FloCombat Prospect Rankings | July 2018
FloCombat Prospect Rankings | Bantamweight | July 2018
FloCombat ranks the top 20 North American bantamweight MMA prospects for July 2018.
Rankings based off the following...
- North American fighters only. For example, Thiago Moises wouldn't qualify for these rankings despite training in the U.S.
- No fighters that have fought for or who are set to fight for the UFC.
- Fighters competing on Dana White's Contender Series included.
- No long-term Bellator fighters or champions. Exceptions for some preliminary fighters.
- All fighters aged 30 and under.
- Rankings based off age, record, and level of competition.
| RANK | NAME | AGE | RECORD | COUNTRY | NEXT FIGHT | PREVIOUS RANKING |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raufeon Stots | 29 | 9-1 | USA | 1 | |
| 2 | John Castaneda | 26 | 16-4 | USA | 2 | |
| 3 | Ryan MacDonald | 24 | 9-0 | USA | 3 | |
| 4 | Manny Vazquez | 24 | 12-3 | USA | 4 | |
| 5 | Joseph Maness | 26 | 9-0 | USA | 5 | |
| 6 | Maurice Mitchell | 30 | 11-1 | USA | 6 | |
| 7 | Josh Rettinghouse | 27 | 16-4 | USA | 7 | |
| 8 | Kyler Phillips | 22 | 5-0 | USA | July 20 vs. Jordan Winski | 8 |
| 9 | Patrick Mix | 24 | 7-0 | USA | 11 | |
| 10 | Montel Jackson | 26 | 6-0 | USA | NR | |
| 11 | Ray Rodriguez | 30 | 13-4 | USA | 12 | |
| 12 | Jordan Howard | 27 | 10-5 | USA | 13 | |
| 13 | Tony Gravely | 26 | 13-5 | USA | 14 | |
| 14 | Miles Johns | 24 | 7-0 | USA | 15 | |
| 15 | Vince Morales | 27 | 7-1 | USA | July 17 vs. Domingo Pilarte | NR |
| 16 | Domingo Pilarte | 28 | 7-1 | USA | July 17 vs. Vince Morales | NR |
| 17 | Cheyden Leialoha | 23 | 7-1 | USA | 20 | |
| 18 | Adrian Yanez | 24 | 7-2 | USA | 18 | |
| 19 | Cole Smith | 28 | 5-0 | CANADA | 19 | |
| 20 | Xavier Alaoui | 26 | 8-3 | Canada | 17 |
#1 – Raufeon Stots (9-1)
Stots is the current Victory FC bantamweight champion and boasts wins over UFC veterans Jeff Curran and Rob Emerson. The 29-year-old fighter is coming off a first-round submission victory over Arnold Berdon Dec. 16 at Victory FC 59.
#2 – John Castaneda (16-4)
Castaneda nearly won the Copa Combate tournament for Combate Americas back in November before losing in the tournament finals to Levy Saúl Marroquín Salazar. The 26-year-old has a win over UFC veteran Chris Beal and also turned heads when he won a unanimous decision against Cheyden Leialoha at Dana White’s Contender Series 4 last year. However, Castaneda most recently dropped a split decision to Jose Alday, marking back-to-back defeats for the first time in his career.
#3 – Ryan MacDonald (8-0)
MacDonald is one of two fighters in the top five with an undefeated record and is the current MCF featherweight champion. The 24-year-old fighter is coming off a TKO win over Matt Murphy at MCF 15 in March.
#4 – Manny Vazquez (12-3)
Former Legacy FC bantamweight champion Vasquez is coming off a first-round submission victory March 10 over Shawn West at Caged Aggression 21: Night 2. The 24-year-old has won three of his last four fights with two of those victories coming by submission.
#5 – Nathan Maness (9-0)
Maness is coming off a unanimous decision win over Caio Machado at TKO 42.
Notes
- No. 9-ranked Ricky Bandejas has been removed from the rankings after signing with Bellator MMA
- No. 10-ranked Brad Katona has been removed from the rankings after being set to compete at the TUF 27 Finale
- Montel Jackson enters the rankings in the No. 10 spot
- Vince Morales enters the rankings in the No. 15 spot
- Domingo Pilarte enters the ranings in the No. 16 spot