20 UFC Prospects To Watch For This Year

Jonathan Pearce, UFC 266 ceremonial weigh-in Credit: Gabriel Gonzalez/Cageside Press

Featherweight, Jonathan Pearce (11-4)

When Pearce debuted it didn’t go to well getting stopped inside one round to Joe Lauzon. There wasn’t any hype behind him at that time, but his following two performances proved he’s someone to watch for. Pearce first beat Kai Kamaka and then beat Omar Morales last year. Two awesome performances over credible guys. Really solid wrestling skills, and he’s not afraid to let his hands go. 2021 could be big for Pearce.

Shavkat Rakhmonov UFC 254 weigh-in
Shavkat Rakhmonov, UFC 254 Weigh-In Credit: Gabriel Gonzalez/Cageside Press

Welterweight, Shavkat Rakhmonov (14-0)

I wasn’t too invested in Rakhmonov when he came to the UFC. With that said when he took out veteran Alex Oliveira and did the same to Michel Prazeres, I became a believer. He’s a former M-1 champion so fighting stiff competition is something he been doing for a long time. Rakhmonov fights another surging UFC fighter, Carlston Harris, this weekend. It’s a fight where the UFC is looking to see who the better prospect is. The answer to that is Shavkat Rakhmonov.