Top 10 under 25

Who are the best up-and-coming MMA fighters under the age of 25? An interesting question, which Derek Bolender over at the Bleacher Report, sets of to answer.

Most of the usual suspects are on the list – UFC rising star Jon Jones (9-0), who is on a collision course with the light heavyweight champion; Brazilian WEC fighter Jose Aldo (15-1), who will face featherweight champion Mike Brown in November; Jorge Gurgel-trained jiu-jitsu black belt Dustin “McLovin” Hazelett (12-4 MMA), who is in a stacked welterweight division with Georges St. Pierre at the top. All safe bets given what they’ve accomplished so far and the potential each exhibits.

Then he tosses in WEC bantamweights Dominick Cruz (14-1) and Rani Yahya (15-4), who is also an ADCC submission wrestling champion. Two reasonable choices there.

He dips into the Bellator FC fighters pool to nab featherweight champion Joe Soto (7-0) and lightweight Jorge Masvidal (18-4), who is best-known for being on the receiving end of a highlight-reel standing inverted triangle choke from Toby Imada. Interesting but not obviously good or bad choices.

And he tries to make a case for The Ultimate Fighter season five winner Nate Diaz (10-4 MMA). Sure, he’s been in three UFC Fight of the Night winners but he lost two of them, and he’s coming off back-to-back losses to lightweights Clay Guida and Joe “Daddy” Stevenson, who are gatekeepers at best. He needs to stop the slide when he headlines September’s UFC Fight Night 19 with Melvin Guillard or his stock will flatline.

And there’s a couple who are on the list that seem completely out of place. If this is a list of the ones to watch for down the road in a year or two, then why are Strikeforce/DREAM light heavyweight champion (and Fedor Emelianenko’s striking coach) Gegard Mousasi and WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner on the list? They’re at the top of their respective divisions in their respective promotions. The only reason to consider them up-and-coming is because they’re not in the UFC (and because both of them will likely accomplish a lot more than the titles they currently possess, I suppose).

A more interesting – and revealing – list might be ten up-and-comers with fewer than 10 professional fights. It certainly would provide a crystal ball peek into the future of mixed martial arts. Wonder who would make that list?