1. Rashad Evans
Evans entered the sophomore season of “The Ultimate Fighter” as a lightly regarded prospect. However, as the cream tends to do, the former Michigan State University wrestler rose to the top and won the heavyweight tournament. In the six years since, Evans has evolved into one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, settling into his more natural weight class at 205 pounds. There, he captured promotional gold at UFC 92 in December 2008, when he stopped Forrest Griffin on a series of third-round ground strikes. Evans has tasted defeat just once in his career -- a brutal knockout loss to Lyoto Machida six months after he won the title -- and has populated his resume with signature wins over UFC hall of famer Chuck Liddell, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 winner Michael Bisping and former light heavyweight champions Tito Ortiz and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Now anchored at the Imperial Athletics dojo in Florida, Evans will go for the gold for a second time when he challenges former Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts stablemate Jon Jones for his 205-pound title in the UFC 145 headliner on April 21 in Atlanta.