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The UFC’s roster is absolutely huge these days, with well over 600 fighters contracted to the promotion in 12 different weight classes.
While the UFC’s title contenders usually draw the most focus, the promotion is also home to a number of lower-ranked fighters who always produce great fights inside the octagon.
These fighters are arguably just as important to the promotion as the best fighters in the world. After all, each event tends to see around 12 fights on offer – meaning, guaranteed excitement is a huge positive.
While these fighters may never climb into the top 10 in their respective weight classes, they’re all must-see attractions due to their style and should remain with the promotion for years to come.
Here are five lower-ranked fighters who always produce exciting fights in the octagon.
#5. Adrian Yanez – UFC bantamweight contender
Adrian Yanez is not currently ranked in the top 15 at bantamweight. However, if he continues on his current trajectory, there’s no way he’ll not be eligible for a list like this in the near future.
Even if the Texas-based 135 lb prospect doesn’t make it all the way to the top of the UFC, he’ll still probably remain a part of the promotion’s roster for as long as he continues to fight.
That’s because ever since his octagon debut in 2020, Yanez has produced nothing but seriously exciting fights. Right now he’s 4-0 in his career with the UFC, and incredibly, he’s taken home the $50k bonus award for each of those performances.
Yanez’s style is a simple one. Aggressive to a fault, he looks to hunt his opponents down with a tornado of violent strikes. Whether it’s with his hands or feet, he’s always looking to do serious damage.
Sure, that style can get him into trouble at times. He was losing to Randy Costa in their bout before turning up the heat to put him away in the later rounds. Furthermore, he took a lot of bad shots from Davey Grant in a split-decision victory.
However, it’s that aggressive style that makes him so entertaining to watch. This means that every time his name appears on a card, fans should ensure that they tune in. Right now, it’s arguable that he’s the promotion’s most entertaining fighter at 135 lb.
#4. Michel Pereira – UFC welterweight contender
It’s hard to gauge Michel Pereira right now. When he first came into the UFC, he quickly garnered a lot of hype due to his flashy style. After dishing out a brutal knockout to Danny Roberts in less than two minutes, it was hard not to be excited.
However, his next couple of fights – especially a loss to the unheralded Tristan Connelly – appeared to suggest that ‘Demolidor’ was more flash than substance. Since then, the Brazilian has tightened things up. He fights in somewhat of a smarter way and is now on a four-fight win streak.
Is he a title contender, then? To be honest, it’s hard to say. However, what certainly isn’t in question is the fact that he’s one of the most exciting fighters in the promotion to watch.
Even after switching his style to more of a controlled attack, Pereira is still willing to throw some seriously wild, low-percentage strikes. He’ll think nothing of throwing a spinning tornado kick or even attempting a backflip over his opponent’s guard, regardless of the dangers they pose to himself.
‘Demolidor’ has actually gone the distance in his last three wins, and usually that’d be a record of a fighter who is a more dull one to watch. However, that certainly isn’t the case with Pereira. Simply put, it’s impossible to take your eyes off the screen when the Brazilian is involved.
So, even if this new style fails to turn him into a title contender, Michel Pereira will remain one of the most exciting lower-ranked fighters to watch.
#3. Marcos Rogerio de Lima – UFC heavyweight contender
Marcos Rogerio de Lima's recent victory over Ben Rothwell was a major breakthrough for the veteran of TUF Brazil 3. It was the first time since his move to the heavyweight division that he was able to put together two straight wins.
Prior to that, ‘Pezao’ had always alternated wins and losses in his trips to the octagon – the kind of form that would usually put a fighter in danger of losing their spot on the UFC roster altogether.
However, there’s never been any doubt that the promotion would keep the Brazilian around, purely because his wild style almost always makes for an exciting fight.
‘Pezao’ has been with the promotion since 2014, and in that time, he’s featured in a total of 13 bouts. Just two of those fights have gone the distance, and outside of that, every one of his bouts has featured some serious violence.
Sure, the Brazilian is a very limited fighter, particularly on the ground. All five of his defeats in the octagon have come via submission. However, every time he fights, de Lima swings for the fences, and his heavy hands mean that he’s highly dangerous. This was evident when he knocked out the iron-chinned Rothwell in just 32 seconds.
Essentially, ‘Pezao’ is the very definition of a glass cannon and judging by his fighting style, he makes no attempt to hide the fact. That’s why he’s definitely one of the most exciting UFC fighters to watch right now.
#2. Drew Dober – UFC lightweight contender
At one point a couple of years ago, it looked like Drew Dober was finally beginning to break through as a genuine contender in the UFC’s lightweight division. Not only was he clearly in the best shape of his career, he also put together a three-fight win streak, knocking out Polo Reyes, Nasrat Haqparast and Alexander Hernandez.
Back-to-back losses to Islam Makhachev and Brad Riddell in 2021 derailed any hopes he had of really cracking the top 10, though in all honesty, that doesn’t matter too much.
The fact remains that Dober is still one of the most aggressive strikers that the UFC's 155 lb division has to offer. While he remains a slightly limited fighter in some ways, he’s still one of the most exciting fighters on the planet to watch.
Dober possesses heavy hands, excellent boxing and ruthless finishing skills, meaning that even against fighters who ought to beat him, he’s always a serious threat to pull off an upset.
Essentially, the Colorado native remains one of the UFC’s must-see attractions despite failing to break into the elite level. Fans will hope that he remains a part of the promotion for many more years to come.
#1. Julian Erosa – UFC featherweight contender
When TUF 22 veteran Julian Erosa was released from the UFC after losing three straight fights in 2018-19, it looked like fans of the promotion had probably seen the last of ‘Juicy J’. After all, he simply didn’t appear to be at the right level to compete in the octagon.
However, since his return to the promotion in 2020, Erosa has proven that idea wrong and also established himself as one of the most exciting fighters in the world to watch. He produces fireworks seemingly every time he enters the octagon.
Erosa’s return bout against Sean Woodson was a truly wild one, as he took some serious punishment from the lanky ‘Sniper’ before coming back to submit him with a D’Arce choke. He followed that win with a flying knee knockout of Nate Landwehr in less than a minute.
More recently, ‘Juicy J’ pulled off another D’Arce against the highly regarded Charles Jourdain. He then put on a bonafide contender for the best fight of 2022 thus far in a crazy brawl with Steven Peterson this past weekend.
That fight won Erosa an extra $100k, but more than that, it seems to have firmly established him as a favorite with UFC fans.
Whether the TUF veteran can continue to climb the ladder doesn’t really matter in the bigger picture. He’s now widely known as one of the promotion’s most thrilling fighters, meaning he should retain his spot on the roster for a long time to come.
