#7: Abdul Hussein
Age: 28
Representing: Finland
Record: 15-2
Hussein wasn’t on the first draft of this list, but a beautiful KO of longtime UFC gatekeeper Tyson Nam on the 26th forced him into the rankings. He’s another prospect with an elite amateur resume, going 8-0 with IMMAF to win tournaments in 2015/16.
Hussein is the only one on this list with pro losses, but with context they’re understandable. One came by guillotine 90-seconds into his Brave debut against Nawras Abzakh (6-1), who’s become a quality regional fighter. Sometimes guys get caught, especially early on. Hussein’s second loss came by decision against none other than Muhammad Mokaev, who was just 3-0 at the time but has gone on to become one of the world’s best flyweights and the best fighter not currently in the UFC. Even that loss showed promise as Hussein was able to flow through tricky grappling exchanges and keep challenging Mokaev’s dominating style to force scrambles.
Since then, Abdul is on an eight-fight winning streak dating back almost five years. All of those wins have been finishes and 14/15 overall have been stopped in R1 or R2. Hussein started his career primarily as a grappler with an over-reliance on catching his opponents in front chokes or taking their backs for RNCs. While that was effective, it was also predictable and led to his defeats.
His striking improvements have been impressive and have also translated to more effective GnP. His hand speed was on display against Nam, who is admittedly old but still packs a ton of power. Hussein’s defense looked sharp and allowed him to roll from big shots while touching his opponent. This set up the straight right to the chin that ended things with a bang. Abdul has scored a series of quality wins for UAE Warriors, but none against someone with the proven skills of Nam. A highlight like that over an established talent should punch his ticket to DWCS in 2026.