Said Nurmagomedov

Nobody hands you anything at bantamweight. Said Nurmagomedov has built a 18-5 record the hard way, one fight at a time since leaving Russia's regional scene.

A balanced operator — 4 wins by KO, 6 by submission, 8 on the scorecards. No single weapon to game-plan around, which is exactly the problem.

He's coming off a loss to Bryce Mitchell. Careers aren't defined by the fall, though; they're defined by the rebound.