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While it doesn’t often get as many plaudits as some of the UFC’s other weight classes, right now, the bantamweight division is perhaps the hottest in the entire promotion.
Sure, fighters in the bantamweight division don’t hit as hard as the heavyweights, nor does the class possess a superstar like Conor McGregor. However, it’s undeniable that the weight class has hit a great stride recently.
With the division’s next title fight now close on the horizon, with champion Aljamain Sterling defending against former titleholder T.J. Dillashaw this month, things should only get better for the 135lbers, too.
Here are five reasons why bantamweight is the most exciting division in the UFC right now.
#5. Aljamain Sterling feels like a great, yet vulnerable champion
It’s safe to say that after his victory over Petr Yan at UFC 273, nobody can really question Aljamain Sterling’s position as the reigning bantamweight champion any more.
Sure, ‘Funk Master’ won his title in controversial fashion when Yan was disqualified for hitting him with an illegal knee, but Sterling then made sure there was no doubt as to who was the better man in their rematch.
However, while Sterling is undoubtedly a tremendous, highly-skilled fighter who has not tasted defeat since December 2017, he also still feels vulnerable in a number of ways. That means his title reign still feels like it’s on the edge of jeopardy.
Some of the UFC’s other champions – Valentina Shevchenko, for instance, or Israel Adesanya – go into every title defense as huge betting favorites. Nobody really expects to see them lose.
The same cannot be said for ‘Funk Master’, and whether that’s because fans underrate him doesn’t really matter.
Basically, because it feels like there’s a chance he could lose to any of the top contenders in the division, any bantamweight title fight the promotion books instantly becomes hugely intriguing.
Despite the lightweight title bout between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev sounding fantastic, then, there’s every chance that Sterling’s clash with Dillashaw could overshadow it later this month. If anything, Sterling might be the promotion’s most interesting champion, period.
#4. The UFC bantamweight division has a number of potentially fresh title bouts on tap
Largely because current UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling’s title reign is still in its infancy, another factor making the 135lb division hugely exciting right now is the amount of potentially fresh title bouts that could be booked.
Of the other fighters ranked in the division’s top ten right now, Sterling has only previously fought Petr Yan, Cory Sandhagen and Pedro Munhoz, with the contest against the Brazilian taking place back in 2019.
That means that if he gets past Dillashaw, the promotion could put him against anyone from Marlon Vera or Merab Dvalishvili to Sean O’Malley or Rob Font. With that, a hugely intriguing title clash will be created.
Remarkably, if Dillashaw beats Sterling this month, then the situation would still remain the same. Largely due to his lengthy suspension for PED use, the former titleholder has never fought seven of the current top 10 before.
Essentially, unlike some of the promotion’s other weight classes, there are unlikely to be any tired rematches booked for the bantamweight division, making it almost uniquely exciting right now.
#3. There are very few aging veterans clogging up the rankings at bantamweight
Many of the UFC’s weight classes have one major issue, and that’s the fact that they’re clogged up with aging veterans who, while they’re probably past their prime, are still good enough to remain ranked in the top 15.
You can’t blame those veterans for that, of course, but the fact is that for the most part, fans have seen them competing for titles for years. That means their presence in the rankings isn’t exactly fresh.
Stephen Thompson, for instance, is still ranked at No.7 in the welterweight division and yet his two shots at the title came well over five years ago now.
In comparison, the only older fighters currently ranked at bantamweight are Frankie Edgar and Dominick Cruz. Both men are clearly on their way down and probably won’t remain ranked for much longer.
While this does mean that there aren’t too many big-name stars for the up-and-comers at 135lbs to knock off, it also means that the division is chock-full of nothing but fresh, exciting-sounding matchups. That makes it the promotion’s best weight class right now.
#2. The UFC bantamweight division has a number of hot prospects emerging
It shouldn’t be surprising that every weight class in the UFC has a number of hot prospects breaking through into the upper echelon. However, it’s probably fair to say that the bantamweight division has more than any of the others right now.
Exciting young fighters like Adrian Yanez, Umar Nurmagomedov, Jack Shore and Sean O’Malley have already broken into the top 15 at 135lbs. While Merab Dvalishvili and Marlon Vera are a little older, they’re still new to the title picture.
All of those fighters are amongst the most exciting prospects in the entire UFC right now, with O’Malley already earning a lot of hype and Yanez not far behind him. Dvalishvili, meanwhile, can claim that he retired the legendary Jose Aldo.
Outside of the top 15, meanwhile, the division features prospects such as Saidyokub Kakhramonov, Kyler Phillips and Heili Alateng, all of whom could well break into the rankings at some point in the future.
Essentially, the division is absolutely packed with talent right now, meaning that largely any fight made there is worth watching.
#1. The UFC bantamweight division produces wildly entertaining fights
Perhaps the biggest reason that the UFC’s bantamweight division is the promotion’s most exciting right now is the fact that it produces so many exciting fights to watch.
This year alone, we’ve seen an excellent bantamweight title bout between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan, as well as other tremendous headline fights. They include Cory Sandhagen vs. Song Yadong and Marlon Vera vs. Dominick Cruz.
Vera’s other fight this year, against Rob Font, was also fantastic, while Victor Henry’s clash with Raoni Barcelos back in January stands as one of the year’s most underrated bouts. Adrian Yanez’s brawl with Tony Kelley was wild, too.
Last year, meanwhile, fights like Sandhagen vs. Dillashaw, Sandhagen vs. Yan and Merab Dvalishvili vs. Marlon Moraes were also hugely memorable.
Essentially, the bantamweights mix the same all-action, rapid style you’d expect from smaller fighters with the kind of finishing power that much heavier fighters possess, making for some truly brilliant clashes in the octagon.
Overall, it’s hard to think of a more exciting division right now.
