Max Holloway, Kyoji Horiguchi and the Best UFC Fighters Age 25 or Younger
UFC on Fox 15 was a turning point for several young fighters.
On the main card, 23-year-old Max Holloway pulled an upset by submitting Cub Swanson, just minutes after 21-year-old Paige VanZant decisioned veteran Felice Herrig and 25-year-old Beneil Dariush defeated Jim Miller. Earlier on the undercard, bantamweight super-prospect Aljamain Sterling, 25, forced a tap from a formidable opponent in Takeya Mizugaki.
As the weekend and UFC 186 draw closer, the diaper dandies will again be in the MMA news, as 24-year-old Kyoji Horiguchi steps in to challenge Demetrious Johnson for the flyweight belt.
The whole thing got us to thinking: Who are the best young fighters in the UFC right now? Where's the fresh blood? And who is way, way younger than you think they are (Kelvin Gastelum)?
A listicle is the solution to all your problems. These are the 10 best active UFC fighters who are 25 years of age or younger.
The rankings are based on records (extra weight given to recent and UFC performances), level of competition and skills displayed. Although you will see several prospects here, this is a list of fighters based on their status right now, as opposed to their ceiling for the future.
Honorable Mentions
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Here are some other 25-and-under UFC fighters on our radar, listed in no particular order:
- Andre Fili
- Zubaira Tukhugov
- Cody Garbrandt
- Michael McDonald
- Sergio Pettis
- Tecia Torres
- Justin Scoggins
- Jordan Mein
- Erik Perez
- Ray Borg
- Thomas de Almeida
10. Paige VanZant
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Division: Women's strawweight
Age: 21
Record: 5-1 (2-0 UFC)
In her win over Herrig, VanZant showed off some nasty. At one point she ground her knee into the side of Herrig's face during a scramble. She never let the older fighter get comfortable.
Is VanZant going to compete in Glory or the Mundials anytime soon? Nah. But she is aggressive, tenacious and has excellent cardio. In a meager women's strawweight division, that and her obvious marketability are more than enough to make her a star.
9. Albert Tumenov
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Division: Welterweight
Age: 23
Record: 15-2 (3-1 UFC)
You can say this much for sure: Albert Tumenov knows how to rebound.
After a split-decision loss to Ildemar Alcantara in his UFC debut, Tumenov notched consecutive first-round knockout wins. Then, in January, he decisioned Nico Musoke in Sweden.
"My striking game is the best, not only in my division, but the entire UFC,” Tumenov told MMAjunkie before his bout with Musoke. “Like Muhammad Ali once said, ‘I will show you what I’m capable of.'”
The Russian has a base in karate and boxing, which on paper at least makes him susceptible to high-level wrestlers and grapplers (see Alcantara). That chicken will eventually fly home one way or another, but in the meantime, Tumenov is an exciting young welterweight and a welcome addition to any undercard.
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8. Mirsad Bektic
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Division: Featherweight
Age: 24
Record: 9-0 (2-0 UFC)
If we were grading these fighters in more of a futures market, Mirsad Bektic would probably be ranked higher. But he's still pretty darn good as it stands.
Injuries (both to himself and opponents) reduced the steam in his hype engine, but it looks to be picking up again. If everything holds, he'll fight for the second time in 2015 when he takes on Renato "Moicano" Carneiro at UFC Fight Night 67 on May 30. The well-rounded Bektic could be ready to make a big statement, and a big leap.
7. Aljamain Sterling
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Division: Bantamweight
Age: 25
Record: 11-0 (3-0 UFC)
Aljamain Sterling and his physical, wrestling-based submission game had experienced a few tests before, but nothing on the level of Mizugaki. To see Sterling tear apart a respected veteran of the division (7-4 in the UFC, dating back to 2011) was eye-opening.
Sterling is not a prospect anymore. He's a bona fide here and now. Who should be next for him? Raphael Assuncao? Urijah Faber? It's hard to say, but he's earned a big fight.
6. Charles Oliveira
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Division: Featherweight
Age: 25
Record: 19-4 (1) [7-4 (1) UFC]
Charles Oliveira is routinely overlooked in these sorts of conversations. Or any conversation.
People know Do Bronx is good. He's well-rounded and a freaky submissions ace. His UFC losses came to Jim Miller, Donald Cerrone, Cub Swanson and Frankie Edgar. That's a tough list of dudes.
Part of the reason people forget about him is that he's been around for so darn long. He joined the UFC in 2010, at the tender age of 20. Despite netting seven—count them, seven—performance bonuses, he just can't seem to muster up a huge head of steam, at least not huge enough to capture the MMA public's imagination.
It might be happening again. After controlling Jeremy Stephens for a decision victory in December, Oliveira has gone silent. Here's hoping the UFC finalizes that rematch with Nik Lentz.
5. Max Holloway
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Division: Featherweight
Age: 23
Record: 13-3 (9-3 UFC)
Let's hear it for the late bloomers. It's kind of odd to describe a 23-year-old with that term, but here we are. And what a topsy-turvy world it is.
Max Holloway didn't enter the UFC on a wave of hype. He wasn't topping a lot of prospect boards. He dropped his debut fight to Dustin Poirier and bottom-fed his way to a 3-3 Octagon record.
Things are a little different now that he's won six straight. And he's beating good competition too, of which Swanson is the latest and best.
The fleet-footed Hawaiian kickboxer has plenty of tools in his game. He has plenty of pop too, as evidenced by the three post-fight bonuses he's received over the past year and change.
"Now that he has notched arguably his biggest victory to date, it will be interesting to see if Holloway can use the momentum to his advantage," wrote Karim Zidan of Bloody Elbow after the event. "He continues to improve at a remarkable rate between fights and stands as one of the more intriguing fighters at featherweight."
Maybe that rematch with Conor McGregor isn't so far-fetched after all.
T-4. Beneil Dariush
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Division: Lightweight
Age: 25
Record: 11-1 (5-1 UFC)
Sorry, I had to go for the tie here. I was unable to stop at just 10.
Beneil Dariush deserves the recognition, because he is on some kind of tear. Before handling Jim Miller in one of UFC on Fox 15's apparent torch-passing moments, Dariush submitted Daron Cruickshank barely a month before.
He's decently rounded, though his grappling looks like it will be a tall order on any day. He's smart, patient and talented, and he's a tough out for anyone in the lightweight division right now.
T-4. Kelvin Gastelum
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Division: Welterweight
Age: 23
Record: 10-1 (5-1 UFC)
In his last fight, Mini-Cain suffered the first setback of his pro career. It was a split decision that came in the wake of Kelvin Gastelum missing weight for the second time in his career.
It's easy to forget that The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 winner was younger than any other guy he fought on the show, and he is still younger than a large portion of his contemporaries. Gastelum is self-possessed, a determined and steady wrestler with heavy ground-and-pound. He wins, crinkles his eyebrows and walks away. Not exactly the countenance one expects from a 23-year-old.
Gastelum is set to face Nate Marquardt this June. As a data point, Marquardt fought his first professional bout when Gastelum was seven years old. Let that sink in. Or don't. I don't want it to because it makes me feel too old.
3. John Lineker
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Division: Flyweight
Age: 25
Record: 25-7 (6-2 UFC)
It's the same old story with John Lineker. The only thing holding him back is himself. Isn't that always the way? It is a time-honored conundrum.
More specifically, the hardest part of himself is the six or so pounds that never seem to want to go away and thus cling somewhere to him despite the certain difficulties that the stowaway will cause when everyone gets on the scale together.
Four times it has happened in the UFC. Lineker can't seem to shake free of the issue, despite the fact that it's costing him money in the form of purse deductions and maybe in other forms as well.
Still, as long as Hands of Stone continues to have, you know, hands of stone—four knockout victories in his last six fights—he'll keep moving up the ladder. His recent decision over Ian McCall was his biggest win to date. Could he be that far off from a title shot?
2. Kyoji Horiguchi
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Division: Flyweight
Age: 24
Record: 15-1 (4-0 UFC)
The Japanese super-prospect has blazed a trail to the title shot, despite his young age.
Though he really made his bones at bantamweight, Kyoji Horiguchi has had no problem with the downshift to 125. He's 3-0 since debuting there and 4-0 since joining the UFC.
Not only that, but he has a high-octane style that any crowd can get behind. We'll see if he's ready for the brightest lights when he steps in with Johnson in this Saturday's pay-per-view main event.
1. Rory MacDonald
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Division: Welterweight
Age: 25
Record: 18-2 (9-2 UFC)
Can you believe Rory MacDonald is only 25 years old? I can't.
He's easily the most accomplished UFC fighter in this category. When you handle Demian Maia, Tyron Woodley and Tarec Saffiedine in succession, you might just be a decent fighter.
His last loss came in 2013 to a guy named Robbie Lawler. Funny, because Lawler now holds the welterweight title. Even funnier, MacDonald and Lawler fight a rematch this July, with the strap on the line. Now that should be fun.
If MacDonald and his well-rounded MMA-bot type of game can outperform Lawler, he might just become the most accomplished 25-and-under fighter in the history of the sport. Wouldn't that be something for The Canadian Psycho.
Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more stuff like this, follow Scott on Twitter.
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