MMA

Top 10 UFC fighters to come out of Arizona State: Part 2

Aug 3, 2013, 7:46 PM | Updated: 7:47 pm

Remember to catch up on the first part of the list here.

5. Don Frye (20-9-1-1, 6-1 UFC)

One of the earliest superstars in mixed martial arts, Don Frye began wrestling at Buena High School in Sierra Vista before joining the ASU wrestling program. In his four years at ASU, Frye won the Southwestern Regional Olympic Qualifying tournament in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle tournaments under the tutelage of another future MMA legend in Dan Severn and wrestling icon Bobby Douglas. After winning a Pac-10 championship and a National championship in 1988 at ASU, Frye transferred to Oklahoma State where he became teammates with future UFC hall of famer Randy Couture. After a brief period of professional boxing, the man known as ‘The Predator’ made his octagon debut at UFC 8 in 1996. With three first-round victories in one night en route to winning the UFC 8 tournament, Frye became a superstar. Frye would go onto to win three more times in the UFC before losing to Mark Coleman in the UFC 10 championship round. After the defeat Frye would make the move overseas to Pride FC in Japan where he became one of organization’s main attractions. With wins over Ken Shamrock, Gilbert Yvel and Yoshihiro Takayama this MMA legend never left the crowd feeling disappointed.

4. Ryan Bader (15-3, 8-3 UFC)

One of the most popular fighters in the UFC right now, Ryan Bader was also one the top collegiate wrestlers in the country during his time at ASU. A two time All-American and three time Pac-10 champion, Bader faced stiff competition in his four years in college as he squared off against future UFC superstars in Phil Davis and Weidman. Upon graduating, Bader joined his former coach Simpson and teammates Moraga, Dalloway and Velasquez in pursuing a career in MMA. After a dominant 7-0 run to kick of his professional career, he was selected to join the cast of The Ultimate Fighter season 8. After plowing through the competition and winning the season finale, Bader would continue his success with five-straight wins inside the UFC octagon before losing his first professional bout to current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. After another defeat in his next fight to Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz, the former Nevada Wrestler of the Year bounced back with back-to-back wins over Jason Brilz and the popular Rampage Jackson in front of a sold-out crowd in Japan. Since then, Bader was handed his first knockout loss at the hands of Lyoto Machida before setting the record for fastest submission victory in UFC Light Heavyweight history against Vladimir Matyshenko. With a win in his next bout, already scheduled for UFC Fight Night 28 at the Mineirinho Arena in Belo Horizonte, Brazil against hometown favorite Glover Teixeira, the former Sun Devil could rocket up the 205-pound division rankings and be within arms length of a title shot.

3. Dan Severn (101-19-7, 9-4-1 UFC)

The true definition of an MMA pioneer, Dan ‘The Beast’ Severn was a two-time All-American and wrestling coach at ASU and after putting on a dominant performance at UFC 4, he put Arizona on the map as a breeding ground for MMA talent. Although he lost to fellow UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie in the finals of the UFC 4 tournament, Severn would go onto win the UFC 5 tournament before losing to Ken Shamrock in UFC’s first heavyweight title fight at UFC 6. Severn would have his revenge with a split decision victory over Shamrock and successfully winning what was then called the UFC Superfight Championship at UFC 9. Although he only stepped in the UFC octagon two more times after winning the belt, Severn kept busy and fought until he was 55 years old, amassing over 100 wins before retiring in 2012.

2. Dan Henderson (29-10, 6-4 UFC)

Still going at the age of 42, Dan Henderson and his vaunted H-Bomb have been competing in MMA since 1997. While he may not have all the accolades his fellow Sun Devils on this list achieved in college, Henderson would go onto win over a dozen FILA medals in Greco Roman wrestling, including gold medal in 2000. But as a professional fighter, few have as impressive a résumé as Henderson. After winning the UFC 17 tournament, ‘Hendo’ made the transition to Pride FC where he became known as one of the best fighters on the planet. With wins over Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort, Murilo Bustamante, Murilo Rua and Renzo Gracie, the former Sun Devil became both the Pride welterweight and middleweight champion before the organization was absorbed into the UFC. After losing to both UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rampage Jackson, the 2007 Fighter the Year delivered one of the most devastating knockouts in MMA history, crushing Michael Bisping before heading over to rival company Strikeforce where he eventually became the light heavyweight champion. After a win over the legendary Fedor Emelianenko at heavyweight, Henderson returned home to the UFC and put on the performance of his life with a win over fellow Pride icon Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua in a fight many consider the greatest of all time at UFC 139. But back-to-back split decision losses to former champions Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans, the door may be closing on Henderson’s long and illustrious career.

1. Cain Velasquez (12-1, 10-1 UFC)

It should be no surprise that the current UFC heavyweight champion tops this list. After winning two consecutive Division 1 high school state wrestling championships at Kofa High School in Yuma, Velasquez continued his dominance Iowa Central Community College, winning the NJCAA National championship in his first year. After transferring to ASU, he would become a two time All-American and Pac-10 champion before joining his teammates Bader, Dollaway and Moraga in the pursuit for MMA gold. Stepping into the UFC octagon after only two professional fights, Velasquez went on a tear with knockout victories in five of his first six UFC bouts before earning a title shot against the monster that is known as Brock Lesnar. Even with the 25-pound disadvantage against Lesnar the former Yuma wrestling standout demolished his hulking opponent late in the first round en route to becoming the first Hispanic heavyweight champion. He may have stumbled when he lost his belt to Junior Dos Santos 64 seconds into round one at UFC on Fox 1 but the Velasquez made up for it with a violent TKO victory of Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva and the absolute destruction of Dos Santos as he won back his belt in their rematch UFC 155. After another early knockout of Bigfoot back at UFC 160 and Velasquez is now scheduled to complete his trilogy with Dos Santos at UFC 166 as the two once again compete for the belt.

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Top 10 UFC fighters to come out of Arizona State: Part 2