The Beaten Path: 4 Top MMA Prospects to Watch in May

The world of MMA prospects is really opening up.

Hardcore fans know the usual suspects—those smaller shows that incubate up-and-comers for the big time. Deep-cable organizations like Legacy and Titan, overseas promotions like One Championship and M-1 Global, and South American stages like Jungle Fight all are reasonably familiar names.

But now, that roster is expanding. Great Britain's Cage Warriors promotion—early home of Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping and a slew of others—recently returned from an extended hiatus, even as local competitor BAMMA comes into its own with some of the sport's brightest young talents. Russia-centric promotions like ACB and Akhmat help showcase the fighting wealth of their own region. 

Options abound, and we here at The Beaten Path are on top of them all. These are the four best prospects in action this month. 

If you've been with us before, you know the drill: No UFC fighters are allowed on this list. Bellator and WSOF competitors are included only sparingly.

What follows are vital statistics, viewing coordinates and information capsules for each competitor. Let's get it on.

Marc Diakiese

Division: Lightweight
Age: 23
Record: 8-0
Next Fight: Kane Mousah, BAMMA 25, May 14
See It On: BAMMA YouTube

Forget Tom Duquesnoy. The Beaten Path's top overall prospect for 2016 is in action at the same BAMMA event. Duquesnoy is amazing, and you should watch him, but come on. Where's the fun in citing the same guys over and over?

In fact, for that matter, forget Mateusz Gamrot, too. He's our No. 12 up-and-comer for the year and is fighting May 27 at KSW. You have to mix things up sometimes. You gotta keep it fresh for yourself.

And if there's anything fresher than Marc "Bonecrusher" Diakiese, I don't know what it is. The young man has streaked to an 8-0 record, including 4-0 below the BAMMA banner. You can see the clear influence Jon Jones has had on Diakiese's flashy, creative and highly effective striking. He's able to throw those crazy-angled kicks because of his top-shelf athleticism and a solid ground game. 

Diakiese is not uncomfortable in any phase—particularly when grading on the British grappling curve—and is thus able to take more risks. It might still bite him in the backside some day, and then again, it might not. He's still only 23. He clearly has the talent to get better and keep moving forward.

Angela Lee

Division: Strawweight/atomweight
Age: 19
Record: 5-0
Next Fight: Mei Yamaguchi, May 6, One Championship 41
See It On: www.OneFC.com

The likable young Hawaiian joined One Championship one year ago. It was her pro MMA debut. That was five fights and five submission wins ago. 

Now, she faces Yamaguchi for the inaugural women's atomweight belt. (She normally competes at 115 pounds but is dropping down to compete for the title.)

Lee, who trained under her father before joining Tarec Saffiedine, Leandro Issa and others at Evolve MMA, earned those five submission wins by four different methods, so she's a ground wizard. Questions about striking and experience and things like that can wait, at least according to Lee.

"I don't see that as an advantage for her," Lee told James Goyder of MMA Mania. "That just means that she's used to fighting smaller girls. I've fought girls at 115, 120, and 125 pounds in my MMA career so if anything, I'll be the one with the advantage."

If she takes care of business and grabs the strap, the teenager may be set to answer those questions under even brighter lights.

Livia Renata Souza

Division: Women's strawweight
Age: 25
Record: 9-0
Next Fight: Angela Hill, Invicta FC 17, May 7 
See It On: UFC Fight Pass

Given that she's Invicta's reigning strawweight champ, Livia Renata Souza may no longer be a prospect in the strictest sense of the word. But here she is anyway, because it's my thing, after all.

Well, it's a little more involved than that. Souza has said in no uncertain terms that she's ready for the UFC. And it's hard to argue. The jiu-jitsu ace has a dangerous submission arsenal and an improving stand-up game to go with it (even if she still looks a little tentative on the feet).

Souza enters a quintessential striker-grappler matchup Saturday against muay thai dervish and The Ultimate Fighter alum Angela Hill. We might see in short order how far along the champ has progressed since her last contest.

Anatoly Tokov

Division: Middleweight
Age: 26
Record: 22-1
Next Fight: Arbi Agujev, Absolute Championships Berkut 38, May 20 
See It On: ACB YouTube

Remember those upstart promotions I mentioned in the intro? ACB might be the upstartest.

Its pipeline to Russia's North Caucasus region is its main claim to fame, but ACB has all kinds of stuff going on. Siberia native Anatoly Tokov is evidence of that. He has racked up an extensive record at a fairly young age and has done so in some of Europe and Asia's most prestigious shows.

Tokov has some serious power, as evidenced by his 13 knockout wins, but he's a grinder at heart. He's not the most artful of fighters, preferring to just kind of grab people and drag them around or lie on top of them like a dog with a stuffed animal. 

His striking appears to be getting a little better, even if no one is going to confuse him with Carlos Condit any time soon. When you have a right hand like this guy, though, maybe that doesn't matter much.

The Beaten Path is Bleacher Report's ongoing series on MMA prospects. Scott Harris covers prospects and all sorts of other stuff for Bleacher Report. Scott is available on Twitter.