Top Prospects to Watch in 2010

With the UFC Card on Versus quickly approaching, there has been a lot of talk about the main and co-main events where two of the biggest prospects in mixed martial arts, Junior Dos Santos and Jon Jones will face the toughest test of their careers. For these two men they are looking to finally answer questions that they have heard quite a bit over the past year, is the hype for real? So with that in mind I’ve compiled a list of fighters who very well could be in the same position as “Cigano” and “Bones’ by this time next year. This is a list of mixed martial artists in six different weight classes that very soon could be hearing “Is the hype for real?”.

Marlon Sandro (16-1) 145 lbs

The Breakdown

Marlon Sandro is a hot prospect cutting his teeth in Japan. What really stands out about Marlon, isn’t his excellent ground game (he has 3 wins by submission), it’s his murderous power. This guy doesn’t knock people out, he puts them in stretchers and as his 6 devastating knockouts will show you, that’s no exaggeration. Marlon’s only loss has come by an extremely controversial “must decide” split-decision to Michihiro Omigawa in the third round of the Sengoku featherweight GP.

What Has he Done for Me Lately?

In Sandro’s last fight he absolutely melted Tonomari Kanomata in just 9 seconds into the first round of their March 7th bout.

So How Good is he Really?

The lone loss on Marlon’s record in many people’s eyes was the result of garbage judging. Sandro has seemingly channeled his displeasure with that piece of poor judging by nearly knocking his last two opponents into early retirement. He is now slated to challenge for Sengoku’s featherweight championship against Masanori Kanehara in a fight that cannot be missed.

Lyle Beerbohm (13-0) 155 lbs

The Breakdown

Lyle is an undefeated lightweight who currently holds a 13-0 record. Of those 13 wins, only a single one has gone to a decision. He’s shown excellent well-roundedness, holding 5 wins by submission and 7 by (T)KO. Lyle has been featured as an interest piece in several different magazines and websites due to the fact that he “discovered” mixed martial arts while serving a one year sentence at the Washington State Penitentiary for drug related charges. Upon being released, he traveled directly to his local MMA gym and began training. He is now 100% cleaned up and seems to be destined for proving himself in the big leagues this year, so keep an eye on him.

What Has he Done for Me Lately?

Lyle’s last fight was September 12th at Arena Rumble 2 where he stopped the unheralded Josh Martin (7-4) nearly a minute and a half in the first round with elbows.

So How Good is He Really?

Unlike some other prospects on this list, Beerbohm has already had two tough tests in his career. First, he defeated current UFC fighter Rafaello Oliveira (10-2) by doctor stoppage in 2008. More recently though he stopped MMA veteran and current UFC fighter Duane Ludwig (19-10) by Bulldog Choke. He signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce last year so look for him to be a main feature on future Challenger cards.

Ben Askren (3-0) 170 lbs

The Breakdown

At only 3-0 Ben is one the most untested talent on this list, but Askren has generated all of his hype outside of the cage. To say that Ben Askren is a phenomenal wrestler is an absurd understatement. Ben placed 2nd in the NCAA Championship to the same wrestler in 2004 and 2005 before going on to win the 174 lb Championship in 2006 and 2007. Not only did he win the title his junior and senior years, he completely destroyed his opponents by 8-2 and 14-2 respectively. This guy would make extremely talented undefeated wrestlers look like they didn’t belong on the same mat as him. Ben finished off his college career on an 87 match winning streak and went on to compete in the 2008 Olympics. The wrestling phenom then decided to make the transition to MMA like many wrestlers before him and has apparently taken to it like he did to wrestling. In 2009, he actually qualified for the most prestigious grappling tournament in the world, the ADCC. He has not surprisingly stopped all three of his opponents by tko or submission in the first round. The scary thing about Askren is that he seems to be developing an extremely dangerous ground game and with his wrestling credentials he is going to be one the hardest fighters in the world to stay standing against.

What Has he Done for Me Lately?

In terms of fighting, Ben’s last opponent was Matt Delanoit (9-10) who he defeated by North-South Choke in the first round on August 28. He has however just signed with Bellator and will be seeing a great deal of action over the next few months, starting with UFC veteran Ryan Thomas (13-3).

So How Good is he Really?

At 3-0 Askren still has a lot of questions, but his otherworldly wrestling credentials coupled with his quick take to submission grappling makes him the 170 pounder to watch in 2010.

Hector Lombard (24-2) 185 lbs

The Breakdown

First of all, it should be noted that Lombards only two losses were five years ago when he lost by decision to the current 205 lb Strikekforce Champion, Gegard Mousasi and by submission to the always dangerous veteran Akihiro Gono. Next it should be pointed out that despite a penchant for knocking people senseless, Lombard is one of the most highly decorated Judoka currently competing in mixed martial arts. Hector is probably most known for his complete mauling of his competition in route to winning the 2009 Belator Middleweight Tournament. He is now awaiting the winner of this year’s tournament to defend his title and in the mean time is defending his CFC middleweight strap in Australia. 

What Has he Done for me Lately?

Hector’s last fight was a decision victory over Joey Gorczynski (16-8) in February. 

So How Good is he Really?

Lombard is by far the most experienced guy listed here. He has been in this sport long enough to have competed in the Pride 185 lb grand prix. He’s been one of those guys who’s worked at it forever but just has yet to get his big break. I think this year is finally going to be his year to put things together starting with his CFC title defense in March against Art Santore.

Stanislav Nedkov (10-0) 205 lbs

The Breakdown

I had a hard time with this category because I wanted to avoid highlighting guys that are already “mainstream” prospects like Mousasi, Lawal, Jon Jones, or even Ryan Bader. Unfortunately, other than Mousasi and Lawal, the UFC has the monopoly on the 205 lb division. After a great deal of research I found Nedkov, not only is he undefeated but he has already started to transition to the “names” in the division. In May of last year he scored a 3rd round tko over Travis Wiuff and most recently at Sengoku 11 he won a decision over big time veteran Kevin Randleman. With 8 stoppages in 10 fights he has real potential.

What Has he Done for Me Lately?

As I wrote earlier, Nedkov’s last bout was a decision victory over Kevin Randleman in November. 

So How Good is he Really?

While Wiuff and Randleman are not necessarily world beaters, they are both legit veterans of the sport and wins over both men shows that Nedkov could be ready to take on some of the bigger names in the division. The majority of that talent is locked up in the UFC though, so without a contract, it’s likely that we will see him taking on fringe light heavyweights for the year. Even then, it will be interesting to see if he can stay consistent at a higher level and can maintain his unbeaten streak into next year. If he can generate a few more wins and increase his record to 12 or 13-0  we may be talking about Mousasi vs Nedkov by the end of the year.

Cole Konrad (2-0) 265 lbs 

The Breakdown

Here’s an easy question. Name the mixed martial artists who is 280 lbs, trains in Minnesota, has won at least one NCAA Heavyweight Championship, is a freakish athlete, and is new to the sport of mixed martial arts? If you guessed Brock Lesnar, you weren’t far off the mark. The answer is Cole Konrad, who, unlike Lesnar has won two NCAA Championships. Cole does however, train with his MMA mentor Brock Lesnar regularly. He has fought twice this year, stopping both fights in the first round. Much like Askren, Conrad is listed here as a prospect based off of circumstances outside of a cage. You can’t deny the potential in a guy training with Brock Lesnar and who is just as much an athletic freak. When you add in the fact that he has technically accomplished more in college wrestling than  Lesnar and you have the guy to watch at heavyweight.

So What Has he Done for me Lately?

Konrad has fast tracked it so far this year, which is good. He’s fought twice so far in 2010 with his last win coming by tko against Joel Wyatt in February.

So How Good is he Really?

Well at 2-0 there’s really no concrete answer. But with the wrestling credentials and training partner, the sky is the limit. He finished his first fight using the unorthodox Polar Bear Choke that he stated in an interview he learned from Brock Lesnar, which is very illustrative of the amount of time they spend together. He has also been in the news lately for signing with Bellator which will bring him a lot of action this year. I have a feeling that by the end of 2010, we might be hearing about the next Brock Lesnar.