Still just scratching the surface of his potential, on the other hand, is Tatsuro Taira. The 25-year-old has steadily climbed the ladder since joining the promotion in May 2022, and after dropping a main event bout to Brandon Royval in 2024, he rounded into even sharper form in 2025 to secure second-round stoppages over HyunSung Park and Brandon Moreno. The latter victory over the former champion cemented his status as a legitimate title contender, and there is certainly narrative appeal to pitting a pair of fighters born in the 2000s against each other in a title fight.
Beyond the trio of title contenders sits a mishmash of a queue. The Brandons (Moreno and Royval) are sort of in limbo as fighters who’ve fought the best of the best for the last few years, but recent losses have muddied their paths to the top. Almabayev bounced back from his loss to Kape to notch two wins in 2025, and he should get a shot at that group-outside-the-group to start 2026. Elsewhere, Amir Albazi seeks his first win since June 2023 against Kyoji Horiguchi, who made a loud return to the Octagon with a submission win over Tagir Ulanbekov in Qatar. Whichever man comes away from that bout with his hand raised could set himself up for a shot at the title picture later in 2026.
2026 DIVISION PREVIEWS: Lightweight | Welterweight
The general consensus still considers Pantoja the cream of the flyweight crop, and his body of work speaks for itself. The injury-induced changing of the guard does throw some timelines into a fun loop. If Pantoja can return in the first half of 2026, a rematch is in store, which could potentially force Taira and Kape into a No. 1 contender situation unless they feel comfortable waiting in the wings. But as Van showed in 2025, the best way to make a case for oneself is to fight and win. Pantoja’s resume says the same. Whether the rest of the division takes up that lesson could mean a highly intriguing series of events in the new year.
Other Names to Track: Allan Nascimento, Lone’er Kavanagh