I really enjoy Paul L's thread of Unsigned Heavyweights so I figured I'd do my own for the Light Heavyweights since that has always been one of my favorite divisions growing up watching Legends like Wanderlei, Sakuraba, Chuck, Couture etc.
To be on this list fighters can't currently/have fought in either UFC or Bellator. I also focused heavily on fighters that are under 30. Just as Paul L's thread please feel free to add your own prospects to the list.
TOP 5
1. Tomasz Narkun - Poland. 28 years old. 6'3. 15-2 with 3 TKO's/12 Subs.
The top LHW not in either of the two major promotions in my opinion. Tomasz is very well composed in his bouts as well as becoming very well balanced over the years. His submission game is very slick and his main strength but his striking has improved greatly. He has some knockout power as well as a flying knee knockout to show he's added to his arsenal on the feet. He has finished all 15 of his opponents with 12 of them being in the first round. His first lose was back when he was 4-0 fighting a guy who was 10-1 which he held his own nicely. His second lose was a close decision that he avenged with a flying knee knockout in less than 2 minutes.
He is currently the KSW LHW Champ and just successfully defended his title against his toughest opponent to date Mamed Khalidov. If you haven't seen this fight I recommend watching it. Tomasz got dropped in the first a couple of times but showed his toughness by coming back and winning the second round. He was on his way to winning the third when Tomasz got taken down and caught Mamed in a very quick and slick Triangle Choke. Great fight for Tomasz to show he has a champions heart, composure and can rise to the occasion of a big fight.
2. Jiri Prochazka - Czech Republic. 25 years old. 6'4. 20-3 with 17 TKO's/ 2 Subs/ 1 Dec.
Jiri would be a strong addition to either UFC or Bellator and I believe he could make a run in either one. He's an aggressive striker who keeps getting better after each fight. His striking is technical and he's very good at not having wasted movements for a young fighter. He has fought in Rizin for one of their tournaments so he does have some bigger show experience. One of his 3 losses is to King Mo in a Rizin tournament that was actually his second fight of the night.
His biggest wins are Vadim Nemkov (who he beat in Rizin before losing to King Mo the same night) and easily knocking out Kazuyuki Fujita. He doesn't have lots of big name wins but he also hasn't built his record off of guys with losing records/new guys. Jiri is ready for a call to one of the big shows.
3. Ivan Shtyrkov - Russia. 29 years old. 6'0. 13-0 with 5 TKO's/ 4 Subs/ 4 Dec.
First off I understand Ivan looks like a walking billboard for steroids but as far as I know he's technically never failed a test yet so innocent until proven guilty. Ivan is an extremely strong specimen with a solid striking game as well as a solid ground game. He's spent the majority of his career at Heavyweight so obviously at LHW he's going to have a strength advantage but that could also hurt him at a lighter weight because of cardio. His massive size will require a lot of oxygen which at Heavyweight he didn't have to worry about as much but at LHW he will be fighting guys with way better cardio.
As far as his biggest wins no one on this list has a more impressive resume. He has wins over Jeff Monson, Antonio Silva, Ricco Rodriguez and former Bellator LHW Champ Christian M'Pumbu. I highly doubt he'll be leaving the smaller promotions in Russia anytime soon but if he could pass the steroid tests in America he sure would be a lot of fun to watch fight some of the top guys in world.
4. Rashid Yusupov - Russia. 25 years old. 6'1. 9-0 with 4 TKO's/ 2 Subs/ 3 Dec.
One of the top looking prospects on the list. Rashid has that calm Fedor demeanor about him when he enters the cage. He has no glaring hole in his game that sticks out. He's got an aggressive striking style but also has great knockout power on his back foot looking for the counter. His takedowns flow smoothly from his striking and his ground game (especially his top game) are solid. His ground n pound is also dangerous as he's finished some of his opponents via this way. His submissions are quick and technical especially his Armbar.
His biggest wins are Stephen Puetz and Viktor Nemkov. Of his 9 wins only 1 of his opponents had a losing record so he's not just picking the easy fights to make himself look good. At only 25 Rashid could definitely be a future champ of a bigger promotion with the right training and guiding.
5. Karl Moore - Ireland. 26 years old. 6'2. 8-2 with 2 TKO's/ 4 Subs/ 2 Dec.
Karl is an interesting fighter as he jumps back n forth between Heavyweight and LHW. As a LHW he has great size and overall is well rounded. He's showed a good strking game, superior ground game and good cardio. His only lose at LHW was to Paul Craig who currently sits at 2-2 in the UFC. Karl is the current Cage Warriors LHW Champ. He lost his last fight just a couple weeks ago in only 15 seconds but that was to Mauro Cerilli who is the current Cage Warriors Heavyweight champion. If Karl would of won that fight he would of been the second fighter to hold 2 Cage Warrior titles at the same time with the first being Conor McGregor. I don't hold this lose against him that much as he was going up in weight for a title shot.
His biggest wins are Cyril Asker and Josh Clark. Karl has recently called out to the UFC and would like a chance to avenge his lose to Paul Craig so out of the top 5 fighters I would say Karl is the most likely to get a UFC shot sooner rather than later.
Other Top Prospects
Stephen Puetz - Germany. 30 years old. 6'6. 15-4 with 6 TKO's/ 5 Subs/ 4 Dec.
Stephen is definitely one of the better LHW's in the world that's not fighting America. He's tall for the division and using it to his advantage he's able to keep his opponents at a reach in the striking department. Stephen has hit a bit of slump lately losing 3 of his last 5 but 2 of those losses are to fighters on this list and the other lose is to someone he had already beaten. He also has a win over Marcin Tybura which is impressive.
Klidson Farias - Brazil. 25 years old. 6'4. 11-2 with 4 TKO's/ 7 Subs.
Klidson is a dangerous fighter no matter where the fight goes as evident by his record and never having gone the distance before. Being from Brazil his submission game is his main strength. He's got great size for the LHW division as well as being very young yet with plenty of time to grow his game. His 2 losses are via third round TKO with less than 2 minutes in the fight so cardio needs to be a focus of his moving forward.
Dalcha Lungiambula - South Africa. 32 years old. 5'10. 8-1 with 4 TKO's/ 1 Sub/ 3 Dec.
The oldest fighter I have on the list but the guy is a physical specimen freak. He's small for the division so he might be best at Middleweight but he reminds me Yoel Romero with his explosiveness. His wrestling needs some work as well as his submission game. If he got signed to the UFC or Bellator he's probably not a future champ but he'd put on some exciting fights like Francis or Yoel.
Top Undefeated Prospects
Batraz Agnaev - Russia. 29 years old. 6'5. 4-0 with 3 TKO's/ 1 Sub.
Already has hype of being a future champion Batraz is a very promising prospect. He's got great size and physique for the LHW division. He's got a Sambo/Wrestling background where his bread and butter is but his striking has improved at a very quick pace. He defeated Max Nunes (17-3) at just 2-0 and knocked out Thiago Silva to win the ACB LHW Title with his striking only. He also took a few shots from Thiago in this fight and walked right through them to show that he can take a shot.
Kennedy Nzechukwu - USA. 25 years old. 6'5. 3-0 with 1 TKO/ 2 Dec.
Kennedy is a very interesting prospect because he's got a Jon Jones like physique to him with almost the same reach as well. His reach is 83 where Jones's is 84.5. With only 3 fights there isn't tons to go off of but he has shown to be explosive with his power. With the proper training Kennedy could grow to be a problem for many fighters in the future.
Khadis Ibragimov - Russia. 22 years old. 6'2. 3-0 with 1 TKO/ 2 Subs.
The youngest figher on the list but has already showed some promise. He has a Sambo background from which he has won some medals in. In his last fight he finished Stephen Puetz at just 2-0 which is very impressive. If Khadis is trained right and stays focused he could grow into a nightmare later.
Shamil Gamzatov - Russia. 27 years old. 6'2. 11-0 with 5 TKO's/ 5 Subs/ 1 Dec.
Shamil has a solid fighting game all around and a good killer instinct to finish the fight. The only reason he isn't higher on the list is because almost all of his opponents are either making their debuts or have losing records. His toughest fight to date was his last and he won a close split decision. He needs to continue to test himself against tougher opponents before he's ready for the UFC/Bellator.
Honorable Mentions
Karl Albrektsson - Sweden. 24 years old. 6'2. 6-2 with 2 TKO's/ 3 Subs/ 1 Dec.
Kurban Omarov - Russia. ?? age. 5'10. 10-1 with 5 TKO's/ 1 Sub/ 4 Dec.
Smealinho Rama - Canada. 25 years old. 6'0. 10-3 with 6 TKO's/ 3 Subs/ 1 Dec.
Asyluzhan Bakhytzhanuly - Kazakhstan. ?? age. 6'2. 7-0 with 7 TKO's.
Alonzo Menifield - USA. 30 years old. 6'0. 6-0 with 5 TKO's/ 1 Sub. Actually made MMA debut in Bellator on a one fight deal so technically he shouldn't be on the list but he has some promise and hasn't fought in a major promotion since his debut.
To be on this list fighters can't currently/have fought in either UFC or Bellator. I also focused heavily on fighters that are under 30. Just as Paul L's thread please feel free to add your own prospects to the list.
TOP 5
1. Tomasz Narkun - Poland. 28 years old. 6'3. 15-2 with 3 TKO's/12 Subs.
The top LHW not in either of the two major promotions in my opinion. Tomasz is very well composed in his bouts as well as becoming very well balanced over the years. His submission game is very slick and his main strength but his striking has improved greatly. He has some knockout power as well as a flying knee knockout to show he's added to his arsenal on the feet. He has finished all 15 of his opponents with 12 of them being in the first round. His first lose was back when he was 4-0 fighting a guy who was 10-1 which he held his own nicely. His second lose was a close decision that he avenged with a flying knee knockout in less than 2 minutes.
He is currently the KSW LHW Champ and just successfully defended his title against his toughest opponent to date Mamed Khalidov. If you haven't seen this fight I recommend watching it. Tomasz got dropped in the first a couple of times but showed his toughness by coming back and winning the second round. He was on his way to winning the third when Tomasz got taken down and caught Mamed in a very quick and slick Triangle Choke. Great fight for Tomasz to show he has a champions heart, composure and can rise to the occasion of a big fight.
2. Jiri Prochazka - Czech Republic. 25 years old. 6'4. 20-3 with 17 TKO's/ 2 Subs/ 1 Dec.
Jiri would be a strong addition to either UFC or Bellator and I believe he could make a run in either one. He's an aggressive striker who keeps getting better after each fight. His striking is technical and he's very good at not having wasted movements for a young fighter. He has fought in Rizin for one of their tournaments so he does have some bigger show experience. One of his 3 losses is to King Mo in a Rizin tournament that was actually his second fight of the night.
His biggest wins are Vadim Nemkov (who he beat in Rizin before losing to King Mo the same night) and easily knocking out Kazuyuki Fujita. He doesn't have lots of big name wins but he also hasn't built his record off of guys with losing records/new guys. Jiri is ready for a call to one of the big shows.
3. Ivan Shtyrkov - Russia. 29 years old. 6'0. 13-0 with 5 TKO's/ 4 Subs/ 4 Dec.
First off I understand Ivan looks like a walking billboard for steroids but as far as I know he's technically never failed a test yet so innocent until proven guilty. Ivan is an extremely strong specimen with a solid striking game as well as a solid ground game. He's spent the majority of his career at Heavyweight so obviously at LHW he's going to have a strength advantage but that could also hurt him at a lighter weight because of cardio. His massive size will require a lot of oxygen which at Heavyweight he didn't have to worry about as much but at LHW he will be fighting guys with way better cardio.
As far as his biggest wins no one on this list has a more impressive resume. He has wins over Jeff Monson, Antonio Silva, Ricco Rodriguez and former Bellator LHW Champ Christian M'Pumbu. I highly doubt he'll be leaving the smaller promotions in Russia anytime soon but if he could pass the steroid tests in America he sure would be a lot of fun to watch fight some of the top guys in world.
4. Rashid Yusupov - Russia. 25 years old. 6'1. 9-0 with 4 TKO's/ 2 Subs/ 3 Dec.
One of the top looking prospects on the list. Rashid has that calm Fedor demeanor about him when he enters the cage. He has no glaring hole in his game that sticks out. He's got an aggressive striking style but also has great knockout power on his back foot looking for the counter. His takedowns flow smoothly from his striking and his ground game (especially his top game) are solid. His ground n pound is also dangerous as he's finished some of his opponents via this way. His submissions are quick and technical especially his Armbar.
His biggest wins are Stephen Puetz and Viktor Nemkov. Of his 9 wins only 1 of his opponents had a losing record so he's not just picking the easy fights to make himself look good. At only 25 Rashid could definitely be a future champ of a bigger promotion with the right training and guiding.
5. Karl Moore - Ireland. 26 years old. 6'2. 8-2 with 2 TKO's/ 4 Subs/ 2 Dec.
Karl is an interesting fighter as he jumps back n forth between Heavyweight and LHW. As a LHW he has great size and overall is well rounded. He's showed a good strking game, superior ground game and good cardio. His only lose at LHW was to Paul Craig who currently sits at 2-2 in the UFC. Karl is the current Cage Warriors LHW Champ. He lost his last fight just a couple weeks ago in only 15 seconds but that was to Mauro Cerilli who is the current Cage Warriors Heavyweight champion. If Karl would of won that fight he would of been the second fighter to hold 2 Cage Warrior titles at the same time with the first being Conor McGregor. I don't hold this lose against him that much as he was going up in weight for a title shot.
His biggest wins are Cyril Asker and Josh Clark. Karl has recently called out to the UFC and would like a chance to avenge his lose to Paul Craig so out of the top 5 fighters I would say Karl is the most likely to get a UFC shot sooner rather than later.
Other Top Prospects
Stephen Puetz - Germany. 30 years old. 6'6. 15-4 with 6 TKO's/ 5 Subs/ 4 Dec.
Stephen is definitely one of the better LHW's in the world that's not fighting America. He's tall for the division and using it to his advantage he's able to keep his opponents at a reach in the striking department. Stephen has hit a bit of slump lately losing 3 of his last 5 but 2 of those losses are to fighters on this list and the other lose is to someone he had already beaten. He also has a win over Marcin Tybura which is impressive.
Klidson Farias - Brazil. 25 years old. 6'4. 11-2 with 4 TKO's/ 7 Subs.
Klidson is a dangerous fighter no matter where the fight goes as evident by his record and never having gone the distance before. Being from Brazil his submission game is his main strength. He's got great size for the LHW division as well as being very young yet with plenty of time to grow his game. His 2 losses are via third round TKO with less than 2 minutes in the fight so cardio needs to be a focus of his moving forward.
Dalcha Lungiambula - South Africa. 32 years old. 5'10. 8-1 with 4 TKO's/ 1 Sub/ 3 Dec.
The oldest fighter I have on the list but the guy is a physical specimen freak. He's small for the division so he might be best at Middleweight but he reminds me Yoel Romero with his explosiveness. His wrestling needs some work as well as his submission game. If he got signed to the UFC or Bellator he's probably not a future champ but he'd put on some exciting fights like Francis or Yoel.
Top Undefeated Prospects
Batraz Agnaev - Russia. 29 years old. 6'5. 4-0 with 3 TKO's/ 1 Sub.
Already has hype of being a future champion Batraz is a very promising prospect. He's got great size and physique for the LHW division. He's got a Sambo/Wrestling background where his bread and butter is but his striking has improved at a very quick pace. He defeated Max Nunes (17-3) at just 2-0 and knocked out Thiago Silva to win the ACB LHW Title with his striking only. He also took a few shots from Thiago in this fight and walked right through them to show that he can take a shot.
Kennedy Nzechukwu - USA. 25 years old. 6'5. 3-0 with 1 TKO/ 2 Dec.
Kennedy is a very interesting prospect because he's got a Jon Jones like physique to him with almost the same reach as well. His reach is 83 where Jones's is 84.5. With only 3 fights there isn't tons to go off of but he has shown to be explosive with his power. With the proper training Kennedy could grow to be a problem for many fighters in the future.
Khadis Ibragimov - Russia. 22 years old. 6'2. 3-0 with 1 TKO/ 2 Subs.
The youngest figher on the list but has already showed some promise. He has a Sambo background from which he has won some medals in. In his last fight he finished Stephen Puetz at just 2-0 which is very impressive. If Khadis is trained right and stays focused he could grow into a nightmare later.
Shamil Gamzatov - Russia. 27 years old. 6'2. 11-0 with 5 TKO's/ 5 Subs/ 1 Dec.
Shamil has a solid fighting game all around and a good killer instinct to finish the fight. The only reason he isn't higher on the list is because almost all of his opponents are either making their debuts or have losing records. His toughest fight to date was his last and he won a close split decision. He needs to continue to test himself against tougher opponents before he's ready for the UFC/Bellator.
Honorable Mentions
Karl Albrektsson - Sweden. 24 years old. 6'2. 6-2 with 2 TKO's/ 3 Subs/ 1 Dec.
Kurban Omarov - Russia. ?? age. 5'10. 10-1 with 5 TKO's/ 1 Sub/ 4 Dec.
Smealinho Rama - Canada. 25 years old. 6'0. 10-3 with 6 TKO's/ 3 Subs/ 1 Dec.
Asyluzhan Bakhytzhanuly - Kazakhstan. ?? age. 6'2. 7-0 with 7 TKO's.
Alonzo Menifield - USA. 30 years old. 6'0. 6-0 with 5 TKO's/ 1 Sub. Actually made MMA debut in Bellator on a one fight deal so technically he shouldn't be on the list but he has some promise and hasn't fought in a major promotion since his debut.
