The State of MMA’s Flyweight Prospects Worldwide

By
Shawn Bitter
-
Phumi Nkuta Credit: Cage Fury FC

The Champions

Across various countries and promotions, there are many flyweight prospect champions to keep an eye on. Including names like Charles Johnson (10-2), Moris Boleyan (6-0), Alessandro Costa (10-2), Jean Matsumoto (9-0), Mansur Malachiev (10-0), Phumi Nkuta (4-0), Victor Dias (10-2), Tatsuro Taira (10-0), Steve Erceg (8-1), and Abdula Aliev (10-0).

Charles Johnson is the LFA champion — a title he captured last July and defended last August. Johnson took some time off from MMA to box and came back this year to become an MMA champ. St. Louis’s own Johnson has been putting in work at Tiger Muay Thai sharpening his game. Lately, it’s shown tremendously.

Moris Boleyan was born in Armenia and is the current AMC champion — a promotion out of Russia. He won the title nearly a year ago and last July he made his first successful title defense. Boleyan is a strong wrestler and grappler and just a handful to deal with at 5’5″.

Alessandro Costa was born in Brazil but lives in Mexico where he’s the current LUX titleholder.  His speed, explosiveness, and athleticism match what a top-level flyweight should be. A winner of his last five, he’s someone to keep an eye on.

Jean Matsumoto is quietly one of the best Brazilian prospects out there. Still a young talent at just 22-years-old, Matsumoto has looked good against decent-enough competition. He hasn’t been fighting for all that long making himself look even more impressive. Matsumoto is primarily a grappler. He only has three submissions but is a big threat in that department, always looking for them.

Mansur Malachiev is the EFC champion which is the promotion owned by Khabib Nurmagomedov. He was not fighting the best of competition to begin with, but his last two opponents had a combined 20-1 record. Malachiev is a superior grappler who will be tough to hand his first loss.

The owner of the CFFC flyweight title is Phumi Nkuta. Nkuta is only 4-0 in his pro career but has looked apart and his wrestling, grappling, and cardio are the reasons for his career thus far. Longo And Weidman MMA has refined Nkuta into such a good fighter.

Brazil’s Victor Dias is the reigning Titan FC champion. It took a while before Dias hit his stride, winning by thin margins and losing close decision losses. It’s easy to tell that since training with American Top Team, he’s a more fearsome fighter. Dias is a black belt in BJJ and a national champion as well. A prospect with a high-level ground game is how you can sum up Dias.

Japan’s Tatsuro Taira last fought for VTJ but is the current Shooto flyweight champion. Taira is arguably the best JMMA prospect today and is only 21-years-old. He’s well-rounded: on the feet, he’s got an explosive barrage of strikes he closes the distance with. He’s got some solid takedowns and on the mat is where he’s best.

Steve Ecreg aka “AstroBoy” is styling on the Australian scene as the Eternal champion. Ecreg has won his last seven fights and has two title defenses. Well-rounded but to get where he’s at he’s used his excellent wrestling, grappling, and fight IQ.

Lastly, hailing from Kizilyurt, Russia is the WLF champion Abdula Aliev. Aliev has fought in China his entire career all for WLF Wars. He became their champion in 2019 and has two title defenses. Aliev hasn’t fought since early 2020; once his career resumes his dominance should resume as well.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR