While climbing the rankings is difficult regardless of weight class, the welterweight division has notoriously forced some of its best fighters to wade through its shark pit for years at a time before finally getting a championship opportunity. The last two welterweight champions, Belal Muhammad and Leon Edwards, rode into their first title fights on 10-fight unbeaten streaks, and it took them 18 and 14 Octagon appearances, respectively, before getting that first shot at gold. Even former champion Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington required nine fights (and a nine-fight winning streak for Usman) before earning their first title shot.
Prospect To Watch | Michael Morales
