Four Breakout UFC Stars of 2016

2016 was one hell of an interesting year, with some of the most interesting news to come out in the period of a calendar year. As is the case always, MMA continued to shock, awe and remind us why we love the sport, and the fighters in it, who continue to set benchmarks in determining what constitutes peak athletic performance.

But fighters in the UFC are like stocks, and while the best ones remain on the up and up for the most time, some, like Ronda Rousey and Johnny Hendricks, take a dip for the worse. Then there are the ones who express meteoric rise to the upper echelon of the fight game and a period of 365 days maybe short in many a ways, but not for a few fortunes that can turn itself on its head, in an instant.

We take a look at some of the names, that over the last year, transformed themselves into bonafide stars, but started the year in rather humble fashion.