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UFC is the biggest Mixed Martial Arts promotion in the world. Never has the promotion been more important, and it has grown a great deal in the past decade.
Every year, the UFC churns out some of the top talents from around the world. Be it signing the hottest star outside their company, or finding young talents hidden away, there is no doubt that the UFC has a lot to look forward to each year from their younger stars.
2018 was no different. Several stars shone in a big way. They established themselves as those capable of stealing the show and taking over from the veterans in the company. The next generation of UFC stars is here.
Now, it is up to them to continue that and establish themselves in a big way in 2019. The year will be critical for them because if they can continue the current run which they are on, they will only go onwards and upwards.
In this article, we will take a look at 5 talented young UFC stars to watch out for in 2019.
#5 Zabit Magomedsharipov
At 27 years of age, the Russian fighter has already established himself well within the UFC.
An exciting aggressive talent, Zabit is universally considered to be a star to look out for. His future in the UFC seems to have limitless potential, and championship fights seem like only a few months.
With a 15-1 record and 4-0 undefeated streak in the UFC in 2 years, his third year might just be the year that Zabit Magomedsharopov can break through to the next level in the company.
With this in mind, it might be best to keep a watch out for him. The only problem is that he is yet to be confronted by a real challenge in the UFC. It will be interesting to see how things play out when he is confronted by a fighter of his own calibre.
#4 Maycee Barber
A fighter who has everything yet to prove in the UFC, 2019 could not be more critical for 20-year-old Maycee Barber. With a professional Mixed Martial Arts career record of 6-0 and a hot undefeated streak, Barber has everything to fight for in the coming year.
She made quite an impression in her fight on Dana White's Contender Series and knocked out her opponent with elbows. She then even more impressively went on to repeat the achievement once again when she was given the chance.
Fighting at UFC Fight Night 139, Barber faced Hannah Cifers on the main card of the UFC Denver event. Within 2 minutes of the 2nd round starting she had Cifers grounded and bleeding badly, taking her out with elbows and punches.
Having won only one of her 6 victories via decision, Barber is quite the exciting talent to watch, and she plans to continue on her road to the title in 2019.
#3 Johnny Walker
The 26-year-old cocky young upstart, Johnny Walker has already established something of a reputation for himself in the world of Mixed Martial Arts. Having fought a massive 16 times before even coming to the UFC, Johnny Walker had a record of 13-3.
When he made his debut on Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender series, he was coming into the fight off the back of a 5-fight win streak which saw him massively confident.
He added another win to his record after a Unanimous Decision victory and bringing his streak up to 6 fights before fighting on an actual UFC card at UFC Fight Night 140. His streak continued to grow, as he got a huge first-round knockout victory where he took out Khalil Rountree with a vicious elbow within 1 minute and 57 seconds of the fight starting.
He is no stranger to 1st round stoppage wins, having secured 11 of them throughout his career. Given his attitude, he is likely to go quite far in the UFC and this is something to watch out for in 2019.
#2 Tatiana Suarez
Tatiana Suarez grapples Carla Esparza at UFC 228
Truth be told, at 27 years of age, Tatiana Suarez has already established herself well in the UFC already. However, when it comes to 2019, the upcoming year could possibly be the year when she breaks out and sets herself apart from every other woman in the UFC.
Currently, she has already ploughed through 4 top women from the UFC's Women's Strawweight Division. She has made a name for herself with her complete and well-rounded style of fighting.
Her most recent win came against Carla Esparza at UFC 228, whom she defeated via TKO. Other than this, she has two submission victories and one decision victory to her name in UFC, with a record of 7-0 in her professional MMA career.
Intent on going through the entire UFC Women's Strawweight division, she is currently the 4th ranked fighter. 2019 could be the year she finds herself battling for the Strawweight Title.
#1 Israel Adesanya
29-year-old Israel Adesanya is the hottest young star currently fighting in the UFC at present. Yet to be defeated in his professional Mixed Martial Arts career, Israel Adesanya has the extremely impressive 15-0 undefeated record to his name.
What's more, since coming to the UFC, he has defeated 4 fighters, including Derek Brunson in his last fight. He has shown immense intellect and awareness in the Octagon, not going with the moment, but having a calm and calculated approach instead.
Despite this, his fighting style has never been boring even for the slightest moment. 2019 is already set to be the biggest year in this young fighter's career, making or breaking him.
A self-professed student of Anderson Silva's fighting style, it is time for the teacher to meet the student. Adesanya is set to meet Anderson Silva on the 10th of February, 2019, at UFC 234.
Whether he wins or not, his performance on that night will be a huge factor in determining his future in the UFC and MMA as a whole.
