Fighting has always been something that has been engraved into Scottish culture, but mixed martial arts has had slow rise to popularity as a sport, with many young boys and girls having their dreams lie in the realms of other sports like football, rugby or tennis. However the following 5 people in this list have played a major role in bringing the UFC to Glasgow, two times, as well as the subsequent rise in popularity the sport has enjoyed over the last 5 years or so. Despite the small population I have no doubt that we can produce some real championship caliber fighters in the years to come, and we may even see such potential in the 5 people in this list.
Number 5. Ross "The Hitman" Houston
Ross Houston is a fighter from inverness and is the only fighter not (yet) signed to the UFC on this list, however after his recent win against Italian, Stefano Paterno. Which claimed him the Cage Warriors welterweight belt in October 2018 that could be about to change. Ross holds an impressive 8-0-0 record as a professional MMA fighter and believes that his title win will be his "golden ticket" to the UFC. At just 28 years of age his best years are still in front of him and I believe that he will get that shot in the UFC and will grab the opportunity with both hands and go far in the sport.
You can see him talk about his dream of becoming a UFC fighter in this BBC article, https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/mixed-martial-arts/45815313
Number 4. Danny "The Hatchet"Henry
Danny Henry is a 12-0-2 UFC fighter from Edinburgh who I believe has the potential to be the best Scottish MMA fighter we have seen. I seen him perform in person when I attended UFC Glasgow in July 2017, and he put on an impressive performance in his UFC debut in his home country being the only Scottish fighter to win their fight that night. He had a 10-0-2 record before getting his shot in the UFC and has since won both of his fights one via decision and one via a 39 second submission, stamping his authority and demanding respect as a dangerous lightweight fighter. I recommend you keep an eye out for his next fight as it is likely to be a great one!
Number 3. Paul "Bearjew" Craig
Paul Craig, who fights out of Coatbridge, is a real talent in the UFC's Light Heavy Weight division he holds a record of 10-0-2 and has never went the distance in any of his fight with 9 submission wins and 1 KO. He is a popular fighter due to his exciting style, big personality and how he really embraces his Scottish identify. He won his first UFC fight with and armbar and looked to bring a dangerous ground game to a stacked LHW division however he suffered two losses in his next two via KO and his fourth UFC fight looked to be going bad again, however Paul knew he was down on the cards and had to pull something special to win this fight, and he done exactly that. In an incredible comeback Paul made his opponent tap to a triangle choke with 1 second remaining in the fight, maintaining his streak of never seeing a decision. I am confident that Paul will ride the momentum of this win and continue to put on exciting fights and do Scottish MMA proud!
Number 2. Stevie "Braveheart" Ray
"Stevie, Stevie, Stevie F****** Ray!" These are the chants that you can hear deafening the arena whenever this man fights in his home country, the fan favourite from Paisley is easily the most experienced Scottish MMA fighter with a record of 22-0-8, in those 30 fights Stevie has taken out some well known names in the UFC roster such as the veterans Ross Pearson and Joe Lauzon. Stevie has shown glimpses of superb ability with his great footwork, conditioning and striking and given he is still only 28 years of age, if he can put all his skills together he can continue to climb those rankings. Perhaps one day be the first male fighter from Scotland to make it as one of the top 15 fighters in their division.
Stevie recently bounced back from a two fight loosing streak with a decision win over Jessin Ayari in late October and this may be the win he needed to start another run at making that elusive top 15 spot.
Number 1. Joanne "JoJo" Calderwood
Taking the number 1 spot on my list is Joanne "JoJo" Calderwood, JoJo is the only female Scottish MMA fighter in the UFC and she holds a record of 12-0-3. JoJo fights out of Glasgow and as a result has a big following, she is primarily a stand up fighter and has a very exiting style, she is currently ranked as the 12th best Flyweight in the world despite fighting most of her fights at Strawweight. She was on a two fight loosing streak in the UFC but made a return to Flyweight recently and got back to winning ways, this is a good sign looking forward for JoJo as she seems to be at her best at this weight. It is here that we have seen some of her most impressive performances, like her domination of Valerie Letourneau, which was reminiscent of ex-Straweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk when she defended her belt to Valerie in similar dominant fashion. Now that the UFC has a fully dedicated Flyweight division and JoJo has a set weight at which she will fight her career in the UFC looks as promising as ever, and maybe now she can make the necessary strides to break that top 10 and perhaps even the top 5. Only time will tell what the future has in store for JoJo but things are certainly seeming on the up for the Glaswegian.
Be sure to watch and support Joanne in her next fight that is scheduled to take place at UFC 233, January 26 2019 against Ariane Lipski.
Honorable Mentions - Robert Whiteford and Chris Bungard
I had the privilege of seeing 4 of the 5 people on this list compete at UFC Glasgow 2017 and despite things not going as planned for most of them that night the passion you could hear, see and feel emanating from the arena that night gave me chills and certainly lived up to the UFC's first visit to Glasgow where we were voted the fans of the year! It is this passion that the fans hold for the sport here that makes me hopeful for the future of Scottish MMA producing many more memorable nights like the one I experienced last year and perhaps even a UFC champion in the future.
Thank you so much for reading my blog, if you enjoyed be sure to check out my others and follow me on Twitter!
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