NOTE: Fighters under contract with the UFC, PFL, Bellator, RIZIN FF and ONE Championship will not be included. The order of these fighters are approximate to where they rank overall, although not perfect.
Top 20 South American Prospects Outside Brazil
- Rodrigo Vera (17-1-1, BW, Peru)
- Oscar Miguel (13-1, FLY, Peru)
- Kevin Vallejos (13-1, FW, Argentina)
- Jose Ferreira (12-1, FW, Chile)
- Javier Reyes (18-3, FW, Colombia)
- Carlos Petruzella (12-0, WW, Argentina)
- Juan Diaz (12-1-1, BW, Argentina)
- Lucas Miletich (8-1, FW, Argentina)
- Jose Ochoa (7-0, FLY, Peru)
- Omar Arteaga (11-1, BW, Peru)
- Diego Gomez Manzur (10-1, FLY, Chile)
- Valentina Escobar (6-0, SW, Chile)
- Julieta Martinez (7-0, SW, Argentina)
- Rudy Gavidia (21-3, FW, Peru)
- Jazmin Navarrete (6-0, SW, Chile)
- Jhon Tacha (12-2, BW, Colombia)
- Braian Gonzalez (13-2, FLY, Argentina)
- Laura Canon (4-0, BW, Colombia)
- Sayury Canon (3-1, SW, Colombia)
- Yuneisy Duben (5-0, FLY, Venezuela)
MMA from South American countries outside of the fight bastion that is Brazil has really exploded in recent years. Peru has been especially hot, possessing such top prospects as Rodrigo Vera, Oscar Miguel and Jose Ochoa, the latter of whom will be on the Dana White’s Contender Series this year. Kevin Vallejos of Argentina, who had a shot on the Contender Series last year, continues to be an intriguing prospect with good power in his strikes and a fun fight style. A couple other of my favorite prospects to watch from there are striker Javier Reyes of Colombia, Carlos Petruzella of Argentina, Juan Diaz of Argentina and Valentina Escobar of Chile, who flies under the radar at this point. Overall, these 20 fighters are all very solid and a sign that it’s not just Brazil who has good prospects in South America.