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2024 FIGHT PASS Fighters To Watch 3

Some Of 2023’s Brightest Rising Stars Made A Name For Themselves Long Before Impressing The Masses In The Octagon. Who Are The Next Hottest Prospects On UFC FIGHT PASS?
By Walker Van Wey • Jan. 18, 2024

UFC FIGHT PASS athletes made for some of the biggest moments in 2023. Whether it was Alex Pereira reaching unprecedented heights, “Raw Dawg” Royval getting a crack at UFC gold or Bo Nickal making the world forget his wrestling background one KO at a time, the future of the sport continues to live on UFC FIGHT PASS.

With so many homegrown names now in the UFC, does UFC FIGHT PASS have any big names left?



Oh yeah. We’re barely scratching the surface. Here are more fighters to watch for in 2024!



Quillan Salkilld – Eternal MMA

Record: 5-1

Age: 24



Cut from the same cloth as Kody Steele, Eternal MMA’s Quillan Salkilld is a firecracker of a fighter with the excitement and BJJ skills to enhance any and every grappling card, mixed with a Fight IQ to make him one of the most dangerous fighters outside of the UFC.



At 24 years old Salkilld is already one of the most exciting fighters on a roster known for only having exciting fighters with lightweight hardware to show for it. Potential opponents with great takedown defense looking to score an easy knockout over the young buck will be disappointed to know Salkilld has as many finishes on his feet as he has on the ground. Long story short, Salkilld is the real deal and just may be the next Eternal fighter to make a splash in the UFC Octagon by the end of 2024.



Kurtis Campbell – FCC

Record: 3-0

Age: 21

He's everything you want from a 21-year-old fighter. Forget just being one of the most exciting fighters on FIGHT PASS, Campbell is one of the most exciting fighters from the continent of Europe. He’s high paced, energetic, skilled and seems to have a whole lot of fun being one of the baddest dudes in the business.



Equipped with a top-knot, pink shorts and “The Pink Panther” nickname, Campbell has the intangibles of a star with power in all eight limbs that almost every featherweight in the fight game would trade for.



At only 21 years old, it’s hard to predict whether Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby give him another year or two to sharpen his tools even further or if another strong couple showings land him in the big show. Whether it’s on FCC or in the UFC, we just want more Kurtis Campbell.



Michael Oliveira – LFA

Record: 6-0

Age: 25

LFA’s Michael Oliveira blurs the line between exciting and scary. You’re unlikely to see him throw wheel kick attempts or land a twister, but you’re very, very likely to see one of the most emphatic knockouts of your life.



Oliveira’s 100% finish rate makes him a problem for any welterweight who isn’t in the top percentile of head movement, and his power puts opponents in the position to play overly cautious and get caught. As hard to believe as it sounds, bear in mind, half of his fights have ended in less than one minute and no fights have left the first round. He’s already given more than enough reason to respect what he brings to the cage and, at 25 years old, he’s not even tapping into his physical prime yet.



Cameron Smotherman – Fury FC

Record: 9-4

Age: 26

The fight world was introduced to Cameron Smotherman at DWCS: Week 2, where he was caught with a thunderous shot from Charalampos Grigoriou, and if you decided to buy his stock after the fight, you may have bet on one of the most gleaming diamonds in the rough.



The world surely caught Smotherman at his lowest low, but the Fury FC bantamweight bounced back less than three months later and picked up right where he left off with a showstopping flying knee KO over Mando Gutierrez that blew everybody away but himself.



Smotherman has grown accustomed to making Houston audiences scream over the years. The 26-year-old already has six KO finishes, including a title-winning KO to capture Fury FC bantamweight gold. Smotherman trains with one of the most impressive stables, has some of the most pop in the bantamweight division, has already felt the lights of the Octagon and has youth on his side. Don’t be surprised if you see a couple more viral KOs with his name attached to them before he comes knocking on the DWCS door yet again.



Luis Elias – UWC

Record: 6-0

Age: 31

It's kind of hard to say a FIGHT PASS Submission of the Year and Male Fighter of the Year nominee from 2023 is going to have a breakout year in 2024, but Luis Elias still may not have reached his full potential. The 6-0 flyweight has already proven he can do what you don’t see many flyweights do, and that’s finish every opponent in front of him and do it with style.



His strikes are as devastating to the body as they are the head. Multiple fights have been won by both body shots and head shot KOs. As impressive as Elias is on the feet, his ground game seems to be where he's even more comfortable after landing both an armbar and a calf slicer in 2023.



The Peruvian has already built himself one hell of a foundation, and 2024 just might see him put it all together one or two more times and be the talk of the 125-pound division.



Shawn da Silva – Cage Warriors

Record: 6-0

Age: 27

Shawn da Silva is like Ricky Turcios with a (somehow) higher output. His personality was made for microphones, his striking was made for main card bouts and his pressure and energy were made for five-round wars.



Da Silva has both a fight style and a personality with universal appeal. If we’re not lucky enough to see him in the UFC at some point, we’d kill to see a season of him in the TUF house. At only 27 years old and undefeated in one of the most prolific promotions outside of the UFC, da Silva is paving his way to worldwide attention, and in a hurry, no matter which direction he chooses.



Nick Piccininni – Fury FC

Record: 5-0

Age: 27

Another solid year for Nick Piccininni in 2023. The Oklahoma State Cowboy turned fighter went 1-0 on the year with the most satisfying win of his career to date. Piccininni got the full feel of the MMA game when Vic “The Brick” Gonzalez took to the media to share his thoughts on Piccininni’s “spoon fed” career, to which Piccininni remained cold and stoic until they met in the cage. Piccininni would dominate every second of the fight before sinking in an arm triangle and giving Gonzalez the “spoon fed” celebration.



Piccininni still has the same speed and wrestling that he used to pin three-time National Champion Spencer Lee but seems to get bigger and hit harder every fight. Inactivity is the number one knock on Piccininni but when he’s in the cage he’s doing serious damage to every opponent. With four wins by finish, the wrestling following and Fortis MMA behind him, Piccininni is only going to get more and more scary for flyweights across the globe.



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