The MMA Manifesto’s Top 12 Under 12

The first eleven bouts of a mixed martial artist’s career are so pivotal. Especially now that the sport has exploded in popularity, and matchmakers are tasked with discovering the next big superstar. The “first eleven” determine whether a prospect has the ability to evolve into something bigger, or if their potential has a ceiling.

Every now and then, an anomaly like Brock Lesnar comes in—who has popularity from another field, receives a high-profile opportunity otherwise undeserved, but ultimately succeeds, and manages to do more in his first eleven fights (of which he’s still at nine, having presumably retired for the second time) than most fighters do. Satoshi Ishii was also an example of…