MMA midyear grades: An exceptional six months for lightweight, men's flyweight

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          Josh Hokit, Curtis Blaydes put on potential fight of the year (0:38)

          • Brett OkamotoJul 1, 2026, 10:45 AM ET
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              Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: "Chuck and Tito," which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.
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          It's hard to believe we're midway through 2026, a year that is shaping up to be one of the best for MMA in recent memory.

          Former middleweight and light heavyweight titleholder Alex Pereira became the first UFC athlete to fight for titles in three weight classes, though he fell short in his attempt at claiming the interim heavyweight championship. Two previously undefeated champions, Ilia Topuria and Khamzat Chimaev, suffered their first professional defeats in massive upsets. And first-time title challenger Carlos Ulberg claimed the UFC light heavyweight belt on one good leg.

          The year's storylines have featured everything from high-profile upsets to prefight animus and never-before-seen in-cage action. As the UFC's calendar hits its halfway point, ESPN grades each weight class on fight quality and fighter activity and looks ahead to the best possible matchup of the second half at each weight.

          Heavyweight: B-

          Best fight so far: Josh Hokit defeats Curtis Blaydes by unanimous decision

          This grade might be generous, but the fights this year have felt like a gift because of how bad the division has been for so long. It's unfortunate that the undisputed champion, Tom Aspinall, has been held out of action due to an eye injury, but even that has seen positive development, as Aspinall is back in the gym and preparing to return. Hokit has produced some of the worst moments of the year on the mic, but no one can deny his talent. His fight with Blaydes is a legitimate fight of the year candidate. And although Ciryl Gane has gotten negative press about eye-pokes and strikes to the back of the head, he is fighting at a level high enough to be considered one of the world's top pound-for-pound fighters. Add in Francis Ngannou's return with MVP MMA and this has been a banner year for heavyweight.

          Light heavyweight: D

          Best fight so far: Carlos Ulberg defeats Jiří Procházka by TKO1

          This division has been in poor shape for some time, and now it can't hide behind a megastar champion in Pereira. Ulberg had a spectacular knockout at UFC 327 to win the championship Pereira vacated, but now he's out while rehabbing a torn ACL he suffered in the process. Three highly ranked light heavyweight contenders have yet to appear in 2026 -- Magomed Ankalaev, Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr., though Ankalaev and Rountree will duel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, later this month. In addition to Pereira testing the waters at heavyweight, light heavyweight veterans Johnny Walker and Aleksandar Rakic will have their first heavyweight fights on Aug. 1. And rising challengers Azamat Murzakanov and Zhang Mingyang lost earlier this year. If heavyweight can turn it around, this division can, too, but there's not much to like right now.

          Middleweight: B

          Best fight so far: Michal Oleksiejczuk defeats Marc-Andre Barriault by unanimous decision

          The 2026 action at middleweight has been good, but more importantly, the future looks bright. The championship grudge match between Sean Strickland and Chimaev in May was good enough to make it a strong first half for the weight class. But there were a lot of good things that happened outside that fight as well. Strickland has already fought twice, producing two upsets. Joe Pyfer looked great in a knockout of former champion Israel Adesanya, as did Caio Borralho against Reinier de Ridder. Brendan Allen is on a roll. Nassourdine Imavov is nearing his first title shot. And former titleholder Dricus Du Plessis is booked against the division's newest addition, Kamaru Usman. Now Chimaev, who said he was leaving for light heavyweight, is suddenly motivated to stay at 185 pounds. This is one of the best divisions in the sport.

          Welterweight: C+

          Best fight so far: Carlos Prates defeats Jack Della Maddalena by TKO3

          I said middleweight is "one of" the best weight classes in the sport because the distinction of "best" belongs to the welterweight division. The fights in this weight class have been good, but not great which is why it gets a C+ grade. However, they appear to be building toward something in the second half of the year. Multiple contenders are building title résumés simultaneously. Prates' victory over Della Maddelena furthered his identity beyond "fun to watch" and into a legitimate contender. Gabriel Bonfim's performance against former champion Belal Muhammad did the same. More activity from the top fighters could improve this division even more, and it certainly helps that the champion, Islam Makhachev, just had his next defense announced. Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 on Aug. 15 has incredible potential as a main event. And let's not forget that Conor McGregor's rematch against Max Holloway at 170 pounds is on July 11, too.

          Lightweight: A+

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          Justin Gaethje stuns Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250

          Best fight so far: Justin Gaethje defeats Ilia Topuria by TKO4

          Gaethje has fought twice this year and turned in two fight of the year candidates, to the surprise of no one. Any time a division has one of the most entertaining fighters in its history compete twice in six months, it's going to be a massive year for the weight class. Top contender Arman Tsarukyan hasn't fought but is somehow in the headlines more than anyone, between his activity on social media and freestyle wrestling career. There's drama involving athletes in their primes everywhere you look in this deep division, and it feels like the new guard of Topuria (even following the loss to Gaethje), Tsarukyan, Paddy Pimblett, Benoît Saint Denis and Mauricio Ruffy is settling in.

          Featherweight: B

          Best fight so far: Doo Ho Choi defeats Daniel Santos by TKO2

          This weight class is far more than one man, of course, but it's also fair to say that so much of the state of the division revolves around Alexander Volkanovski. At 37 years old, he is defying age while defending his featherweight championship. All good things must come to an end, and Volkanovski's time will come eventually, but the question of how long he can keep this going at the highest level is one of the best storylines in the sport. The first half of this year saw Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy finally square off in a No. 1 contender bout, plus multiple memorable matchups and the further emergence of new challengers.

          Men's bantamweight: C

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          0:17
          Sean O'Malley catches Song Yadong with a knee

          Best fight so far: Sean O'Malley defeats Song Yadong by unanimous decision

          It's been a relatively quiet year so far at 135 pounds, but things are brewing for a better second half. There have been no title fights, as champion Petr Yan recovers from injury and Merab Dvalishvili waits for a trilogy bout. However, Mario Bautista turned in a terrific main event against Vinicius Oliveira, and O'Malley is already 2-0 on the year. But with the top two men in the sport sitting out, Umar Nurmagomedov fighting well down the rankings against David Martinez on July 25, and exciting names such as Cory Sandhagen and Payton Talbott also inactive, it's hard to rank this division's first half as anything other than average. Check back at the end of the year because this could definitely improve.

          Men's flyweight: A+

          Best fight so far: Joshua Van defeats Tatsuro Taira by TKO5

          There isn't much more that could be asked of the flyweight class. The division has an active, charismatic, 24-year-old champion who is allergic to boring fights. Van wants to fight anybody and everybody, and seemingly wants to do it as soon as possible. Taira might have lost to Van in his first title fight, but he's not even close to his prime yet. Manel Kape's finish of Kyoji Horiguchi in a main event two weeks ago solidified him as a title challenger with serious knockout power. Lone'er Kavanaugh's complete performance against Brandon Moreno on short notice in February was legitimately one of the most impressive performances of the year. It probably deserved more attention, and it will get it if Kavanaugh carries that momentum into the second half of 2026. This is as exciting and deep as flyweight has been in a long time.

          Women's bantamweight: F

          Best fight so far: Joselyne Edwards vs. Nora Cornolle by SUB2

          It's been a strange six months for women's bantamweight. "Changing of the guard" is one thing, but this is on another level. Just about every single name we've come to know in the past decade is either visibly running out of gas or retiring. And at the moment, the new crop is not very inspiring. ESPN's top bantamweight, Edwards, is the brightest spot in the division by far, and even her hot 2-0 start to the year has earned little interest. Julianna Peña, Irene Aldana and Raquel Pennington -- the perennial names of this weight class -- have not fought for more than a year. Most of the women ranked inside the top 10 have barely established themselves in the UFC. The good news is that Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes will likely be rebooked in the second half of this year, and that is one of the biggest fights in women's MMA history. The bad news is there ain't much beyond that.

          Women's flyweight: D

          Best fight so far: Alexa Grasso defeats Maycee Barber by KO1

          Three of ESPN's top four women's flyweights -- Valentina Shevchenko, Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot -- have zero appearances combined. (And No. 6 Dakota Ditcheva from the PFL can be added to that group as well). Natalia Silva vs. Rose Namajunas in January was an important fight for the division, but a ho-hum unanimous decision for Silva wasn't extremely memorable and definitely didn't shake up the division. Grasso's knockout/submission of Barber was a spectacular, singular moment -- but even that result wasn't great for the overall health of the weight class, as Grasso probably won't fight for a title again as long as Shevchenko is at the top.

          Women's Strawweight: D+

          Best fight so far: Tatiana Suarez vs. Loopy Godínez by SUB2

          Inactivity has clearly been a theme of women's MMA in 2026. Suarez's win over Godinez in April and Gillian Robertson's victory over Amanda Lemos in March are two of the only major results this division has seen in the past six months. Mackenzie Dern hasn't fought since capturing the title with a decision win over Virna Jandiroba in October. Former strawweight champion Zhang Weili hasn't announced her next move yet, after she came up short in a flyweight title bid last November. Solid performances from some of the most intriguing new names at strawweight -- including Piera Rodriguez, Alexia Thainara and Jaqueline Amorim -- have kept the division's grade out of the gutter entirely. But it's undoubtedly been a slow and forgettable first half of the year.