by: D.J. Mackie
1. Hector Lombard (MW) – He is the current Bellator Middleweight champ and owns a very impressive 16 fight winning streak that dates all the way back to 2007. Not many high level fighters have had records like this and not been in the UFC. He faces one of his tougher tests in November when he takes on UFC veteran Trevor Prangley and in beating him he, especially if he does so decisively should garner him even more national attention. How he isn’t in the UFC yet is one of the biggest mysteries in the MMA world.
2. Alexis Vila (BW) – This 40 year old, former Olympic wrestler came onto the MMA scene in 2008 and has done nothing but ran through every opponent put in front of him. With only one victory coming as the result of a decision, he has been able to successfully stop 8 of his 9 opponents, TKO/KO’ing 7 of them. Vila made a statement in his first time out on the big stage in Bellator by knocking out Joe Warren in a victory that took him only 64 seconds.
3. Mike Rio (LW) – The Wolverine was able to bounce back from his very first career loss to TUF winner Efrain Escudero when he defeated Zachary Juusola at CFA3 this past weekend in a bout that lasted only 61 seconds. The Wolverine dominated from the opening bell and proved that his loss was no set back in his career. If he is able to build on that momentum and finish fights the way he has done his whole career, it shouldn’t take the UFC brass long to recognize this very talented up and coming fighter.
4. Shah Bobonis (BW) – After a career that has saw it’s ups and downs with wins and losses, Bobonis has finally been able to figure everything out as a mixed martial artist. He hasn’t loss since the summer of 2010 and has won all four of his bouts this year, finishing every opponent. His last outing he knocked out highly touted ATT fighter Marcos da Matta at Bellator 50. Bobonis will be taking his winning streak and momentum with him into the cage in December when he fights for the XFC which will be a national broadcast.
5. Chris Barnett (HW) – Beastboy may be one of the most energetic and athletic heavyweights that you are going to see anywhere. He has lost only one bout in his career and that was a last second fight he decided to take in Singapore. Aside from the one blemish on his record, he has been able to impressively defeat every opponent put across the cage from him including victories over highly ranked Mario Rinaldi and Kenny Garner. He has only been in the game since 2009, but has shown that he has the skills, athleticism, talent, and personality that will carry him far into the heavyweight division and into the UFC down the road.
6. Jim Alers (FW) – Alers started his career off with a perfect 4-0, stopping every opponent except for one within the first round, before suffering a defeat at the hands of Ronald Jacobs in the spring of 2010. He took nearly a year off from the cage and competed in just about every jiu-jitsu tournament imaginable, even earning a spot in the Abu Dhabi tournament, before returning to the cage to yet another first round victory. He is a very young and humble fighter who has a habit of stopping opponents before the final bell and he proved that his first loss may have been nothing more than a fluke.
7. Patrick Cenoble (LW) – At only 21 years old he has had a very amazing start to his career amassing an undefeated 8-0 record. He has beat top ranked Troy Gerhart and Ultimate Fighter alumnus Paul Barrow, and also entered into the CFA tournament for undefeated 155ers this summer where he has a chance to take home 25,000 dollars. He has won the first two rounds of the tournament via TKO and will look to move one step closer to winning the tournament in November when he meets Yosilandy Izuierdo. He is a very skilled fighter that has a tendency of knocking out his opponents, and at his age he has a lot of room to improve on the things he needs to that will put him into the UFC.
8. Raul Amaya (WW) – His whole career has been under the Art of Fighting banner, but during that time he has done nothing but smash every opponent put in front of him. There has not been one opponent that he has faced that has been able to make it to the final bell with him. The only thing possibly hurting him is the fact that he hasn’t faced the toughest competition out there, but fans love to see finishes and that is something that Amaya has perfected as a mixed martial artist.
9. Farkhad Sharipov (BW) – He is coming off of his first loss since 2009, but he has done nothing but win in throughout his whole career. He is considered the top bantamweight in Florida by most and has earned that moniker by the fact that he has beat a who’s who’s list of fighters in the state. He has faced nothing but top ranked competition at both 135 and 145 and has came out on top in the vast majority of his bouts. The only thing possibly hurting him right now is the fact that most of his bouts go to a decision, but this former Russian wrestling champ is no easy fighter for anyone to step in the cage with.
10. Micah Miller (FW) – He was eliminated on the Ultimate Fighter this season when he lost his fight to get into the house, but Miller is definitely no joke. He is a WEC veteran and is the younger brother of the UFC’s Cole Miller. He had won his last three bouts going into TUF, with his last being a championship for Tachi Palace Fights, and he will look to continue the trend of winning. If can continue to do so, and do so over the caliber of opponents that he has had of late, it won’t be too long before Micah will be joining his brother Cole in the UFC.
