5 Dagestani prospects who could one day compete for a UFC title

#2 Umar Nurmagomedov - UFC bantamweight

Yet another cousin of the undefeated former UFC champ, Umar Nurmagomedov made his UFC debut in January 2021. His opponent was fellow debutant Sergey Moroz, who was riding a five-fight winning streak at the time.

Umar made an instant statement by submitting Moroz via rear naked choke. This was especially notable as it was this very same technique that Khabib finished Kamal Shalorus with in his UFC debut.

Khabib was coaching Umar that night, having only retired mere months before, which created a true passing of the guard moment. Umar is yet to be booked for another fight, but the young prospect has an undeniably bright future ahead of him.

#1 Timur Valiev - UFC bantamweight

Timur Valiev currently walks the line between prospect and contender. He is the most experienced fighter on this list by far, holding a 17-2-1 record. However, he is still only two fights into his UFC career so technically qualifies for this list.

For some time, Valiev has been considered one of the top 135ers outside of the UFC. In 2020 he finally signed for the organization and, whilst he had a rocky start, picking up a loss to Trevin Jones that has since been overturned to a no contest, he looked dominant in his most recent fight against Martin Day.

Valiev is now set to face off against one of Brazil's brightest prospects in Raoni Barcelos at UFC Vegas 30. A win here will likely see Valiev rise from prospect to contender, as well as there being potential for him to break into the top 15 of the division. Valiev's skillset has the potential to see him tear through the UFC's bantamweight roster and could easily lead to him claiming the world title.