There is going to come a time when Anderson Silva isn’t the UFC middleweight champion. Somewhere in the future, Georges St-Pierre will hang up his four-ounce gloves and move on to his next pursuit.
Those are inescapable truths that fight fans need to embrace now, in part to dull the pain when those days actually come, but also in order to start moving on now, in advance of the day when two of the greatest and most well-regarded fighters in the history of the sport can no longer be relied on to headline a handful of shows each year.
It’s a reality the UFC needs to start addressing as well, and it extends beyond just Silva and St-Pierre.
Many of the biggest names in the UFC right now are tenured competitors — fighters with extensive track records inside the Octagon and a long-standing connection with fans. Save for light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones and women’s bantamweight title-holder Ronda Rousey, most of the fighters you would deem “marquee names” in the UFC are seasoned veterans who have been around the top of the heap for a long time.
But just as the time will come when Silva and St-Pierre step aside, so too will Michael Bisping, Chael Sonnen and Vitor Belfort — big-name talents who are routinely featured at main-event positions. Former champions like Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans are in that pack as well, as are Urijah Faber and Dan Henderson.
All those fighters remain competitive near the top of their respective divisions at the moment, but that won’t always be the case. Some of those fighters will simply walk away to pursue other interests, while Father Time will eventually catch up with others.
The worst part is that you don’t often have advance warning of when a proven top-of-the-marquee fighter is going to fade. Was Evans’ woeful performance against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira an aberration or the start of a slide? How much longer will Sonnen step into the cage before he moves into broadcasting or something else full-time?
With those unanswerable questions on the table, there is a need to start promoting the potential stars of tomorrow today.
At some point, fighters will be needed to step up and fill the void left when the big names of today move on. There are no guarantees that the fan base is going to take to the fighters being presented as future stars, but that doesn’t mean the UFC shouldn’t be proactive in working to establish a handful of fighters as the next crop of marquee names to lead the organization in the future.
Here are five fighters I think have the potential to be a part of that next generation of superstars in the UFC.
Cain Velasquez
We always talk about how important the heavyweight division is in combat sports. Whether it’s MMA or boxing, having a thriving heavyweight division is one of the easiest draws there is, and having a dominant force fans can be excited about seeing is a big part of the equation.
The UFC has that with Velasquez, and the now two-time heavyweight champion most definitely should be a greater part of the promotion’s plans going forward.
Since losing the title to Junior dos Santos in November 2011, Velasquez has decimated Antonio (Bigfoot) Silva and battered dos Santos in a rematch to regain the title. He’s looked tremendous in both bouts, and has the potential to enjoy a lengthy reign atop the heavyweight division. Those elements combine to make Velasquez an easy selection as someone deserving of an even greater push going forward.
And while he doesn’t have the same magnetic personality of some of his contemporaries and colleagues, that shouldn’t limit the UFC from promoting him. His fights are always entertaining, and his skill set is impressive, and those two factors should, in theory, make up for whatever shortcomings he may have when on a microphone.
Jose Aldo
Before you tell me how crazy I am for including a second UFC champion in this list, remember that Aldo has only headlined a pair of events since transitioning to the UFC from the WEC. His first two title defences came in the co-main events of pay-per-view shows; first at UFC 129, then at UFC 136.
As dominant as Aldo has been in the cage and as electric as he can be with his offence, the featherweight champion still isn’t established as a true superstar with fans the way the likes of St-Pierre or Silva are. For that matter, I would argue he’s still not as popular or in demand as someone like Sonnen or Nick Diaz either.
Considering he’s won 15 consecutive fights — including four under the UFC banner, and another eight in the WEC before that — you’d think Aldo would be a bigger star, but that isn’t the case… yet.
I think we’re seeing the foundations for a more sustained Aldo push being laid. Should he turn back Anthony Pettis later this year, the 26-year-old Brazilian will earn himself a shot at the UFC lightweight title, and that “champion vs. champion” super-fight should serve as Aldo’s launching pad to new levels of stardom.
Chris Weidman
He’s undefeated, clearly talented, and many people are picking him to be the man to end Anderson Silva’s run at the top of the middleweight division. Personally, I think the UFC is about a year late on putting Weidman forward as a potential “next generation star,” but better late than never.
The 28-year-old Serra-Longo Fight Team member is scheduled to fight for the middleweight title later this year, and should he upset “The Spider,” Weidman will automatically become a marquee name. But even if he comes up short, the 9-0 standout should remain a central part of the UFC’s plans moving forward.
At some point, Silva will either (a) lose, or (b) retire, and a new middleweight will ascend to the throne the record-setting Brazilian abdicated. Weidman is at the top of most lists to be Silva’s successor, and win or lose this summer, he should remain in the spotlight.
Losing to the best in the world — and arguably the best ever — is nothing to hang your head about, and with his clear championship potential, getting fans further acquainted with the potential heir to the middleweight throne is of great importance.
Luke Rockhold
… which is why the former Strikeforce middleweight champion deserves a serious, sustained push as well.
Like Weidman, Rockhold has clear top-of-the-marquee potential, and he could establish himself as a title threat with a win over Vitor Belfort in May. He too has collected nine consecutive victories, shows an abundance of talent inside the cage, and has the right combination of charisma and good looks to be one of the faces of the franchise in the years to come.
The bout with Belfort will be a great test for Rockhold in the cage. How he makes out will help dictate how much of a push he receives over the next 6-12 months.
If he’s victorious, there won’t be much standing between the 28-year-old AKA product and a championship bout, which is why slotting him into a main event match-up with the established Brazilian veteran was the right call.
Rory MacDonald
After being featured on FOX and positioned opposite Carlos Condit in the co-main event of UFC 158 prior to an injury forcing him from the bout, it is pretty clear that the UFC also believes the Kelowna, B.C., native has the potential to be a big star in this sport.
Hopefully they don’t ease off in the wake of his latest injury. MacDonald has been tabbed for greatness since he entered the organization in January 2010, and his performance to date has only gone to validate those estimations.
While he still needs to prove himself against the elite of the welterweight division, it’s clear from the amount of media attention MacDonald has received in the last year that he is a fighter fans are interested in, one way or another.
Polarizing fighters are promotional gold, and it’s already clear that there are people lining up on each side of the divide when it comes to the ultra-talented 23-year-old. With fans already engaged and him possessing talents that make him look like a future champion, giving MacDonald a greater amount of time in the spotlight going forward is a no-brainer.