What unranked fighter has the best chance to become champion? My picks Men’s flyweight: Alessandro Costa Explanation: On a three fight win streak Costa has looked really good with his last three performances, finishing all three. Even though the level of competition hasn’t been great in this streak, he’s only lost to Amir Albazi, Steve Erceg and Alden Coria. He’s training with Diego Lopes now and I think he will only continue to get better as he’s 30 years old. If he can get a ranked shot next (like a Kevin Borjas) he will be in the top 10 without really having to fight many tough opponents. Men’s Batamweight: Juan Diaz A guy that’s maybe unfamiliar to many, he impressed me a lot with his debut against Malcolm Wellmaker, submitting him and forcing him to change gyms. His combination of striking and grappling is impressive and I believe in him just a little bit more than Ewing because of his wrestling element. There’s honestly a lot of good options in this weight class such as Ewing, Elijah Smith (who had a nasty slam knockout in 2025) and even a guy such as Bryce Mitchell and I think this division has a lot of potential sleepers in this division. Men’s Featherweight: Joanderson Brito I’ve been a big fan of him since his contender series fight and win over Diego Lopes and this win is something none of the other unranked fighters on this roster has. While he did lose to both Sabatini and Gomis, those fights were close and just were a tough stylistic matchup for him and I personally believe he’s looked a lot better since those two fights. Another thing I like about him is his consistency, as he has had at least two fight a year since 2022, which will give him more chances to get ranked shots and better fighting opportunities. Other honorable mentions are Luke Riley and Jose Delgado, who I think should fight each other next for my glaze. Until that happens, I’m picking Brito. Men’s Lightweight: Chris Padilla The taco man who should be on a 5 fight win streak (painful robbery against Mederos) Padilla has looked great in his time in the UFC. Even tho he won a split decision against Jai Herbert, people forget that he dropped Topuria, so I won’t hold it against him too much. I think his all around game can be a good recipe for success in this division, but after Haqparast he needs a ranked opponent, I would love to see him vs King Green sooner rather than later. Honorable mentions: Mason Jones and Tommy Gantt Men’s welterweight: Michael Oliveira There’s a lot of good contenders for me in this division (such as Jacobe Smith) but who does that to Oban Eliot my god he is scary. He didn’t even look like he punched him that hard. Knocking out someone with a jab is very impressive. I’m not sure how good his grappling is but he can have power like Prates he won’t need to worry about that. I like guys such as Daniil Donchencko but hes a little too wild for me to trust. I’m a little worried about him and his chin against Punahele Soriano. Men’s Middleweight: Nursulton Ruziboev There’s a lot of good options with this division as well and obvious picks would be fighters such as Ateba Gautier and Damian Pinas who both have ungodly power in their hands and while I do like both of these fighters one of the most underrated fighters on this whole roster is Ruziboev. While he did lose to Buckley, sometimes that happens and Buckley is not a scrub by any means. His wealth of experience in mma before getting to the ufc will be beneficial to him. I really hope he knocks out MVP in his next fight. If I had to choose between who I think is a better prospect between Gautier and Pinas I’m picking Pinas because I wasn’t too impressed with Gautiers performance over Pulaev, but at least he didn’t gas out completely. Men’s Light Heavyweight: Abdul Rakhman Yakaev It’s between him and Iwo Baraniewski and Yakaev has looked more controlled in his performances plus he murdered Julius Walker in under 10 seconds. I think he has a legitimate shot to become champ with the obvious power in his hands and his grappling base is great, just rewatch the fight with Ribiero, he dominated him in all aspects of mma in that fight. And finally Men’s Heavyweight: Jovan Leka Many would think I would say Mario Pinto and while an interesting prospect for sure, I like Leka a little bit better. His performance over Poppeck while yes was on short notice and had a significant size advantage this doesn’t disregard the fact that Leka has a very entertaining style and dropped Poppeck with a very crafty and technical liver shot. If he can show his technicality in his future fights he will be a tough puzzle to solve. He is a natural heavyweight at 6’4 he fits his frame well, and I think this will serve him well in his career. He’s also only 24 years old and his speed could be a real problem for some of these fat and bloody heavyweights. I want to see him vs Tybura or Tyrell Fortune next That’s it for my underrated picks, let me know if you have any questions or if you agree or disagree with my picks. Thanks!

Full Fight Breakdown - Ian Machado Garry vs. Carlos Prates. This is my first time doing a video breakdown of a fight. Since Ian is fighting next weekend I thought it’d be a fun one to dissect. This isn’t a “Ian beat Prates, so he’ll beat Islam” video. It’s just a breakdown of how he beat Prates so comfortably. And I know most people don’t like Ian, but this is personally one of my favorite performances in the last few years. If you watch the full thing please give some feedback on where it could be improved (ie longer, shorter, more focus on something else)

🍿 Sources have whispered to Ariel Helwani that if Arman Tsarukyan succeeds at UFC 331, he will secure a title shot: "As far as I know, UFC management has made it clear to Arman: win this fight, and you fight for the belt. I’m also hearing that Justin Gaethje won’t be competing again this year. But I’m certain Gaethje will eventually return to the Octagon. He had a high-profile fight in June, so sitting out the rest of the year isn't an issue at all. And I certainly don't think there should be an interim title fight here." Mauricio Ruffy has been promised the same thing, if the Brazilian is to be believed. In other words, it’s a contender's bout for both of them.