Five Fighters Zuffa Should Sign By Any Means Necessary

Five Fighters Zuffa Should Sign By Any Means Necessary

There was a recent interview in which Gina Carano had some interesting things to say about her future, mentioning that she has been talking with Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White about possibly fighting for a Zuffa promotion (though she didn’t specify the UFC or WEC).  Carano is not a true free agent, as she had her EliteXC contract bought by Strikeforce, but she is understandably intrigued by Zuffa’s interest.  This got me thinking…who are the fighters that Zuffa should sign, no matter what they have to do?

Here are the five that come to mind for me, along with some reasoning behind each one.  Keep in mind that they may not be free agents, but that doesn’t mean that Zuffa shouldn’t be pursuing them when their respective contracts aren’t up.

Fedor Emelianenko-

This one is easy.  Unfortunately, he’s not as easy to sign as he is to recognize as a great talent, apparently.  Unlike with fighters like Josh Barnett, who Dana White has no interest in for whatever reason (he’s crazy, but that’s another column), the UFC has attempted to sign Emelianenko, with no luck so far.  Rumors abounded about everything from Emelianenko wanting to compete in Sambo contests (which apparently Zuffa wouldn’t allow) to his management making outrageous demands.  Of course, White’s slighting of Emelianenko and insults aimed at his manager didn’t help things, either.  Sure, Emelianenko has already fought a couple of UFC heavyweights, and he has at least one interesting non-UFC fight left (Josh Barnett), but if he never faces the likes of Randy Couture, Frank Mir, or Brock Lesnar (which could be a huge fight if Lesnar can dominate for a while), it’ll be a real shame.

Gina Carano-

We might as well get this one out of the way, as I tipped my hand in the opening paragraph.  Gina Carano is an important would-be signing for many reasons.  For one, she’s obviously one of the most marketable fighters in the sport, male or female.  She’s already had more success outside of fighting than most very successful male fighters.  But most of all, if you sign Carano at this point, you essentially own women’s MMA.  Sure, there are plenty of great women fighters out there that can be showcased, but none have the name recognition or momentum that Carano has built.

By signing Carano, Zuffa could take control of one of the few weaknesses that other promotions could possibly exploit- their lack of women’s divisions.  She could even be used in the WEC, which could feature a few women’s divisions to go along with the lighter weight divisions that are already there.  A WEC event with the likes of Urijah Faber and Carano both fighting could even be pay-per-view material, if Carano prevails in her unavoidable showdown with Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos.

Cung Le-

The UFC could really use more middleweights to feed to challenge Anderson Silva with, and Cung Le is the best option that isn’t already in the UFC.  Even within the UFC middleweight division, the best fighters to be found can’t give Silva a run for his money where he is strongest: in the standup game.  Le, on the other hand, is a standup virtuoso who can pose a challenge to any middleweight in the world while kickboxing.  He also has the aggressiveness to bring Silva out of his recent shell and practically guarantee a great fight.  Le should be signed for that fight alone.  With a introduction fight or two and the right buildup, a Le-Silva match could be a great money maker. 

While we’re at it, they should pursue Robbie Lawler for once and for all, too.  He’s blossomed into a great fighter, is always exciting, and would help make the middleweight division one of the UFC’s best long after Silva has moved onto boxing, or whatever in the world he plans on doing when his contract is up.

Nick Diaz-

I’ll say it: The UFC never should have gotten rid of Diaz.  I think it was short-sighted to let young fighters like Diaz or Lawler get loose, even if they had hit slumps in their respective careers.  For as young as each of them were when they last fought in the UFC, they should have had more room to grow and develop.  Instead, they were allowed to get away, and now are the cornerstones of a rival promotion.  Diaz may or may not ever be able to win a UFC title, but he is one of the more polarizing and memorable personalities in MMA.  Can you imagine Diaz coaching a season of the Ultimate Fighter?  Sure, they may have to have extra security on hand all season long, but it would be great television.

Diaz always fights hard, has a great skill set, just tore through one of your rival promotion’s biggest stars, and still has a lot of time to improve.  He should be in the big show.

“Kid” Yamamoto-

We’ve all seen and heard about the struggles of Japanese fighters who have come to the states, but Kid Yamamoto would definitely be an exception.  With his outstanding wrestling and out of this world athleticism, he would be a great match for any fighter, including featherweight greats Mike Brown and Urijah Faber.  Adding a fighter of Kid’s caliber would help take the WEC to the next level, or even justify the UFC adding featherweights to its own shows, instead.  See above: Yamamoto is just too good to not be fighting for Zuffa, and if Faber is able to beat Brown and get through the inevitable rubber match, Faber-Yamamoto is a dream match fans have wanted for years.

 by Jon Hartley for Fightmania.com

Tags: Anderson Silva, Brock Lesnar, Dana White, DREAM, Fedor Emelianenko, Frank Mir, Josh Barnett, Mike Brown, Nick Diaz, Randy Couture, Robbie Lawler, Strikeforce, UFC, WEC