The Beaten Path: 5 Flyweights the UFC Should Sign Now

We're back! The "Prospects the UFC Should Sign" series is in its second-to-last installment. We left off with the bantamweights and now move on to the flyweights.

The flyweights are one of the newest additions to the UFC roster and have been a fine addition at that. They consistently put on great fights, and the division is quickly becoming stacked with contenders.

The weight class is under the rule of Demetrious Johnson, but many young competitors are jockeying for position in the division. Guys like Henry Cejudo, Ray Borg and Joby Sanchez were all considered for this year's list, but the UFC signed them last year while compiling prospects.

Without further ado, let's look at the five flyweight prospects that the UFC should sign.

Below are the previous installments of this list: 

Heavyweight

Light Heavyweight

Middleweight

Welterweight

Lightweight

Featherweight

Bantamweight

Memory Lane

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In the two years we have had the flyweights in this series, half of them have gone on to the UFC, and they are all still on the roster.

So far, the UFC has inked Josh Sampo, Alptekin Ozkilic, Sergio Pettis, Darrell Montague and Henry Cejudo. Cejudo and Pettis have the highest ceilings, although the other three obviously have the talent to be successful.

Some guys who have not been signed could easily fill the division. That's how good these prospects are. 

2013	2014
Josh Sampo	Henry Cejudo
Alptekin Ozkilic	Pietro Menga
Sergio Pettis	Alexandre Pantoja
Darrell Montague	Czar Sklavos
Sean Santella	Sean Santella

Pietro Menga

Home Country: England

Team: MMA Academy Liverpool

Record: 12-0

Last Fight: Submission win vs. Steve McCombe

Making his sophomore appearance in this series is Pietro Menga, and for good reason. He looks to be one of the best flyweights outside the UFC and a guy who would add depth to the company.

Menga, a 26-year-old Brit, has demolished the competition in his 12-fight career, using his superior muay thai and threatening submission arsenal to put away opponents. In fact, most of his wins have come via submission, and he has only gone to decision twice.

He was 2-0 in 2014, winning convincingly in both bouts. He is the type of fighter who would make an immediate impact in the UFC flyweight division, a weight class in need of more bodies. 

The UFC will be in the area of the U.K. more than a few times in 2015. That means Menga could end up on a card if everything works out for him.

Alexandre Pantoja

Home Country: Brazil

Team: Nova Uniao

Record: 15-2

Last Fight: Submission win vs. Matt Manzanares

Alexandre Pantoja is the second man on this list to make the series for the second time (sorry guys, but Menga and Pantoja seriously belong in the UFC). That's how good he is.

Pantoja is the RFA flyweight champion after ripping the belt out of the hands of Matt Manzanares in his last fight. That victory continued a winning streak that stands at eight in a row to this day.

Pantoja represents the Nova Uniao camp, which is evident in his style of fighting. He is aggressive, especially on the ground, which has led to numerous submissions and ground-and-pound-related stoppages.

Since 2009, he has lost just once to top UFC fighter Jussier da Silva. Other than that, he has been impressive, which should lead to him sporting a UFC logo on his gloves sooner than later.

Hiromasa Ogikubo

Home Country: Japan

Team: Paraestra Matsudo

Record: 13-3-2

Last Fight: Unanimous-decision win vs. Czar Sklavos

Czar Sklavos made this list last year due to his improvements and overall stature in the sport. However, Hiromasa Ogikubo earned a victory over him this year and, in that process, became one of the best flyweight prospects outside the UFC.

Ogikubo is 27 years old and has been a longtime fighter on the Japanese circuit. He exhibits a good mixture of striking and grappling, though recent outings have seen him submit more guys than knock them out. 

He was the winner of Vale Tudo Japan in 2014, earning decision wins over Sklavos and Takeshi Kasugai, as well as a submission of Kana Hyatt. That tournament win really put Ogikubo on the map, who to that point was flying under the radar.

Since 2010, he has only lost twice to top UFC flyweight Kyoji Horiguchi and former Bellator champion Eduardo Dantas. He looks like he is peaking in his career at this point, which means the UFC may have to jump on him soon. 

Nildo Nascimento

Home Country: Brazil

Team: Roxo Striker

Record: 7-1

Last Fight: Knockout win vs. Wylk Leandro

Brazilians dominate the flyweight portion of this series in 2015, and the second example of that comes in the form of Nildo Nascimento. 

Nascimento has interesting dimensions for a fighter, as the 25-year-old Brazilian is just 4'11". He is at a size disadvantage in a weight division full of small guys, but he doesn't fight small. 

He is an aggressive striker, possessing violent kicks and heavy hands. Again, I stress that this comes despite him being at a size advantage in every fight, which is incredible to think about.

He is a muay thai striker through and through who mixes up things well to the head, body and legs. You cannot absorb a lot of what Nascimento dishes out because you just accumulate too much damage.

He still has time to develop his overall game, but for now he looks he like a good, young prospect out of Brazil. It remains to be seen if he is the cream of the crop, but he is an exciting fighter who gets crowds on the edge of their seats. 

Allan Nascimento

Home Country: Brazil

Team: Chute Boxe

Record: 14-2

Last Fight: Unanimous-decision win vs. Ruslan Abiltarov

Let's make it a majority Brazilian attendance on this flyweight part of this series, as we now include Allan Nascimento (no relation to Nildo) in the top five. This comes with good reason, as he is a beast in the cage and ring.

A guy who has already made an American debut with Legacy FC, Nascimento represents the Chute Boxe academy, but he is not the typical fighter coming from that gym. While his striking is certainly commendable, his ferocious submission game is the biggest threat to his opponents.

Of his 14 career wins, Puro Osso has tapped out 12 men, showing his ferocity and determination on the mat. He has a wide arsenal of finishes on the mat and has utilized the D'arce choke, armbar, rear-naked choke, heel hook, triangle choke, kneebar, arm-triangle choke and even a submission from strikes (which is listed as a TKO officially).

Nascimento is not somebody to play around with on the ground. He is coming off the biggest win of his career over Ruslan Abiltarov, which makes him e a top 125-pound prospect to look out for.