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While it’s difficult to predict which fighters will become big stars for the UFC, most of the time, fighters who are willing to push their personalities forward and talk plenty of trash are given the spotlight. That often means talented fighters get overlooked somewhat.
Right now, there are plenty of fighters in the UFC who, despite being hugely talented, are being largely overlooked by both fans and the promotion.
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So do these fighters have any chance at all of becoming stars? Sure they have. After all, nobody could’ve seen the stoic Kamaru Usman become a top-level star for the UFC when he was labelled 'boring' a few years ago.
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On that note, here're five of the most overlooked fighters in the UFC today.
#5 Rob Font – UFC bantamweight contender
Striker Rob Font ought to be considered a high-level contender for the UFC bantamweight title at this stage of his career. Part of the UFC roster since 2014, the native of Boston is now 9-3 in the octagon, and has huge wins to his name over Marlon Moraes and Cody Garbrandt.
In fact, given that he’s ranked the #4 contender in the division, Font ought to be near the front of the queue when it comes to the next UFC bantamweight title shot. Instead, his name rarely comes up in conversations around the title.
Instead, the UFC and its fans seem more focused on names like TJ Dillashaw, Cory Sandhagen, Jose Aldo and even Sean O’Malley – preferring to overlook Font despite his highly impressive record.
What’s the reason for this? It could be a combination of Font’s fighting style and his lack of skills on the microphone.
A largely soft-spoken fighter, Font isn’t going to be heard calling out his next opponent in entertaining fashion any time soon. Even after his main event win over Garbrandt, he didn’t outright demand a title shot.
While he does have many finishes on his ledger, he has also won three of his last four fights by decision, including the one over Garbrandt.
That lack of explosive finishes and his quiet nature means he’s probably always destined to be left out of conversations around the UFC bantamweight title. But if you’re judging by talent, he’s certainly in contention.
#4 Irene Aldana – UFC bantamweight contender
The UFC’s female bantamweight division is widely recognised as one of the thinnest in the promotion when it comes to talented fighters.
This is largely a result of the division having such a dominant champion in Amanda Nunes, but 135lbs does have a handful of fresh contenders who are climbing up the ladder. One such fighter is Irene Aldana.
A native of Mexico, this striking-based fighter has a somewhat understated UFC record of 6-4. But it’s safe to say that right now, she’s amongst the best fighters in the division. In recent fights, she’s 3-1, and could easily have been on a run of 7-1 had a tight decision against Raquel Pennington gone her way.
Somehow, though, despite holding impressive knockout wins over Ketlen Vieira and Yana Kunitskaya, Aldana is largely overlooked by the UFC fanbase. She could well warrant the next title shot at Nunes, in fact, but instead, most fans are focused on Julianna Pena and Aspen Ladd.
Why is this the case? Fans certainly can’t complain about Aldana’s fighting style. She’s one of the most explosive fighters in the division, and regularly looks for knockouts. Her win over Vieira, for instance, earned her a $50K performance bonus.
However, as she doesn’t speak fluent English, she’s always going to be a little behind when it comes to being able to make her mark on the microphone. Add in the fact that she was firmly defeated by Holly Holm in her only UFC headline fight, which means Aldana is likely to be destined to remain one of the UFC’s most overlooked fighters.
#3 Magomed Ankalaev – UFC light-heavyweight contender
Ever since the retirement of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, it feels like the UFC has been hunting for the next potential star to come out of Russia – or more specifically Dagestan – to take his place.
Islam Makhachev, for instance, has outright been labelled the “new Khabib”, while the former champion’s relatives Said and Umar Nurmagomedov have also garnered plenty of hype. With that in mind, it’s baffling why light-heavyweight Magomed Ankalaev remains overlooked.
A Dagestani native who arguably fights in a more entertaining way than Khabib thanks to his explosive striking technique, Ankalaev is currently 6-1 in the UFC. and has not lost a fight since his octagon debut.
Along the way, he has taken out the likes of Nikita Krylov, Dalcha Lungiambula and Ion Cutelaba, dealing with the latter two in highlight-reel fashion with brutal knockouts.
However, when you ask UFC fans about the light-heavyweight division’s best prospects, the names that are likely to be mentioned are Jiri Prochazka, Johnny Walker and Aleksandar Rakic but not Ankalaev.
In fact, based on what we’ve seen so far, the Dagestani probably has the talent to take out all three men. But as a soft-spoken character, it seems hard for him to not fly under the radar.
In a way, that makes him even more similar to Khabib – who won nine fights in a row before getting a title shot. Perhaps Ankalaev’s path to UFC stardom will be similar, but for now, he remains hugely overlooked.
#2 Arnold Allen – UFC featherweight contender
The UFC’s featherweight division is one of the more stacked in the promotion, with hot contenders like Max Holloway, Brian Ortega, Chan Sung Jung, Yair Rodriguez and Zabit Magomedsharipov all gunning for a shot at champion Alexander Volkanovski.
However, despite garnering little to no fanfare, there’s actually an up-and-coming fighter in the division who has put together an incredible run of eight straight wins in the octagon.
Quite why the UK’s Arnold Allen remains overlooked is an absolute mystery. The UFC’s official rankings certainly don’t seem to be overlooking him – he’s currently at #6 – but ask any casual fan about the division’s contenders, and Allen is unlikely to be named.
Granted, Allen – like the other fighters on this list – doesn’t talk a lot of trash, and nor does he really finish his foes in highlight-reel ways like Rodriguez and Jung do. In fact, of his eight UFC wins, only two have been via stoppage.
But that shouldn’t mean this hugely talented fighter – who trains out of Georges St-Pierre’s old camp with renowned coach Firas Zahabi – should be as overlooked as he is. After all, nobody can sneeze at wins over Sodiq Yusuff, Nik Lentz and Gilbert Melendez.
Hopefully, ‘Almighty’ will be given more of a chance to prove himself against elite-level opposition soon. Arnold Allen may not be so overlooked if he can pick up a ninth victory in a row, though.
#1 Vicente Luque – UFC welterweight contender
Perhaps the most unfairly overlooked fighter in the UFC right now is welterweight contender Vicente Luque. Sure, fans will probably be talking about him this week after his impressive win over Michael Chiesa at UFC 265, but as time goes by, the clamour around him is likely to fade.
Instead, the UFC’s fans seem more focused on the likes of Colby Covington, Leon Edwards and Nate Diaz as potential challengers to current UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. The only question is why?
The clue is in Vicente Luque’s nickname. Known as ‘The Silent Assassin’, the veteran of TUF 21 rarely gets vocal on the microphone, despite a call-out of Usman at UFC 265.
While his highlight reel is second to none in the UFC – he has 14 wins in the UFC and has only gone the distance once – it means fans tend to easily overlook him.
Could Vicente Luque become a star yet? It is possible, especially given that his fighting style means he garners plenty of attention in the moments right after an event where he’s been involved in.
However, the UFC will need to give him a major push if they ever want him to really take off in the eyes of the fans. Given that he may well be able to provide the most entertaining fight for Usman, the promotion could be wise to do just that – and stop ‘The Silent Assassin’ from being overlooked anymore.
