10 up and coming prospects UFC should sign

worldofmma1
May 19, 2017
5 min read

There are many up and coming prospects in the mma world fighting in the organizations all around the world, they are all ultimately fighting to get to the big league which is of course UFC.

UFC is the leader in the mixed martial arts organizations and the frontrunner in everything mma related so of course all the fighters want to fight for the best organization in the world because if you want to be the best you have to fight the best and that is the only true way to show to yourself and everybody else just how good you are.

In this article I will give you top 10 up and coming fighters that should get signed by UFC as soon as possible.

10. Mattheus Mattos

Undefeated Brazillian Mattheus Mattos is a 24 year old fighter who is fighting out of world famous gym called Team Nogueira. He is an extremely fast bantamweight that can have you hurt standing and on the ground. His record consist of 11 wins and 0 losses with 10 finishes, his only decision win came in April of this year but it was a complete domination where we got to see just how good his skills are and most importantly his cardio looked absolutely great. With a record like this and being only 24 years old I could see him fighting in the UFC if not this year, then at the beggining of the next.

9. James Nakashima

Another undefeated prospect James Nakashima is a 28 year old American fighting out of MMA Lab, which is a really good gym out of Glendale, Arizona, it is a gym where Benson Henderson, Johnny Case, Alex Caceres, Mackenzie Dern and many more famous fighters train out of.

James fighting in a promotion called Legacy Fighting Alliance which is merger of Resurrection Fighting Alliance and Legacy. He fought there every fight of his carreer except one. James is a great prospect and an amazing fighter with one problem, all of his fights ended in a unanimous decision. It has been bothering him as of lately because he knows mma fans are not a fan of that style of fighting. If he starts finishing people I could see him getting into the UFC really quickly.

8. Sean O'Malley

One of the younger fighters in the mma world, Sean O'Malley is a 22 year old undefeated mma fighter fighting out of the MMA lab as well. His record is 6-0 and he is a really exciting fighter with a fun fighting style. He has a karate style very similar to the style of Sage Northcutt and he always looks to finish his fight. He gained a lot of attention with his latest spinning wheel kick KO that was just a thing of beauty. He fights in LFA but I hope to see him in the UFC soon.

7. Andre Harrison

Andre Harrison is a fighter that made a name for himself by being a Titan FC featherweight champion, after signing with World Series Of Fighting late last year he made a successful debut finishing Bruce Boyington in the first round which ultimately got him a title shot. He fought Lance Palmer for the featherweight title at WSOF 35 and won an unanimous decision thus winning another title in his career. He is one of the more popular fighters on this list but still I want to see him fight in the UFC to see how good he truly is. The number thing that bothers most mma fans about this man is that his fights can be somewhat boring because of his wrestling style, maybe that is the reason UFC has not signed him yet.

6. Petr Yan

Petr Yan is a 24 year old Russian bantamweight fighter, his record consist of 7 wins and 1 loss. He is currently the ACB bantamweight champion, having won that title against the only man who defeated him Magomed Magomedov. He is known for an exciting style of fighting and a never give up mentality that he shows in the ring. He would fit in the UFC really well and could be a star one day. Still, being only 24 years old there is still time for him and undoubtedly we will see him for there one day.

5. Ivan Shtyrkov

Built like a universal soldier, Ivan Shtyrkov, nicknamed Ural Hulk, is a 28 year old Russian heavyweight, he is undefeated with 10 wins and 0 losses. In his career he fought some UFC veterans like Phil De Fries who he finished in the first round and Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva who he defeated by a unanimous decision. He looks like a striker only but he has 4 submissions on his record, 2 armbars, a heel hook and a scarf hold armlock so that is definitely not a man you want starring at you from the other side of the octagon. UFC's heavyweight division needs some work and Ivan Shtyrkov would fit in really well there.

4. Adam Piccolotti

Adam Piccolotti is a Bellator veteran who has a record of 9-0, he is one of the top Bellator prospects that could be a superstar one day. He is a lightweight that is known for his submission skiills, but make no mistake he can strike well too, he has 2 TKO finishes on his record and is dangerous everywhere. I would love to see him against some of UFC fighters like Joe Lauzon or Evan Dunham that would push him to his limits and show us what he is made of.

3. A.J. Mckee

He is the son of Antonio McKee, who fought for many organizations in his fighting career, even fought for UFC once, albeit unsuccessfully. AJ Mckee is an undefeated Bellator fighter with a record of 8-0 with 6 finishes. He is somewhat of a rising star in Bellator, he is a very good striker with decent submission skills, extremely charismatic and got on the microphone. His last fight was a smashing success that produced a highlight reel head kick KO. He is only 22 years old and has a long career ahead of him, going to UFC at this stage would be really interesting because if he succeeded in his UFC career now he could be a legend in the making.

2. James Gallagher

James Gallagher, training out SBG Ireland, the gym that mega superstar Conor McGregor trains out of, is a young star in the making. He is, believe it or not, only 20 years old and is an undefeated mma fighter with a record of 6-0. He is fastly becoming a must see TV due to his exciting style and very good trash talk. Of course we can see some Conor McGregor similarities in the way he talks and carries himself, which is not a bad thing, but we also see his excellent jiu jitsu skills which he uses oftenly to win his fights. It is not surprised he has good jiu jitsu knowing he has Gunnar Nelson in his gym everyday and coach John Kavanagh. When could we see him in the UFC is the right question, I personally hope it to be quite soon.

1. Vitaly Minakov

Not a surprise that Russian heavyweight Vitaly Minakov is the number one on this list. He is 19-0 in his career, former Bellator heavyweight champion and an extremely good fighter. He has 17 finishes in his career, 10 knockouts and 7 submission which means this guy is absolutely dangerous everywhere. He fought former UFC fighters Cheick Kongo and Josh Copeland in his career and the current UFC fighter Alexander Volkov. He is a force to be reckon with in the heavyweight division having major success everywhere he went, unfortunately he has not been in the UFC yet and time is ticking because he is already 32 years old. I really hope to see him in the UFC before his prime passes and we start wondering what if. Plus this would be the perfect time for him to come to the company because UFC's heavyweight division is not that stacked.