Ranking the 10 Best Prospects in the UFC (2026)
- Zak Drapeau
- 2 hours ago
- 9 min read
by Zak Drapeau
Sportz Nation - 8/11/2026
When I made this list in 2022 which you can find here, I had Shavkat, Du Plessis, Chimaev, Pereira and Topuria, so I can't wait to see where this group of prospects will climb to by 2030.
Honorable Mentions:
- Ion Baraniewski
- Mairon Santos
- Ethyn Ewing
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#10 Tommy McMillen
Division Lightweight
Age 28y, 239d
UFC Record 2-0
Finishes 2
McMillen just did Sean O'Malley's podcast and it made me realize that he is the closest thing I've seen to O'Malley since he welcomed us to the Suga Show. McMillen is a 28-year old brawler with a ton of confidence and heavy, quick hands. His last two fights have seen brutal knockouts of other "contenders" that he personally derailed by landing over 100 strikes per 5-minute round.
Everything about McMillen screams future contender; from his boxing to the way he carries himself inside and out of the cage. With Tim Welch's coaching and Sean O'Malley's guidance as a teammate and sparring partner, McMillen should shoot up the ranks of Lightweight even as stacked as the division is. I know this is an extremely high bar but McMillen's striking will grow into the power of Gaethje and volume of O'Malley. All while he s**t talks his opponent in the meantime.
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#9 Jacobe Smith
Division Welterweight
Age 30y, 206d
UFC Record 3-0
Finishes 3
Ask anyone or any website who the best prospects in the UFC are and Smith will surely rank highly, and his ranking at #9 shouldn't be taken as me underrating him even though I will say I am still waiting to see a bit more from him. As far as his skills in the Octagon are concerned he looks to be the complete package of a bruiser and grappler combined; 3 finishes in 3 fights including a rear naked choke on a veteran like Niko Price within his first 13 months in the UFC would make anyone feel his championship-potential.
Here's my one gripe with Smith's ascent that makes me doubt his eventual success at least more than the 8 incredible fighters listed above him, he is taking the long way through the division. Now that's not all his fault with a large demographic insinuating people are ducking him and a step-up fight against Kevin Holland being cancelled to to Holland's injury in July. I do believe that Smith will be a fixture in the Top-15 at Welterweight for years to come especially with how the division seems to be moving on from the "old generation" of Usman, Edwards and Muhmmad and opening doors for up and coming prospects. For now though, until I see him against real competition I can't say if he'll be a gatekeeper or contender yet.
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#8 Ramazan Temirov
Division Flyweight
Age 29y, 192d
UFC Record 3-0
Finishes 2
We are now officially entering the "Boogeyman" tier of this list as we get into Ramazan Temirov. Truthfully, his PED suspension for a heart medication last summer moved him a few spots down on the list because when it comes to pure, in-the-cage ability he is Top-5 on this list. Temirov may be small even for Flyweight at 5'4" with a 63" reach but he is flat out dangerous and already has two Top-15 wins under his belt in the UFC.
Running a 12-fight win streak since before he got to the big leagues which includes 8, 1st-round finishes, Temirov is known as a guy who doesn't get paid by the hour. The power this little guy possesses in his smaller frame is frankly similar to when Ilia Topuria was starting out. After just beating Erceg by knockout and claiming he wants to stay busy, I can see Temirov getting a Top-5 fight at Flyweight next against guys like Kavanaugh or Horiguchi. After that... this guy could be a major player at 125 for a long time.
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#7 Bia Mesquita
Division Bantamweight
Age 35y, 126d
UFC Record 3-0
Finishes 3
Unfortunately the only woman on this list, Bia Mesquita made her entrance in the UFC at a low point for the Woman's divisions, (or at least the activity within the divisions) but has nonetheless made no mistakes and tons of fireworks while doing so. Mesquita didn't enter the UFC until she was 33 after becoming one of if not the greatest female Jiu-Jitsu artists in history, with a record 10 black belt championship wins and Hall of Fame placement with IBJJF.
So it should be no surprise that Mesquita's first 3 fights in the UFC ended with submission wins in clear and dominant outings. Now ranked #11 at Bantamweight, (the current, best division for women) Mesquita should be rocketing up the ranks with Top-10 or even Top-5 fights in her near future. With her jiu-jitsu prowess, any future opponent of hers is in serious danger if the fight goes to the ground no matter who they are. While Mesquita's striking is still very much a work in progress and her age at 35 doesn't paint a long, championship reign in her future, it's easy to see why Mesquita has one of the best chances to hold gold of anyone on this list.
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#6 Ateba Gautier
Division Middleweight
Age 24y, 123d
UFC Record 5-0
Finishes 4
Immediately when you see Gautier in the cage you think, "How the hell does this guy make 185?" Gautier is HUGE, violent, young and getting better ever time. Due to his size, I'd even be willing to say that he has the pound-for-pound hardest punch in the UFC, frankly hitting as hard as some Heavyweights. Standing 6'4" with a ridiculous 81" reach, Gautier is as big IF NOT BIGGER than Alex Pereira when he was at Middleweight.
Gautier is definitively a boogeyman with multiple fighters being cited as ducking this incoming meteor of a fighter. Because of that he just hasn't proven himself against the level of competition necessary to crack the Top-5 of this list but I'm deadly serious when I say he has as much potential as a martial artist or to become champion as anyone on this list. As scary as he's been, we've nowhere near seen his prime and probably haven't even seen the "coming out moment" he's likely to have in the next 6-12 months.
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#5 Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev
Division Light Heavyweight
Age 25y, 220d
UFC Record 3-0
Finishes 3
There are a lot of ways to describe Abdul Yakhyaev but terrifying is probably the most accurate. I mentioned that Temirov doesn't get paid by the hour earlier but Yakhyaev literally doesn't even get paid by the minute, with a perfect 3-for-3 finish rate in the UFC being held with an average fight time of 71 seconds. His opponents may not be cream of the crop yet but the fact that they can't even stand in front of him for more than a minute without being dropped.
What's even scarier is he can choke them out as easily as he's been knocking them out. His background in Sambo and Jiu Jitsu have become almost safety valves to his striking which would be more than enough for most fighters. He may run into trouble when he faces better competition, we can't predict how he'll perform yet knowing what we know now but I believe he's just as likely to knock out or run through anyone in his path until future rivalries with Navajo Stirling and Carlos Ulberg in a few years that I REALLY want to see.
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#4 David Martinez
Division Bantamweight
Age 28y, 8d
UFC Record 3-0
Finishes 1
Okay this is a weird one because on paper, Martinez should be 1 or 2 on the list as the #8 ranked Bantamweight with only 3 fights in the promotion. At 28-years old with a wealth of experience in and outside of the UFC, Martinez could in theory be the leader of the new generation of Bantamweights. He is a great striker with incredible defense, poise and movement that will keep him in this division for years to come and that's why most everyone would say he's a future champion.
I just don't see it. I realize that's an indictment from me and an insult to a great, up-and-comer but Imma stick to it. I think Martinez will be a Top-5 gatekeeper for a long time while never quite making it to championship pedigree. Call him, the "new Cory Sandhagen". I think that's a compliment as a all-time great fighter in the division, even if it's a bit of a let down to say this young and prestigious fighter may never capitalize on what should be lofty, championship aspirations.
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#3 Yaroslav Amosov
Division Welterweight
Age 32y, 336d
UFC Record 2-0
Finishes 2
Amosov didn't enter the UFC until he was 32-years old with a 28-1 record and 6 championship fights in other promotions. Amosov took a route similar to Jiri Prochazka where he wanted to be ready to dominate by the time he got to the UFC and in his 2 fights in the promotion he's done exactly that. Against both Neil Magny, (a veteran ranked fighter who's known to b among the toughest in his division) and Joel Alvarez, (a strong and vicious fighter who was moving up to 170 for their fight), Amosov choked them both out in the first round.
With only 9 months separating us from Amosov's UFC debut and already sitting at #11 in the rankings, it should be clear that a fight within the Top-6 or 7 in the division is imminent. The Top-5 of the Welterweights is ridiculously talented so a future title shot should be a ways out and will involve fights with several other deserving contenders but Amosov may have as much potential as all of them and a ground and jiu jitsu game that is frankly as good as anybody's besides the champion Makhachev. Future challengers like Garry, Prates and Morales should all have next but Amosov's time is coming and if he prepared himself for these moments as well as we think he has, maybe it won't even take him that much time until he's fighting for a 3rd promotions title.
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#2 Josh Hokit
Division Heavyweight
Age 28y, 272d
UFC Record 4-0
Finishes 3
Through all of the crap and fake-bad guy narrative that Hokit tries to present in order to be the next "Conor McGregor" or whatever you want to call it, this dude can really fight. And I mean... REALLY fight. He is super small for Heavyweight and I won't get into my belief that he'd be evern better at Light Heavyweight right now, but his unbelievable speed, wrestling and ability to take a punch is very rare.
First things first, Hokit will DEFINITELY compete for a title in the UFC, his skills are great but his marketability is better anf for that reason alone he will get a shot at the title possibly as soon as next year. Secondly, the fact that this guy competed in the likely Fight of the Year with Curtis Blaydes, then obliterated Derrick Lewis is good enough to prove to me he'll be a Top-5 staple in the division. Now he's going to have to answer if he can hang with guys like Volkov, Pavlovich and even Pereira and Gane. I really like Hokit's game though because he can do everything; when he fights Blaydes he keeps the fight standing and makes him fight a brawl. Fight against Lewis? Keeps his distance then tires him out against the cage or on the ground before he beats the hell out of him. Like him or not, Hokit is VERY SMART. Smart enough to have the right gameplan in the ring and definitely smart enough to increase his stock in front of the media and in this game, I'll take brains over brawn any day.
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#1 Kevin Vallejos
Division Featherweight
Age 24y, 245d
UFC Record 4-0
Finishes 3
So here's how I see the current state of "prospects" in the UFC. The next 5-10 years will see most if not all of the fighters I've listed take over the Top-5 of their own perspective divisions but very few are fighters I can legitimately see holding championships. I talked about Hokit's ability to be in the title picture if for no other reason but to sell tickets but Kevin Vallejos is, (to me) easily the fighter I am most confident will run his.
Vallejos is young and getting better every time he steps into the Octagon. His demeanor before the fight leading into his savageness inside of the cage gives me very early GSP vibes. With beginnings as a boxer, Vallejos hasn't spent much time grappling but his striking is already so elite at a young age I'm not worried about it. This kid is strong, disciplined, young and vastly experienced for his youth. If he can knock out Chikadze and Emmett and secure a Top-10 ranking at 145, imagine where this kid will be in 2-3 years. My guess, competing with guys like Lerone Murphy, Jean Silva and Evloev for gold.
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-Z.D.
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