5 championship caliber prospects in the UFC bantamweight division

#4. Song Yadong – No.9 in the UFC bantamweight division

Somewhat unconventionally, the UFC signed Song Yadong when he was only 19 years old. The Chinese youngster only had 16 fights under his belt when he received a contract from the world's premier MMA promotion and has performed admirably ever since.

Yadong's professional record stands at 19-5-1 (1 NC). He is already significantly more experienced than most fighters his age, having started his pro MMA career at the age of 16. Currently under the tutelage of MMA legend Urijah Faber and having permanently relocated to the United States, he looks set for a fruitful career ahead of him.

Yadong has secured wins over the likes of Vince Morales, Marlon Vera and Casey Kenney so far. He has lost just once in the UFC, a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Kyler Phillips. In his most recent outing, he knocked out former title challenger Marlon Moraes, solidifying his place among the top ten at 135 pounds.

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#3. Sean O'Malley – No.13 in the UFC bantamweight division

Based on everything we've seen from Sean O'Malley so far, he's a bonafide superstar. While it's very rare for a non-champion to have a large following in MMA, O'Malley seemingly has a fan-base bigger than most titleholders in the promotion.

'Suga' is a lethal knockout artist. We don't often see fighters get knocked out cold in the lighter divisions in MMA. Somehow, O'Malley already has a jaw-dropping highlight reel, comprising KO/TKO victories over Jose Quinonez, Eddie Wineland, Thomas Almeida, Kris Moutinho and most recently, Raulian Paiva.

O'Malley doesn't seem to have a problem slow-playing his career. He isn't in a hurry to climb the ranks and doesn't mind fighting unranked fighters either, which is evident in his callout of the previously discussed Adrian Yanez.

Currently ranked No.13 in the bantamweight division, the popular 135-pounder's next few fights will give fans a clear idea of his potential. He has barrelled through almost every opponent he's faced thus far and it remains to be seen how he performs against high-level opposition.

O'Malley is undoubtedly one of the best strikers in the division. He hasn't been tested against a solid wrestler yet and it'll be interesting to see how he deals with unfavorable matchups. If his takedown defense and grappling is as good as he says it is, we could have a future champion on our hands.