Dana White lists the fighters he expects to become big UFC stars

A common complaint UFC fans have is that there aren’t many huge MMA stars at the moment. It’s a recurring complaint, with Ronda Rousey leaving the spot, Brock Lesnar in the WWE and Conor McGregor fighting so infrequently.

However, UFC President Dana White does not agree with these claims. Rather, he says there is a ton of up and coming prospects that will soon turn into stars.

“You never really know if someone is going to be a big star but there is never a shortage of up and coming talent. I can go on for days with up and coming people,” White said to Megan Olivi. “Petr Yan, ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley who has been out for a while and been hurt and I’m excited for him to get back. Ricky Simon. You got Kron Gracie who just looked incredible on his debut on ESPN. Roosevelt Roberts, from the Contender Series who I’m super excited about. I love this kid’s story. Geoff Neal. Ben Askren just came in a veteran who has been around for a long time but hasn’t been in the UFC. Coming off an incredible, controversial, fun fight, in his first fight in the UFC against ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler.

“You got Maycee Barber coming up, who this girl I love the way she talks. When I say talks, I love the way she texts me and the crazy things she says to me. She wants to be a world champion. I love these type of things and these type of people. Zabit, who just came off a big win as the (prelim) main event. Israel Adesanya who is going to fight for the interim title here soon, Marlon Moraes. I could go on. I mean I could go on for days and keep talking about up and coming talent that are either going to become big stars or become staples in the top-10 in the sport. Fighters who people love to tune in and watch fight.”

Needless to say, Dana White is confident there are more MMA stars on the way. Which fighters do you think will become stars over the next few years?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 3/21/2019.