The Beaten Path: 5 Lightweights the UFC Should Sign Now

We let off last time with the welterweights. Now, the "Prospects the UFC Should Sign" series moves onto the lightweight division.

The lightweight division is a shark tank that is stacked with talent from top to bottom. Anthony Pettis is the champion, but he is always in danger of guys like Rafael dos Anjos, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Donald Cerrone, among others, coming for his title.

The UFC has always focused on keeping that the lightweight division stacked. In fact, the UFC signed a lot of guys in 2014 and recent times who would have made this list this year, such as Islam Makhachev, Lukasz Sajewski and Joseph Duffy.

Without further ado, here are the five lightweight prospects the UFC should ink.

Below are the previous installments of this series.

Heavyweight

Light Heavyweight

Middleweight

Welterweight

Memory Lane

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Like the welterweight division, the lightweight division is one of the most competitive and dog-eat-dog types of divisions in MMA. However, through the fog, the company has inked several men from this series.

Mairbek Taisumov, Lukasz Sajewski, James Krause and Jesse Ronson have all been brought into the UFC, though Ronson was unable to win with the company and was cut. Krause has been a successful mainstay in the division, while Taisumov has shown great promise in his bouts, and Sajewski has yet to debut.

There was also success from the guys who didn't sign with the UFC. Alexander Sarnavskiy has been a big piece of the puzzle for Bellator. Jadamba Narantungalag came back from a gruesome injury to be a player in One FC, and Ivan Buchinger has racked up wins in the Russian and European circuits.

Here is a complete rundown of the men from previous lists. 

2012	2013	2014
Mairbek Taisumov	Jesse Ronson	Lowen Tynanes
Lukasz Sajewski	James Krause	Marcus Edwards
Alexander Sarnavskiy	Jadamba Narantungalag	Ivan Buchinger
Guillaume DeLorenzi	Luiz Firmino	Musa Khamanaev
Gordon Bell	Jonatas Novaes	Mansour Barnaoui

Lowen Tynanes

Home Country: United States

Team: Hawaii Elite MMA

Record: 6-0

Last Fight: Submission win vs. Jeff Sweeney

Lowen Tynanes is a veteran of this list, and for good reason. The Hawaiian is a young, skilled fighter who goes in and smashes notable opposition.

He is just one of the great Hawaiians coming off that island right now who likely idolized BJ Penn as a youngster. Tynanes possesses a strong submission game and is not afraid to let his hands go on the feet.

The veteran of One FC hasn't been fighting busters either. His resume includes wins over fight vets Eduard Folayang, Vuyisile Colossa and Felipe Enomoto. That is a solid list of victims considering he is just six fights into his pro career.

He is an early finisher as well. Four of his six victories have come in the first round, which shows he looks to put people away early and often.

Tynanes is a blue-chipper at 155 pounds. Expect him to impact the big leagues for some time to come.

Ramazan Esenbaev

Home Country: Russia

Team: Fightspirit Team

Record: 8-1-1

Last Fight: Majority-decision win vs. Kiuma Kunioku

The parade of Russian talent continues as we examine another weight class. This time around, it's Ramazan Esenbaev, who has exclusively been fighting on Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye cards for a while now. 

He is not the prettiest fighter, but his methods are nonetheless effective. He wants to drag you down and beat you up, using heavy ground strikes and positional submission ability to wear on opponents.

He has some interesting wins on his record against guys who probably shouldn't have been in the ring with him, but his biggest win is a doozy. Just over a year ago, he brutally knocked out Japanese star Satoru Kitaoka, putting his name on the map in MMA.

Esenbaev is a tough out for any adversary. Add to that the fact that he is just 25 years old and you have a prospect for years to come.

Mateusz Gamrot

Home Country: Poland

Team: Ankos Zapasy Poznan

Record: 8-0

Last Fight: Unanimous-decision win vs. Lukasz Chlewicki

Just as we have had a parade of Russians during this series, we have also had a number of Polish fighters on these lists. We have another one in 24-year-old Mateusz Gamrot.

Gamrot, undefeated in eight pro fights, is a Polish ground fighter with a good mix of ground-and-pound and submission savvy. He is proven at a high level, earning wins in both KSW and Cage Warriors.

He also has been taking on increasingly challenging opponents. His wins over UFC vet Andre Winner and Tim Newman, the latter of which was finished via heel hook, proved that Gamrot is ready to put his name on the map.

I have raved about how good the talent pool is in Poland, and Gamrot has proved me right in that regard.

Murad Machaev

Home Country: Russia

Team: Fight Nights Team

Record: 16-1

Last Fight: Knockout win vs. Niko Puhakka

T he Fight Nights Team been sending over strong talent from Russia to the UFC. Ali Bagautinov and Gasan Umalatov are just two men who represent that team, and one more teammate who would be great for the UFC is Murad Machaev.

Known as "Strangler," Machaev lives up to that nickname with six of his eight submissions coming by choke. He sets that up with his great takedowns and brutish ground striking, which makes Machaev a terror to deal with on the mat.

His striking on the feet could use some work, but he has been successful with his tools so far. Outside of a Bellator loss to Marcin Held, he has not lost and owns victories over UFC vet Zubaira Tukhugov, Bellator vet Lorawnt-T Nelson and Finnish vet Niko Puhakka.

His Bellator stint saw mixed results, but that was over two years ago. He has improved since then and deserves another shot in the big leagues.

Darrell Horcher

Home Country: United States

Team: Blackman MMA

Record: 10-1

Last Fight: Unanimous-decision win vs. Alex Ricci

Every year, I like to pick a dark-horse candidate to throw on the list. This year, it's Darrell Horcher, an East Coast fight veteran with an impressive record and the skills to match.

Horcher is a jack-of-all-trades but a master of none. He is a well-rounded fighter, having a solid submission game to complement his powerful striking ability.

He trains at Blackman MMA, which is run by martial artist and former WWE wrestler Steve Blackman. That base has made him successful, especially in a tough promotion like CFFC.

Outside of a Bellator loss to UFC veteran Phillipe Nover, Horcher has been pretty dominant. He knocked out E.J. Brooks, bested Chris Liguori and derailed Alex Ricci, which is a solid resume for a young fighter.

He has continued to get better, which is important in an MMA prospect. If he continues to add tools to his belt and defeat tough competition, he will be smelling the cage of a big-time promotion in the near future.