The Ultimate Fighting Championship is entering a new age as a new set of young fighters being crowned as championship, such as Cody Garbrandt's latest dethroning of former bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz at UFC 207 on Dec. 30, 2016. Garbrandt is only 25 years old and has only been in the UFC for less than a year but he is already a champion now.
UFC has flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. Here are the best UFC fighters aged 25 and under in every division:
Flyweight: Brandon Moreno, 23 years old
Moreno has never lost a fight in four years and has two wins in his young UFC career since he started in October 2016. Despite being just with the promotion for just four months, Moreno is a dangerous submission artist, proving his dominance in his reign in the World Fighting Federation as flyweight champ. He ended nine of his 13 wins in way of submission and sooner than later, he might face champ Demetrious Johnson for the belt, Forbes reported
Bantamweight: Cody Garbrandt, 25 years old
With the bantamweight belt already in his possession, "No Love" is definitely the best 25 and under fighter in the division. Garbrandt, who was not the favorite against Cruz, shocked fans after pulling off a unanimous decision win to be crowned king of the division.
Featherweight: Max Holloway, 25 years old
Holloway showed why he is one of the best after pulling off a technical knockout win over former UFC champ Anthony Pettis to bag the interim featherweight belt. His last loss came from Conor McGregor in 2013 and has went on to win 10 consecutive fights. He might soon face Jose Aldo for the featherweight title.
Lightweight: Kevin Lee, 24 years old
"The Motown Phenom" bounced back from a TKO loss in Dec. 2015 from Leonardo Santo with three straight wins this year, including a TKO win over Jake Matthews in July and technical submission victory over Magomed Mustafaev in November. He is making a name for himself and he is on the road into title contention in the next few years.
Welterweight: Leon Edwards, 25 years old
This British fighter has racked up back-to-back wins this year and has a bright future ahead of him. He has as a 12-3 mixed martial arts record and has won four of his six fights in the UFC.
Middleweight: Kevin Gastellum, 25 years old
Gastellum has taken big names this year in former champ Johny Hendricks and Tim Kennedy. He is currently ranked 14th in MMA Junkie and has nowhere to go but up. He will face Vitor Belfort in March 2017.
Light heavyweight: Nikita Krylov, 24 years old
Krylov is currently ranked 12th in MMA site's ranking. He won two of his three fights this year with his only loss coming from 29-year-old Misha Cirkunov but that loss may push him for the better as he went on a five-fight win streak coming from a defeat
Heavyweight: Luis Henrique, 23 years old
The youngest in this list, the Brazilian booked back-to-back submission wins this year against Dmitry Smoliakov and Christian Colombo, showcasing his grappling and stamina throughout. He is scheduled to fight Martin Tybura in February.
Watch the video below to see Garbrandt's title win over Cruz: