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This is the 2021 Preview Edition of On the Rise.

Over the last several years, we’ve kicked off our fight week coverage with On the Rise, a series that spotlights three athletes set to compete that week who are either making their way into the Octagon for the first time, working their way up the divisional ranks, or on the brink of title contention and deserve a little more recognition.

Five current UFC champions appeared in the series early in their UFC tenures — Zhang Weili (UFC 227), Deiveson Figueiredo (UFC Lincoln 2018), Petr Yan (UFC Singapore 2018), Alexander Volkanovski (UFC Auckland 2017), and Israel Adesanya (UFC 221) — along with various current contenders, divisional staples, and budding prospects.