Sherdog’s Top 10: Phenoms

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5. Ronda Rousey

A crossover star and “Sports Illustrated” cover athlete, Rousey did not begin her MMA career at a particularly young age, but the sheer speed of her ascent from unknown to household name is utterly remarkable. A bronze medalist in judo at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, Rousey transitioned to MMA shortly thereafter, and the hype started to build during her amateur career. She quickly ran off three victories, all of them by armbar in less than a minute, and when she turned pro, people started to take notice.

Bas Rutten pegged her for greatness in a short segment on “Inside MMA,” and the Los Angeles MMA scene was abuzz with talk about the brutality of her training sessions and her off-the-charts killer instinct. It turned out that she had charisma to match, and less than a year into her career, she talked her way into a Strikeforce title fight with Miesha Tate. The skilled veteran managed to last longer than any previous opponent, but she, too, tapped to an armbar, and Rousey’s star was firmly on the rise. It was her fifth professional fight.

A title defense in Strikeforce followed in the form of yet another first-round armbar, this one over Sarah Kaufman, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship took notice. It created a women’s bantamweight division -- something UFC President Dana White had long promised would never, ever happen -- essentially for the marketable Rousey to continue plying her trade in front of major audiences. Still only 28, she is one of the biggest and most bankable stars in the sport, with big money and even greater exposure still to come should she choose to remain a fighter.

Number 4 » He has amassed a well of technical knowledge, particularly of grappling, that exceeds practically any fighter in the sport. Regardless of how one feels about his various run-ins with state athletic commissions over the years, his success as a youthful phenom should not be overlooked.