As MMA becomes more mainstream, the UFC becomes a more attractive prospect for young athletes. No longer do teenagers from NCAA wrestling backgrounds need to aim for the Olympics or a future career in competitive wrestling with a lower financial incentive.
Similarly, practitioners of various traditional martial arts like judokas and karatekas can implement their skill-sets in an a sport that promises them greater reward for full-contact competition.
With MMA’s rise to prominence and legendary former champions like Ronda Rousey inspiring an entire generation of women and judokas to ply their trade in mixed martial arts, a newer influx of talent means younger fighters. While the UFC once featured mostly grizzled men, today the promotion is a hub for young talent.
Several young prospects from a multitude of backgrounds signed with the promotion in the hopes of achieving glory. In honor of their commitment to MMA, this list looks at 5 of the youngest fighters in UFC history.
#5. Paige VanZant, former UFC women’s strawweight and flyweight
Long before her cameos on Dancing with the Stars or her debut as a bare-knuckle boxer and pro-wrestler, Paige VanZant was a young MMA hopeful who Dana White hoped would help spearhead the next generation of women’s MMA fighters. Alas, the then bright-eyed 20-year old was not the second-coming of Ronda Rousey.
She was, however, a serviceable action fighter who never took part in boring bouts. Despite the promotion’s best attempts, ’12 Gauge’ never reached the heights expected of her. While she signed with the promotion when she was only 20 years old, the Team Alpha Male member’s first came after her 21st birthday.
The future AEW star spent most of her career as a fighter in the strawweight and women’s flyweight divisions before abandoning MMA in favor of other ventures.
#4. Iasmin Lucindo, UFC women’s strawweight
One of the UFC’s most recent signees is Iasmin Lucindo. The 20-year old’s debut with the promotion came against Yazmin Jauregui at the UFC on ESPN 41 card headlined by Dominick Cruz and Marlon Vera. While the event was overshadowed by ‘Chito’s’ brutal KO win over ‘The Dominator’, the Brazilian’s debut was spirited.
While she lost a unanimous decision to her foe, she didn’t do so lying down. She showed a lot in the way of heart and spirit. The promotion’s color commentators made clear to mention that they expect to see more of Lucindo in the future as a new staple of the UFC women’s strawweight division.
#3. Sage Northcutt, former UFC lightweight and welterweight
Sage Northcutt’s arrival in the UFC coincided with Paige VanZant, with the two fighters clearly intended as the promotion’s attempts at spearheading the next generation of mixed martial arts stars. The then 19-year old had every conceivable attribute needed to succeed in MMA, at least on the surface.
‘Super Sage’ is a phenomenal athlete with impressive explosiveness, speed and monstrous physical strength. Furthermore, he is a highly skilled martial artist with an undefeated kickboxing record, a 4th degree black belt in Kajukenbo and a 3rd degree black belt in Taekwondo.
His time at Team Alpha Male helped sharpen his wrestling and grappling skills, and after 2 consecutive wins in the promotion to extend his undefeated MMA run to 7-0 with all finishes, he seemed more than promising. Unfortunately, a shocking loss to Bryan Barberena followed.
While ‘Super Sage’ bounced back with a win over Enrique Marín, he suffered a second loss in his subsequent bout against Mickey Gall. The tide of fortune turned after his second loss as he embarked on a 3-fight win streak before being released by the promotion.
#2. Edmen Shahbazyan, UFC middleweight
Like Sage Northcut, Edmen Shahbazyan made his promotional debut at 19 years old. The Shotokan karate black belt was part of Glendale Fighting Club under Ronda Rousey’s head coach Edmond Tarverdyan. Furthermore, the Californian also had ‘Rowdy’ as his manager.
Prior to his debut, ‘The Golden Boy’ was a perfect 7-0 fighter. After his split-decision win over Darren Stewart in his promotional debut, Edmen Shahbazyan mounted an impressive 3-fight win streak, all of which were 1st round finishes. Soon, talks of Ronda Rousey’s protege as a future champion became rampant.
Unfortunately, that conversation was put to a stop by a brutal loss against Derek Brunson. The Californian was TKO’d in the 3rd round in dispiriting fashion. Afterwards, his career entered a downswing as ‘The Golden Boy’ now sits on a 3-fight losing streak.
#1. Raul Rosas Jr., UFC bantamweight
The promotion’s youngest-ever fighter just turned 18 years old on the 8th day of this month. However, when he was signed by Dana White, Raul Rosas Jr. was 17 years old. At present, ‘El Niño Problema’ has a spotless undefeated record of 6 wins and no losses.
Until his recent win over Mando Gutierrez on Dana White’s Contender Series, Raul Rosas Jr. had finished every single foe who dared cross swords with him. His latest foe remains the only one to escape the same fate that befell the 18-year old’s other opponents.
Still, his combination of wrestling, athleticism and Brazilian jiu-jitsu proved overwhelming for Mando Gutierrez. Now, ‘El Niño Problema’ is scheduled to make his promotional debut at UFC 282, the last PPV of the year.