Athletes
Fighters on the Rise | UFC Tampa
For The Final Time This Year, We’re Casting A Spotlight On A Three-Pack Of Promising Talents
Competing on the final fight card of the UFC campaign offers a chance for athletes to set themselves up for bigger and better in the coming year and put themselves front and center in the minds of fans, provided they're able to register a victory, of course.
Over the last five years, year-end shows have served as launchpads for Alexandre Pantoja, Amanda Lemos, and Belal Muhammad, with countless others turning in quality efforts that elevated their stock and put them on the map with fight fans heading into the next year.
FOLLOW @UFCNEWS: On Facebook | On Instagram | On X
Saturday night in Tampa, the three athletes below will look to follow suit as they make the walk to the Octagon on the final event of 2024 in search of a standout performance that catapults them to even greater opportunities in the coming year.
This is Fighters on the Rise for UFC Fight Night: Covington vs Buckley.
Navajo Stirling
Fresh off earning his UFC contract with a second-round finish on Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) in September, Stirling steps into the Octagon for the first time at Amalie Arena on Saturday, facing off with Tuco Tokkos.
Just 5-0 as a mixed martial artist, the 27-year-old is the latest member of the City Kickboxing team to matriculate to the UFC, joining teammates Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker, and Kai Kara-France (to name three) on the roster. Like several of his training partners, Stirling’s limited MMA reps belie his overall combat sports experience, as he competed in both kickboxing and Muay Thai before making the transition to mixed martial arts.
UFC TAMPA FULL FIGHTS: Joaquin Buckley vs Stephen Thompson | Colby Covington vs Jorge Masvidal
It’s easy to recognize why there is buzz surrounding the light heavyweight rookie, as he’s earned stoppages in his last four outings and his victory at the UFC APEX against Phillip Latu was one of the more dramatic knockouts of the DWCS season.
After a somewhat measured opening round where both men showed a ton of respect for one another, both Stirling and Latu settled in and started firing more in the second, with the finish coming during a sequence where both opted to plant themselves and trade blows in the pocket. In the midst of the exchange, Stirling was quicker to the punch with a swift left hook that caught Latu flush and sent him crashing to the canvas, ending the bout in an instant.
Saturday’s pairing with Tokkos is a perfect entry point for the promising, but inexperienced, CKB man, as Tokkos has only made one previous appearance under the UFC banner and has shown a willingness to trade in the past that makes him a quality dance partner for the new arrival from New Zealand. The 34-year-old trains with a good crew at Kill Cliff FC and should be better on a full camp than he was in his short-notice debut earlier in the year, yet isn’t so vastly more experienced than Stirling that this profiles as too tough an assignment for him right out of the chute.
Navajo Stirling Fighter Profile
The City Kickboxing lads tend to be ready to go straight away upon arriving in the UFC, with the team having a strong overall record in early starts inside the Octagon. Stirling has the power and striking aptitude to continue that trend here, and with time and additional seasoning, could become another all-action addition to the roster from the talent-rich Auckland outfit.
Felipe Lima
Felipe Lima Submits Muhammad Naimov | UFC Saudi Arabia
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Felipe Lima Submits Muhammad Naimov | UFC Saudi Arabia
/
Here’s what I wrote as the recap to Lima’s debut upset win in August:
The Brazilian newcomer did to Muhammad Naimov what Naimov did to Jamie Mullarkey just over a year ago, stepping in on short notice, up a division and securing a victory. After his head coach Andreas Michael lit a fire under him following the second round, the debuting talent took the fight to Naimov, attacking a rear-naked choke in a grappling entanglement, forcing Naimov to tap.
That’s now 13 consecutive wins for the 26-year-old prospect, who looked outstanding here and should instantly become a person of interest in the bantamweight division as he returns to his natural surroundings later this year.
ICYMI: Two Title Fights Headline UFC's Return To Sydney For UFC 312
Lima makes his sophomore appearance this weekend, but he’s remaining at featherweight, taking on ascending bantamweight Miles Johns in another quality pairing at the outset of his UFC tenure.
The Brazilian, who trains at Allstars Training Center in Stockholm, Sweden, became someone MMA fans started to take real note of last year when he claimed the Oktagon MMA bantamweight title with a unanimous decision win over Jonas Magard. Oktagon is an excellent promotion and Magard is a tough Danish talent who has since earned consecutive wins over Jack Cartwright and Josh Hill, which underscores the quality of that win for Lima.
You also can’t downplay just how difficult it is to roll into your UFC debut on short notice, in Saudi Arabia, up a weight class, and then finish someone that had picked up a couple solid wins of his own while winning six straight overall as Naimov had heading into that contest. In the biggest moment of his career, Lima was able to dig deep, get aggressive, and find a finish, setting himself up as an “I can’t wait to see what he looks like on a full camp” fighter heading into his second showing in the Octagon.
Getting paired off with Johns in Tampa is a tremendous opportunity, as the Marathon MMA representative has been in good form of late, earning consecutive wins while posting a four-fight unbeaten streak where the only blemish is a victory over Dan Argueta that was ruled a no contest after the 30-year-old Kansas native tested positive for a banned substance. While he’s moving up a division for this one, “Chapo” is a quick and powerful talent with a wealth of experience, and should serve as an excellent measuring stick to help figure out where Lima stands on Saturday.
The competition for “Rookie of the Year” in the UFC this year has been insane and if “Jungle Boy” adds a win over Johns to his debut victory over Naimov, it should land him in the Honorable Mention list, at the very least. More importantly, it would keep him moving forward and set him up for another key clash to begin his 2025 campaign.
Miranda Maverick
Miranda Maverick Post-Fight Interview | UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs Jandiroba
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Miranda Maverick Post-Fight Interview | UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs Jandiroba
/
The 27-year-old flyweight has made several appearances in this series over the course of her five-year, 10-fight UFC career thus far and returns ahead of her showdown with Jamey-Lyn Horth on Saturday at Amalie Arena.
Maverick has earned three straight wins and victories in five of her last six appearances, having followed up her third-round submission win over Priscila Cachoeira last year at UFC 291 with decision nods over Andrea Lee and Dione Barbosa already this year. In addition to her current run of success and overall quality results as of late, her losses continue to age like fine wine, as her three setbacks inside the Octagon have come against Maycee Barber, Erin Blanchfield and Jasmine Jasudavicius, all of who are currently ranked and have had tremendous overall success in the UFC.
UFC 311: Buy Tickets | VIP Experiences | Miranda Maverick Fighter Profile
A big part of the reason Maverick has been such a fixture in this series over the years is that athletically, she profiles as the kind of fighter that could rise through the ranks if and when she puts it all together. She is a strong grappler with constantly improving striking, fluid movement, and impressive physical strength, all of which has been showing over her current winning streak. Now several fights into working with Eliot Marshall as her head coach, Maverick also has the work ethic and drive to excel in this sport, and it feels like it’s only a matter of time before that happens.
Originally scheduled to face Tracy Cortez this weekend, that fight fell apart for a second time this year, as Cortez was forced out with an injury here and replaced by Horth after being drafted to face Rose Namajunas when the duo were initially booked to fight in July. It’s a quick turnaround for the Canadian and former BFL titleholder, who earned a split decision win over Ivana Petrovic in Edmonton at the start of November and looks to move to 3-1 in her UFC career with a win.
Earning a third win in 2024 and fourth straight victory overall this weekend may not catapult Maverick into the Top 15 in the flyweight division to close out the year. That being said, if you’re looking to back a fighter that may start 2025 outside the rankings, but end next year in the championship mix, the ascending Maverick wouldn’t be a bad choice.
UFC Fight Night: Covington vs Buckley took place live from Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on December 14, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
Tags