FanPost

The Outsiders: Top 25 Flyweights Outside the UFC...yeah, pretty much just the UFC

While most of the best talent is under the UFC, there are still plenty of fighters yet to be signed by the top promotions of the MMA food chain. These are not necessarily 'free agents' or even prospects, they are top 100 ranked fighters who are navigating the nebulous seas of regional and international fight promotion for whatever reason.

Let's just say that the Flyweight is still in a growing period. There are both positives and negatives in that there are still many top 50 fighters available to the top promotions, the down side being that only the UFC actively promotes the division with Bellator sitting it out and WSOF having only a few 125ers on the roster. It's as shallow, if not more shallow, than Heavyweight - yet this is a class without a true star either past or present. You could possibly argue the point that Mamoru Yamaguchi was an early star, but few know the name outside of hardcores and that isn't the definition of a star. And Demetrious Johnson hasn't really broken through with today's audience even if he is in pound-for-pound consideration. Will anyone on this list be signed by a major US promotion in the near future? I'm going to say there's a pretty good chance you will as the UFC has a lot of cards to fill and they need a bit of new blood in the division.

Flyweights (125lb)

RANK NAME RECORD AGE Last Promotion
15 Yuki Montoya 13-4-0 25 DEEP (Japan)
16 Hiromasa Ogikubo 13-3-2 27 Vale Tudo (Japan)
21 Adriano Moraes 12-1-0 25 ONE FC (Asia)
22 Yuta Nezu 17-7-1 32 Shooto (Japan)
24 Darren Uyenoyama 9-5-0 35 PXC (Philippines)
26 Pedro Nobre 17-1-2-1 28 Titan FC/Face To Face (Brazil)
27 Min Jong Song 7-7-0 23 Road FC (S. Korea)
28 Kiyotaka Shimizu 16-9-3 30 DEEP (Japan)
30 Nildo Nascimento 7-1-0 25 Jungle Fight (Brazil)
31 Giovanni da Silva Santos 15-1-0 27 Coliseu Extreme (Brazil)
33 Czar Sklavos 10-4-0 32 Front Street
35 Alan Nascimento 14-2-0 23 XFC (Brazil)
36 Alexandre Pantoja 15-2-0 24 RFA
37 Shaj Haque 6-1-0 ? Cage Warriors (UK)
38 Pietro Menga 12-0-0 ? BAMMA (UK)
39 Tatsumitsu Wada 12-8-2 26 DEEP (Japan)
41 Iliarde Santos 28-9-1 34 Titan FC
42 Larry DiGiulio 15-6-1 27 Hoosier FC
43 Damacio Page 19-9-0 32 Legacy FC
44 Andrew Leone 7-2-0 ? ONE FC (Asia)
45 Alvin Cacdac 15-10-0 ? Road FC (S. Korea)
47 Nam Jin Jo 9-6-0 23 Road FC (S. Korea)
48 Hayato Suzuki 11-0-2 28 Grandslam (Japan)
49 Nick Honstein 16-9-0 27 Titan FC
50 Marcel Adur 8-3-0 23 Fight Time

Big 3 in Comparison

Promotion # Top 100 fighters Champ
UFC 29 Demetrious Johnson
DEEP 6 Tatsumitsu Wada
Pacific Xtreme Combat 5 Alvin Cacdac

*All Rankings taken from Fight Matrix at time of writing. Promotions without a country listed next to it are considered US based.