition if/when he makes it to the octagon.

Who do I think he should face in his first fight? Jeremy Stephens. Not only is Stephens a quality opponent, he's the kind of fighter that likes to put on a show. A meeting between these two could easily win "Fight of the Night," and that would only increase the profile of "Fancy Pants."

Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal

Muhammed Lawal is an animal. Former Division I All-American for Oklahoma State, and currently 4-0 in his MMA career. His professional debut at Sengoku 5 saw him come in on short notice, only to KO Travis Wiuff in the first round. He then returned less than a month later at Sengoku 6 where he got the TKO win over Fabio Silva.

He's also just a bit of a showman.


You should see it when he does this at the grocery store

The UFC light heavyweight division has some of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but once you got down past the thick ranks in the upper levels, there's not really a lot of depth there. "King Mo" may be relatively new to the sport but he's certainly got some skills to go along with his colorful personality. Sign him and let the man fight in his home country for once, will ya?

Who do I think he should face in his first fight? Steve Cantwell. While Cantwell won't be fighting for UFC gold anytime soon, he's still a good test for a young fighter like Luwal. He's got heavy hands and a good ground game, so it could make for a very intriguing match-up.

Eddie Alvarez

If you read a lot of online MMA sites, you've no doubt heard plenty of good things said in reference to Eddie Alvarez. You probably know about his amazing run in the DREAM Lightweight GP, where he put on back-to-back FOTYCs against Joachim Hansen and Tatsuya Kawajiri. You've probably also heard about his recent run in Bellator where he became the company's first lightweight champion. However there's one real reason why I think he'd be perfect for the UFC: he never seems to have a boring fight.


Yes, I am happy with my long-distance service provider.

There's not much reason for me to sell you on Alvarez, as the guy is pretty much unanimously considered one of the top three lightweights currently not with the UFC. He made some good money fighting for Bellator, but the weekly shows resulted in him fighting three times in two months. If the terms are right then I see no reason why he wouldn't want to make the jump to the big time.

Who do I think he should face in his first fight? Spencer Fisher. The lightweight division in the UFC is pretty thick with talent, but if any young fighter can make a big dent there it's Alvarez. He should be able to hang with the guys in the upper levels of the division, and Fisher is as good a test as any at 155. Realistically though Alvarez could probably pull a great fight out of just about anybody.

Jason "Mayhem" Miller

In this sport of mixed-martial arts, is there any American fighter with a personality as colorful as Jason Miller?

Not likely.


Miller trains as hard as he lives

The man they call "Mayhem" is a character, a larger-than-life persona that has resulted in legions of loyal fans a.k.a. "Mayhem Monkeys." He's also a pretty good fighter, with his highest profile bout being a bloody decision loss to current welterweight king Georges St. Pierre at UFC 52. He's gotten wins over Robbie Lawler, Denis Kang, Hiromitsu Miura, and Kala "Kolohe" Hose.

Currently he's also in a position to become the most famous MMA fighter in the country. Miller is the host of the MTV reality show "Bully Beatdown," which scored good ratings in its first season with plans for a second already underway. While MTV may be a black hole devoid of any real quality these days, it is still pretty popular with the kids. Those kids could easily help bring about the next wave of MMA popularity in the mainstream, but they sure as hell aren't going to stay up until 3am on a Tuesday to watch Miller fight Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza on HDNet.

It's really not clear how well Miller would do in the current UFC middleweight landscape. The division is starting to straighten itself back out, and there are more good fighters there than you think. Miller's got a toughness and a well-rounded skillset that should provide a stern challenge to anyone not named Anderson Silva, and at the very least you know he'll be entertaining.

Who do I think he should face in his first fight? Chris Leben. An epic slugfest featuring two guys that are nearly impossible to finish. This has "Fight of the Night" written all over it.

Fedor Emelianenko

Well a guy can dream, can't he?


Fedor feels your pain, only because he has none of his own.

Who do I think he should face in his first fight? Anybody he wants, obviously.

Anyone I left off that you feel deserves to be on the list? Feedback is welcome at the e-mail address below, or feel free to use the comment box provided. If you can't wait until next week for me of me, you can always follow me on Twitter.