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The UFC is poised for another big year in 2020, with Conor McGregor returning and the likes of Israel Adesanya, Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman potentially becoming big drawing cards after tremendous performances in 2019.
Every year sees new stars break out too, though; the likes of Dominick Reyes and Weili Zhang also shot up the card to stardom in 2019 and although they’re not quite on the level of the aforementioned fighters, they could definitely reach those heights soon.
Who is likely to break out in 2020 as potential UFC stars of the future? There are many fighters to choose from but these 5 are definitely distinct possibilities.
#1 Ciryl Gane
It’s easy to jump onto the bandwagon of a new fighter who starts winning in the Heavyweight division, largely because when the big men win, it’s usually in explosive, violent fashion, and it’s common to see a newcomer rocket up the ranks in just a handful of fights.
But after a breakout 2019, it should be easy to pinpoint Ciryl Gane as a potential UFC star going forward.
A native of France, ‘Bon Gamin’ drew comparisons with Francis Ngannou prior to his UFC debut due to his penchant for brutal, heavy-handed striking, but then he surprised everyone in his fight with Raphael Pessoa by taking the Brazilian down and submitting him with an arm triangle choke.
His second fight, meanwhile, saw him beat up Don’Tale Mayes with his kickboxing – before again surprising everyone by submitting his foe with a heel hook, becoming the first Heavyweight to pull the hold off in over a decade. Gane ended the year with another win, this time picking the slower Tanner Boser apart with his striking over three rounds.
An A+ athlete with seemingly well-rounded skills, Gane appears to have all the tools to reach the top of the UFC’s Heavyweight division, and 2020 could be the year that he does so.
#2 Edmen Shahbazyan
When Edmen Shahbazyan debuted in the UFC in late 2018 coming off a quick knockout on Dana White’s Contender Series, a few cynical eyebrows were raised. Despite the fact that ‘The Golden Boy’ was just 21 years old at the time, the knowledge that he was trained by the infamous Edmond Tarverdyan caused some fans to write him off before his career with the promotion had even begun.
To say those cynics have now been proven wrong would be an understatement. Shahbazyan struggled in his Octagon debut, tiring out against Darren Stewart, and it was only the Englishman’s poor takedown defense that allowed ‘The Golden Boy’ to pick up the win. But since then he’s gone from strength to strength, destroying Charles Byrd and Jack Marshman before knocking out the ultra-tough Brad Tavares in the first round.
The fact that even Israel Adesanya had been unable to finish Tavares instantly brought a lot of spotlight onto Shahbazyan, and the Armenian-American now sits at #9 in the UFC Middleweight rankings despite being just 22 years old.
With the Middleweight division losing a handful of veteran contenders – Chris Weidman, Luke Rockhold and Ronaldo Souza – in 2019, there’s definitely room for some young talent to move up the ladder, and Shahbazyan has to be at the front of that queue after his first four Octagon appearances. Expect big things from ‘The Golden Boy’ in 2020.
#3 Maycee Barber
Nicknamed ‘The Future’ from the moment she arrived in the UFC in November 2018, Maycee Barber has continually stated that her goal is to become the youngest champion in UFC history. At just 21 years and 7 months old, she’s got just over two years left to reach that goal, and at 3-0 in the UFC and 8-0 overall, she’s well on her way to doing so.
A ruthless fighter, Barber has never gone the distance in her professional MMA career, but while her striking power and finishing instincts are clearly big strengths for her, perhaps the most impressive thing about ‘The Future’ thus far into her UFC career has been the speed that she’s improved and closed holes in her game.
Her fight in March against JJ Aldrich saw her struggle greatly with the cleaner strikes of her opponent; Aldrich was landing her jab at will and it was only Barber’s huge punching power that allowed her to pick up a come-from-behind win. By the time she faced Gillian Robertson in October though, her striking had improved to the point that she was able to piece the Canadian up en route to a first round TKO.
Barber has continually called out a high-profile foe in Paige VanZant, but while it appears that a fight between the two is unlikely, it feels like ‘The Future’ will be able to become a star in her own right in 2020 regardless. Could she beat Valentina Shevchenko right now? Definitely not, but in the future – no pun intended – you never know.
#4 Magomed Ankalaev
One of a seemingly never-ending list of dangerous fighters to be produced from Dagestan, Russia, Magomed Ankalaev has been considered a fighter to watch inside the UFC for the best part of 2 years now, but 2020 could be the year in which the Light-Heavyweight really climbs the ladder into title contention.
Like his countryman Khabib Nurmagomedov, Ankalaev is a fantastic wrestler and grappler, and it’s that side of the game we saw him use to great effect in his February win over Klidson Abreu, a fight that was admittedly not the most inspiring to watch. Things changed greatly, however, when Ankalaev faced Dalcha Lungiambula in November.
That fight saw the Dagestani use his kicks to pick Lungiambula apart in the early going, then use his wrestling and ground-and-pound to punish the South African, and finally he put the icing on the cake by uncorking one of the best KOs of 2019 – a beautiful front kick to the jaw – to put his opponent away in the third round.
With a phenomenal grappling game and powerful – and technically improving – striking, Ankalaev might be the best prospect in the entire Light-Heavyweight division now that Dominick Reyes is a genuine contender and Aleksandar Rakic has lost his undefeated record. Expect him to be in firm title contention by the end of 2020.
#5 Nathaniel Wood
London, England’s Nathaniel Wood is nicknamed ‘The Prospect’, and to say that his moniker is an apt one would be an understatement. Still just 26 years old, Wood has tremendous skills in all areas and is currently 3-0 in the UFC after pulling off three straight submissions over surprisingly tough foes.
Striker Johnny Eduardo was finished off in the first round with a D’Arce choke, tough veteran Andre Ewell lasted 3 rounds, but took a beating on his feet before being submitted, while Jose Quinonez was overwhelmed by strikes before being choked out.
The fascinating thing is that the Londoner came into the UFC with a reputation as a hard-hitting striker; of his 13 pre-UFC wins, 9 of them had come by KO or TKO. But while he has used his striking in the Octagon, his ground skills have been the most effective part of his arsenal to date.
Essentially, Wood fights like a grizzled veteran – which he almost is, given he’s got 19 professional fights to his name.
2020 should be the year that sees him step up in competition, and while Bantamweight is undoubtedly one of the most stacked divisions in the UFC, should he defeat the highly-rated veteran John Dodson in their scheduled fight in February, then the sky is the limit.
