5 UFC fighters who may be better than the champion in their weight class

#4. Carla Esparza – UFC strawweight contender

Carla Esparza already has one win over Rose Namajunas, so could she repeat the feat a second time?

While the UFC strawweight title seemed to be in flux for a lengthy time following the end of Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s epic run as champion, 2021 seemed to finally settle things down in the division.

Thanks to her two wins over former champ Weili Zhang, Rose Namajunas seemingly established herself firmly as the best 115-pound fighter on the planet. However, could another fighter have a claim to being the best in the division? The answer is yes.

Right now, it’s safe to say that Carla Esparza is the clear-cut top contender in the division. She’s expected to face off with Namajunas for the title at some point in 2022.

However, could ‘Cookie Monster’ already have a claim to being better than the current champ? There’s an obvious reason why she might and that’s because she already holds a win over ‘Thug Rose’. She defeated her via rear-naked choke back in 2014.

It’s safe to say that since that bout, which made Esparza the division’s inaugural titleholder, both women have developed their games hugely.

Namajunas is now arguably the best boxer in the division, she’s improved her wrestling and she still possesses a venomous submission game. Esparza, meanwhile, has seen her striking come on in leaps and bounds, meaning she’s far more than the one-dimensional wrestler that she once was.

Could ‘Thug Rose’ stop the takedowns of ‘Cookie Monster’? Despite her improvements, it’s questionable. If she couldn’t, then Esparza would surely win a fight between them, meaning her skills could well put her above the champion in her division.

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#3. Petr Yan – Interim UFC bantamweight champion

Petr Yan arguably would've beaten Aljamain Sterling in their first fight had he not thrown an illegal knee

Arguably the most obvious example of a fighter in the UFC who might have a claim at being better than their division’s current champion is Petr Yan.

That’s because, with slightly different rules in effect inside the octagon, it’s arguable that ‘No Mercy’ would never have lost his bantamweight crown to current champion Aljamain Sterling in the first place.

The two men famously faced off last year with Yan’s title on the line. While the Russian striker appeared to be dominating his opponent and was likely on his way to a victory, he made a huge mistake that ended up costing him everything.

Yan cracked Sterling with a knee to the head in the fourth round. While the shot left ‘Funk Master’ dazed, because he was grounded at the time, the blow was illegal, resulting in Yan’s disqualification.

Since then, Sterling has had to deal with a huge amount of fans labeling him a “paper champion,” particularly as a lingering neck injury has prevented him from offering ‘No Mercy’ a rematch.

However, the fight is now set to take place in April. While there’s every chance that Sterling finds a way to pull off a win, it’s probably fair to say that Yan will come in as the favorite. That means that it’s easy to claim that his skills are superior to those possessed by his division’s current champ.