Natalia Silva, Max Holloway can create UFC chaos immediately in 2026

MMA can be an unpredictable sport, but it's easy to fall into a status quo mindset when you watch the best of the best. After a UFC champion looks dominant in a fight, we assume they will be as dominant in the next one. We have an idea of how the upcoming year might unfold, even though history reminds us that we get it wrong all the time.

With that in mind, here are a few fighters who could emerge as agents of chaos. These are not meant to be championship predictions or a list of the best fighters in each weight class. Rather, these are fighters uniquely positioned and talented enough to greatly alter the landscape of each division in 2026.

Iasmin Lucindo, strawweight

Lucindo is serving a suspension because of a failed drug test in November that her team believes was caused by a tainted supplement. Whenever she is cleared to return to competition, her future is bright. Lucindo, a 24-year-old who is already seven fights into her UFC career, is someone we still could be talking about in 2036. There is no ceiling on her career. Combine her age, talent and No. 9 spot in ESPN's divisional rankings, and the conditions are right for Lucindo to put it all together and control the division. There's no one else at strawweight with that kind of opportunity this year.

Natalia Silva, women's flyweight

There's an unavoidable truth about Silva's skill set: When it's working, it looks really good -- and when it's not working, it can clear out an arena pretty quickly. Silva's stick-and-move striking is beautiful -- albeit occasionally tedious -- and has been consistently effective during her active 13-fight win streak. She is the chaos agent of the flyweight division because she has a massive opportunity to kick off the year, taking on former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas at UFC 324 on Saturday. With a win, Silva could solidify herself as the next challenger to Valentina Shevchenko's title.

Amanda Nunes, women's bantamweight

Nunes, of course, was scheduled to return to the UFC on Saturday after a two-year retirement, before a neck injury to her opponent, women's bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison, derailed one of the biggest women's MMA fights of all time. It was a major blow to the division, because -- with all due respect to former champions Julianna Peña and Raquel Pennington -- until Harrison vs. Nunes is settled, their names are the only ones on anyone's radar. How Nunes eventually looks after years away from competition will go a long way to determining the interest of the 135-pound landscape. Without her, it's a stagnant weight class. Nunes says she is rejuvenated and planning for multiple appearances in 2026.

Kyoji Horiguchi, men's flyweight

News of Horiguchi re-signing with the UFC last year after nearly a decade in other promotions flew under the radar. Horiguchi enjoyed plenty of success after departing the UFC in 2016, but it's impossible not to wonder what might have happened had he remained in the UFC's flyweight division. At 35 years old, he's still poised to shake up the division. Some claimed Horiguchi was the best flyweight in the world, even when he wasn't competing in the UFC. Imagine the matchups that would be available if Horiguchi were to win a title this year. Nearly every opponent among the UFC's top 10 flyweights would be a fresh adversary for him.

Payton Talbott, men's bantamweight

Talbott had one of the UFC's biggest breakouts in 2025 and was named ESPN's most improved fighter. He'll have every opportunity to keep it going in 2026. The UFC is behind him, both in marketing and matchmaking. He has a serious "it" factor in personality and in-cage persona. Last year's improvements also show he's in this for real. This is a 27-year-old contender who gets appreciably better with every performance. The odds aren't favorable for Talbott to enter title contention immediately, but this sport moves fast. Would it really be surprising to see Talbott skyrocket in fame and ranking this year? No, it would not.

Kevin Vallejos, featherweight

If you want to impress the casual MMA fans in your life, start 2026 on the Vallejos bandwagon and watch it fill up as the year progresses. The 24-year-old Argentinian is making a name for himself after knocking out Giga Chikadze in the final UFC event of last year. He's riding a lot of momentum, and this guy doesn't just win, he wins loud. He has an opportunity to be the 2026 version of Joshua Van, the young, relatively unknown talent who skyrocketed the rankings last year thanks to activity and style. Vallejos is undefeated in three UFC fights so far, and if he starts knocking out some of the old guard of the division this year, he'll break the top 5 real quick.

Max Holloway, lightweight

Holloway is an unconventional pick for this stacked division, but let me explain. Going into 2026, this weight class, deep as it is, seems relatively laid out for the year. An interim title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett will headline the first fight card of the year on Saturday. A unified title fight between the winner and Ilia Topuria should follow. The undisputed champion could then make his first defense at the end of the year (presumably against ESPN's second-ranked lightweight, Arman Tsarukyan). Who could throw a wrench in any of this? Max Holloway. No one really expects Holloway to break into these title conversations right now, but quietly, he's right there. On top of that, he has the BMF title. He has a history with Gaethje and Topuria and Tsarukyan has already called for a fight against him. Holloway is starting his year with a BMF title fight against one of the most popular fighters in the sport, Charles Oliveira, in March. This could shape up into an interesting year for the former featherweight champ and if he runs the table, this division will look much different than fans expect it to in 2026.

Shavkat Rakhmonov, welterweight

Rakhmonov didn't fight in 2025. What might be different now had that not been the case? Would Islam Makhachev be a champion? Would he even have moved up from lightweight? Would Jack Della Maddalena have been a welterweight champion? Rakhmonov's presence takes up a lot of room at this weight because he's never lost and would likely be favored over just about anyone. Right now, he seems to be the best threat to take out Makhachev, and that alone makes him a chaos agent, considering how invincible Makhachev just looked in becoming champion.

Ateba Gautier, middleweight

There are a lot of legitimate, relatively new contenders at middleweight, including Nassourdine Imavov, Anthony Hernandez, Brendan Allen and Reinier de Ridder. The division is strong, yet none of those names jump off the page in terms of blockbuster-level title fight intrigue. That's one of the reasons defending champion Khamzat Chimaev is showing interest in moving up. There aren't many obvious, big fights at 185 pounds. If Gautier continues to obliterate opposition, that will change. He's a potential boogeyman, coming off a year in which he scored three consecutive first-round knockouts.

Khamzat Chimaev, light heavyweight

Chimaev told ESPN recently he only intends to defend his middleweight belt once, before moving up to 205 pounds. Regardless of the exact number of appearances he has left at 185 pounds, it's safe to say his time there is limited. Whenever he moves up, he will immediately be the most intriguing storyline of the light heavyweight division. Chimaev's inability to stay active is well-documented, but when he is fighting, he is one of the biggest stars this sport has. If he goes to light heavyweight in 2026, his impact will be felt immediately.

Gable Steveson, heavyweight

Heavyweight MMA is not exactly in the midst of its golden era. The division has been defined in recent years by a limited number of names, and there aren't many new faces to be excited about in 2026. Steveson is one glaring exception. It might seem premature to call Stevenson a potential chaos agent for the next 12 months, given he has one professional MMA bout under his belt (a knockout of Braden Peterson at LFA 217 in September), but think about it. Who has more potential to shake up the heavyweight division in a meaningful way than an Olympic gold medal wrestler, who trains alongside Jon Jones and has already indicated he wants to fight at the White House in June? No one else comes close.