5 top fighters UFC should try to add to their roster

#4 Ilima-Lei Macfarlane

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane could become a huge star under the UFC's banner

As the reigning Bellator Women’s Flyweight champion and one of the poster-girls of that promotion, it’d probably be tricky for the UFC to prise Ilima-Lei Macfarlane away from their biggest rivals any time soon. But money talks – and the UFC have the most money – and so they should throw as much as it takes at her to bring her over when her contract comes to an end.

Why? Not only is Macfarlane a fantastic fighter; she’s unbeaten at 14-0 if you count her 5 amateur fights and is extremely well-rounded, with a solid striking game to go along with her very dangerous 10th Plane jiu-jitsu-based grappling, but she’s also highly marketable too and could help the UFC really make a push into the Hawaiian market.

The UFC has never really pushed into the islands before despite having top Hawaiian fighters like BJ Penn and Max Holloway on their roster, but Macfarlane has already proven herself as a popular draw there – her last fight at Bellator 213 drew a huge crowd to the Neal S Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, and she was clearly the most popular fighter on show.

The Women’s Flyweight division is the UFC’s newest, and despite champion Valentina Shevchenko looking set for a dominant reign, the rest of the division seems largely in flux. That means that Macfarlane could definitely make an impact if she were to come over – and she’d arrive as a ready-made star too, something the UFC would definitely love.