Zviad Lazishvili
Bantamweight | 29 | Washington, US/Georgia | 12-0 | Win Streak: 12 | 9 Submissions
Lazishvili was born in the country of Georgia before moving to the United States, in Washington D.C., to dive head first into his MMA career. He has an impressive record at 12-0 but most impressively he’s the current LFA bantamweight champion. To become the LFA bantamweight champion he beat (and frankly dominated) Ultimate Fighter and Contender Series veteran Ricky Steel. He could go to the UFC right away, but I feel he needs one more win to get him there against another good prospect. If he can get his visa situation straightened out (last September, he noted that he was still waiting on a P1 visa) he’s a shoe-in for the show.
Herbeth Sousa
Bantamweight | 27 | Brasilia, Federal District, Brazil | 15-1 | Win Streak: 5 | 2 KO/TKOs, 10 Submissions
With only one loss, Sousa is currently on a five-fight win streak. He’s beaten Glyan Alves (RIP) and Alexander Keshtov which are two fighters I was pretty high on at the time. “Indio” is an aggressive grappler who has ten submissions all coming in the first round. His wrestling is solid but obviously, it’s the grappling that’s key. His transitions are smooth and his finishing ability on the submissions is dangerous as he is a black belt in BJJ. He would be a good fit for the Contender Series. He hasn’t fought in a little over a year but he is in the gym preparing for a fight in April. Souza also made our list last year.
