5 UFC weight classes in need of new contenders

Many of the UFC's divisions are full of top contenders constantly vying for a shot at the title, while also trying to maintain their spots at the top of their weight class.

More often than not, this is ideal, as divisions such as bantamweight have a constant converybelt of exciting talent ready to fight for the title. However, sometimes divisions end up with the same individuals ranked in the top five, unable to overcome a champion but skilled enough to defeat the next generation of rising prospects.

In the following list, we break down five UFC weight classes in need of new contenders. Women's featherweight will not be included as the division has less than 15 fighters on its roster and is not really comparable to the other weight classes.

UFC 271 Weigh-in: Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2

#5. UFC heavyweight division

If Jon Jones does finally make the move up to heavyweight, as he has been promising for so long, the division will likely no longer be on this list. However, for the time being, the weight class is in real need of fresh blood.

Tai Tuivasa has recently broken into the top five and may be able to ask some questions of the old guard. Aside from 'Bam Bam', the remainder of the top five – Curtis Blaydes, Derrick Lewis, Ciryl Gane and Stipe Miocic – have all been defeated by the current champ, Francis Ngannou.

No.11 ranked Tom Aspinall is getting a push from the promotion, but he will have to overcome the experienced Alexander Volkov on March 19 before he can become a part of the title picture.

UFC Fight Night: Alex Morono v David Zawada

There is also the contract issue between Francis Ngannou and the UFC to consider. It could be that 'The Predator' will choose to wait out his contract until the end of the year, leaving the top half of the heavyweights in a torpid state as they await the future of their division to be decided.

#4. UFC middleweight division

The middleweight division is in a strange place right now. Israel Adesanya holds the title and has defeated every contender who has tried to take it from him. Most recently, it was Robert Whittaker who came up short in a competitive five-round fight in February.

However, Whittaker appears to be a relatively clear second-best fighter in the division. He has already defeated the next No.1 contender, Jared Cannonier, while Adesanya has comfortably taken care of Marvin Vettori, Derek Brunson, and Paulo Costa. This leaves Sean Strickland as the only top-five middleweight to have not lost to either man.

Outside of Nassourdine Imavov, and perhaps Andre Muniz, there aren't any other rising contenders who could truly break into the top five and make a run at the title. Adesanya has already begun to lap the division, and unless there is a sudden influx of talent at middleweight, we could begin to see stagnation in the very near future.

#3. UFC welterweight division

Current welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has now got to the point where he is lapping the top contenders in his division. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' already has two wins over both Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal. He also holds individual wins over Leon Edwards and Gilbert Burns.

The UFC appears to be banking on Khamzat Chimaev overcoming Burns in their upcoming fight and establishing himself as the new top contender. However, for the time being, all reports indicate that Leon Edwards will rematch Usman later in the year.

The upcoming fight between Vicente Luque and Belal Muhammad could produce a new contender, although it is likely the winner will still have to defeat a top-ranked opponent such as Colby Covington to place themselves in the title picture.

#2. UFC Women's bantamweight division

Julianna Pena's shock win over Amanda Nunes last year injected some much-needed interest into the women's bantamweight division. However, outside of the Pena vs. Nunes rematch, there is little to look forward to. Not much has changed in the women's 135 lb divisional landscape over the past few years.

Holly Holm still sits at the top of the contender list, but considering the brutal beatdown Nunes previously put on her, there is not a huge amount of fan appeal in a rematch. Miesha Tate appeared to be having somewhat of a career resurgence, but a recent loss to Ketlen Vieira quickly derailed that train. Furthermore, 'Cupcake' wants to test the waters at 125 lb.

Unfortunately, there aren't any rising prospects in the division that fans could look forward to competing for the title in the future either. The division appears doomed to be stuck with constant rematches between fighters who don't hold particularly high fan appeal.

#1. UFC Women's flyweight division

The women's flyweight division has been completely dominated by its champion Valentina Shevchenko for the past few years. Lauren Murphy, Jessica Andrade, Jennifer Maia and many more have all been outclassed by Shevchenko, who simply appears to be a level above the rest of the division.

A recently announced title defense against Talia Santos is marginally more intriguing to some fans, but it is hard to imagine that 'Bullet' would not be able to overcome this new opponent. Santos is a tough fighter with good striking, but Shevchenko's well-rounded game would seem to be too much for the Brazilian.

It is worth noting that the division does at least have some talent for the future, with Casey O'Neill, Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot all showing potential. However, these rising prospects will have to overcome numerous top-ranked veterans that Shevchenko has already defeated in order to enter the title picture.

Due to Valentina Shevchenko's divisional dominance, the women's 125 lb division has to be the number one pick for this list, although the recent rise of flyweight prospects does point to a more exciting future for the weight class.

Valentina Shevchenko v Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Edited by Aziel Karthak