The Beaten Path: 5 Middleweights the UFC Should Sign Now

It's time to explore another edition of prospects the UFC Should Sign.

We last left off with the light heavyweights. Now it's time to look at the middleweights.

The middleweight division has seen enormous competition emerge in the title reign of Chris Weidman. Guys are coming out of the woodwork to challenge for the title, from Vitor Belfort to Ronaldo Souza to Yoel Romero.

New faces are emerging in the upper part of the division. Prospects are starting to develop and threaten the old landscape of the division. In fact, the UFC has grabbed guys off my radar, such as Jake Collier and Bubba Bush, among others.

So with that, we look at five middleweights the UFC should consider signing soon. These men would add depth to the division and possibly be main carders.

Below are the previous installments of this series:

Heavyweight

Light Heavyweight 

Memory Lane

John Locher/Associated Press

For the most part, the inclusion of middleweights from this series into the UFC has been pretty consistent. That may be because for some odd reason, the middleweight division does not have as many prospects as one would assume.

The UFC has signed five middleweights during this series, all of whom are with the company today. Tom Watson and Uriah Hall are the most experienced of the bunch, with Hall being the most successful thus far. As for Marcos Rogerio, Sean Strickland and Scott Askham, all three are young in their UFC journeys and could make an impact going forward. 

There were definitely some poor choices made, as guys like Chaun Sims, Wes Swofford and Jake Rosholt (a former UFC fighter) all panned out as flops. You never know until their careers progress, though, which is why we make these assertions to begin with.

Here is the full rundown of middleweights included in past years.

2012	2013	2014
Uriah Hall	Marcos Rogerio	Scott Askham
Tom Watson	Sean Strickland	Ben Reiter
Elvis Mutapcic	Elvis Mutapcic	Max Nunes
Chaun Sims	Wes Swofford	Ramazan Emeev
Jake Rosholt	Michal Materla	Vyacheslav Vasilevsky

Vyacheslav Vasilevsky

Home Country: Russia

Team: Fightspirit Team

Record: 26-2

Last Fight: Unanimous-decision win vs. German Yakubov

I try not to include guys who were with Bellator for an extended amount of time, as they have already proved to be top prospects. However, given that middleweight is not exactly busting with prospects, I will make an exception for Vyacheslav Vasilevsky.

Vasilevsky may be one of the best middleweights outside of the UFC in general, with exception to maybe Mamed Khalidov, Brandon Halsey and a handful of others. He has demonstrated this with an impressive 26-2 record, fighting a tough strength of schedule as opposed to the cans other foreign fighters sometimes pad their resume with.

Vasilevsky is an all-around beast with the ability to throw hands on the feet or dominate from top position on the ground. He does so with ease, making it almost look too easy when he's in the cage or the ring. 

His only career losses were in his second pro fight and a Bellator bout with Maiquel Falcao. He avenged the loss to Falcao in devastating fashion while erasing any memory of his early career loss by besting the likes of Falcao, Ramazan Emeev, Trevor Prangley, Victor O'Donnell, Tomasz Narkun and a bevy of other talented scrappers.

This Russian should be a highly coveted fighter for any major MMA organization. He would instantaneously deepen whatever middleweight contingency he arrives in. 

Igor Svirid

Home Country: Kazakhstan

Team: Arnau-RS

Record: 10-1

Last Fight: Knockout win vs. Leandro Ataides

I originally reserved this spot for Leandro Ataides, whom I had pegged as a future star at 185 pounds. All it took was 17 seconds for that thought to be derailed, and for Kazakh fighter Igor Svirid to slide into that spot with authority. 

Svirid, the now-One FC middleweight champion, is a diamond in the rough. Losing in his pro MMA debut, he has since gone on a 10-fight winning streak to become one of the best outside of the UFC.

He is a powerful finisher, using heavy hands and a strong ground game in unison. He used that in the regional circuit in Russia and the surrounding areas, which got him a spot in One FC as a "sacrificial lamb."

However, that lamb had fight, and it came in the form of a devastating stoppage of Ataides. With that, Svirid announced to the world that he is a top middleweight to watch and somebody who could be gracing the big leagues soon. 

Jack Hermansson

Home Country: Norway

Team: Frontline Academy

Record: 9-2

Last Fight: Knockout win vs. Deyan Topalski

Jack Hermansson was a coveted MMA prospect back in 2012 when Bellator signed him to a contract. However, in two bouts with the company, he swung and missed on both attempts and was back in Europe to recollect the pieces. 

However, he has redefined himself with a top MMA organization in Cage Warriors, where he has become the champion at middleweight. It is a sign that he is once again a guy to keep your eye on, thanks to his fun fights and ability to finish.

Hermansson is a kickboxer with crisp punches and thunderous kicks. 2014 was a great rebound year for the Norwegian, as he rattled off four wins in four tries, finishing three of those wins by knockout or submission (Enoc Solves Torres, Norman Paraisy and Deyan Topalski).

He has erased any memory of his false start with Bellator and has surprised fans with his resilience. A few more wins would likely recapture the attention of the top MMA organizations of the world, which we should expect to see in 2015.

Anatoly Tokov

Home Country: Russia

Team: Alexander Nevsky Club

Record: 18-1

Last Fight: Knockout win vs. Enoc Solves Torres

The parade of Russians continues in the form of an absolute savage by the name of Anatoly Tokov. At just 24 years old, he has a bright future in this sport and should be a blue-chipper that MMA fans keep an eye on.

A pro since 2009, the young Russian already has posted 19 pro fights in his career, with most bouts, if not all, taking place in Russia. In that time he has just one blemish while mowing down 18 opponents in devastating manner.

Like many Russians, he has powerful striking on the feet, as well as a takedown game that leads to a brutal ground game. However, he prefers to load up on punches and throw cruise missiles at his opponent's dome, oftentimes turning the lights out on any man whose jaw gets touched.

Tokov may not have the strength of schedule of a guy like Vyacheslav Vasilevsky, but he is still young and getting better. His biggest recent win came over the likes of The Ultimate Fighter and Bellator veteran Jordan Smith, whom he dominated en route to a rare decision.

Tokov was 5-0 in 2014 and looks to continue that dominant reign in the new year. That type of impressive streak will likely catch the eye of a major MMA organization sooner rather than later.

Alberto Uda

Home Country: Brazil

Team: Nova Uniao

Record: 7-0

Last Fight: Submission win vs. Thiago Rela

As stated, the middleweight division is curiously light on top prospects, but one who has the makings of a good one is Nova Uniao rep Alberto Uda. He is a rare Brazilian regional fighter who often takes on strong opponents and doesn't pad his record on a regular basis.

Uda, a grappler by trade, is a great positional jiu-jitsu fighter who is comfortable whether he's on top or off his back. He is methodical in his actions, oftentimes securing superior positions before locking up a vicious choke.

He also has some good ground strikes, which help him open up defenses. Submissions of both Thiago Rela and Richardson Moreira prove that this guy has taken on tough opponents and put them away before the judges could decide a winner. 

His weakness is on the feet, but when he closes distance, he is hard to shake. He has worked hard on his stand-up, though, which means he could be a good all-around threat in the near future.