5 UFC Prospects To Watch In 2024
The UFC currently has a great staple of prospects. As we head into 2024 we need to keep an eye on some of the top young talent.
For this post, ranked fighters will not be included with prospects. That takes fighters like Ian Garry, Jack Della Maddalena, Tatsuro Taira, and others off the table.
Bo Nickal:
Bo Nickal is a must-watch prospect. The three-time national champion NCAA wrestler is a blue-chip prospect. He is 2-0 in the UFC with first-round finishes. At UFC 300, he will fight Cody Brundage.
Nickal is always worth watching because it is important to track his MMA progress. It is obvious that Nickal is a world-class wrestler; however, people forget he is new to MMA. I want to see how Nickal progresses in striking while adjusting to MMA grappling in a cage.
I am interested to see how many times Nickal fights in 2024. Furthermore, if he fights more than once, will he get a bump in competition? At the moment, he is still fighting low-level middleweights. I am not upset with that, but the questions surrounding his future opponents make his future even more intriguing.
Joe Pyfer:
Joe Pyfer has a ton of hype around his name. Thankfully, it is warranted. Pyfer is 3-0 in the UFC and is quickly climbing the middleweight rankings.
Pyfer will headline a Fight Night Card in February against Jack Hermansson. That will be a bout to watch. The one question mark around Pyfer is his cardio. In a five-round fight, we could potentially have some answers.
Pyfer has great opportunities in 2024. If he beats Hermansson, he will start competing against highly-ranked opposition. That makes him worth keeping an eye on in the upcoming year.
Rinya Nakamura:
Rinya Namamura has the potential to become the UFC bantamweight champion. At 8-0 with two UFC wins, he is relatively new to MMA.
Nakamura will likely not be tested with serious competition in 2024. That is fair, however. I am not expecting him to immediately enter the rankings. Instead, Nakamura will be placed against lower-level competition as he grows in MMA. I want to see what growth can be made in this calendar year.
At UFC 298, Nakamura will kick off his 2024 with a fight against fellow prospect Brady Hiestand. A fight in the first quarter of the calendar year should put him in a solid position to fight multiple times in 2024.
Michael Morales:
The welterweight division is stacked with high-caliber prospects. We have seen fighters like Shavkat Rakhmonov, Ian Machado Garry, and Jack Della Maddalena enter the division’s rankings. The next prospect that could rise into the rankings is Michael Morales.
Morales has continuously impressed throughout his UFC tenure while working toward a 4-0 promotional record. The 24-year-old is absurdly athletic and has ridiculous potential.
In 2024, UFC fans have to keep an eye on Morales. Most importantly, he will probably get a ranked opponent relatively soon. With wins over Jake Matthews and Max Griffin, Morales has been tested against quality unranked fighters and will get a boost in competition soon. Furthermore, I want to see how Morales develops as a fighter. It will be very interesting to see if he can continue developing his skills and become an elite fighter.
Ikram Aliskerov:
Ikram Aliskerov has had two great performances in the UFC. The middleweight has logged two first-round knockouts in the UFC. In his entire career, he is 15-1 with his only loss coming against Khamzat Chimaev.
I will admit, I have reservations about Aliskerov. Yes, he has had two great wins against Phil Hawes and Warlley Alves. The problem is that Hawes has a horrible shin and Alves is a welterweight. I also do not love the fact that he gets hyped for defending takedowns against Chimaev just to get knocked out moments later. Not to mention, that fight took place on the regional scene in 2019.
Despite my issues with Aliskerov, he has talent. It is evident that he has power and his grappling looked solid on Dana White’s Contender Series. I want to see how he looks against a higher level of competition.
At UFC 298, Aliskerov will fight Anthony Hernandez. That will undoubtedly be his biggest test in the UFC. That is a fight that I am highly interested in. If Aliskerov wins that bout, he will be on his way to massive opportunities. That makes him one of the top UFC prospects worth watching in 2024.
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