The UFC is in a drought when it comes to Canadian fighters with superstar potential.

When Georges St-Pierre announced his hiatus from competing more than four years ago, his heir apparent was Rory MacDonald. Just 24 years of age and sporting a 15-2 record at the time, MacDonald was the consensus top Canadian prospect in the UFC’s stable.

MacDonald would make his way to the top of the welterweight division where he earned a title shot against then-champion Robbie Lawler in July of 2015. In what is considered one of the most exciting fights in UFC history, MacDonald entered the fifth round up 39-37 on all scorecards before Lawler scored a vicious knockout victory one minute into the round.

MacDonald wasn’t the only Canadian who fought for a championship during St-Pierre’s hiatus as both Valerie Letourneau and Alexis Davis competed for championships in the women’s strawweight and bantamweight divisions.

Times have changed. MacDonald departed from the UFC in August of 2016 as a free agent and signed with rival Bellator MMA, where he went on to become the welterweight champion. Letourneau was released from the UFC after dropping three straight fights, including her loss to then-champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Davis is still with the UFC and is knocking on the door of another title shot, this time in the newly developed women’s flyweight division.

Since MacDonald’s departure, it seems every few months a different Canadian has provided hope to the fan base in the Great White North as a potential contender only to fall short of those expectations.

It started with Misha Cirkunov, who looked to be close to a light heavyweight title fight after four straight wins, but then lost two straight. Then there were undefeated featherweights Gavin Tucker, who showed incredible footwork in his debut and Jeremy Kennedy, who won three unanimous decision victories. Both suffered recent losses in definitive fashion.

Most recently, hopes were high for another undefeated featherweight, Hakeem Dawodu, who went 7-0-1 in the World Series of Fighting before signing with the UFC in August. He made his debut this past weekend at the UFC’s Fight Night card in London, England, and despite being a sizeable favourite against his opponent, Scotland’s Danny Henry, lost via standing guillotine choke only 39 seconds into the first round.

While Cirkunov, Tucker, Kennedy and Dawodu are all young in their careers, it leaves open the question as to whether there will be a Canadian contender that emerges in the UFC anytime soon.

Other Canadians with solid UFC resumes like Elias Theodorou, Chad Laprise, Kajan Johnson and Olivier Aubin-Mercier, with a combined 22-7 record, have been unable to get ranked due to competing in deep divisions. They have suffered from inconsistency in their careers, making it difficult for them to build momentum from long winning streaks.

The next great Canadian UFC fighter is currently a huge question mark. I asked some Canadian colleagues who cover mixed martial arts to give their opinion on who could be the next contender in the organization.

Some named fighters currently competing in the UFC, while others named regional prospects who they feel have the potential to break through.

James Lynch, Sports Illustrated and Flo Combat:

Despite having one of the worst UFC debuts in recent memory this past weekend, Hakeem Dawodu still remains the brightest Canadian prospect in the UFC. The Calgary native is only 26 years old and made his octagon debut on more than a year off of competition due to contract issues. While Jeremy Kennedy also remains a bright spot for Canadian MMA, Dawodu’s striking and speed still make him a dangerous opponent for anyone outside the Top 15 in the UFC. Unlike some, I'm not jumping off the Dawodu bandwagon just yet.

The future of Canadian MMA looks bright. This past Friday, 20-year old TJ Laramie successfully defended his TKO MMA featherweight title with a fourth-round finish. Laramie splits time between his home gym at MTC in Windsor and also at Michigan Top Team where he trains with UFC bantamweight standout Cody Stamann. On this upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter Canadian fight fans will get a glimpse of undefeated Winnipeg bantamweight prospect Brad Katona. Katona boasts an impressive 6-0 record and holds a win over previously undefeated Austin Ryan. With TKO MMA gaining steam and Edmonton lifting the combat sports ban to allow promotions like Unified MMA to run frequent events, the Canadian MMA scene looks bright.

 

Marv Timog, host of The Weigh-In, TSN 1290 Winnipeg

As a fan of Canadian mixed martial artists, it was heart breaking to see Hakeem Dawodu lose.  Especially in such a manner that he did.  I still believe that this loss will be a learning tool for him, he is such a talented fighter, but the road to gold in the UFC will be that much more difficult. 

When I look at the Canadians in the UFC, I see lots of talented fighters.  There’s Elias Theodorou, Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Misha Cirkunov, but who has that “it” factor?  Who has that spark that will one day see Dana White wrap a UFC title around their waist?

For a future Great North Hope, I’ll look a bit outside, like Brad Katona, who will be on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.  However, if I had to pick one to one day be champion, I’ll look to an undefeated middleweight from Winnipeg, who just signed with TKO – “The Iron Pol” Mariusz Ksiazkiewicz.

 

Alexander K. Lee, MMA Fighting

While there are plenty of talented Canadians on the UFC's roster – several of whom might be flying under the radar. The one with the clearest path to a title shot has to be Richmond, B.C.'s Arjan Bhullar.

Undefeated in seven pro fights, the 31-year-old Bhullar has competed sporadically since debuting in 2014, but he is now focused on pursuing MMA glory and that means trouble for the aging heavyweight division. Bhullar was a standout wrestler for Canada in both the amateur and international scene, and his background served him well in his UFC debut where he won a unanimous decision against a game Luis Henrique.

There's plenty of room for improvement, but it's not a stretch to imagine Bhullar developing into “Canadian Cormier” (a nod to his idol, Olympian and UFC champion Daniel Cormier) and going on a romp before securing a fight against a top-10 opponent at the tail end of 2018. Considering that Bhullar represents both Canada and India, you can bet that the UFC will be happy to fast track him to a title shot when they realize the potential star they have on their hands.

 

Steve Jeffery, co-host of The Hammer MMA Radio, CFMU 93.3 Hamilton

Although only two fights into her professional career, Toronto’s Anastasia Nikolakakos appears far more seasoned than her limited fight experience would indicate.  Although only a professional for less than one year, Nikolakakos has won both of her fights in the BTC promotion, and is currently considered the No. 1 pound-for-pound female Canadian fighter.  

At the moment, three quarters of the Top 15 ranked fighters in the UFC are female, and it's quite likely that the next major Canadian MMA star will come from these newer, more wide-open divisions. If Nikolakakos continues to win fights, gain experience, and train with the UFC-experienced fighters at Grant's MMA, I think that her chances of making a run at a UFC championship are better than most.

An honourable mention goes to current UFC Lightweight Kajan Johnson from Burns Lake, B.C., who has quietly racked up four straight wins in the UFC's toughest division ­– including significant victories over Adriano Martins and Stevie Ray.

 

Adam Martin, MMARatings.net and co-host of The Parting Shot Podcast

I wish I could say the future of Canadian MMA was bright, but I'm not so sure. One of the biggest problems in my opinion is the lack of fights in Ontario. I've been critical of this before and will continue to be. When MMA was legalized in 2011 in Ontario, I thought the sport would take off, but in the years since, there have barely been any fights.

Where can the younger generation of fighters compete in Ontario? Now that Score Fighting Series is gone, there are no grassroots MMA promotions in Canada's biggest province, and that's a huge problem. Yes, the MMA scene is better in Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia, but I still think the lack of MMA in Ontario is a huge reason for why we don't see too many young Canadian prospects with championship aspirations.

In regards to who I think could be the next big thing out of Canada, I could see TJ Laramie of TKO being that guy. But I caution everyone to slow their roll on young prospects because, as we saw recently with the much-hyped Hakeem Dawodu losing, you never know how the fighters will perform once they step into the octagon. Hopefully changes are made and MMA re-emerges in Ontario, but it's not looking that way.