The beauty of MMA is that it is in its nascent stages compared to other sports such as basketball, baseball or hockey. Although combat sports has a long and illustrious past in human history, MMA is truly only just starting out.
With that in mind comes a fresh new crop of prospects every few years willing to work their way to their respective division’s crown or plough their way into the sport's top promotion, the UFC.
When there are special fighters up and coming it’s hard to miss them even if they are slotted on prelim spots, so here are Sportskeeda’s top 5 UFC prospects that you cannot ignore right now.
#1 Lando Vannata
Vannata competes in the UFC’s deepest and arguably most dangerous division in the promotion - the lightweight division. So far, though, despite that heavy pressure, Vannata has proven in two bouts alone that he may be one of the promotion’s most thrilling prospects worthy of all his hype in 2017.
The 24-year-old has a unique arsenal of unorthodox movement and exciting striking, which he has previously put to test against lightweight contender Tony Ferguson and also against John Makdessi at UFC 206.
Also read: 5 UFC Champions that were very lucky to win the Belt
Vannata made his UFC debut as a late replacement against Ferguson, who at the time boasted a 7-fight win streak. Unfortunately, his own perfect record was snapped by Ferguson’s second-round D'Arce choke but his performance was one for the books – especially since he was completely written off by the experts.
Against Makdessi at UFC 206, he elevated his status even further by winning the fight with a beautifully placed wheel kick worthy of being referred to as the “knockout of the year”.
#2 Alexa Grasso
With Joanna Jdrzejczyk bulldozing her way through the 115-lb division with every title defence, the strawweight division will inevitably become thinner with time. But thanks to prospects like Alexa Grasso, the contender’s list may never feel shortened.
The Guadalajara native entered the UFC undefeated, having won eight fights straight including four of those wins being in Invicta FC. She is a durable and tough young prospect who is anticipated to be a shining star in the UFC’s women’s division.
Grasso made her UFC debut against veteran Heather Jo Clark, grinding out a unanimous decision in Mexico City this past November.
Unfortunately, her perfect record found itself snapped when she faced another veteran in Felice Herring this past weekend, but that doesn’t dim her appeal whatsoever. Grasso is set to continue climbing her way to distinction in 2017.
#3 Francis Ngannou
Ngannou is a breath of fresh air for the heavyweight division. The French-Cameroonian towers over his opponents with his beastly frame that could make just about any man quiver. On top of that, Ngannou has perhaps some of the most vicious striking skills we have seen since Mark Hunt in his prime.
The heavyweight prospect literally puts his opponents to sleep with the power he keeps in his hands, and that has been very true in four of his five UFC fights thus far.
Most recently, Ngannou placed himself on the cusp of the UFC’s top 5 heavyweight rankings by bulldozing through former champion Andrei Arlovski at UFC on Fox: Shevchenko vs. Pena via a 1st round TKO.
If Ngannou continues this vicious journey through the top 10, a title shot could very well come his way in 2017.
#4 Josh Emmett
Team Alpha Male was built by one of the sport’s most endeared bantamweights in Urijah Faber. The California Kid is known not only for his legendary fighting career inside the octagon but also for him being responsible for the introduction of some of MMA’s finest prospects as the years have gone on.
Currently, one of these prospects is Josh Emmett, a man who has been long overdue to fight under the fierce lights of the UFC. Emmett owns a perfect record of 11-0 with five of those victories coming by way of submission or knockout.
The Alpha Male prospect is equipped with agile kickboxing, strong wrestling skills and a boatload of heart and determination. In his debut, he took a short-notice fight against Jon Tuck and suffered a fracture in his hand, but edged out the victory regardless.
When he finally returned, he once again showed his display of grit against Scott Holtzman by scoring takedowns and landing more significant strikes to achieve a unanimous decision victory.
Emmett is very much someone to watch out for in 2017.
#5 Misha Cirkunov
It feels as though the prospects in higher weight classes are few and far apart, but Cirkunov makes this statement shrivel. The Latvian-Canadian light heavyweight burst onto the Canadian MMA scene as a force to be reckoned with because of his supreme grappling skills, coupled with amazing strength.
Cirkunov currently boasts an 8-fight win streak, with four of those victories coming in the UFC. Since he arrived in the UFC, Cirkunov has finished every single one of his opponents, with three of his wins coming by way of submission and one coming by KO.
The light heavyweight is causing such waves in the division that even Anthony “Rumble” Johnson is taking notice. The title challenger, when asked about Cirkunov, stated:
“He’s a beast, man. I like his style, and he’s built like a brick house. I think his ass is gangster. I don’t think he’s close, but he’s definitely somebody you’ve got to watch out for.”
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