The UFC Flyweight Ladder: Joshua Van on Top, Pantoja and Kape in Pursuit

The view from the top

The flyweight division has a new name at its peak: Joshua Van (17-2-0) of Myanmar wears the belt. Two losses on a seventeen-win ledger tell you he has been tested and kept moving forward — a champion who arrived by stacking results, not by waiting his turn.

Right behind him, the contenders are stacked and hungry. #1 Alexandre Pantoja (30-6-0) of Brazil is the elder statesman of the chase, carrying thirty career wins — the deepest record near the top of this ladder. #2 Manel Kape (23-7-0) of Portugal sits one rung back with twenty-three wins of his own. When the top three are this close on paper, every card matters.

The young guns and the veterans

What makes flyweight fun is the clash of eras layered right through the rankings.

• #3 Tatsuro Taira (18-2-0), Japan — eighteen wins against just two losses. That is one of the cleanest records anywhere on this list, and he is still climbing.
• #4 Brandon Royval (17-9-0), USA — seventeen wins, a fighter who lives in the top five.
• #5 Kyoji Horiguchi (36-6-0), Japan — read that record again. Thirty-six career wins, more than anyone else ranked here. A veteran with a resume most of the division can only dream about.
• #6 Lone’er Kavanagh (10-2-0), England — the fewest fights of the group up high, and that is the point: 10-2 and already inside the top six. One to watch closely.

The chasing pack

The middle of the ladder is where the intrigue thickens.

• #8 Asu Almabayev (24-3-0), Kazakhstan — twenty-four wins, only three losses. A quietly excellent record sitting just outside the top five.
• #9 Brandon Moreno (23-10-2), Mexico — a familiar name with twenty-three wins and a draw on the sheet, still very much in the mix.
• #10 Steve Erceg (14-4-0), Australia, and #11 Alex Perez (26-10-0), USA — Perez brings twenty-six wins into the rankings, more experience than most around him.

Further down, the veterans keep the door interesting: #12 Tim Elliott (22-14-1) and #14 Charles Johnson (19-9-0), both USA, have the fight count of men who have seen every kind of night in the cage.

Who and what to watch

• Horiguchi’s record. Thirty-six wins (36-6-0) is the standout number of the entire division. Every time he steps in, history walks with him.
• Taira’s rise. At 18-2-0, #3 Tatsuro Taira has the profile of a fighter knocking on the title picture — the ratio of wins to losses is elite.
• Kavanagh’s ceiling. #6 Lone’er Kavanagh at 10-2-0 is the youngest resume near the top. How high he climbs is one of the division’s real open questions.
• The top three logjam. Van, Pantoja and Kape are separated by fine margins. Any card involving them can reshuffle the summit.

Build your bracket

Flyweight is one of the most stacked ladders in the sport right now: a fresh champion in Joshua Van, a thirty-win contender in Pantoja, a thirty-six-win legend in Horiguchi, and a wave of young finishers like Taira and Kavanagh pushing up from below. That is the kind of division where the smart fan pays attention early.

Keep an eye on the flyweight cards, weigh the records for yourself, and put your read on the line — pull up the next card, call your winners, and lock in your bracket.