Ultimate Fighting Championship

5 welterweight prospects the UFC should sign in 2017

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 10:37 p.m. ET

Fansided, Riley Kontek/Fansided

There are plenty of fighters throughout MMA who deserve a shot in the UFC. Here are the top five welterweight prospects for 2017.

Welcome to year six of my annual “prospects the UFC should sign” series, in which I examine five MMA prospects per division the UFC should sign this year. It’s a series that started during my time at Bleacher Report, continued with my tenure at Today’s Knockout and stays alive this year through FanSided.

In this piece, I examine the welterweight division, a weight class that’s always competitive and is the closet thing to a shark tank the UFC has right now. It’s a mix of established veterans and up-and-comers, and its depth makes it one of the toughest divisions in the promotion.

With that, I take a glimpse at the five welterweights the UFC needs to sign. I’ll try my hardest to stay away from fighters who are currently in top organizations (Bellator, WSOF, etc.), but a couple may pop up. In the past, I’ve had some great picks on the list and some that haven’t worked out. Below are the previous year’s selections, followed by the five men the UFC should offer roster spots to this year.

Previous Selections

2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Gunnar Nelson*	Jim Wallhead*	Nicolas Dalby*	Nicolas Dalby*	Belal Muhammad*
Alex Garcia*	Cathal Pendred*	Eduard Vartanyan**	Danny Roberts*	Anatoly Tokov** (MW & WW)
Kenny Robertson*	Ryan Ford**	Ryan Ford**	Max Griffin*	Alexey Kunchenko
Chidi Njokuani	Tyler Stinson	Gael Grimaud	Eduard Vartanyan**	Abubakar Nurmagomedov
Gregor Gracie	Assan Njie	Ali Arish	Borys Mankowski	Khusein Khaliev

*Indicates fighter was signed by UFC
**Indicates fighter is ineligible due to two years on the list

Mukhamed Berkhamov (10-0, Russia)

Russians dominate this list, and for good reason. There’s a plethora of good, young talent from the country that’s going to provide great depth to the highest level of MMA for a while. One of the most exciting up-and-comers from Russia is Mukhamed Berkhamov, a man who leaped into the spotlight in 2016.

Berkhamov is among the youngest fighters in this entire series at 22 years old. That he has 10 pro fights under his belt, all victories, is all the more impressive considering his age. He also has great dimensions for a welterweight, measuring in at 6 feet 2 inches.

Berkhamov has been competing under the ultra-entertaining and competitive Absolute Championship Berkut promotion, which has been pumping out top fighter after top fighter. It was in this promotion he earned the biggest win of his career, a first-round submission over UFC veteran and journeyman Jesse Taylor.

He’s a finisher with a killer instinct and most of his wins come in the first round. He’s mostly a submission fighter with good takedowns, though he proved in his win over Stanislav Vlasenko that he has one-punch knockout power. Berkhamov definitely has some room for growth, but he’s talented enough that if he stays his current course, he’ll be in the UFC in no time.

Alexey Kunchenko (15-0, Russia)

The second Russian on this list returns for his second consecutive year. Alexey Kunchenko, a 15-fight veteran, has been a staple of the M-1 promotion, and is currently its welterweight champion.

Kunchenko isn’t exactly a prospect at the age of 32, but he’s a blistering knockout artist who deserves recognition. His fighting foundation is muay Thai, which is apparent in his fighting, as his movement, agility, quickness and the snap on his strikes show a great deal of experience in that art. He uses many techniques to soften fighters up, from kicks to knees, but it’s the power in his hands that has led to most of his finishes.

He remained undefeated in 2016, when he captured the M-1 gold. He beat another impressive Russian, Murad Abdulaev, twice, which helped raise his profile. He also won a catchweight bout over Brazilian Eduardo Ramon, running his 2016 tally to 3-0.

Kunchenko is the type of exciting fighter the UFC would love to get its hands on, especially in a welterweight division constantly loading up on talent. Given his style and talent, it would be a mistake for the UFC not to give Kunchenko a chance in 2017.

Borys Mankowski (19-5-1, Poland)

Poland has become a great hotbed of MMA talent, which has led to rise of fighters such as Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Marcin Tybura, Marcin Held, Mamed Khalidov and Karolina Kowalkiewicz. Borys Mankowski, who makes an appearance in this prospects series for the second time, could be the UFC’s next big Polish star.

The 27-year-old is already the KSW Welterweight Champion, and has defended his belt three times since winning it. He trains with the impressive Ankos MMA Poznan team, which has produced fighters such as Mateusz Gamrot, Marcin Bandel and UFC roster member Veronica Macedo.

Mankowski is just 5 foot 7 — very short for the welterweight division — but he’s an absolute spark plug, a physical brute that has a great deal of strength and explosiveness. Mankowski lives up to his “Tasmanian Devil” nickname, using wild, powerful striking on the feet and a suffocating ground game. His good takedowns and positioning allow him to work that ground game effectively.

He only had one fight in 2016, beating UFC veteran John Maguire via decision in a title defense at KSW 37 in December. He needs to stay busy and continue to amass these big wins. If he does, the UFC will have to come calling soon, though it may be tough to get out of his KSW contract as the champion.

Abubakar Nurmagomedov (13-1, Russia)

Another Russian making his second appearance on this list, Abubakar Nurmagomedov has continued to prove his worth and has shown he can compete at a high level. The brother of UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov had a big 2016 and is looking to continue that in 2017 to grab the attention of the UFC.

Abubakar hasn’t competed nearly as often as his brother, but his skills are quickly improving, and the fact he’s made it to the World Series of Fighting promotion shows he’s got plenty of talent.

The 27-year-old is like his brother in terms of style, using his combat sambo background and great wrestling to dominate opponents. When he gets his opponent down, he uses heavy ground-and-pound and submission attempts to soften up and finish them on the ground. That allows him to avoid taking much damage.

Since coming to WSOF, he’s 4-0, including two wins in 2016. He finished Matthew Frincu to start off his year before scoring the biggest win of his career in a decision victory over John Howard. His only career loss came to UFC member Magomed Mustafaev,and was the result of an injury. One has to think if the UFC is looking for a welterweight to call at any time, the brother of Khabib should be toward the top of the list.

Muslim Salikhov (11-1, Russia)

The final Russian on the welterweight prospect’s list, Muslim Salikhov, has used an impressive recent run to sprint up the prospect rankings and get his name on the radar. He splits his time between kickboxing and MMA, where he’s amassed a following due his exciting style.

At 32 years old, Salikhov won’t maintain the prospect status for long. While he trains with the Fighting Eagle camp, he has spent some time training with Nova Uniao, likely trying to transform from a straightforward striker to a more all-around fighter.

His background is in sanshou, which explains his exciting, powerful striking style. He has good movement and technique, which goes perfectly with his knockout power, and a majority of his wins come via first-round knockout. Most of his fights are in China, meaning his competition level hasn’t been the best, though he’s beaten some strong fighters such as UFC veteran Ivan Jorge.

The UFC has shown a penchant for signing strikers if they can compete at a high level. If Salikhov can continue to prove he can beat top mixed martial artists and do so in the devastating fashion he’s been doing it, there’s no reason the UFC shouldn’t ink him.