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 women’s bantamweight division, the original female weight class within the UFC. It’s been thinned out due to the recent addition of the flyweight division, so the UFC needs to look to add an injection of new talent.
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.
2014: Leslie Smith, Rin Nakai, Larissa Pacheco, Pannie Kianzad, Agnieszka Niedźwiedź*
2015: Tonya Evinger, Irene Aldana, DeAnna Bennett, Pannie Kianzad, Agnieszka Niedźwiedź*,
2016: Irene Aldana, Lina Länsberg, Taila Santos, Jennifer Maia, Julia Berezikova
2017: Aspen Ladd, Ji Yeon Kim, Taila Santos, Juliana Velasquez, Sinead Kavanaugh
2018: Antonina Shevchenko, Katharina Lehner, Julia Avila, Marina Mokhnatkina*, Rizlen Zouak
2019: Julia Avila, Duda Santana, Sarah Alpar, Lisa Verzosa*, Gisele Moreira
2020: Stephanie Egger, Hailey Cowan, Jamila Sandora*, Lisa Verzosa*, Pam Sorenson*
2021: Joselyne Edwards, Josiane Nunes, Dariya Zheleznyakova, Pam Sorenson*, Bella Mir*
2022: Tereza Bleda, Dariya Zheleznyakova, Ekaterina Shakalova*, Lucia Szabova*, Taneisha Tennant*
2023: Melissa Dixon, Bella Mir*, Ekaterina Shakalova*, Lucia Szabova*, Taneisha Tennant*
2024: Klaudia Sygula, Cecilie Bolander, Kennedy Freeman, Evelyn Martins, Olga Rubin
Note: Bold denotes fighter was signed by UFC; * denotes fighter ineligible due to two years on list.
In what I am calling my “dark horse” pick of the year, Nigeria’s Juliet Chukwu is a somewhat unknown, unproven fighter, but her upside could be great given how she’s performed thus far. The women’s bantamweight division is the most obviously thin division in terms of talent and prospects in MMA, so a raw fighter with potential like Chukwu could end up being a solid hand in the UFC.
A striker by trade, Chukwu has some pro kickboxing experience on her record. She is known for her strong kicking game and technical style. She took her two biggest career victories in 2024. First, she scored a unanimous verdict over longtime vet Lily Kazak to start her year off. Then, to end her fight year, she won the EFC Championship with a dominant unanimous decision over Dayne van Wyk in hostile territory, outstriking the South African and battering her legs with kicks to strike gold.
This pick is definitely the biggest longshot of any prospect I will pick on these lists this year. However, again, she has definite upside given her raw talent and scoring two solid wins in 2024. The UFC has been trying to recruit talent from Africa in recent times, and Chukwu looks like one that could compete in the UFC women’s bantamweight division right now.
The first of two Canadians on this edition of the list, Melissa Croden has been a steady hand in the women’s bantamweight division for a few years. She has tested herself and consistently gotten better, putting her atop of the scout’s radar in the women’s 135-pound division.
Croden is a solid, rounded fighter with solid on-the-feet striking and great top-position grappling. She owns one submission and five knockouts, though some of those knockouts are from ground-and-pound, further showing her strong top game. She fought only once in 2024, where she TKO’d veteran Ashley Deen under the LFA banner in a dominant performance. Her only two career losses came to top prospect Evelyn Martins and UFC contender Jacqueline Cavalcanti, which brings no shame.
With wins over opponents like TUF veteran Katharina Lehner, Cornelia Holm and the aforementioned Deen, Croden has done enough to prove she’s ready for a shot in the big show. The UFC is always looking for Canadian talent, so perhaps she can find her way onto the roster in 2025.
The second Canadian on this women’s bantamweight list, Sierra Dinwoodie is an under-the-radar bantamweight that it seems like many on the regional scene want no part of. That’s not shocking, as she’s become a great all-around fighter with good size for the 135-pound division.
Dinwoodie has some very good kickboxing, but has also shown off some solid takedowns, clinch and top position on the mat. Two of her three pro wins come by first-round finish, one by rear-naked choke and the other by TKO. In 2024, she bested Hope Chase under the LFA banner. She was supposed to fight in July for Ares FC, but her opponent missed weight by over 20 pounds, cancelling that fight. Not getting that fight has slowed her momentum a bit, but she still figures highly in the 135-pound prospect class.
I am not saying the UFC needs to sign Dinwoodie immediately; I am saying they should sign her in 2025, perhaps after another fight with LFA or an appearance on the Contender Series. Either way, the women’s bantamweight division is in need of talent, and the 29-year-old improvements between her amateur career, which ended in 2019, and her pro career, which began in 2023, have proven she’s worked hard to be ready for the major leagues.
For the second straight year, Kennedy Freeman, the daughter of English MMA legend Ian Freeman, graces this prospect’s list. She’s earned it, even after a five-year absence from the sport from the end of 2018 to the end of 2023.
Freeman is a complete martial artist, though her striking is the best part of her game. She likes to throw hammers on the feet and does so with great success. She also has a solid ground game, though we’ve seen it less since she’s come back from her absence. She went 2-0 in 2024, knocking out Gisele Labanio with one punch and then beating Mafalda Carmona so soundly she quit in between rounds.
Freeman has truly stood out among the best female prospects in the world, regardless of weight class. She is somebody who the UFC could put on the roster now and she would march up the rankings.
The UFC is often fond of exciting strikers, especially ones who are young and on the up. Nicoly Pedroza is somebody who fits that bill and she’s a talented fighter that could be a UFC title challenger at some point in her career.
Pedroza is a gifted striker with pro kickboxing experience. She has a long, open stance and throws in volume with accuracy. She has very good hands, but she mixes in her kicks nicely as well. She fought twice in 2024, both for the LFA promotion. She led the year off winning a dominant decision over Andreyna Rocha before scoring a knockout to finish her 2024 over Thalita Diniz.
Pedroza is only 21 years old and she is already this good. That’s the sign of a blue-chip prospect who has title contention written all over her in a few years. Between skill and style, there is no reason not to sign Pedroza and build her up slowly on the UFC’s roster.