The UFC’s fastest-rising fighter looks set to be just one win away from a title shot

The latest UFC rankings were released on October 22, and no fighter has earned more spots than Kazakhstan’s Asu Almabayev.

The 30-year-old flyweight contender defeated Mateus Nicolau via unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 99 on Saturday, jumping from No. 14 to No. 7 in the UFC flyweight rankings.

Almabayev may have shocked some by asking for a title shot after his win over Nicolau, but it wasn’t a pointless tease.

Reigning UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja has all but cleared out his division. Pantoja has fought and defeated competitors in his division on multiple occasions.

That’s partly why Pantoja will defend his title against Japanese star Kai Asakura in his promotional debut at UFC 310 on December 7. Pantoja’s last defense was against Steve Erceg in May, and the challenger was ranked No. 9 at the time.

With that precedence, Almabayev seems justified in demanding a title shot. If he fails to defeat the winner of Pantoja-Asakura again, he could be just one win away from challenging for the title. Almabayev should face a top-five opponent in his next fight.

No. 3 Amir Albazi returns from a neck injury and is scheduled to face former champion and No. 2 contender Brandon Moreno on Nov. 2 in Edmonton. Albazi is one of the few top flyweights who didn’t have a shot at Pantoja or the title.

If he beats Moreno, he would be the obvious next challenger for the title. Where would this lead Almabayev?

He could challenge current No. 1 contender Brandon Royval. Since Royval has already had two opportunities to beat Pantoja and came up short both times, he will need to rattle off three or four wins in a row before he gets a third chance.

Royval won an epic fight over Tatsuro Taira at UFC Vegas 98 that denied the 25-year-old rising star from Japan a shot at the title. Could he possibly do the same to Almabayev? This fight could be another excellent fight in the suddenly exciting flyweight division.

More UFC news – UFC 308 Full Card

The UFC heads to Abu Dhabi this weekend for UFC 308. The main event has as much hype as any fight the promotion could generate.

Ilia Topuria will defend his featherweight title against Max Holloway, in a fight between one of the greatest 145-pound champions of all time and a man on the fast track with similar status and perhaps even bigger plans.

Here’s a look at the entire map.

Main Card – 2:00 p.m. ET

• (c) Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway – UFC Featherweight Championship
• Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev
• Magomed Ankalaev vs Aleksandar Rakic
• Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige
• Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan

Undercard – 10 a.m. ET

• Geoff Neal vs. Rafael dos Anjos
• Myktybek Orolbai vs. Mateusz Rebecki
• Abus Magomedov vs Brunno Ferreira
• Kennedy Nzechukwu vs Chris Barnett
• Farid Basharat vs. Victor Hugo
• Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Carlos Leal
• Ismail Naurdiev vs. Bruno Silva
• Ibo Aslan vs Raffael Cerqueira

Stay tuned for more fight week coverage as we get closer to the event.