Welcome to a new series here on Prospect Vault. I maintain excessively large Tapology rankings (~3000 fighters) across all men’s weight classes, including amateurs. Not all of those fighters are prospects, but many are, and I scout all over the world. On The Map will highlight new additions to these rankings that fit the criteria for our Top-25 prospects. That means fighters must be under 30 years old, have fewer than 20 fights, and not fight for a major promotion.
I’ll release two editions of On The Map each month so you can stay on top of emerging talent from the Brazilian regional scene to the talent coming out of Central Asia. Fighters are roughly ranked within their weight class based on current ability. These will not be detailed tape breakdowns. There just isn’t enough time for me to watch everyone I track. Instead, it’s a convenient list of names to keep an eye on as they get bigger opportunities. If I missed your favorite prospect, there’s a good chance they’re already in my rankings. Otherwise, come argue with me on Twitter @jameslikesmma.
Highest potential:
- Nicollas Santos
- Brandon Bohannan
- Lucas Silva
Light Heavyweights:
Nicollas Santos: 21 years old, 11-3 amateur, 4-0 pro, 6W streak.
Incredibly young for the division with unusually crisp/educated boxing. Don’t be fooled like I was by the Tapology picture of Santos as a fat teenage HW. He’s shed fluff and has a great 6’4″ frame to keep building muscle on. Really weak amateur competition and lost a split decision to his only legit opponent. Has looked like a different fighter professionally with improved IQ and defensive grappling. Hits hard, usually not too sloppy striking, and vicious GnP to finish once he gets the knockdown. Debuted for LFA this month and could become a star for them.
Middleweights:
Chris Droege: 28 years old, 7-1 amateur, 2-0 pro, 8W streak.
Tall and muscular with a well-rounded skill set built on Greco-Roman wrestling and Golden Gloves boxing. Clear improvements since his only loss. Beat a couple good amateurs and dispatched an 0-5 opponent in 50 seconds in his pro debut, ran straight through an inferior fighter. More time to show skills this month, no glaring holes.
Johnny Santos: 26 years old, 9-1 amateur, 2-0 pro, 6W streak.
Slightly undersized at 5’10” but a pretty good athlete. Blends good wrestling and BJJ with functional striking to compete in all areas. Beat a couple good opponents for amateur titles and only L by split DEC, fights for CFFC as a pro. Good flow on the ground into a back take and R2 RNC win most recently.
Welterweights:
Alim Nabiev: 31 years old, 4-0 pro.
Over our prospect age limit but deserves a mention after an excellent career with Glory Kickboxing. Has translated his striking game well to MMA and has scary power in his hands with smaller gloves. Proved his cardio can last 15 minutes in a decision win. Needed just 63 seconds to demolish Mike Mathetha (6-5), who also came through Glory and had a stint in the UFC. Nabiev fits the profile of recent older UFC signings and only needs 1-2 more wins to get there.
Lucas Silva: 21 years old, 2-0 amateur, 6-0 pro, 8W streak.
Another good find by LFA’s Brazilian scouting team. “Bolacha” picked up amateur wins as a teen, then fought for tiny shows as a pro against opponents with a combined 3-3 record. Still plenty of room to add muscle but some natural fast-twitch movement. Looked wild but powerful in a same-name matchup against an older Lucas Silva (5-5), scoring an early knockdown then sprawling well on a desperate shot. Unloaded hooks back on the feet for a highlight KO in just 72 seconds. Surprisingly has mostly DEC Ws in his career but does have another KO in 12 seconds.
Daylon Loonsfoot: 25 years old, 4-3 amateur, 6-0 pro.
Recently written about before his last fight, and I generally agree with his assessment, though I think Loonsfoot is a bit more athletic than Cedric gives him credit for. Has length and flashes; good use of it sometimes but is inconsistent. A 53-second guillotine of Scottie Stockman (11-7) is his best win on paper, but we already knew Loonsfoot has a good gilly and Stockman has no submission defense. Still improving but may max out as an action fighter.
T.J. Schaefer: 28 years old, 5-1 amateur, 4-0 pro, 9W streak.
Short (5’8″) but heavily muscled and has struggled to make weight a few times. Powerful hands, will swarm opponents to start fights but can be reckless and get countered or taken down. Not a sub threat on the bottom and can be controlled, but solid defense, heavy on top and aggressive with GnP. Good cardio/heart for comeback in R3 TKO and solid chin.
Lightweights:
Alberto Escudero: 26 years old, 4-1 amateur, 5-0 pro, 9W streak.
KOed in his amateur debut but has done nothing but win since. Undersized and will need to drop to 145 pounds if he wants to succeed at higher levels. Some easy fights in native Panama and nearby, slightly tougher tests in his two Samurai Fight House appearances. A little concerning he’s gone to decisions in 3 straight fights against typical regional opponents, but winning over 25 minutes is a good sign for his cardio. Well-rounded but may not be a standout anywhere.
Marcos Silva: 25 years old, 1-0 amateur, 9-3 pro, 7W streak.
Under the radar because he’d only fought bad competition for small shows. Rough 2-3 career with all Ls by finish against debuting fighters. Brought to LFA as fodder for Victor Santos (7-1) but exposed the taller prospect’s weak BJJ for an R1 RNC. All wins by finish with 5 subs and 4 mostly-GnP KOs, so prefers to work on the ground, which showed in some ugly exchanges on the feet. Solid decision-making in limited tape I’ve found.
Featherweights:
Yanis Bendhiaf: 26 years old, 10-0 amateur.
Rapid ascent after debuting just 11 months ago; has built his record quickly thanks to France’s frequent tournaments. Opponents’ combined record is 22-13, no standout wins. 5 decision Ws with a couple splits, including this month against his most experienced opponent.
Bantamweights:
Apollo Gomes: 26 years old, 13-2 pro, 4W streak.
Gomes was previously in my rankings until he lost to Lionel Abojer (10-2) in his LFA debut back in 2024. He’s rebounded well with 4 wins, most notably decisions over Zebenzui Ruiz in WOW, then Won Il Kwon on DWCS. Very well-rounded though not elite anywhere. Not enough to get a contract directly, but I’d expect a short-notice UFC call at some point, though I don’t expect many wins in the big show.
Flyweights:
Brandon Bohannan: 24 years old, 7-1 amateur, 4-0 pro, 7W streak.
A grinder as an amateur (6 DEC Ws and only L by split DEC), but has started getting professional finishes. Flexible and athletic with good scrambling and improved striking over time to catch up with grappling. Upset win over Brent Williams (4-0) in his CFFC debut. Bohannan held his own against another strong grappler and showed a ton of aggression; plus the best GnP of his career for a TKO late R2.
Dalgat Zubairov: 24 years old, 3-1 amateur, 6-0 pro.
Dagestani with the grappling base you’d expect. Whole career with Eagle FC and Fight Nights, so he’s clearly impressed Russian scouts. One solid ammy win and his only setback came vs. Yusup Khalukhoev, now a top 145lb prospect. Pro competition has been weak (10-7 combined record), but he’s finished most fights, though going to a decision against a 1-3 can is a little concerning.
Max Stary: 19 years old, 16-2 amateur.
Crazy experience for his age, including the GAMMA junior world title in 2023 and an 8-2 record in IMMAF youth competition. Those fights are on Sherdog but not Tapology since they’re 2-minute rounds with restrictions. Seems athletic and builds his game around grappling with mostly decision wins and a promising variety of submissions.
Aaron Villa-Carlos: 26 years old, 6-1-1 amateur, 3-0 pro, 8W streak.
Inconsistent to start his career but has turned around well, including some good amateur wins. All decisions as a pro, with the last two split, so clearly fights on close margins. Earned a spot this month by beating Desmond Alvarado (2-0 pro, 8-0 amateur), who I’ve been tracking for a while. Not much tape out there, but has solid striking fundamentals and scrambles pretty well.
Roman Parobek: 22 years old, 7-0 amateur.
Athletic but a bit skinny, which gives him good reach for flyweight. Mostly a grappler with 3 subs and 3 decisions. Hasn’t faced amazing competition but gets R1 finishes against worse opponents. Fought for different promotions across the USA, so isn’t just being fed good matchups in his hometown.
