USA Today MMA Power 20
Everyone in mixed martial arts can gauge their status by their relationship with one brand. The hold of the Ultimate…
Everyone in mixed martial arts can gauge their status by their relationship with one brand. The hold of the Ultimate Fighting Championship— and its parent, Zuffa — has never been greater.
Meet USA TODAY’s selection of the top powers in MMA:
1. Fertitta brothers & Dana White, Zuffa co-owners
Anyone who thinks UFC has any rivals in mixed martial arts these days is “way, way, way, way out of the loop,” White says. “My competition is the NFL. My competition is Major League Baseball. My competition is these other networks.”
2. Joe Silva, UFC vice president for talent relations
As matchmaker and chief talent scout, Silva decides who gets signed, who stays and who gets cut.
3. Georges “Rush” St. Pierre, UFC welterweight champion
No one matches the French Canadian titleholder’s crossover appeal.
4. Jon “Bones” Jones, UFC light heavyweight champion
“Sitting right here, right now, tonight, Jones looks like the man,” White said following the UFC 128 Mauricio “Shogun” Rua bout. “It looks like he’s a mile ahead of everybody.”
5. Anderson “The Spider” Silva, UFC middleweight champion
White calls Silva the best P4P fighter in the world. Yet Silva also has the distinction of being the only reigning champion whom the UFC boss threatened to fire for making a mockery of his profession.
6. Brock Lesnar, UFC heavyweight
Lesnar-led shows attract more pay-per-view buyers than any other UFC card; every event he has headlined generated at least 1 million buys.
7. Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn, Trainers
They coordinate MMA’s pre-eminent coaching network, a web that includes top UFC fighters across the continent.
8. Cain Velasquez, UFC heavyweight champion
Zuffa’s efforts to broaden its ethnic reach rest with men such as Velasquez, the first Mexican-American heavyweight titleholder in combat sports.
9. Craig Piligian, Executive producer, Pilgrim Films & Television
With Piligian and his team selecting the cast and format for each season, TUF gives UFC a reliable platform on basic cable to keep it in the public consciousness.
10. Bjorn Rebney, CEO, Bellator Fighting Championships
The Strikeforce sale means Rebney controls the only promotion left with a widely distributed TV product outside Zuffa’s umbrella.
11. Keith Kizer, Nevada Athletic Commission’s executive director:
Leads the most influential regulatory body in combat sports.
12. Joe Rogan, UFC broadcaster:
Shapes fan perceptions more than anyone else by dint of his status as UFC’s longtime TV commentator.
13. Bob Cook & Javier Mendez, American Kickboxing Academy trainers
Arguably the premier camp in MMA other than the Jackson-Winkeljohn network.
14. Randy Couture, former champion, owner of Xtreme Couture
15. Cesar Gracie, founder, Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
16. Jose Aldo, UFC featherweight champion
17. Duke Roufus, owner, Roufus Sport
18. Bas Boon, Cor Hemmers, Martijn DeJong, Golden Glory
19. Andrew Simon, HDNet Fights president
20. Alistair Overeem, Strikeforce champion
