FloCombat Prospect Rankings - April 2018
FloCombat Prospect Rankings | Bantamweight | April 2018
FloCombat ranks the top 20 North American bantamweight MMA prospects for April 2018.
Rankings based off the following...
- North American fighters only. For example, Thiago Moises wouldn't qualify for these rankings despite training in the U.S.
- No fighters that have fought for or who are set to fight for the UFC.
- Fighters competing on Dana White's Contender Series included.
- No long-term Bellator fighters or champions. Exceptions for some preliminary fighters.
- All fighters aged 30 and under.
- Rankings based off age, record, and level of competition.
April notes:
- Ricky Simon has been removed from the rankings after signing with the UFC.
| RANK | NAME | AGE | RECORD | COUNTRY | NEXT FIGHT | PREVIOUS RANKING |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raufeon Stots | 29 | 9-1 | USA | | 2 |
| 2 | John Castañeda | 26 | 16-3 | USA | | 3 |
| 3 | Ryan MacDonald | 24 | 8-0 | USA | | 4 |
| 4 | Manny Vazquez | 24 | 12-3 | USA | | 4 |
| 5 | Joseph Maness | 26 | 9-0 | USA | | 13 |
| 6 | Maurice Mitchell | 30 | 11-1 | USA | | 5 |
| 7 | Jordan Howard | 27 | 10-4 | USA | April 13 vs. Eric Ellington | 6 |
| 8 | Josh Rettinghouse | 27 | 16-4 | USA | | 7 |
| 9 | Kyler Phillips | 22 | 5-0 | USA | | 8 |
| 10 | Ricky Bandejas | 26 | 10-1 | USA | | 9 |
| 11 | Brad Katona | 25 | 6-0 | CANADA | | 10 |
| 12 | Ray Rodriguez | 30 | 13-4 | USA | | 11 |
| 13 | Tony Gravely | 26 | 12-4 | USA | | 12 |
| 14 | Miles Johns | 23 | 6-0 | USA | | 14 |
| 15 | Dylan Cala | 24 | 6-1 | USA | | 15 |
| 16 | Xavier Alaoui | 26 | 8-3 | Canada | | 16 |
| 17 | Adrian Yanez | 24 | 7-2 | USA | | 17 |
| 18 | Cole Smith | 28 | 5-0 | CANADA | | 18 |
| 19 | Cheyden Leialoha | 23 | 6-1 | USA | | 19 |
| 20 | John Sweeney | 22 | 5-1 | USA | | NR |
#1 – Raufeon Stots (9-1)
Stots is the current Victory FC bantamweight champion and boasts wins over UFC veterans Jeff Curran and Rob Emerson. The 29-year-old is coming off a first-round submission victory over Arnold Berdon at Victory FC 59 on Dec. 16.
#2 – John Castaneda (16-3)
Castaneda nearly won the Copa Combate tournament for Combate Americas back in December before losing in the tournament finals to Levy Saúl Marroquín Salazar. The 26-year-old has a win over UFC veteran Chris Beal and also turned heads when he won a unanimous decision against Cheyden Leialoha at Dana White’s Contender Series 4 last year. He faces Marc Gomez Sariol in a rematch at Combate Estrellas 1 on April 13.
#3 – Ryan MacDonald (8-0)
MacDonald is the current MCF featherweight champion. The 24-year-old fighter is coming off a second-round stoppage victory over Chad Obermiller at MFC 14 back in October.
#4 – Manny Vazquez (12-3)
The former Legacy FC bantamweight champion is coming off a first-round submission victory over Shawn West at Caged Aggression 21: Night 2 on March 10. The 24-year-old has won three of his last four fights with two of those victories coming by submission.
#5 – Nathan Maness (9-0)
Maness enters the top five after coming off a unanimous decision win over Caio Machado at TKO 42. The 26-year-old will face TKO bantamweight champion Jessie Arnett in May.