Honorable Mentions:
- Mehemmedeli Osmanli, 21 years old, 12-1: Was originally on this list before Hussein impressed. Incredible talent and experience for someone so young, breaks opponents with a crazy wrestling pace, then finds submissions.
- Denis Zhukov, 29 years old, 6-0: A sambo expert with nasty submissions. Beat Lavrentyev before Chopurov did but is unlikely to leave Russia.
- Rafael Pereira, 28 years old, 14-4: Athletic and good at most things, but not elite anywhere. 4-0 LFA against great competition in an 8-fight win streak, likely DWCS candidate.
- Ullubiy Amirzhanov, 23 years old, 7-0: Higher ceiling than some in the main list but less proven. Crazy height/length for 135 and uses it beautifully for kicks and a variety of tricky chokes.
- Ruslan Amuev, ~24 years old, 10-0: A grinder but very effective and will work to submissions. Fought in China/Korea in 2025 after most of career in Central Asia/Russia.