5 UFC weight classes in need of new contenders

#2. UFC Women's bantamweight division

Julianna Pena's shock win over Amanda Nunes last year injected some much-needed interest into the women's bantamweight division. However, outside of the Pena vs. Nunes rematch, there is little to look forward to. Not much has changed in the women's 135 lb divisional landscape over the past few years.

UFC 269: Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena

Holly Holm still sits at the top of the contender list, but considering the brutal beatdown Nunes previously put on her, there is not a huge amount of fan appeal in a rematch. Miesha Tate appeared to be having somewhat of a career resurgence, but a recent loss to Ketlen Vieira quickly derailed that train. Furthermore, 'Cupcake' wants to test the waters at 125 lb.

Unfortunately, there aren't any rising prospects in the division that fans could look forward to competing for the title in the future either. The division appears doomed to be stuck with constant rematches between fighters who don't hold particularly high fan appeal.

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#1. UFC Women's flyweight division

The women's flyweight division has been completely dominated by its champion Valentina Shevchenko for the past few years. Lauren Murphy, Jessica Andrade, Jennifer Maia and many more have all been outclassed by Shevchenko, who simply appears to be a level above the rest of the division.

A recently announced title defense against Talia Santos is marginally more intriguing to some fans, but it is hard to imagine that 'Bullet' would not be able to overcome this new opponent. Santos is a tough fighter with good striking, but Shevchenko's well-rounded game would seem to be too much for the Brazilian.

It is worth noting that the division does at least have some talent for the future, with Casey O'Neill, Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot all showing potential. However, these rising prospects will have to overcome numerous top-ranked veterans that Shevchenko has already defeated in order to enter the title picture.

Due to Valentina Shevchenko's divisional dominance, the women's 125 lb division has to be the number one pick for this list, although the recent rise of flyweight prospects does point to a more exciting future for the weight class.

Valentina Shevchenko v Joanna Jedrzejczyk