We have a look at 5 fighters that may very well be referred to as as much as the world’s premier blended martial arts promotion, The Final Combating Championship.
Luke Riley
Initially beginning in boxing and Muay Thai, the twenty-five-year-old from Widnes now boasts a 10-0 MMA file underneath one of many two UK companions out there for followers’ viewing pleasure on UFC struggle move: Cage Warriors. They’ve produced over 100 fighters to achieve the UFC, involving a few of the finest ever. Michael Bisping, Conor McGregor, Tom Aspinall, and Ilia Topuria have all donned the well-known yellow gloves, and every has reached famous person standing.
Riley trains out of Subsequent Technology in Liverpool alongside UFC fighters Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett and Molly McCann. He was topped Fighter of the 12 months in 2023 and was concerned in Battle of the 12 months with Alexander Lööf. He’s well-known for his electrical combating type, the place he loves to face and bang along with his opponents, which has seen him obtain seven ko/tko victories within the ten fights he’s had to date. Contemplating that he’s solely operated as knowledgeable blended martial artist for thirty-nine months, he has made outstanding strides in following the footsteps of these talked about, pardon the pun.
Luke was on account of struggle on Dana White’s Contender Sequence final August, however a difficulty with a visa being granted in time for the promotion scheduled date prevented it from taking place. The UFC are returning to the UK in March and along with his two coaching companions each saying that they’ve signed contracts to be on the cardboard there are hopes that the undefeated prospect will likely be becoming a member of them.
RILEY VS LOOF. CAGE WARRIORS 2023 FIGHT OF THE YEAR. WATCH HERE: Biggest Battle in CW Historical past! | Luke Riley vs. Alexander Lööf | Cage Warriors Battle of the 12 months 2023 – YouTube
Dakota Ditcheva
At simply 26 years of age, the Mancunian holds a file of 14-0 with twelve finishes, one submission and one determination win. ‘Harmful’ has obliterated each challenger she’s ever confronted within the Skilled Fighters League and now finds herself as the present world flyweight champion.
In her final outing in opposition to Talia Santos, she stored her 100% end charge within the PFL going. Stopping her in spherical two from vicious pictures to the physique after the previous UFC flyweight title challenger had no reply to the puzzle of Ditcheva, who had a visual dimension and vary benefit, towering over the Brazilian, who winced because the punches linked, making it look extraordinarily simple in opposition to an opponent who arguably gave the present UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko her hardest struggle to this point.
Santos was seen as Ditcheva’s strongest match-up to date in her profession. After turning into European and world champion in two years, there at the moment are a number of main MMA information shops and followers who’re asking for the die-hard Manchester Metropolis supporters to obtain a telephone name from the UFC.
Losene Keita
A two-weight champion in Oktagon MMA at simply twenty-seven years of age, the Belgian carries a 16-1 skilled file and sits prime of the promotions pound-for-pound rankings checklist. A number of reviews have revealed that he turned a contract down with numerous different promotions earlier than re-signing with Oktagon in January 2024.
The UFC was reportedly a type of organizations, and with the one blemish on his file due to a foot damage, he’s nonetheless technically unbeaten, which makes him scorching property and top-of-the-line upcoming fighters on this planet. Together with his thrilling type, ‘Black Panther’ persistently produces these holy sh*t moments that Dana White desires underneath his banner.
Naturally, the world’s largest promotion will likely be monitoring his state of affairs carefully. When requested on the latest Oktagon 65 post-fight press convention if he nonetheless needs to ply his commerce there and if he has accomplished what he needed to realize underneath his present promotion, he mentioned “I don’t know but, let me go dwelling and calm down then we are going to speak about that however for now I’m not completed with Oktagon but!”
Keita’s contract with the Czech/Slovak outfit is a multi-year deal, but when there was an occasion the place he will get supplied a package deal he can’t refuse from the UFC, then Oktagon will seemingly and hopefully not stand in his approach and permit the most well liked European expertise transfer onto the world stage. The promotion beforehand granted bantamweight champion Felipe Lima launch from his contract regardless of being scheduled to defend his title in opposition to Jonas Magard in July of final yr till he obtained a call-up on two weeks discover to face Muhammad Naimov on a UFC struggle night time card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Shem Rock
Shem Rock fights out of Subsequent Technology MMA Liverpool and was seen because the face of the UK enlargement for Oktagon MMA till the promotion put plans to return on maintain. After profitable on dwelling soil earlier this yr in spectacular trend over Stefano Cattacoli, he adopted that up with a giant win at Oktagon 58 inside the house of Slavia Prague FC. That win got here in opposition to Jaroslav Pokorny, with whom he had a long-standing rivalry after their authentic struggle was cancelled in November 2023. Pokorny was withdrawn on struggle day after Rock landed a kick to the ribs on the weigh-in. Which allegedly brought on sufficient harm to tug him from the struggle regardless of no bodily X-ray proof.
Rock discovered blended martial arts when he went on the run for nearly ten years for against the law he didn’t commit. He has since returned to the UK, been arrested, jailed, acquitted, and fought on Europe’s largest MMA promotion quite a few instances. His talent set is excessive calibre, and in his two fights this yr, he has dispatched each opponents within the first spherical. It took only one minute forty-seven seconds to pressure Cattacoli to faucet at Oktagon 56 and three minutes six seconds to place Pokorny out chilly six weeks later.
Honing his craft with the aforementioned Luke Riley, they’ve produced massive moments underneath their respective employer’s banner for a while now. One other widespread determine on the UK MMA scene, Rock, 31, is the quantity 5 ranked light-weight within the UK with Tapology and has made no secret about his want to achieve the UFC sooner fairly than later. With an excellent again story and a combating type that could be very pleasing to the attention, he would definitely be a fan favorite among the many wider viewers.
Patricio Pitbull
At thirty-seven years of age, a fighter at a unique level in his profession to these beforehand talked about might nonetheless discover himself with a UFC alternative. That’s as a result of breakdown in communication with PFL, which has seen him stay inactive since March 2024, regardless of being champion of the Bellator banner, which they merged with a few years again.
Pitbull took issues into his personal palms earlier this yr and continued calling out of the promotion in one other barrage of messages final month on X.
“My administration group had a name with [Pete Murray] tonight, and regardless of making clear my want to depart and a few of my causes, even noticing my contract is up in Could, PFL received’t let me go and intends to carry me in opposition to my will,” Pitbull wrote.
“You say you’re fighters first however determined to maintain me hostage [Donn Davis], [Pete Murray]. It’s actually absurd and disappointing that I’ve to return on X to voice all this. Do the fitting factor and launch me… I used to be a Bellator fighter and it not exists. The promotion is gone and so ought to I.”
Pitbull adopted up, “I haven’t fought since March. They need me to struggle in April. Over a yr of my life and profession that I’ll by no means get again.”
Regardless of having miles on the clock, the Brazilian featherweight nonetheless seems like he has lots within the tank, and with him publicly stating that he needs to pursue a possibility elsewhere, it stays to be seen whether or not that will likely be with the marquee promotion at this stage of his profession. But it surely nonetheless may very well be a risk and positively to not be dominated out; it might be the same state of affairs to a different former Bellator fighter, Michael Web page, who debuted with the UFC final yr at 36 years of age after going 17-2 along with his former employer.
