Athletes
Fighters On The Rise | UFC Oklahoma City
Spotlighting Three Athletes Ready To Shine In OKC On Saturday
Fighters on the Rise is the perfect series to write as the UFC makes its third visit to Oklahoma City and first in nine years, because the city’s powerhouse NBA team feels like an encapsulation of what this series is all about.
The Thunder have grown into one of the most dominant and successful franchises in The Association behind the shrewd drafting and roster development of EVP and General Manager Sam Presti, who has done an outstanding job of identifying young talent, allowing them to grow, develop, and gel, and watching as they blossomed into a championship squad last year. Some of the sharp decisions include drafting Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, signing Lu Dort as an undrafted free agent, and acquiring fellow Hamilton, Ontario, native Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the two-time reigning NBA MVP.
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FOTR has always aimed to do the same, and while there have been some misses over the years, the hit rate is pretty high, and we’re coming into this week on a heater, with each of the last six athletes profiled in this space earning victories inside the Octagon.
Let’s see if that continues this week at Paycom Center.
Alberto Montes
It took Montes a little longer than normal to make his debut after graduating from Season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series, but the 32-year-old Venezuelan showed it was worth the wait in March.
Alberto Montes Slips In Early Submission Victory | UFC 326
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Alberto Montes Slips In Early Submission Victory | UFC 326
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Paired off with TUF 29 winner Ricky Turcios, Montes laced up a slick D’arce choke seconds into the second round, taking advantage of a lazy, telegraphed shot by Turcios to quickly sink in his ultra-tight, compressed version of the choke that put him to sleep in a hurry. It was his fourth straight win by submission, seventh finish by sub in 11 career wins, and a brilliant debut for the Miami-based newcomer.
Montes profiles as the type of fighter who could make a faster climb up the divisional ladder than most first-year athletes because he’s a little older and slightly more seasoned than many of those in his graduating class or current freshman cohort. Though he’s only had a dozen fights, the combination of age and life experience adds to his overall focus, inside and outside of the Octagon, and is evident in the poise with which he carries himself inside the cage.
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Saturday will be a good test of that theory as Montes faces off with fellow DWCS grad and UFC rookie Tommy McMillen, who similarly earned a stoppage win in his promotional debut a month later than Montes, finishing Manolo Zecchini with a barrage of strikes late in the first round to advance to 10-0. The Montana native and “Suga” Sean O’Malley training partner is clearly dangerous and brimming with confidence, which makes him a great early challenge for Montes, and vice versa.
This is an early challenge for Montes, but if he passes while handing McMillen the first loss of his career, an expedited push forward in the featherweight ranks could follow.
Fatima Kline
Kline has been a fixture in this space from the outset of her UFC career, first appearing ahead of her short notice debut up a division at flyweight against Jasmine Jasudavicius and continuing through her return to strawweight last year.
This will probably be the final time she is listed as a fighter on the rise because if she succeeds against Tabatha Ricci this weekend in Oklahoma City, the just turned 26-year-old will be a bona fide contender.
Kline went 3-0 last year back in her natural weight class, posting consecutive stoppage wins over Viktoriia Dudakova and Melissa Martinez before heading home to New York City and out-hustling Angela Hill across three rounds at Madison Square Garden to earn her place in the rankings. She’s a well-rounded fighter whose striking was originally the underrated part of her game but has now become her most noticeable weapon in the UFC, making her considerable grappling skills the sneaky part of her game now.
READ: Saturday's Fight By Fight Breakdown
Like her longtime training partner Erin Blanchfield, there is more grit and sandpaper to her game than most anticipate or credit her for, but it really showed through in the fight with Hill, where Kline was throwing big shots with bad intentions right through to the final horn.
This weekend’s pairing with Ricci, who stepped in for Amanda Ribas, is a chance for the MK Muay Thai rep to take another big step forward in the division by taking out a top 10 mainstay who was on the brink of contention not that long ago.
Kline has long been viewed as carrying championship upside, and a dominant showing in Oklahoma City would go a long way to solidifying that projection and bringing her another step closer to making it a reality.
Alden Coria
It’s annoying to me that more people aren’t talking about Coria right now as he heads into his second start of the year and third UFC appearance overall because the 28-year-old Houston-based flyweight is on a roll and sports one of the best aging wins of the last year.
Alden Coria Earns Stoppage Victory In UFC Debut | Noche UFC
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Alden Coria Earns Stoppage Victory In UFC Debut | Noche UFC
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Coria debuted on short notice last September at Noche UFC in San Antonio, stepping in for Edgar Chairez opposite Alessandro Costa, and turned in an outstanding performance. Honestly, we probably should have made a bigger deal about it at the time, but still: Coria won the first two rounds on all three scorecards and then still chased down a finish in the third, giving him his first UFC victory. He followed that up with a win over Luis Gurule in his hometown of Houston earlier this year, but even more importantly, Costa has gone on a tear since, earning his third consecutive stoppage win last weekend at UFC 329.
Costa has debuted in the new Meta rankings, and Coria is on the outside looking in…
That could change this weekend as the 4oz. Fight Club man returns against Stewart Nicoll, searching for a third straight UFC win and to push his unbeaten streak to seven straight overall. Sharp in every facet and bolstered by training alongside flyweight champ Joshua Van, Coria is one of those unheralded standouts that people should be paying closer attention to this weekend and beyond because he could find his way into the rankings soon.
UFC Fight Night: Du Plessis vs Usman took place live from Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on July 18, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!