And for every story like Carlos Prates’ this year, where he raced into the welterweight Top 15 during his rookie campaign being a member of the Class of ’23, there are fighters like Kyler Phillips and Dan Ige that earned wins during their appearances on the show, but didn’t earn contracts, only to eventually find their way into the Octagon and the rankings in their respective divisions.
On top of that, it feels like the level of talent coming through the show is getting better in recent years.
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Jailton Almeida, Jack Della Maddalena, and Jasmine Jasudavicius all earned contracts in Week 3 of Season 5.
Week 8 in Season 6 delivered Farid Basharat, Ikram Aliskerov, Trevor Peek, Bruna Brasil, and Daniel Marcos to the roster; those five are a combined 14-6 with one no contest through 21 Octagon appearances, with Basharat, Aliskerov, and Marcos all profiling as potential Top 15 talents, Peek providing non-stop entertainment every time he competes, and Brasil coming off her best performance to date earlier this year against Molly McCann at UFC 304.