We’re back, baby!

That’s right, Season 8 of Contender Series is in the books, with 42 new signees joining the UFC roster in what has become the promotion’s single biggest recruitment tool. Now, 42 is fewer than last seasons’ 47 signees, but it’s still a massive influx of talent, and with all these new bright-eyed and bushy-tailed prospects joining the world’s biggest MMA promotion, it’s once again time to separate the wheat from the chaff, the future contenders from the card fillers.

Last season, I separated Contender Series signees into nine different buckets based on their potential, with 10 of the 47 signees being identified as top-tier prospects. And frankly, I did pretty damn well. The collective records of those 10 top-tier prospects is 16-2 in the promotion, with one of those losses being a controversial split decision.

But this year we’re going to do things a little bit differently: instead of nine buckets of nebulous quality, we’re going to simplify things and treat this like an draft board. Prospects are rated by what round of a fictional MMA draft I’d select them in. The rough rubric is as follows:

• Blue Chips: Elite prospects, with the potential to become top-5 fighters in their weight classes, challenge for a title, or even become champion.
• Round 1: Great prospects. Good shot at becoming ranked one day and may even fight for a title.
• Round 2: Good prospects. They’re missing something so they probably won’t challenge for a title, but they have a reasonable shot at earning a ranking.
• Round 3-4: Solid prospects. They lack major upside but can be Day 1 contributors and become a staple of their division for years to come. Maybe they even find their way to a ranking.
• Day 3: Acceptable prospects. Fighters who fill out cards and may stick around for a bit but don’t make much of an impact. Everyone once in a while someone from here might exceed expectations but it’s pretty rare.
• Undrafted Free Agent (UDFA): They did not get a contract but showed flashes of something that suggests they may get signed in the future.

So without further ado, let’s break down the 2024 Contender Series prospect class!

Undrafted Free Agents

An Tuan Ho, Michael Aswell, Jack Duffy, Nick Piccininni, Gauge Young, Igor Cavalcanti, Otar Tanzilov, Aaron Tau, Rose Conciecao, Sean Gauci, Julieta Martinez, Mohamed Ado

Not everyone that goes on Contender Series ends up getting signed, especially as Dana White’s criteria can be a bit inconsistent at times. Plenty of fighters deliver good performances but get snubbed, while other fighters were simply put in there against elite prospects and fell short.