Few years ago UFC Flyweight Division was considered lackluster and barely entertaining because Demetrious Johnson even though he’s amazing some reason didn’t have that star appeal. Dana White told Henry Cejudo post upset victory of Demetrious Johnson that he may eliminate the Flyweight Division, but Cejudo put the roster on it’s back.
Deiveson Figueiredo vs Brandon Moreno revitalized the flyweight division little bit with their four fast paced memorable title fights but besides that “lacked” depth.
Moving forward into 2023 the UFC Flyweight Division has deeper list of fighters where the top five considered interchangeable.
- (Champion) Alexandre Pantoja
- Brandon Moreno
- Brandon Royval
- Kai Kara France
- Amir Albazi
Watching UFC 296 Co-Main Event Flyweight title fight between Pantoja vs Royval really shown me how talented the 125lb fighters truly are. The great pace, all-around skills and strong conditioning.
2022/2023 Flyweight Division went into death-rebirth cycle and in 2024 will see revival watching great title fights, title changes and rise of new flyweight prospects.
2024 Flyweight CORE
Alexandre Pantoja always respected underrated fighter but title challenging fight against Brandon Moreno really turned the corner. The submission grappling, boxing and fighters IQ was on point as he shown he’s one of the best fighters in the world.
UFC 296, first title defense fight against Brandon Royval making himself a star in great five round battle, shown to everyone he’s the second best body triangle grappler behind Aljamain Sterling. Completely controlling Royval in the grappling department from perfectly timing for takedowns than overwhelming Jiu-Jitsu offense. Watch out for Alexandre Pantoja in 2024 to become one of UFC newest stars as UFC aims to revamp the Brazilian market.
Brandon Moreno since 2020 become one of my favorite fighters to watch, absolutely love watching this Mexican superstar fight because of his great striking heavy fighting style. Multiple time UFC Flyweight Champion because of his memorable fights with main foe Deiveson Figueiredo. Upcoming 2024 fight against Amir Albazi can help regain that confidence and return to fight for the title.
Amir Albazi, Kai-Kara France, Mattheus Nicolau are remaining top five fighters. All three are interchangeable of potentially becoming champions or fighting for the title one day. Kai Kara France my opinion just needs that great fight to boost his confidence and start a winning streak, feel like he’s always one bad fight away from becoming UFC Flyweight Champion. Albazi coming off controversial win against Kai-Kara France gets the earned fight against Brandon Moreno in February.
“That was a Top-3 ranked flyweight in the world and I got the win against him,” Albazi said at the post-fight press conference. “I went five rounds. So I know I can go with these guys for five whole rounds, and I know I’m ready for the title. I just want to go on to the next one, get my belt and keep climbing. Keep becoming the king that I know I am.” said Amir Albazi Amir Albazi Reacts to Controversial Win: ‘I Know I’m Ready for the Title’ (sherdog.com)
UFC Flyweight Prospects
Flyweight division 2024-2030 will develop as one of the best deepest weight classes in the UFC because the best five foot three to five foot seven athletes will be transitioning to MMA because there’s more opportunities and fairer compared to playing basketball, baseball or soccer.
Very exciting to see upcoming talent as there several potential champions/title challengers on the horizon.
- Muhammad Mokaev
- Manel Kape
- Tagir Ulanbekov
- Tatsuro Taira
- Steve Erceg
- Azat Maksum
- Asu Almabaev
- Jake Hadley
- Joshua Van
- Felipe Lima
Muhammad Mokaev one of the biggest MMA prospects last few years because of the great hype and regional success behind him. Hype is real with undefeated 5-0 UFC record climbing up to #8th in the rankings while having combat sambo dominance. Upcoming UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia matchup is against former Flyweight Title challenger Alex Perez.
“To be the youngest UFC champion, that’s March 2024 — end of March,” said Mokaev (video provided by MMA Fighting). “The 29th or the 30th of March, that’s how I worked it out. I have plans. I work out every day and count the days. I believe I will fight for the interim belt [by] the end of next year.
Muhammad Mokaev targeting Jon Jones’ record, believes he’ll eclipse it in March (bloodyelbow.com)
Fully support Mokaev’s ambitions, believe by March 2024 or 2024 year in general entirely possible depending on no injuries can become UFC Flyweight Champion. The Dagestan prodigy high accomplished wrestling pedigree mixed with gradually improving all-around MMA skills will be huge nightmare matchup for the top five flyweights.
Manel Kape was one of the hottest free agent signings in recent years, former Rizin Bantamweight Champion was considered one of the best 135lb fighters outside of UFC. I was really excited when Manel Kape signed with UFC. Unfortunately started off on two fight losing streak mostly because he lacked offense, now crushing it on winning four great fights.
First bout of 2024 for Kape is revenge fight against Matheus Nicolau, only losing in split decision. Few fights away from fighting for flyweight title. UFC mission in 2024 is to start marketing UFC Africa, Manel Kape would be perfect born in Angola, strong influence back home and has that “star” quality.
Tatsuro Taira, Azat Maksum, Asu Almabaev, Jake Hadley are all future flyweight potential champions in my opinion. All four of them are extremely talented fighters that I’m really impressed each fighter has standout skills such as Tatsuro Taira offensive submissions, Maksum great Pankration range fighting, Almabaev heavy offensive wrestling and Hadley’s kickboxing. All four fighters are under the age of 30 and have VERY bright future ahead of them.
Overall, the Flyweight division has bright future ahead of them the division was considered boring but guarantee you’ll watch some amazing fights from the best five foot three to five foot eight athletes in the world. Really excited to see 125-pound division play out in 2024 and in the future.
Billy's MMA Blog 
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