Episode #09 - 5 Fighters Worth Stopping Everything to Watch - [TC MUST SEE TV]
Updated: 8 hours ago
The Commando Must See TV Top 5 Rankings
There are rankings, pound-for-pound lists, contender lists and championship standings. This isn't one of them. The Commando Must See TV is our rotating list of the five UFC fighters we find the most compelling to watch right now.
Championship belts matter. Rankings matter. Records matter. But so do style, danger, personality, history, unpredictability and that simple feeling that something important might happen every time a fighter walks toward the Octagon.
This is a fan's list built on the record. And right now, these are the five exhibits hanging on the main wall.
[OPEN] The Commando Must See TV [Spoiler-List]
Rank #5
UFC #2 Flyweight
MANEL "STARBOY" KAPE
STATS
MMA Record: 23-7
Knockout Wins: 15
First-Round Finishes: 10
Manel Kape may be fifth on this list, but his current momentum deserves attention.
In June 2026, Kape faced former rival Kyoji Horiguchi in a rematch nearly nine years in the making. After falling behind early, Kape rallied and stopped Horiguchi with strikes at 2:42 of the third round. It was his fourth consecutive stoppage victory and pushed him deeper into the UFC flyweight championship conversation.
WHY IS "STARBOY" MUST SEE?
The flyweight division has historically produced extraordinary technique. Kape adds something else: swagger, volatility and genuine knockout anticipation. If StarBoy keeps finishing elite opposition, watching him could soon become less about whether he earns another title opportunity and more about what he does with it.
THE X-FACTOR
Kape combines flyweight speed with finishing intentions. His UFC profile lists 15 career knockout victories against five submissions, an unusual finishing profile for a 125-pound contender. He's fast enough to create openings. He's confident enough to wait for them. And increasingly, he's showing the ability to punish opponents once he sees them.
TCMSTV Rank: #5
Rank #4
UFC #2 Light Heavyweight
JIŘÍ "BJP" PROCHÁZKA
STATS
MMA Record: 32-6-1
Knockout Wins: 28
First-Round Finishes: 23
Jiří Procházka doesn't fight like someone following a diagram. That is precisely why watching him can become fascinating.
The former UFC light heavyweight champion entered another championship opportunity against Carlos Ulberg at UFC 327 in April 2026 after consecutive knockout victories over Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr. Ulberg stopped Procházka in the first round to capture the vacant title. The result didn't remove the quality that keeps Procházka on this list. It highlighted it.
WHY IS "JIRI" MUST SEE?
Procházka owns 28 knockout victories in 32 professional wins, with 23 first-round finishes. His movement can look unusual. His defense can create danger. His attacks can arrive from strange positions. There is often a cost attached to that freedom. But that's also why his fights rarely feel ordinary.
THE X-FACTOR
With Jiří, instability is part of the attraction. You're not simply waiting to see who wins. You're waiting to see what happens. The X-Factor: Violence without conventional structure.
TCMSTV Rank: #4
Rank #3
UFC #3 Lightweight
CHARLES "DO BRONXS" OLIVEIRA
STATS
MMA Record: 37-11
Professional Submission Wins: 22
UFC Submission Wins: 17
UFC Finishes: 21
The X-Factor: Controlled chaos.Charles Oliveira is one of those fighters where the statistics almost explain the experience. Almost.
Oliveira owns the UFC records for most finishes and most submission victories. He also captured the BMF championship in March 2026 by defeating Max Holloway by unanimous decision, winning all five rounds on each official scorecard. But numbers still don't fully describe what watching Charles Oliveira feels like.
WHY IS "DO BRONXS" MUST SEE?
Watch how quickly danger changes direction. Oliveira can be attacking, defending, scrambling, taking someone's back or throwing knees in what feels like the same sequence. His fights often produce the sensation that both fighters are inches away from either winning or losing. That's the masterpiece.
THE X-FACTOR
Oliveira has been in the UFC since 2010 and still feels like required viewing.
That is rare. There are younger fighters. There are newer contenders. There are cleaner paths toward championships. But very few fighters have built a career where chaos itself became part of the brand.
TCMSTV Rank: #3
Rank #2
UFC #1 Lightweight
ILIA "EL MATADOR" TOPURIA
STATS
MMA Record: 17-1
Wins: 7 KO | 8 Submission
First-Round Finishes: 10
The X-Factor: Precision with genuine finishing danger everywhere. Ilia Topuria entered UFC Freedom 250 undefeated and carrying one of MMA's most remarkable championship runs.
Justin Gaethje changed that story. Gaethje stopped Topuria after the fourth round to take the lightweight championship, handing Topuria the first defeat of his professional career. Now comes something potentially even more interesting: What does El Matador look like after losing?
WHY IS "EL MATADOR" MUST SEE?
Topuria's danger is not limited to his boxing. Seven professional wins have come by knockout and eight by submission, giving him multiple ways to end a fight. His ability to operate confidently in the pocket gets most of the attention, but the complete skill set underneath the punching power is part of what made his rise so compelling.
THE X-FACTOR
An undefeated fighter becoming champion is one story. A championship-level fighter responding to his first defeat is another. The next chapter may tell us as much about Topuria as everything that came before it.
TCMSTV Rank: #2
Rank #1
ALEX "POATAN" PEREIRA
STATS
MMA Record: 13-4
KO#s: 11 knockout victories
The X-Factor: Power, pressure and legacy chasing. Alex Pereira has reached the point where the question is rarely whether his next fight matters. The question is what piece of history is he chasing this time?
The former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight champion stepped into heavyweight territory in June 2026 against Ciryl Gane with an opportunity to add another extraordinary chapter to his career. Gane stopped Pereira in the second round, but even the defeat illustrates why Pereira remains first on this list: moving divisions and taking championship-level risks has become part of the Poatan experience.
WHY IS "POATAN" MUST SEE?
Watch with patience. Pereira doesn't need frantic volume to make a fight feel dangerous. His left hook, calf kicks, physical pressure and kickboxing experience make relatively quiet stretches feel like someone has left a loaded trap sitting in the middle of the Octagon. One mistake can change the entire exhibit.
THE X-FACTOR
Poatan is appointment television because the stakes surrounding him seem to grow faster than his résumé can settle. A former two-division UFC champion who was willing to pursue heavyweight gold belongs at the front of any must-see conversation.
TCMSTV Rank: #1
THE BOARD
1 — Alex "Poatan" Pereira
2 — Ilia "El Matador" Topuria
3 — Charles "Do Bronxs" Oliveira
4 — Jiří "BJP" Procházka
5 — Manel "StarBoy" Kape
THE COMMANDO PERSPECTIVE
What makes this particular TCMSTV lineup interesting isn't that all five fighters are winning. They aren't. Three arrive here following significant championship setbacks. One just added another belt to one of the most decorated careers in UFC history. Another is surging toward the championship level. That's the point of Must See TV. It isn't a ranking of who is best.
It's a curator's question:
If all five names appeared on five different fight cards, whose walk to the Octagon would make you stop what you're doing?
For us, right now, these are the five. The wall will change. That's what makes it worth coming back.
YOUR TURN
Who's on your Must See TV list?
Vote for the fighter you most want to watch next and tell us who deserves a place in the next TCMSTV update.
About TCMSTV
The Commando Must See TV is a rotating editorial list based on fighter activity, style, storyline, historical significance and what we--as combat sports fans--simply want to see next. It is not the UFC's official rankings or a pound-for-pound ranking.
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