These are fighters we believe will one day be ranked and if not be a fixture in the UFC for years. There’s some very familiar names, and a lot of talent that shows just how deep the promotion’s roster truly is.

Let’s get to it, in no particular order.

Bantamweight, Felipe Lima (13-1):
Lima recently signed to the UFC and made his debut a few weeks ago. He stepped in on short notice up a weight class. He fought Muhammad Naimov who was significantly bigger and had quality wins over Jamie Mullarkey and Nathaniel Wood. Born in Brazil, Felipe Lima lives in Stockholm, Sweden, and has been training at Allstars Training Center for years.

After making his debut in 2015 where he came up short, he hasn’t lost since. His striking is his focal point but his ground game is slept on. He did end up finishing Naimov in the third with a RNC. He looked that good without a normal camp and up a weight class so the future is bright.

Welterweight, Gabriel Bonfim (16-1):
A lot of people are writing off Bonfim after losing his fight to Nicolas Dalby. Dalby however is such an underrated vet who doesn’t get his much deserved respect. Bonfim almost finished Dalby in round one but blew his gas tank and got finished in round two.

From a skillset standpoint, Bonfim is still a top talent. Bonfim is a national boxing champion but the majority of his MMA wins are by submission. He’s still really good even though people think he’s overrated. He’s coming off a recent win over Ange Loosa.

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“Top 10 brother. Top 10, top 5, I am ready,” Almabayev told reporters including Cageside Press through a translator at his post-fight scrum.

“Who has zero in their record? I’m ready for anyone. Anyone top 5, top 10.”

The win over Vergara may not be impressive to fans, but Almabayev’s grinding and relentless style may have fighters shying away from fighting him.

“I was ready for such kind of situations. I knew that my opponent has good function. That’s why I was ready for everything,” he said.

Former UFC champ-champ Daniel Cormier was on the call and was very complimentary of Almabayev’s wrestling.

“Kazakh wrestling. I didn’t have a chance to talk to him, but I heard he cried something to me. I didn’t hear,” he said.

Almabayev had a message for his supporters after a successful UFC 299 bout.

“I want to say thank you for all my country for their support. I feel they support me with their heart and I want to say happy Ramadan for all Muslims around the world,” he said.

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Assu Almabayev above.

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Vergara missed weight for the third time in six fights, so he knew his job, or at least his future as a flyweight, was potentially in jeopardy with a loss, despite his 3-2 UFC record. This was only the second UFC fight for grappling whiz Almabayev; in it ‘Zulfikar’ was able to win with his wrestling in all three rounds of the fight.

Almabayev took Vergara off his feet with the first leg kick. He struck with CJ for a minute and then shot for a takedown. Although Vergara defended it initially, Assu used his chain wrestling to get the rear body-lock. He was unable to completely take the back of Vergara, but held onto the body lock and occassionally tried to get his hooks in. After CJ broke free, Assu was able to surprise him on his second double leg shot and get on top in full guard, where he closed out the round.

Early in round two Vergara shot for his own takedown but Almabayev used a front headlock to transition to a single leg and take CJ down, just one minute into the round. He did damage to Vergara with ground strikes and then slammed him back down. Assu set a high grappling pace and won the round clearly even though Vergara got back up at the end of the round.

The third round began with two good roundhouse kicks from Almabayev which made CJ reset. After a few more striking exchanges Assu got back to the wrestling and got CJ’s back, but Vergara escaped. Almabayev got hit with a knee but he turned it into a takedown, which was the pattern for the rest of the round, even when Vergara got up.

When the scorecards were read, there was no doubt and the decision was awarded to Assu Almabayev in a clean sweep.

Official Result: Assu Almabayev def. CJ Vergara by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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Jamaica’s Osbourne was 3-1 in his last four, and coming off a win over Charles “Inner G” Johnson.

Almabayev opened up the fight with two good inside-leg kicks. It didn’t shake Osbourne as he was in the face of Almabayev. Almabayev landed an overhand right into a single leg getting the takedown. Almabayev was staying active with ground and pound as Osbourne was moving well off his back looking for openings. Osbourn did cut open Almabayev with an elbow but never manages to get back to his feet. Almabayev beat him up with punches and ended the round going for a Peruvian Necktie.

In round two Almabayev landed a big head kick that did land slightly. Right after that, he shot in for a low single leg but Osbourne defended. Soon after he shot in on another takedown but was higher and was able to trip the leg to get Osbourne down. Osbourne did work to his knees but he let Almabayev take his back. Osbourne survived the RNC once but after the second attempt, he had to tap. The choke was just on the job but the squeeze was too tight.

Assu Almabayev def. Ode Osbourne by Submission (RNC), round 2, 3:11

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Assu “Zulfikar” Almabayev
Standing at five-foot-five
Fighting at 125 lbs (flyweight)
29-years-old
Fighting out of Almaty, Kazakhstan
Training out of Dar Pro Team Kazakhstan
A pro record of 17-2
3 KO/TKOs, 8 Submissions

How will Almabayev do in the UFC:

The UFC has done a great job building its flyweight division this past year. They introduced Joshua Van, Stephen Erceg, and Azat Maksum this year alone. Almabayev fits that mold as a legit up-and-comer in the 125-pound division. He’s a former staple of Brave CF and was a Naiza FC flyweight champ. I heard Almabayev has a padded record but that’s not true. Wins over Imram Magaramov, Aleksander Doskalchuk, and former UFC fighters Chris Kelades and Zack Makovsky are solid wins. He has a lot of filler on his record beating a lot of low-level guys but has still proved he’s UFC level with some of the guys he’s beaten.

Almabayev is well-versed but is more comfortable on the mat. He’s a black belt in jiu-jitsu and was a national champion and world cup winner. Almabayev is a solid wrestler being adaptable in every area. He’s good in the clinch using trips, using feints to shoot in, and most of all being able to execute perfect double legs. The speed of the 125er compliments his wrestling very well as well. Almabayev is methodical and patient on the mat. For long periods of time Almabayev is fine with sitting in guard and being busy just enough. In scrambles and when his opponent attempts something Almabayev is really good at taking the back. He holds eight wins by submissions and all but one came by a form of choke. Almabayev is good at using front headlocks and also the RNC when on the back.

Almabayev isn’t as clean on the feet but he does well. He has fast hands and does a fine job of throwing more than one striker. He has stopping power in his hands and is pretty accurate. Almabayev throws some heavy leg kicks mixing it up nicely. He still needs to put it together but with each fight he’s looked cleaner and cleaner.

I have high hopes for Almabayev in the UFC. So much hope that I think he’s a future top 15 fighter. He has the speed, cardio, wrestling, and grappling to be a big problem in the division. He’s getting better and I think it’s only going to be up from here.

How he matches up with Osbourne:

Osbourne has been in the UFC for three years and has a 4-3 record. It’s been up and down for him but he’s been in there with some tough guys. In his last fight, he had his best performance against Charles Johnson. Osbourne is just hard to trust. All three of his losses in the UFC he’s been finished early. His chin can be cracked and his neck can be taken. Osbourne is a good fighter but if Almabayev is as good a prospect as he looks, than this is a fight he should win. The pick is Almabayev as I think he can get this fight down and land more in the brief striking exchanges.

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