Predicting breakthroughs such as the ones provided by Edgar, Sokoudjou, Alexander and Lierley is easier said than done. Or is it? After all, there is plenty of great talent competing under the radar that's on the verge of breaking out.
Sam Caplan will take a look at eight fighters who are destined to do so in '08:
Demian Maia: There are plenty of good pure grapplers in the UFC such as Roan Carneiro, Tony DeSouza, B.J. Penn, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Ricardo Almeida, Alberto Crane, Mark Bocek and others. But there are many pundits who consider Maia to be the best currently on the UFC roster. He even won the illustrious Abu Dhabi grappling championships that were held in Trenton, N.J., this past summer, beating Yushin Okami in the 77-87-kilogram final.
While Marcelo Garcia is a prime example of how a strong grappling background is not a guarantee at success in MMA, Maia has begun his pro career with a 6-0 record. He was successful in his UFC debut at UFC 77 this past October, submitting Ryan Jensen with a rear naked choke at just 2:40 into Round 1.
There are still plenty of questions that need to be answered about Maia's standup game, but he's one of the brightest prospects in the UFC's thinnest division. Maia not only has the talent but has the opportunity to rise through the ranks of the middleweights, a rise he's likely to make in 2008.
Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza: While Maia is the best middleweight grappler in the UFC, he's not the best in the world. That's a distinction many claim is held by WEC champion Paulo Filho, but in reality, the unofficial title could belong to Souza.
Nicknamed "Jacare," after a Yacare Caiman, a type of alligator, Souza competed in the 2005 Abu Dhabi championships and finished second in the absolute division, one with no weight restrictions, losing to Roger Gracie in the final.
After losing his MMA debut in 2003, Jacare has amassed a perfect 7-0 record while competing primarily in Brazil. The larger promotions began to take notice after he put together a 2007 campaign in which he went 3-0, with his most recent win coming in October: a first-round submission against Wendell Santos while competing for the "Hero's the Jungle" promotion.
His current status is a bit of a mystery. Rumors have been circulating that he's currently signed to the UFC but that the signing hasn't been announced to the public because he could be filling the "Mac Danzig" role as a ringer in the upcoming seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter. A source from the Zuffa-owned WEC even indicated to CBSSports.com at one point that they were pursuing Souza's services as well.
Regardless of Souza's current status, don't be surprised to see him pop up in a major promotion this year and become an immediate player no matter where he chooses to compete.
Tim Kennedy: If not for his commitment to the military, Tim Kennedy would already be a household name in MMA. But some fans are already familiar with Kennedy's MMA exploits, thanks in large part to a 2003 decision victory over Jason "Mayhem" Miller at Extreme Challenge 50. Kennedy lost a recent rematch against Miller during an HDNet Fights card on Dec. 15, but he rebounded just 14 days later when he knocked out Elias Rivera at two minutes of Round 1 during the finals of the IFL's World Grand Prix.
Coming back following a three-round fight vs. Mayhem and winning in decisive fashion just two weeks later would be a tough task for most fighters, but for a man like Kennedy, who has served his country during various clandestine special operations, it was probably just another day at the office.
After compiling a 3-0 record in the IFL this past year by recording wins over Dante Rivera and Ryan McGivern in addition to the recent knockout of Elias Rivera, Kennedy is expected to fight what will closer resemble a full-time MMA schedule after being a part-timer for much of the past four years. He will not only be one of the IFL's breakout stars in 2008 but a year from now could be holding the promotion's middleweight title and be viewed as an unquestioned top 10 middleweight.
Jon Murphy: Murphy is somewhat of an anomaly. You just don't find heavyweights with his athletic skills fighting on smaller shows very often. That's because there's a dearth of good heavyweight prospects in MMA right now, and the path toward upward mobility is largely unblocked.
Unfortunately, injury and substance abuse problems have prevented Murphy from gaining the traction needed to make it to the big show. But he's now over a year sober and currently recovering from December shoulder surgery. That revealed that his injury was not as severe as first thought, and the former Syracuse football player who played on the same team as Donovan McNabb could resume fighting as early as February or March.
Murphy's style is reminiscent of the old Andrei Arlovski, the one who wasn't afraid to push the pace and get after his opponent. After recording a second-round knockout over Dave Huckaba in his ShoXC debut in August, the remaining two fights on Murphy's ProElite contract could take place in the big show for EliteXC.
Blessed with power and speed that can't be taught in a gym, 2008 will be the year Murphy finally breaks through.
Neil Grove: Grove burst onto the scene in 2007 with a major upset win over James Thompson at Cage Rage 22 in London this past July. Grove was given little chance of winning the fight after accepting the bout on days' notice. A virtual unknown, Grove seemed like road kill while heading down to the cage in a traditional karate gi.
The fight vs. Thompson ended following a knockout punch just 10 seconds in, but it wasn't Grove who hit the canvas, it was Thompson. The pro-Thompson crowd quickly pledged their allegiance to Grove, and a star in the UK was born. He followed up his knockout against Thompson with first-round victories at Cage Rage 23 and 24.
With an unblemished 5-0 record and growing fame in the UK, there has been a lot of speculation that Grove will make his U.S. debut sometime in the upcoming year. Cage Rage is owned by ProElite, which is the parent company of EliteXC. Based on that connection, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Grove appear on Showtime at some point in '08.
There's been additional speculation that EliteXC could introduce a heavyweight title with hopes of Antonio Silva earning the crown. If that's the case, they had better keep him away from Grove, who is no stranger to pulling off an upset.
Aaron Miesner: Miesner is relatively new to MMA but made a big splash in 2007 after converting from Muay Thai by going 2-0 in pro MMA bouts. Both fights ended early in devastating fashion. A giant for the 185-pound division, Miesner doesn't just hurt opponents, he ends up injuring them. Watching him in person, you can almost feel the pain yourself when he delivers knees to his opponent's ribs out of the clinch.
Miesner is a relative unknown on the national scene, but that's about to change; he has been drawing interest from multiple major fight promotions. He was even featured in an Associated Press article this past November that chronicled his experience as he attempted to try out for the cast of the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter.
It's not known if the Philadelphia-based fighter made it to the finals, but if Miesner is not selected as a final cast member for TUF 7, he'll have the likely option of accepting an offer from one of the UFC's competitors.
While his ground game is still somewhat of a mystery, there are few middleweights around right now who can strike with his power and precision. He's without question one of the top prospects around at 185 pounds and simply needs a chance to prove himself on a national level. It looks like he will get that chance in 2008.
Carlo Prater: Prater is what can be described as a veteran prospect. With 27 pro fights to his credit over the course of a career that technically spans 10 years (he made his pro debut in 1998 but didn't start fighting regularly until 2002), Prater has fought big name opponents such as Drew Fickett, Spencer Fisher, Melvin Guillard and Pat Healy. With the exception of Fickett, he has beaten them all. Unfortunately, the fights have all taken place on smaller shows.
Prater has had a strong reputation with hardcore fans for quite some time but he just wasn't getting the opportunities he deserved. That started to change in '07 after he hooked up with agent Ken Pavia. Prater fought on higher-profile cards for the Dallas-based Art of War promotion, and after recording back-to-back wins over Anthony Lapsley and Keith Wisniewski, he not only has a contract with Zuffa-owned World Extreme Cagefighting, but he's set to face Carlos Condit for the WEC welterweight title Feb. 13.
Condit is coming into the defense on the heels of a six-fight winning streak. But don't label Prater as the underdog. He already holds a first-round submission victory over Condit in a match that took place in 2004. Condit has improved immensely since then, but so has Prater. Few people have been able to see those improvements, though, because he has been deprived of the big stage. Until now.
Ed Ratcliff: Anyone with the nickname "8MM" has to be a badass. And Ratliff is. Don't believe me? Do yourself a favor and YouTube his name and watch some of his fights, because the guy can flat out throw down. Ratcliff's explosive style and undefeated 5-0 record caught the eye of WEC scouts and earned him a spot with the promotion in 2007.
He debuted during the preliminary portion of the WEC 31 undercard on Dec. 12 and improved his record to 6-0 by recording a TKO victory over UFC veteran Alex Karalexis at 1:26 of Round 1. In addition to his win over Karalexis, Ratcliff also holds a knockout victory over Brett Cooper, who recorded a first-round TKO upset over Rory Markham during the opener of the finals of the IFL World Grand Prix on Dec. 29.
Originally from Chicago and now training in Southern California, Ratcliff is known for an unorthodox yet effective style that comes from a background in traditional martial arts. While having competed at times at welterweight, Ratcliff's best fighting weight is 155. If his win over Karalexis was any indication, it won't be long before he's fighting for the WEC lightweight title that's currently held by "Razor" Rob McCullough.
source: sportsline.com
