Welcome to Year 12 of the annual “Prospects the UFC Should Sign” series, in which we’ll examine five MMA prospects per division the UFC should sign in the upcoming year.
This series started during my time as a writer for Bleacher Report, continued through my tenures at Today’s Knockout and FanSided, and now it stays alive another year here at Combat Press.
Let’s examine the bantamweight division, a weight class that is loaded with good, young talent. It is rapidly becoming one of the most entertaining divisions in the UFC.
In picking these prospects, I’ll try my hardest to stay away from fighters who are currently in top organizations, such as ONE Championship or the Professional Fighters League, but a couple may pop up. In the past, I’ve had some great picks on the list, and some that haven’t worked out. Below are the previous year’s selections, followed by the five men the UFC should offer roster spots to in the coming year.
2012: Jimmie Rivera, Josh Hill, Yusup Saadulaev, Nick Mamalis, Matt Smith
2013: Josh Hill, Kyoji Horiguchi, Gustavo Falciroli, Jonathan Mackles, Rodolfo Marques
2014: Thomas Almeida, Anthony Birchak, Leandro Higo, Zeilton Rodrigues, James Brum
2015: Brett Johns, Luke Sanders, Julio Arce, Jonas Bilharinho*, Toni Tauru
2016: Brett Johns, Ricardo Ramos, Boston Salmon, Jonas Bilharinho*, Luis Rafael
2017: Tom Duquesnoy, Said Nurmagomedov, Magomed Magomedov*, Raufeon Stots, Dominic Mazzotta
2018: Petr Yan, Jose Torres, Bekbulat Magomedov*, Rustam Kerimov*, Jesse Arnett
2019: Jack Shore, Nathan Maness, Rustam Kerimov*, Magomed Magomedov*, Patrick Mix
2020: Timur Valiev, Victor Henry, Umar Nurmagomedov, Khusein Askhabov, Askar Askar
2021: Zviad Lazishvili, Jack Cartwright*, Denis Lavrentyev*, Levi Mowles*, Herbeth Sousa
2022: Khusein Askhabov, Luan Lacerda, Jack Cartwright*, Denis Lavrentyev*, Levi Mowles*
2023: Muin Gafurov, Jean Matsumoto, Austin Bashi, Luis Rodriguez, Dwight Joseph
2024: Austin Bashi, Felipe Lima, Luis Rodriguez, Evgeniy Ignatiev, John Sweeney
Note: Bold denotes fighter was signed by UFC; * denotes fighter ineligible due to two years on list.
ACA and the Russian region of Grozny have long possessed a ton of talent in MMA. One of the best they have right now in any weight class is Mehdi Baidulaev, a pro since 2015.
Baidulaev is a ferocious wrestler and submission grappler. Over half of his wins (10) come by way of submission, with a variety of techniques being used. He’s also a tough striker, though it’s mostly used to set up takedowns. Baidulaev ran a 2-0 record in 2024. He started the year off choking out fellow prospect Makharbek Karginov, earning him a big fight with former UFC contender Magomed Bibulatov. In that fight, Baidulaev needed just three-plus minutes to finish Bibulatov with a rear-naked choke, thrusting his stock even higher in the bantamweight ranks.
The 28-year-old is a finisher with a great resume, so I’d like to see him jump to the big leagues. With his arsenal and toughness, he’s a very tough out for anybody, even in the UFC.
There are fewer guys in MMA right now that have made the splash coming out of the gates that Asaf Chopurov has. The 22-year-old fighter is just six fights into his pro career and he’s already looking like a world beater while fighting in some respectable organizations.
Chopurov possesses a combat sambo background, so he’s obviously a guy with great wrestling and submission skills. He also has some solid striking ability and power, especially for a guy that’s 135 pounds. He notched four fights in 2024, showing he’s been very active since turning pro in late 2023. He’s score two submissions over Su Sung Cho Gotoh and Sharaputdin Ataev, both by rear-naked choke. His two biggest wins came over former top prospect Denis Lavrentyev by TKO and Bellator vet Nikita Mikhailov by decision.
With how young and talented Chopurov is already, this could be a future title contender/holder in the UFC. He’s not even hit his prime yet and he’s scoring impressive wins against legit talent. There are plenty of winnable fights for him in the UFC right now.
There have been a good number of top-level American amateur wrestlers making their way to MMA in recent years and setting up shop at top MMA camps like a Kill Cliff FC. One of those guys is Mitchell McKee, who has gone from the highest levels of the NCAA to a top prospect in MMA.
McKee wrestled for the powerhouse that is the University of Minnesota and it has transitioned nicely to MMA. Of course his wrestling is the cornerstone of his fighting style, but he has developed some solid hands with Kill Cliff FC, which have led to several knockouts on the feet. He went 3-0 in 2024, besting Jose Hernandez and Aston Caniglia under the LFA banner before dominating Hector Ferral for the newly minted Borroka promotion.
McKee is 26 years old and still developing his all-around game, but he’s already got the skills to compete in the UFC right now. His wrestling and power are more than most bantamweights can handle.
England has long been a solid region for MMA prospects, with many making the UFC. One of the best bantamweight prospects in the world is Louis Lee Scott, a young-but-talented Brit who already has Ares FC gold around his waist.
Scott, whose Muay Thai coach is the legendary Liam Harrison, is a solid all-around fighter, but it’s the aforementioned Muay Thai that is his strength. They call him “Lightning” for a reason, as he’s quick on the feet, technical and is known for looking for the knockout. Five of his eight wins come by way of knockout, which backs up that style. After being linked to the Contender Series in 2024 and that not panning out, Scott fought just once in the year, winning the Ares title off of respected veteran Demarte Pena, cementing him as a top 135-pound prospect.
Scott is only 24 years old, so being this good at this young of an age is impressive. He has good coaches and a good camp behind him, so he’s only going to get better. Plus, he’s an Ares FC Bantamweight Champion, so he’s already proven he’s ready to move up to the UFC.
In recent years, I have been hesitant to include fighters from Central/South America that aren’t from either Mexico or Brazil. However, there has been an influx of talent coming from those areas, and few seem as promising as Peru’s Rodrigo Vera.
Vera is a strong striker who has shown some submission prowess to his game as well. He’s good striking from the outside, but can also cause some damage in close when clinching. He has 11 finishes to his name, including 8 by knockout. He fought here times in 2024, defending his FFC Championship over Carlos Eduardo, knocking out Cleverson Luiz and besting Arivaldo Lima da Silva in moving up a weight class.
The UFC is going to look to continue to build in Latin America, specifically Peru and Argentina, who seem to have a good talent influx. Vera is not only a good prospect, but an experienced one, so he is a guy that the UFC could put to work right away.