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Last weekend saw Song Yadong defeat Marlon Moraes via KO at UFC Vegas 50. The result was all the more notable given the victor is still just 24-years-old. Yadong is just one of a number of fighters achieving impressive results despite being much younger than the average fighter on the roster.
Typically, we see fighters peak in their early-to-mid thirties, although clearly there are exceptions. For example, the current light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira is in the midst of the best run of his career at the age of 42. On the other side of things, you find young talents like Song Yadong.
Young prospects that pick up impressive results draw a lot of attention as they have so much time to improve even further. Should these fighters continue to add to their skillset, they have the potential to become big stars in the promotion, which is an exciting prospect for all.
Here are the five best UFC fighters under 25:
Honorable mentions: Miranda Maverick - UFC women's flyweight - 24, Muhammad Mokaev - UFC flyweight - 21
#5. Nick Maximov - UFC middleweight - 24
Nick Maximov is the newest product from the Nick Diaz academy and thus far he appears to be a real prospect. The youngster has a perfect record thus far and has already secured two wins inside the octagon, having made his promotional debut in September 2021.
While Maximov may train extensively with the Diaz brothers, he utilizes a much more wrestling-heavy approach than his mentors. Having the Diaz seal of approval has ensured he receives plenty of attention and surprisingly, Maximov has already competed in a fight night co-main event.
Maximov's next bout is already scheduled as he will face Andre Petrovski on May 14th. A win there will really get people talking about this rising star as three wins inside the octagon before the age of 25 is not something you see all that often.
#4. Ian Garry - UFC welterweight - 24
Ian Garry is another UFC prospect who is yet to taste defeat thus far in his career. He may only have the one fight inside the octagon thus far, but his promotional debut was quite the spectacle as he delivered an impressive first-round knockout.
That performance, as well as his out-spoken personality, has led to a number of comparisons with Conor McGregor. Garry referenced this in his post-fight interview and seems to enjoy this comparison. Having previously trained in his home country of Ireland, he has now moved to Florida to train at Sanford MMA.
Garry appears to have bundles of potential and should he follow his current trajectory, Dana White could have another huge star on his hands. 'The future' will return to the octagon on April 9 when he is scheduled to face Darian Weeks.
#3. Maycee Barber - UFC women's flyweight - 23
Maycee Barber is the first member of this list to feature in her division's top 15. She is currently ranked no. 14 at women's flyweight and has a ton of octagon experience compared to the other fighters featured thus far. Barber already has six fights inside the octagon and has earned a 4-2 record in those bouts.
Barber first popped up on many people's schedule in 2018 when she successfully earned a UFC contract on Dana White's Contender Series at just 20-years old. She followed this up with three more stoppage victories in both the strawweight and flyweight divisions.
While she then suffered consecutive losses, Barber proved she could bounce back from adversity with her controversial win over fellow prospect Miranda Maverick last time out. She is now scheduled to face Montana De La Rosa in her next fight.
#2. Casey O'Neill - UFC women's flyweight - 24
Just two spots above Maycee Barber in the UFC women's flyweight rankings sits Casey O'Neill at no. 12. While O'Neill might not have quite as much octagon experience as the former, her performances thus far have been exceptional. So far, she is a perfect 4-0 since joining the promotion.
O'Neill managed to secure stoppage victories in each of her first three fights inside the octagon. This included a bonus-winning performance against Antonina Shevchenko, sister of the current champion Valentina Shevchenko. However, her most recent bout against Roxanne Modafferi finally saw her fight to a decision.
With O'Neill now climbing the rankings and showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon, who knows how far she may go. After her last bout, she indicated that she would be taking a little time to avoid burning out. Given time is still very much on her side, this could well prove to be a wise decision.
#1. Song Yadong - UFC bantamweight - 24
Fresh off his win this weekend, Song Yadong tops this list due to the wealth of impressive performances he has racked up at such a young age. He first debuted with the promotion at just 19 and staggeringly made his professional debut when he was just 15.
He won his promotional debut and has put together a very impressive 8-1-1 record inside the octagon to-date. He's competed at both bantamweight and featherweight and has earned some impressive victories along the way. Thus far, the prospect has beaten the likes of Marlon Vera and recently, Marlon Moraes.
Song Yadong is now on a three-fight winning streak and recently broke into the bantamweight top 10 at no. 9. He is now set up for a number of big-time fights given how deep the bantamweight division is and will surely face plenty of big stars given he's still just 24.
