Sherdog’s Top 10: Rising Stars, 2014 First Edition

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8. Myles Jury (15-0)

Few fighters have achieved as much in the UFC with as little fanfare as Jury, a product of the same Alliance MMA gym that houses friend and mentor Dominick Cruz. Part of that likely has to do with the roundabout path that brought Jury to the UFC; it took him two underwhelming stints on “The Ultimate Fighter” -- the first ending when Jury blew out his knee and the second with an ignominious decision loss to eventual finalist Al Iaquinta -- for the Michigan native to make his debut in the UFC proper.

Since then, however, Jury’s true talent has risen to the fore. He owns six straight wins over increasingly stout competition, including dominations of Diego Sanchez and Michael Johnson and vicious knockouts of Takanori Gomi and Ramsey Nijem. There is no questioning Jury’s skills in the cage: He can strike with technique and power, wrestle like a collegiate competitor and grapple with the aplomb of a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, and he melds all of those facets together in a sum worth a great deal more than the individual parts.

The real question with Jury is not his game, which is proven and should adapt well to high-profile clashes against the division’s elite, but his personality and ability to generate interest in his fights. True stardom in MMA requires charisma, and the jury is still out on whether “Fury” can show a national audience he is worth its emotional and financial investment.

Number 7 » He is a fascinating example of the late bloomer in MMA. The former Brazilian muay Thai champion always had talent -- there was no question about that -- but the first five years of his professional career included nearly as many head-scratching losses as impressive showings.