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Conor McGregor is one of the rare athletes, not only in combat sports but also in all of sports and entertainment that truly took the business to new heights.
Now, mind you, these heights weren’t unbeknownst to the hurt business. However, apart from big names such as Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr., not many in the fight game have been able to succeed at the box office as has McGregor.
Regardless, no one is indispensable in any business. Given McGregor’s absence from the fight game after cashing upwards of $100 million in a crossover super-fight against the aforementioned Mayweather, the UFC and the sport of MMA as a whole is looking for the next big mega-star to rake in the dollars and sustain the larger-than-life entertainment value that 'The Notorious One' is known to bring to the MMA.
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So, without further ado, here are a few fighters who could replace Conor McGregor—a near-perfect balance of skill and promotional abilities—
#5 Megan Anderson
Megan Anderson is a physical specimen who has been touted as the one to slay the dragon, Cris Cyborg.
While Anderson, an Australian MMA superstar who stands at 6-feet-tall, was scheduled to fight Cyborg in 2017. The former withdrew from the matchup citing personal reasons. Nevertheless, experts believe that Anderson vs. Cyborg will take place this year.
Anderson is not only a great striker and exciting finisher, much like Conor McGregor, but also isn’t shy to talk a big game. Anderson talks the talk and walks the walk—making her one of the most exciting fighters in the world today at just 27 years of age. Should she beat Cyborg, Anderson would be propelled to global superstardom in the world of MMA.
#4 Robert Whittaker
Robert Whittaker may very well be one of the most underrated talents in all of MMA today.
The man beloved to fans of the savage science the world over as ‘Bobby Knuckles’—a nickname that he actually despises—captured the Interim UFC Middleweight Championship with a decision victory over the deadly Yoel Romero last year. While MMA legend Georges St-Pierre won the Undisputed UFC Middleweight title by finishing Michael Bisping in the months following Whittaker’s win. GSP subsequently vacated the belt owing to health issues.
Resultantly, Whittaker is now the Undisputed Champion. However, he has been suffering from a few health issues—a staph infection in his stomach, to be specific—of his own over the past few weeks. Nevertheless, when one talks about KO power, charisma and youth, it doesn’t get much better than Robert Whittaker. While Whittaker may not be a motor-mouth fight promotion machine, his eloquent and classy style in the lead-up to a fight and dynamite fists have piqued the interest of MMA fans the world over. With the UFC’s promotional machine firmly behind Whittaker for the foreseeable future, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility to see this knockout artist replace Conor McGregor as the most popular UFC fighter in the world in the months to come.
#3 Jon Jones
Yes, Jon Jones has been a PPV draw for the UFC well before Conor McGregor made his debut in the organization.
Nevertheless, one can’t deny that as Jones is a combatant featured in the promotion’s second-heaviest weight-class, the average shelf life of ‘Bones’ as a competitor and PPV draw is significantly higher than that of McGregor who competes in the lighter weight classes. Besides, Jones may have gotten in trouble time and again outside the Octagon, but per USADA and UFC executives, fans could expect the former UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion to be cleared for an in-ring return sooner than initially expected.
Furthermore, Jones is virtually undefeated—barring the DQ loss to Matt Hamill—and unlike McGregor, Jones is one of the most well-rounded MMA fighters. Besides, much like 'The Notorious One', Jones is an expert at the fine art of trash talk, as evidenced by his multiple rivalries with Daniel Cormier, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Rashad Evans and many more.
With his legal issues nearing resolution in 2018, fans can expect Jones to return as a PPV draw for the UFC, likely in the latter half of this year.
#2 Rico Verhoeven
Rico Verhoeven is widely regarded as one of the all-time greats in kickboxing. Having trained from the age of seven and competed since he was a 16-year-old.
The hulking Dutch technician who was long criticized for his ‘lack of KO power’, has turned into a knockout machine since 2016. In fact, Verhoeven most recently avenged an earlier KO loss to Jamal Ben Saddik by finishing the latter in brutal fashion last December.
Besides, Verhoeven has also been honing his overall MMA skills in addition to his excellent kickboxing, working on his wrestling, BJJ and MMA sparring at the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) alongside MMA legends such as Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez and many more. Additionally, UFC President Dana White has heaped a ton of praise on Verhoeven welcoming the possibility of the latter potentially competing in the UFC Heavyweight division in the next couple of years.
Well, with kickboxing, MMA, as well as several Hollywood, offers on his plate, Verhoeven could be the perfect candidate to replace Conor McGregor as MMA’s top star.
#1 Francis Ngannou
‘The Predator’ has smashed through the UFC Heavyweight division and has punched his ticket to the big time. He has battled one of the most well-rounded MMA Heavyweights of all time, Stipe Miocic, for the latter’s UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 220. Granted that Ngannou came up short in his Unanimous Decision loss to Miocic, but hear me out.
Ngannou, a French-Cameroonian fighter, has worked considerably on his English-speaking skills, so as to train in the US as well as promote his brand in the West. As for Dana White and the UFC, the promotional machine is firmly behind the hulking KO artist over the past few months.
Ngannou has excellent striking and good grappling as well. Couple that with his otherworldly athleticism and you’ve got a winning combination. The heavyweight division has always attracted millions of fight fans—both hardcore fans as well as the casual follower—to the UFC or any combat sports organization for that matter.
The UFC has struck gold with Ngannou, who at just 31 years of age, looks like the future of the UFC Heavyweight division and with a couple of more wins, could challenge for the Heavyweight title once again later this year. With a star-studded group of fighters as such, perhaps the world of MMA could move on from the Notorious era sooner rather than later.
