Carvalho's track record certainly puts him at the apex of the heap, and his well-rounded, proven skill-set of grappling prowess and effective striking make him a desirable acquisition in the future. In our minds, he'll more than likely be the #1 guy that a promotion like the UFC will seek out later this year.
Our #2 ranked prospect, Taiki Tsuchiya (9-2), is easily one of the most exciting prospects in Japan, and while most fans will see his weaknesses in the ground department as the ultimate Achilles' heel -- I think most readers will agree that Tsuchiya's stand-up is on another level.
At #3 on our 2011 World MMA Featherweight Scouting Report, British standout Mark Adams (6-0) makes his mark as one of the most hyped prospects on our countdown. Adams' lengthy frame, wrestling skills, and grappling acumen combined with a top notch training camp filled with UFC veterans should have Mark well on his way to stardom in the UFC.
There are only a handful of mixed martial artists coming out of the Middle East these days, and while our #4 ranked prospect wasn't raised in the region -- he was born in the war torn country of Iraq during the lapse in artillery fire between the Iran-Iraq war and the Gulf War. Alan Omer (15-3)...
At #5 on our 2011 World MMA Featherweight Scouting Report, DEEP Featherweight champion Koichiro Matsumoto (12-2) chimes in on our countdown as one of two Japanese featherweights breaking into our top ten.
At #6 on the 2011 World MMA Featherweight Scouting Report, former Finnish lightweight fighter Tom Niinimaki (15-5-1) chimes in on our countdown. Once considered a mediocre 155 pounder who succumbed to the submission games of Hatsu Hioki and Tristan Yunker, Niinimaki turned his back to active competition after defeating Bogdan Cristea in August of 2007
It's rare to find fighters in any weight division who can provide threatening offense in both the striking department and ground game at early stages in their careers. Most of our prospects are proficient in one of the two areas with a progressing skill-set in the lesser of the two. For our #7 ranked featherweight, Marcos Vinicius (6-0), it doesn't appear to be a problem.
Matt "Sunshine" Fiordirosa. Does that name ring a bell? Back in August of 2007, Matt was featured on the TapouT television show on Versus, a series in which the late Charles "Mask" Lewis Jr., Tim "Skyscrape" Katz, and Dan "Punkass" Caldwell visited up-and-coming prospects, sponsored them, and traveled with them to upcoming bouts.
At #9 on our 2011 World MMA Featherweight Scouting Report, Stockton, California-born Isaac DeJesus (9-3) lands on our countdown, bringing a plethora of kickboxing experience and speed to our list of featherweight prospects.
BloodyElbow.com's Leland Roling breaks down the featherweight prospect scene with the 2011 World MMA Featherweight Scouting Report. At #10, Canada's Michel Gagnon makes his way into the countdown.
