Welcome to Year 13 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, Kennedy Freeman, Cecilie Bolander, Evelyn Martins, Olga Rubin
2025: Kennedy Freeman, Melissa Croden, Juliet Chukwu, Nicoly Pedroza, Sierra Dinwoodie
Note: Bold denotes fighter was signed by UFC; * denotes fighter ineligible due to two years on list.
What’s funny about Russian MMA is that they have an abundance of male talent at every level, but their female talent seems to be fewer and far between. However, Alena Agisheva stands out as one of the best female bantamweights outside the UFC that looks ready for the show.
Agisheva is a very good wrestler and grappler, using those tools to dominate all five of her pro opponents thus far. Four of her five wins come by way of finish, with three rear-naked chokes and one ground-and-pound TKO. She fought just once in 2025, scoring a dominant decision over Soo Min Jeon, as it’s been tough to find Agisheva opponents.
As you’ll hear throughout this list, female bantamweight talent is scarce outside the UFC, so any time somebody noticeable is in the regional scene, they should get them signed immediately. Agisheva appears to be one of those few fighters.
The IMMAF is an excellent global amateur organization that helped develop a ton of talent in MMA, including fighters such as Muhammad Mokaev. Another IMMAF veteran that has gained some recent hype is Alina Dalaslan, who used 2025 as a year to catapult herself up the 135-pound prospect rankings.
Dalaslan is a well-rounded competitor who trains under UFC veteran Peter Sobotta. She is known for her devastating striking, though she does have some decent wrestling and grappling. She turned pro this year and competed four times since March, scoring knockouts over Kamila Simkova, Roza Gumienna and Clara Ricignuolo, while getting her biggest win by decision over Ultimate Fighter veteran Katharina Lehner.
She’ll probably require a tad more seasoning, but given how shallow the women’s bantamweight division is, she’s already shown she can compete right now. Plus, she’s only 25 years old, so she’s really going to be something in a couple years when she hits her prime.
The Martins sisters have been two female prospects that have been on the radar of prospects for a couple years now. The younger of the two sisters, Emily, is a 21-year-old Brazilian who now trains in the United States, is the CFFC Champion and a definite blue chip prospect to watch out for at 135 pounds.
Martins is a high-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, as she’s a world champion in that sport. She has been unsurprisingly dominant on the mat as an MMA fighter, winning all four of her fights by way of submission, specifically rear-naked choke. Her only loss came in ten seconds getting clipped on the feet right out of the gate. That said in 2025, she avenged that loss to Auttumn Norton by choking her out while also choking out Nikola Kacperska.
Martins righted the only wrong she’s had in the cage thus far, which is impressive given the gravity of that loss. She has a very high ceiling in this sport, and if she keeps working her striking down at American Top Team, she’s going to be a real all-around threat and somebody to keep tabs on in the UFC’s 135-pound division.
I don’t think there is a woman in 2025 that was more active than Nina Nikolija Milosevic, a Swedish-Australian former amateur champion that has taken the pro ranks by storm. She competed five times in 2025, taking herself from little-experienced pro to gritty vet in a short time.
Milosevic has not lost since her pro debut in 2023 to fellow top prospect Cecilie Bolander, and since then has rattled off seven wins in a row. She scored 2025 knockouts over Maricel de la Torre, Sandra Succar and Desi Rahayu, while submitting Gina Gee and scoring a decision over Nadine Mandiau. Outside the one decision win, she averaged around 1.5 minutes per fight.
She knows the time to strike is now, which is why the 29-year-old put in such a busy schedule in 2025. She proved that she can run the gauntlet and is ready to test herself at the next level.
I don’t normally include a fighter on this list that has not fought in the past calendar year, but in the case of Brazil’s Nicoly Pedroza, I will make an exception. She is a very talented fighter in a division that needs fighters like her.
Pedroza seems to be a head above much of the other female Brazilian prospects, which is saying something given the level of female talent from that country. She’s well-rounded, though her kickboxing seems to be the best part of her game. She did not fight in 2025, however scored her biggest pro victory in her most recent bout against Thalita Diniz. She was to fight fellow prospect Myllena Messias for the LFA title in November, but an illness to Messias killed that bout the week of the fight.
At 22 years old, Pedroza is the definition of a blue-chip prospect that could be a UFC title contender in a few years. She’s exciting, a finisher, and most of all, skilled in all facets of the game.