Fighters on the Rise | UFC Seattle

Douglas is one of the more intriguing new additions to the roster from Season 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series.

A 30-year-old Brazilian featherweight fighting out of Huntington Beach, California and training with UFC Hall of Fame inductee Cub Swanson and his Bloodline Combat Sports crew, Douglas carries a 13-5 record and five-fight winning streak into his debut appearance opposite Julian Erosa on Saturday. Last September, he absolutely melted Cam Teague to claim his place on the roster, and his three wins before that came against established talents Elijah Johns in an LFA title unification bout; Javier Reyes, who won his UFC debut in Mexico City last month; and Nathan Ghareeb.

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Douglas lives up to his “Gunslinger” nickname, with 10 of his 13 wins coming inside the distance, including each of his last six victories. He’s aggressive, heavy-handed, and faced quality competition much of the way through his regional tours, which should have him well prepared to hit the ground running this weekend.

Erosa is an excellent initial dance partner for Douglas: an all-action fixture in the division who is craftier and more talented than he ever gets credit for, “Juicy J” will also be bolstered by fighting in his home state once again after not landing on the card in Seattle last year. Beating the 36-year-old veteran still means something and never comes easy, so if Douglas is able to accomplish the feat this weekend, it will instantly set a floor for where he stands in the 145-pound weight class.

Is Douglas going to go on a long run to racing up the rankings and eventually claim UFC gold? It’s unlikely, but he should be an immediate addition the “must-see TV” collective and is the kind of dangerous talent that could without question make an expedited push for a place in the rankings over the next 12-18 months with the right matchups and results.

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Mansur Abdul-Malik

Abdul-Malik has been a constant presence in this space ahead of each of his fights since claiming a roster spot in the first week of Season 8 of the Contender Series in 2024 and so far, the Xtreme Couture representative has not disappointed.

The respectful and talented middleweight is 3-0-1 in the UFC, having followed up his late 2024 win over Dusko Todorovic by bookending a no contest result opposite Cody Brundage with wins over Nick Klein and Antonio Trocoli. The latter of those wins was his most impressive yet — a first-round mauling where he came out of the gates fast, quickly breaking Trocoli’s win before collecting his long neck and squeezing out a tap.

What really jumps off the screen about Abdul-Malik is how much he improves between fights. XC head coach Eric Nicksick raves about his work ethic and skill acquisition, and his focus and desire are right there in lockstep, making him not only one of the best prospects in the division, but one of the top emerging names on the roster as a whole.

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Saturday marks his second straight appearance in Seattle after stopping Klein in the second last February, and the matchup with Dutch kickboxer Yousri Belgaroui should be an informative one. The 33-year-old striker, who faced Alex Pereira in their kickboxing days and now trains alongside “Poatan,” pulled an upset last October in Vancouver, out-classing Azamat Bekoev on the feet before finally putting him away early in the third, so it will be curious to see how Abdul-Malik and his team opt to approach this one.

Everyone has the University of Maryland product earmarked for greatness and if he continues to perform and advance the way he has thus far, it shouldn’t be long before he’s challenging for a place in the Top 15 and making some of those tenured, veteran talents think twice about facing him, if they’re not already.

Alexia Thainara

With all the fanfare directed towards the men that have broken into the rankings in their rookie years as of late, it’s surprising that more people didn’t cast a vote for Thainara as one of the top newcomers of 2025 after the DWCS Class of ’24 alum registered a pair of wins to earn a place in the Top 15 at strawweight last year.

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She opened her year by venturing to London in March and submitting Molly McCann in a performance that largely got overlooked because the beloved Scouser announced her MMA retirement following the contest. From there, Thainara stepped in against Loma Lookboonmee in September in Perth, Australia, opening the show by earning a clean sweep of the scorecards against the ranked Thai fighter.

Now sporting a 13-1 record and an 11-fight winning streak, Thainara gets the opportunity to avenge the one and only loss on her resume after a game of musical chairs resulted in a rematch with compatriot Bruna Brasil; the two fought for the first time in November 2019, with Brasil winning by submission in the third round.

What has been most impressive about Thainara to date is that she’s entirely unafraid to play to her strengths, which means taking opponents to the canvas and wearing them out on the mat. Her timing is sharp, her control is excellent, and she’s willing to hunt for and work to create openings, which makes her fun to watch once she gets things to the deck.

Brasil has been “hit or miss” since her blistering DWCS knockout win over Marnic Mann in 2022, alternating results through each of her first seven UFC starts. After turning in a one-sided win over Shi Ming in August, the 32-year-old Fighting Nerds affiliate dropped a tepid decision to Ketlen Souza at the start of February, which likely contributed to her eagerness to step into an opening here in hopes of making a quick return to the win column.

Strawweight is in an interesting place right now, with a couple young talents all looking to make a push forward in the rankings, while a host of more experienced competitors cling to spots ahead of them in the pecking order. A win over Brasil isn’t necessarily going to do anything to change Thainara’s spot in the Top 15, but it could set up a bout with someone further up the ladder next time out.