10 Huge UFC Stars Who Could Return In 2017
Will they or won't they?
The UFC is experiencing a small crisis. The promotion had a huge high last fall, with the sale of the company to the massive WME-IMG, and a groundbreaking card in New York City. UFC 205 saw three championship fights, and the crowning of Conor McGregor as king of a second weight class. King of the company, quite frankly.
However, after all that hype, the cupboard is almost bare. Many of the UFC's biggest stars are now on hiatus, suspended, retired, or at odds with the company. To start 2017, the promotion had to cancel (or postpone, depending on how you look at it) two separate events, one in California (which was supposed to be UFC 208, later bumped to Brooklyn), as well as a Fight Night event in Las Vegas.
That's a scary situation given the amount of money WME-IMG had to borrow to purchase the mixed martial arts giant for a record breaking $4.2 billion in U.S. funds.
Good news, however, could be on the horizon, as several major stars may be getting back in the cage soon.
Who are they? What are the chances of actually seeing all of them...
10. Anderson Silva
Anderson Silva never really left. He fought just days ago, really, at UFC 208 in Brooklyn, NY.
However, it's still notable that he'll be back again in 2017. See, Anderson Silva is a legend. An all time great. He has never been the biggest draw in the company, but he was in the top five for quite some time. Being considered the greatest middleweight in history will do that.
Yet prior to UFC 208, he hadn't won a fight since 2012. And that was against an outclassed Stephan Bonnar. Since then, Silva had been defeated twice by Chris Weidman (suffering a horrific broken leg in the cage in the second of those two fights), come back to 'beat' Nick Diaz only to have the win overturned after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs, lost a strange and controversial decision to Michael Bisping after nearly knocking The Count out, then dropped a decision to light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 200 after taking the fight on two day's notice.
That's an insane stretch for a fighter who was unbeatable for a decade or so. Had he lost to Derek Brunson at UFC 208, it's likely his career would have been done. Instead, he picked up a somewhat questionable decision win - but the good news is, the UFC can position him as a marquee star for a little longer.
He'll fight at least once more later this year. A bout against another legend, maybe fellow Brazilian Vitor Belfort, would probably sell.