Former heavyweight contender Ugonoh to fight MMA

[sweetviolenturg]

Izu Ugonoh who was involved in this modern-day classic bout with Dominick Breazeale is switching over to MMA & will compete in the Polish organization KSW & is set to make his debut soon.


It will be interesting to see how he does. He's certainly going to have a striking edge on the vast majority, if not all, of his opponents as he was also a kickboxer. And anyone that he hits with a 4 oz glove is going to feel it. Of course, how well he adapts to having a takedown defense & the ground game is going to determine how well he does.
At 33, he's starting a bit late but he's still a relatively young man in this day & age of combat sports athletes performing at a high level well into their forties.

 

[Deaths Head]

I think the COVID situation probably had to do with the decision climbing back to a top spot in boxing now is not looking good for anyone with no name and having to redeem themselves of a lose after losing and a huge PBC deal with the Breazeale loss . MMA would secure more fights for now but if he loses there to then it’s problems the end of the road . It’s a gamble ,I’d say he isn’t planning on fighting long term so maybe it’s his best out and a no lose situation . Personally I’d like to see him box again ,he had better skills then his counter part EFe Ajagaba but a wrong decision to fight his U.S debut vs Breazeale really derailed this guy only getting one win after I believe.

 

[sweetviolenturg]

I think the COVID situation probably had to do with the decision climbing back to a top spot in boxing now is not looking good for anyone with no name and having to redeem themselves of a lose after losing and a huge PBC deal with the Breazeale loss . MMA would secure more fights for now but if he loses there to then it’s problems the end of the road . It’s a gamble ,I’d say he isn’t planning on fighting long term so maybe it’s his best out and a no lose situation . Personally I’d like to see him box again ,he had better skills then his counter part EFe Ajagaba but a wrong decision to fight his U.S debut vs Breazeale really derailed this guy only getting one win after I believe.

Well, he KO'd journeyman Fred Kassi about a year after the Breazeale loss & then was inactive for another year before he was KO'd in 4 rounds by Lukasz Rozanski, a Polish heavyweight that I'm not familiar with who's now 11-0. As a result, Ugonoh fell to 18-2 & I suppose that helped make up his mind to make the transition to MMA.

 

[ssx]

His stamina was questionable, how that’s going to play into MMA with wrestling, takedowns etc... I guess we’ll see.

 

[JayE]

His stamina was questionable, how that’s going to play into MMA with wrestling, takedowns etc... I guess we’ll see.

In fairness, stamina is often a massive question mark for even elite MMA HWs.

Ugonoh's very limited success in boxing was largely based off of his physicality, so he could have some decent success here if he has any aptitude for grappling.

 

[ssx]

In fairness, stamina is often a massive question mark for even elite MMA HWs.

Ugonoh's very limited success in boxing was largely based off of his physicality, so he could have some decent success here if he has any aptitude for grappling.

Good points

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Ugonoh already has the striking chops but the takedown threat will initially limit his success on the feet to some degree until his TDD and bottom game are both strong enough for him to feel comfortable in letting his strikes go and fully committing to them without constantly worrying about being taken down and subsequently GnP'ed or subbed. He needs to diligently drill his TDD and hit the BJJ guard work hard and he should be fine provided he stays disciplined and puts in the work to learn and practice those new skills. Going back to his striking, his credentials in boxing & kickboxing are totally legit. It also can't hurt that he's 6’4 or 6’5 with an 84” reach and very athletic especially by MMA standards. Losing some of that excess muscle mass would be smart for him to do to benefit his stamina (and durability down the stretch).

KSW is a lower level but respectable promotion (not a Top 5 MMA organization globally but Top 10) to start in so he won't have to contend with fully mature elite world-level talent in KSW's stable or in the immediate future. It'd be a different story in the UFC as he'd end up being thrown to the wolves sooner rather than later where he'd be forced to either sink or swim. KSW is a local promotion to him in Poland and one of the leading promotions in Europe. They should be a good fit for him in which to start his career and could potentially springboard him into one of the bigger shows (UFC, Bellator, ONE...) eventually if he shows up and shows out there. He's already 33 so he'll need to stay busy and perform well consistently for the leading promotional organizations to take notice of him. Sherdog already has his fighter profile up on Fight Finder.

 

[realdealgeale]

He had a fair amount of hype a few yrs back after he punched that guy out of the ring on one of Parkers undercards. Was based in NZ as his chief sparring partner. Surprising move from a financial perspective tbh.