European stars finally in the limelight - UFC 95

Clearly, European expansion is a priority for Zuffa, and they have signed some of the top talent from Europe.I believe there are some young European fighters on the UFC 95 card that could become real stars on the world level given time. Here are the some of the European stars on the card:

Dan Hardy
"The Outlaw" is probably the most promising, talented European on the card. He is a terrific kickboxer, very technically sound. His ground game is coming on and is a whole lot better than it was a couple of years ago. His win against Akihiro Gono was impressive. Gono is a solid veteran and Hardy handled him well on his way to a convincing decision. With his affable personality and exciting style he is a very marketable fighter.

Paul Kelly
Kelly is another young English fighter with a lot of potential. He's got fast hands and good power and according to Marcus Davis he is very strong. He may not be as polished as Dan Hardy in the striking department but he has a similar, exciting style of fighting that the UFC loves. Working with the likes of Rampage and Cheick Kongo at Wolfslair will launch him to the next level. His future may be at 155.

Terry Etim
Yet another young Brit that could be a major star here in Europe. Etim is only 23 years of age and will make his fifth UFC appearance against Brian Cobb tomorrow night. Impressive wins over talented lightweights Matt Grice and Sam Stout show Etim's immense potential. He has had a couple of tough defeats to Clementi and Tibau, two UFC vets. At 23, he is already showing a well rounded game. Look out for his good BJJ and solid boxing game.


Also on show are Dutch heavyweight Stefan Struve, Lightweight veteran Per Eklund and the massive HW Neil Grove. A lot of the time, European fighters get a bad rap from US fans/pundits but there are clearly some potential superstars from Europe other than Michael Bisping. As MMA grows in popularity over here you are going to see more and more talented guys creep into the rankings.

Look out for the European fighters on the card tomorrow night, if only to see the incredible progress made in Europe in recent years. Only a couple of years ago there was little or no talent in Europe, the regional events were generally woeful to watch. Things have moved on in a big way in a short period of time and it is a testament to the global growth of the sport.