I've chosen a fighter from each weight class to highlight as one to watch in 2016. Unless the division is glaringly thin, I've tried to constrain my picks to fighters currently plying their trade outside of the top fifteen and instead select those who I feel have the potential to make the breakthrough into the rankings this year.
What do you think?
Heavyweight: Ruslan Magomedov - Despite a trio of octagon wins, Magomedov is completely flying under the radar because his technical striking is perceived as boring in such a KO heavy division. He now trains at AKA and at just 29, he's a spring chicken in the aging HW division.
Honourable Mention: Francis Ngannou
Light Heavyweight: Misha Cirkunov - In a division short of prospects coming through, I've plumped for the Latvian-born, Canadian-based Cirkunov. Whilst his impressive debut may have been at the expense of a late replacement Kook Sool Won practitioner, Cirkunov seems to be a tidy grappler and solid all-rounder.
Honourable Mention: Jonathan Wilson
Middleweight: Antonio Carlos Jr - Old 'Shoeface' looked pretty dominant on TUF Brazil 3 as a Heavyweight, but has since cut all the way down to 185lb's where he is an absolute beast. Carlos Junior has got excellent BJJ and he recently migrated to ATT to iron out the wrestling kinks exposed by Patrick Cummins.
Honourable Mention: Tamdan McCrory
Welterweight: Tom Breese - There are a lot of exciting young English Welterweight's bursting into the scene, but Breese has the most potential. Superb boxing, excellent ground skills, the tactical acumen of Firas Zahabi in his corner and he's massive for the weight class, I really think the unbeaten Breese can go all the way to the top.
Honourable Mention: Darren Till
Lightweight: Rashid Magomedov - Like his Heavyweight namesake Ruslan, Rashid Magomedov isn't often talked about when it comes to this stacked weight class because his wins are efficient if not clinical. At 19-1 and having just consecutively beaten three Brazilians in their own backyard, Magomedov is worthy of respect.
Honourable Mention: Mairbek Taisumov
Featherweight: Dooho Choi - With his UFC tenure featuring two KO's in under two minutes so far, 'The Korean Superboy' may look like a pixie, but he hits like a demon. He suffered a couple of injuries that put him on the shelf for just over a year, but he's looking to have a far more active 2016.
Honourable Mention: Mirsad Bektic
Bantamweight: Jimmie Rivera - 'El Terror' has the potential to crack the rankings faster than anyone else on my list as he has a fight at the end of the month against the dangerous Yuri Alcantara. Having not lost a professional bout since 2008, if Rivera can pass this next test, he will be top fifteen bound and rising fast.
Honourable Mention: Rob Font
Flyweight: Geane Herrera - His short notice loss at the hands of the ultra-talented Ray Borg should not be held against Herrera as he kept that fight competitive under difficult circumstances. We got a better look at a fully prepared 'La Pulga' when he took out fellow prospect Joby Sanchez in December.
Honourable Mention: Ben Nguyen
Women's Bantamweight: Valentina Shevchenko - Okay, so her great win over Sarah Kaufman already propelled her into eleventh in the rankings, but given the dearth of talent that we've seen enter the division over the last year, I'll have to go with the Kyrgyzstan-born kickboxing ace as my not so hidden gem at Women's Bantamweight.
Honourable Mention: Germaine de Randamie
Women's Strawweight: Jessica Andrade - This is a sneaky one as Andrade hasn't competed at Strawweight yet, but given her winning record 20lb's north, I can see 'Bate Estaca' overwhelming plenty of girls in the division with her wild, aggressive striking, if she can handle the weight-cut.
Honourable Mention: Alexandra Albu
