{"id":48756,"date":"2026-08-18T17:13:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T23:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gambyl.com\/?p=48756"},"modified":"2026-08-18T17:13:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T23:13:09","slug":"ufcs-most-dangerous-rising-contenders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gambyl.com\/pt\/ufc\/ufcs-most-dangerous-rising-contenders\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC’s Most Dangerous Rising Contenders"},"content":{"rendered":"

Islam Makhachev broke Anderson Silva’s record at UFC 330, taking his seventeenth consecutive win inside the Octagon in a hard-fought decision over Ian Machado Garry. Then he was asked who is next, and his answer said more about the state of the division than the fight did.

Carlos Prates. Michael Morales. Shavkat Rakhmonov. Three men, one belt, and a champion who openly admitted there are too many contenders.

That is the theme across the promotion right now. These are not prospects working their way up from the Contender Series. Every fighter here is ranked, most are one win from a title shot, and several are already booked. They are the fighters champions have to think about.

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Here are the most dangerous of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carlos Prates \u2014 Welterweight<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The champion picked him, which is the strongest endorsement available.

Asked who deserved the next shot, Makhachev said Rakhmonov is not fighting, and Prates is still active, and landed on Prates as the most deserving. It is difficult to argue. Since losing to Ian Machado Garry in April 2025, Prates has produced four consecutive finishes<\/strong>, and the names on that run are the point: Geoff Neal, Leon Edwards and Jack Della Maddalena.

Stopping a former champion is one thing. Stopping former champions repeatedly, on a run where nothing has gone the distance, is another.

Why he is dangerous:<\/strong> he does not need to win rounds. Prates ends fights, which makes him the rare contender who is live against Makhachev regardless of how the grappling match goes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Morales \u2014 Welterweight<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nineteen fights, nineteen wins, and the champion telling him to go earn it.

Makhachev’s assessment of Morales was blunt: he should fight Prates or Rakhmonov and establish himself as the clear number one rather than waiting. Morales and Prates reportedly argued in the crowd at UFC 330, which suggests the fight makes itself.

Why he is dangerous:<\/strong> an undefeated record at 19-0 in a division this deep is not an accident. The knock is not ability; it is activity and r\u00e9sum\u00e9 quality relative to Prates.

The problem:<\/strong> he is being asked to beat the man in front of him in the queue to get a shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shavkat Rakhmonov \u2014 Welterweight<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Still undefeated. Still, on paper, the most complete threat to Makhachev in the division. And he has not fought since December 2024.

Injuries have kept him out for well over a year, and the queue has moved past him while he has been away. That is the entire story. Nothing about his skill set has been solved by anybody; he simply has not been available to remind the division of it.

Why he is dangerous:<\/strong> the finishing rate and the fact that no one has yet found a way to beat him.

Why he is fading:<\/strong> twenty months is a long time in a division where three other men have been actively collecting scalps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nassourdine Imavov \u2014 Middleweight<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The most convincing case for a title shot in the promotion, and he has been told he has it.

Imavov has not lost since January 2023; a run of five wins and one no contest across six fights, and the finishes are what elevate him. He has knockout victories over Jared Cannonier and former champion Israel Adesanya. The UFC has assured him his next fight is for the belt.

The narrative writes itself. The man who beat him in 2023 is Sean Strickland, who now holds the title. Imavov has been open about wanting the rematch and about not liking Strickland, and October or November was the initial target. Strickland is working back from a shoulder injury and may not return until December.

Why he is dangerous:<\/strong> he has already fought the champion, lost, and spent three years fixing whatever went wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khamzat Chimaev \u2014 Middleweight<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

He lost the belt by a single scorecard and remains the most feared man in the division.

At UFC 328 in May, Strickland took the title on a split decision: two judges at 48-47 for Strickland, one at 48-47 for Chimaev. That is as close as a championship fight gets. Chimaev asked for an immediate rematch, and Strickland shut it down.

Why he is dangerous:<\/strong> nothing about that result suggested Chimaev had been figured out. He was beaten narrowly on the night by a fighter who has always been a stylistic problem for aggressive grapplers.

The road back:<\/strong> he does not get a shortcut. Beating Dricus du Plessis puts him straight back at the front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Movsar Evloev \u2014 Featherweight<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Undefeated, overlooked for years, and finally booked.

Evloev challenges Alexander Volkanovski in Abu Dhabi on October 24. The detail worth knowing is that Volkanovski campaigned for him to get the shot; an unusual thing for a champion to do, and a sign of how difficult the matchup is regarded internally.

Why he is dangerous:<\/strong> an unbeaten record built on a grappling-heavy style that gives champions the least comfortable kind of fight. Volkanovski advocated for this and may well find out why nobody else did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arman Tsarukyan \u2014 Lightweight<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At 23-3, he has been labelled the number one contender at lightweight for years and still does not have the fight.

Justin Gaethje took the belt from Ilia Topuria in June, and Tsarukyan was expected to be next. His own manager has since conceded that Gaethje is unlikely to return within six months, and the team has turned toward a rematch with Charles Oliveira to stay active.

Why he is dangerous:<\/strong> the wrestling and pace are a nightmare for anyone in the division, Gaethje included.

Why it keeps not happening:<\/strong> timing, injuries, and a division where the belt keeps moving. He is the clearest example of a contender whose prime is being spent in a queue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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