Limelight My big stupid hype trains thread.

[STAY GOLD]

Didn't see the fight but Herculano lost.

 

[STAY GOLD]

Degli was getting recked and then out of nowhere he lands a lightning straight right and he KO'd Severinho.

 

[Thesnake101]

Cerrone is proud of that (lack of) head movement on Herculano.

 

[Bubzeh]

I know flyweights are flyweights but happened to stumble across a bit of a killer over the weekend during Shooto 131. Paulo Victor, or Paulo Silva as some have introduced him as - full name Paulo Victor Santos da Silva.

Spoiler: Full Record

Watched alot of his older fights on YouTube and he looks legit. Solid kicks, elite speed, solid grappling and sprawling. Just a well rounded G.

The L on his record was a very close call but the dude was 18 at the time so I'll let him off.

Latest two fights for Shooto in 2025 (after a bit of a long layoff) seem to have been his "coming out party" for want of a better expression - he looks like a different guy, more mature, twice as fast and seems to have more of a killer instinct now. FightPass Shooto 129 and 131 - neither fight is on YouTube yet apologies.

If he ends up signing for the PFL then fml.

 

[Marko Atanasovik]

*Daniyar Toychubek 10-0 vs Ruslan Sariev 16-3 / - Black Combat 15: Parabellum 23 aug
*Louis Lee Scott 9-0 vs Kaushik Saikumar 5-0 / - DWCS W2 19 aug
*Razhabali Shaydullaev 14-0 vs Viktor Kolesnik 26-4 / - RIZIN 51 28 sep
*Max Holzer 11-0 vs Khalid Taha 15-5 / - OKTAGON 75 13 sep
*Tommy McMillen 8-0 vs David Mgoyan 7-0 DWCS W4 2 sep
*Icaro Brito 8-1 vs Javier Reyes 21-5 DWCS W7 23 sep
*Cezary Oleksiejczuk 15-3 vs Theo Haig 6-0 DWCS W4 2 sep
*Abdulrakhman Yakhyaev 6-0 vs Alik Lorenz 6-1 DWCS 23 26 aug

 

[HuskySamoan]

*Daniyar Toychubek 10-0 vs Ruslan Sariev 16-3 / - Black Combat 15: Parabellum 23 aug
*Louis Lee Scott 9-0 vs Kaushik Saikumar 5-0 / - DWCS W2 19 aug
*Razhabali Shaydullaev 14-0 vs Viktor Kolesnik 26-4 / - RIZIN 51 28 sep
*Max Holzer 11-0 vs Khalid Taha 15-5 / - OKTAGON 75 13 sep
*Tommy McMillen 8-0 vs David Mgoyan 7-0 DWCS W4 2 sep
*Icaro Brito 8-1 vs Javier Reyes 21-5 DWCS W7 23 sep
*Cezary Oleksiejczuk 15-3 vs Theo Haig 6-0 DWCS W4 2 sep
*Abdulrakhman Yakhyaev 6-0 vs Alik Lorenz 6-1 DWCS 23 26 aug

Daniyar and Razhabali seem like they could touch titles in the UFC.

Luis Lee Scott, Cezary and Mgoyan are all really promising too. Cezary is too small for 185lbs however, wish his camp could take sense into him.

 

[STAY GOLD]

Who’s the MMA prospect featured in these highlights?

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Okay, lets try and catch up on this. I keep forgetting to give people hype trains so instead of that I'll probably just copy and paste what I'd put on Tap anyway.

Heavyweight

1. Josh Hokit - 1997 - USA - LFA - 5-0 - (no change)

Hokit is a D1 wrestler who doesn't fuck about. He does have power on the feet and I've seen him take out cans with a jab but in general he knows what his bread and butter is and he's coming to take guys down and beat them up. Not the kind of guy to just hold people down so far he's throwing hard ground and pound and either knocking people out on the ground or opening up an opportunity to snatch a neck and squeeze it off.

Can't seem to find much in the way of regional guys willing to fight him I don't think so it seems a waste of time him not being in the UFC and they could use a wrestler who knows what he's good at but it also exciting.

Post fight interviews are interesting as this dude hates anything he sees as woke and seems a bit like a giant Bryce Mitchell, although I don't know if he thinks the Earth is flat or not. I'm willing to guess he probably does, although as a D1 guy that means he did go to college so maybe not.

2. Miha Frlic - 2000 - Slovenia - BRAVE - 5-0-1 - NEW ENTRY

Really impressed me in taking out Shah Kamali in BRAVE. A shorter heavyweight who pushes forward aggressively and throws hard punches. Kinda reminds me of Malykhin in a way in that he can wrestle offensively if he wants but more uses it to be hard to take down so he can stay on his feet and chuck bombs at guys. Very impressed with his cardio too as Kamali took a 10-7 hammering in the first and survived but Frlic still had the gas to keep pushing and finish the fight in the third where I think a lot of bigger guys would have gassed badly.

3. Anthony Guarascio - 1994 - USA - CFFC - 4-0 (no change)

Guarascio is doing very well for a guy who trains in a garage with his friends by the sounds of things. Has proper heavyweight power and the aggression to match. In his title fight against Schoenfelder he came through as a big underdog as I think bookies were expecting him to just be a wild brawler but although he's very aggressive he's actually picking his shots pretty well and showing proper form, he just has fuck you power on them.

Could be anything in the UFC, don't know if he can wrestle or what his gas tank is like, but if he turns out to be another Tai Tuivasa type of entertaining brawler then with the current state of regional prospects, that'll do.

4. Marsel Sychev - 1997 - France/Belarus - RCC - 4-1 (no change)

Heavyweight is tough to find interesting guys for tbh. Sychev looked good in Ares but then he popped and he's on a suspension but can still fight in Russia where lets face it he's probably still juicing but it's heavyweight and what are you gonna do?

5. Denzel Freeman - 1991 - USA - LFA - 6-1 (no change)

Bit of a late developer but very athletic and explosive by current heavyweight standards and starting to put things together now. Got that Derrick Lewis flying switch kick in his arsenal and showed he can defend decent level wrestling well against Cunha. Probably deserves a shot in the UFC given the state of the division regionally right now. Given that he's LFA champ I'm not really sure why they brought guys like Hines in before him.

6. Joel Fa-glier – 2001 – USA – Fury FC – 4-0 (no change)

Looked very good the time I caught him in Fury but since then has been fighting for promotions where I'm having a hard time finding footage of his fights. He's been winning them though and hopefully I'll be able to find footage of them at some point. Seems like a 2026 contender series guy.

7. Shah Kamali – 1999 – England – BRAVE – 4-1 (down 5 places) ▼

Turned out he was in there with a fighter like Frlic a bit too soon but I was impressed with how ridiculously tough he was in that fight. Got finished but a full round and a half after a 10-7 round that would have been the end of most people. Smashing the lower level guys he fought before that, should take a bit of time off to let his brain heal from that beating but I still think he's a viable prospect.

8. Pavel Dailidko – 1991 – Lithuania – BRAVE – 10-2 (down 1 place)

BRAVE champ who's on a solid win streak at the moment since losing to Gaziev. Trains with Tom Aspinall/Phil De Fries etc so getting a lot of good rounds in in training. Good win over ONE vet Odie Delaney where after getting wrestlefucked a bit in the first round he carried his power into round two to get a finish and defend his title.

Can't bring myself to go beyond 8 for heavyweights I actually care about somewhat but I'll keep an eye out. I don't think the likes of Nufillaev, Guilerme Pat etc are good.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Light Heavyweight

1. Abdulrakhman Yakhyaev - 2001 - Turkey - Ares - 6-0 - (nc)

Beast who got onto my radar beating the previously unbeaten Kovalenko who I was interested in at the time. Followed that up by going to Ares and just absolutely fucking destroying everyone and looking head and shoulders above them. Clearly way too good for that level of competition and has a chance on the Contender Series this summer which I expect him to take and move towards the UFC rankings pretty quickly.

2. Arlind Berisha – 2000 – Albania – Fight Club Rush – 4-0 (nc)

This guy looks like he has UFC rankings potential to me. Had a very good amateur career and is adapting really well to the pros where he's looking much better each time I see him. Seems to find it hard to find fights which is understandable on the Swedish regional scene but smashing the guys who have the balls to fight him.

Really good long punches, really good high kicks and very violent ground and pound. Seems to have the athletic ability that is lacking in a lot of fighters at the higher weights too. Could well go straight onto the Contender Series this summer even though it'd maybe be a big jump in comp for him it's just tough to see what else he does.

3. Luke Fernandez - 1995 - USA - CFFC - 5-0 (nc)

Very athletic dude who hits hard, turned pro a bit late but rare to see someone with this kind of physical talent in the higher weight divisions. Fight with Bellator vet Edwards was a bit more of a challenge for him and although he won pretty clearly he wasn't quite overwhelming and I didn't come away thinking he was going to roll through guys in the UFC.

4. Rafael Tobias – 2003 – Brazil – TKO PN – 13-1 (nc)

Looks very talented and passes the eye test but competition not always the best and did get clipped and finished by a much lower level guy a couple of years ago. Striking is pretty solid offensively, good straight boxing and nice leg kicks which he throws a lot of. When I've seen him grapple he's sliced through the guard of lower level guys and gotten them out of there pretty easily. Due a step up again for sure.

5. Felipe Franco – 2001 – Brazil – Demo Fight – 8-0 (nc)
No idea what this kid is like on the feet but his grappling looks phenomenal against cans and he's big and athletic and fast. Reminds me a lot of Jailton Almeida, extremely low level competition so far but probably not a guy people are particularly keen to fight. They probably need to put a call in to Guelke to get him a more experienced guy to fight.

6. Donte Johnson - 1999 - USA - Fury FC - 5-0 - NEW ENTRY

Definitely some potential in this dude. He's just very fast for the weight. The speed difference between him and the guys he's been facing has been apparent, even against James Ford which was a bit of a prospect vs prospect fight. Carries his hands low but covers the distance quickly when he wants to throw and has real power and finishing instinct. Someone who could progress towards the UFC quite quickly I think.

7. Shealor Ladd - 2003 - USA - LFA - 3-0 - NEW ENTRY

I was kind of expecting him to just be getting recognition off being Aspen's brother and to not be that good but it's looking like I was wrong on that as he looks like a good dominating wrestler who actually does damage on top when he gets guys there. Beat Pedro Lay Jr up in a prospect vs prospect fight.

8. Emilio Quissua – 1997 – Germany – Oktagon – 6-0 (down 2 places)

Looked a good varied striker against an okay Brazilian journeyman the first time I saw him. I liked his output, thought he looked to have a decent sprawl and I really enjoyed the variety of his strikes for this weight class. Looking forward to seeing him again.

9. Moustapha Diakate – 2002 – Senegal – Ares – 4-0 (down 1 place)

Physical specimen who definitely has real power in the fights I've seen from him. Dropping dudes with what looks like small jabs etc. Had some losses as an amateur relatively recently but might be improving quickly but I'm holding off on exalting him as a mega prospect for now because of that.

10. Roman Lukashevich - 1991 - Belarus - UAE Warriors (moved from HW)

On the older side for an undefeated prospect but it's Heavyweight/Light Heavyweight so I think the age is less of an issue there. Still a little untested but for sure a good grappler with a lot of sub wins and some good back takes. Was on the GFL roster but obviously that never happened so it'll be interesting to see what he does next.

11. Pedro Lay Jr - 2002 - Cuba - LFA - 2-1 - NEW ENTRY

Son of a Cuban Olympic coach for something or other by the sounds of it. Has a karate background and looks like he has power. Clinches a bit too much for a striker but a physical specimen so able to ragdoll guys down at a lower level at least. Good powerful ground and pound. Very rough round the edges but looks like he has enormous potential. Lost to Aspen Ladd's brother because he was rushing his get ups but I would say that's something he can iron out. Good enough athlete to make it at the top level imo.

12. Frederic Vosgrone – 1997 – Germany – Oktagon – 4-0 (up 1 place)

Purveyor of instant chaos who just hammers forward throwing haymakers to try and get into grappling and then just grabs hold of whatever he can to aggressively try and get it to the floor. Not sure how far he'll get doing this as he's gonna have to eat punches off big guys but it's fun as fuck and I'm here for it.

13. Alik Lorenz – 1997 – USA – LFA – 6-1 (up 1 place)

An okayish prospect. I think of him as a bit of a poor man's Dustin Jacoby but he's by no means bad. Good news for him is he's got himself onto the contender series. Bad news for him is he's fighting my #1 prospect in the weight class Yakhyaev, but maybe he can fuck shit up for me.

 

[Koala]

I think Pedro Lay was Yoel Romero's cornerman for striking. I think he's initially a Taekwondo coach
France also has good LHW prospects right now who are both late bloomers: Bafode Gassama, from MMA Factory, fighting at Hexagone, who had a good IMMAF career after a football stint; and also Neil Ariano, who trains in an old school team, Platinum, and fights at Cage Warriors. He was a high-level Judoka before transitioning to MMA through the IMMAF scene

Bafode Gassama ("Baidoneus") | MMA Fighter Page | Tapology

Bafode "Baidoneus" Gassama (2-0-0) is a Pro MMA Fighter out of Paris, France and the #43rd ranked Pro Mens Light Heavyweight in Europe Western. View complete Tapology profile, bio, rankings, photos, news and record.

www.tapology.com

Nell Ariano | MMA Fighter Page | Tapology

Nell Ariano (4-0-0) is a Pro MMA Fighter out of France and the #7th ranked Pro Mens Light Heavyweight in United Kingdom & Ireland. View complete Tapology profile, bio, rankings, photos, news and record.

www.tapology.com

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Middleweight

Since last time #1 Baysangur Susurkaev got a contract with the UFC and is already debuting this weekend.

1. Matej Penaz - 1996 - Czechia - Oktagon - 10-1 (up 1 place)

Levelled up considerably since the Contender Series. Murdering anyone mid level in the first round and then absolutely beating the crap out of the notoriously tough Matt Bonner. Definitely due another shot. Fights in Oktagon keep falling through annoyingly.

2. Virgil Augen - 1997 - France - Ares - 8-0 (up 1 place)

Very good wrestling style against most people, plows into the clinch, works for doubles and trips and holds position well for extended periods of time. Had to show a more well rounded game against another wrestler in Gutu and did so, outstaying the early charge comfortably and showing patience, much improved striking and very good fight IQ to gradually take charge of the fight and drown his man. Just very calm and professional in there, manages cardio well and very strong.

3. Norbert Novenyi Jr – 1999 – Hungary – Hexagone - 8-1 (up 1 place)

Kind of an obvious guy to slot towards the top of the list now he's left PFLator. I thought he should have got a draw in the fight against Dalton Rosta so should still be undefeated to me. Entertaining mix of the karate based London Shoot style with good wrestling and ground and pound with BJJ. Kind of amazed that as MVP's main training partner he isn't on the UFC roster but I'm sure he will be soon.

4. Dani Barbir - 1997 - Croatia - FNC - 7-0 (up 1 place)

This dude looks super athletic and explosive from what I've seen of him. Very interesting attributes to have at 185. At the latest FNC card he was fighting a shorter, stocky dude and immediately started firing flying knees and other explosive stuff at him. He then found a huge front kick to the chin which reminded me of the one Abus Magomedov hit Stolzsfus with and he then followed up with really hard ground and pound. For some reason the ref was willing to let the other dude die, so he decided to show that he's got some BJJ chops from the top at least and finished the guy with an arm triangle. Very interested in seeing how a dude with this kind of athletic ability develops.

5. Cezary Oleksiejczuk - 2000 - Poland - FEN - 15-3 (moved from 170)

I think 170 is his idea weight but he's booked onto DWCS at 185 so we'll put him on here for now. Still clearly one of the better prospects around at this weight. Some of the best boxing in the sport and generally really good first layer takedown defence even if his get ups when he's actually down could use a bit of work. Ridiculous amount of experience for his age and now he's training with Fighting Nerds regularly he could get even better.

6. In Soo Hwang – 1994 – South Korea – Road FC – 8-1 (nc)

Finally being active again after a couple of years off, Hwang is pretty much the most chill fighter in the world. He's kind of the ultimate counter fighter as he calmly sets dudes up to fuck up so he can counter them while looking ridiculously relaxed like he's waiting in the line at the shop rather than in a cage fighting. Seems pretty hard to take down too, although he maybe does spend a bit too much time letting guys push him against the cage.

Still, the way he sets up the timing on his strikes and makes each one count is a sight to behold. I'm not quite sure what the UFC brass would make of his style, but for me he'd be a really interesting puzzle to watch guys at that level try and figure out.

Also probably has the coolest tattoos in the sport, so sign him just for that. Handsome fucker too.

7. Khabib Nabiev – 1999 - Russia – UAE Warriors – 10-0 (up 2 places)

Khabib Nurmagomedov trained guy who's kind of inconsistent in his performances but when he looks good he can look very good and in his last two he's shown much more willingness to engage and effort to do damage and get finishes. Has the control skills you'd expect for someone from that gym and starting to put the pieces together in terms of being a fighter people will actually want to see too.

8. Vitor Costa – 2000 – Brazil – Jungle Fight – 8-1 (up 3 places)

Two weight champion in Jungle Fight but this is his best weight where he carries the most power. A little rough around the edges but hard hitting and aggressive and the kind of fighter the UFC likes.

9. Alibeg Suleimanov - 1997 - Russia - UAE Warriors - 6-0 (up 3 places)

Had an excellent amateur record and undefeated as a pro so far. Does the usual stuff you'd expect from a Dagi, good single leg pick up and wrestling. Did look a little bit sloppy against Thani and put himself in a couple of bad positions and gave up the back but able to just wrestle out of it ultimately.

10. Theo Haig – 1996 – USA – LFA – 6-0 (up 4 places)

Very interesting grappling prospect who has some all round skills too. Has a future in the UFC I think but this year he's been given a pretty brutal DWCS style matchup in Cezary Oleksiejzcuk so I don't think this will be his year.

11. Noach Blyden – 1992 – Netherlands – BRAVE – 7-1 (up 10 places) ▲

Impressed by what I've seen of this guy so far against a limited level of competition (haven't seen his recent split though). He's a good kickboxer who I think is especially good in clinch striking,, love the knees to the body he throws there especially but he's working punches and elbowing at a high rate too. Has a habit of crashing into the clinch a lot but it doesn't cause too much of a problem because of the danger he presents there. Would be interested in seeing how he fares with it against a really good wrestler though.

12. Ilian Bouafia - 1997 - France - Hexagone - 7-0 (down 5 places) ▼

DWCS performance was a bit of a shame. I think Ilian has UFC potential based on his size and striking ability but at the same time he's more of a counter striker who'll probably be need to put against the right opposition to avoid staring contests. Hopefully if he gets onto the show again he'll get someone who brings the fight to him a little more.

13. Lajuan Davis – 1997 – USA – Peak Fighting – 7-1 (up 6 places) ▲

Jackson Wink product who looks nice and smooth on the feet but has already shown the recent Jackson Wink prospects trend of being easy to wrestlefuck. I still like the look of him and the guy he got wrestlefucked by is now in the UFC, so I'm willing to give him a chance for now. Showed he can get it done in long title fights on the regionals too.

14. Martin Kozak – 2002 – Slovakia – RFA – 4-0 (up 1 place)
Tall prospect, very interesting in his early 20's, unbeaten as an ammy against pretty solid guys and pro career all finishes so far. Went through the right of passage against Jorge Bueno and passed fine. Good pressure, punches long and accurate, generally good at keeping range and kicks pretty good. Got taken down a couple of times by a double and single but I was impressed by his urgency to get his hips back and get back up and take the centre back and get back on the pressure.

15. Lucas Fernando - 1997 - Brazil - LFA - 11-3 (up 2 places)

Talented but a bit of an idiot. Very good offensively, doesn't move head well enough defensively and got dropped by pretty low level dude. When he can get himself going forward and keep range he's very dangerous with good volume and hits hard. Falls into the clinch too much when he's pushing forward, good bodylock takedowns against some guys but it gets him into trouble he doesn't need to be in with wrestlers. Same deal with spamming jump knees at times. Talented but frustrating.

16. Bailey King – 2001 – USA – Peak Fighting – 5-1 (up 4 places)

Looks a really good prospect, a very hard nosed pressure guy who will walk people down and try to take them out with either close range striking or grappling. Came out on the losing side of a very close title fight with Lajuan Davis but showed he had excellent cardio against another good prospect and everyone else he's faced he's taken out in the first couple of rounds.

17. Guram Gochashvili - 2000 - Georgia - CFFC - NEW ENTRY

Trains with Glover Teixeira and looks like a very dangerous dude based on the evidence I saw of him at CFFC. Not particularly technical on the feet but looks like has power and dropped his opponent. Grappling looks very good, especially on top, really likes scarf hold and trying to isolate an arm from anywhere so he can get crucifix and drop elbows. Seems to be his speciality. Good back take and banged his hips in before more GNP. Was a competitive grappler at a reasonable level but seems to want to be a ground and pound specialist in MMA and he looks good at it to me.

18. Khaled Laalam - Sweden - UAE Warriors - 7-0 (down 5 places) ▼

Really disappointing last fight as he made very hard work of trying to blanket a random EFC Africa guy. Won the IMMAF in 2017 and undefeated as a pro but I think he needs to be putting on more entertaining fights like that if he wants to get major league interest beyond PFL MENA.

19. Dario Bellandi - 1996 - Italy - Cage Warriors - 9-1 (up 3 places)

I thought he was a bit lucky to hold onto his belt against Kaniskauskas and maybe slightly benefitted from a home town decision but it wasn't a robbery or anything. Very tough dude with solid cardio who's there to throw down with dudes all fight and works hard. Kind of a poor man's Nicolas Dalby.

20. Murtaza Talha - 1996 - Bahrain - BRAVE - 7-2 (down 12 places) ▼
I think that it might be a little bit over for him in terms of making the UFC after getting the brutal late replacement that was Susurkaev on DWCS. I do think he still has the ability to be a decent mauler at that level but it just seems a long way back now.

21. Abdurakham Alimagomedov – 1998 - Russia – UAE Warriors – 12-1 (up 3 places)
Recently returned from a three year layoff and looked impressive. Seems strong, bullied and pretty easily subbed a striker. Abdulmanap trained guy so that's always promising. Need to see him fight against someone who can half defend a takedown.

22. Anvarbek Daniyalbekov – 1995 – Russia – UAE Warriors – 10-0 (up 3 places)

Was supposed to be on DWCS one year but had some visa issues or something else which prevented it. Looks fine from what I've seen of him but at the same time probably not as good as I'd expect an unbeaten Russian with close to double figure wins to be. Likes kicking a lot, pretty snappy but spams them a little bit. Not sure about his clinch work yet, seems to spend a lot of time hanging out there. Very nice high kick KO in last win over Brazilian journeyman after a while out and then solid enough win the next time against a guy with a good record but not quite the skills to match the record. Reminds me of Armen Petrosyan a lot for whatever that's worth.

23. Naglis Kanisauskas - 2000 - Lithuania - Cage Warriors - 9-4 (re-entry)

Unlucky not to get the decision against Bellandi in Cage Warriors title fight I thought. Showed he had the cardio to fight hard for five round in a closely contested fight on his opponent's home turf. All his losses are pretty competitive scraps against regional level champions and he's got to get lucky at some point. Pretty solid everywhere and still young.

24. Brandon Holmes - 1997 - USA - Fury FC - 5-0 - NEW ENTRY

Very boxing based style, reminds me of Danny Barlow a bit. Has good power and comes forward with good pressure. Got Borrego out of there in a good fight where he hurt and dropped him a few times but also got dropped once and put on chicken legs another time so his chin is a little bit of a question mark I think.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Welterweight

#11 Tayilake Nueraji and #18 Rodrigo Sezinando both got into the UFC

1. Lucas Rafael – 2002 – Brazil – SFT – 5-0 (up 5 places)

I checked this guy out after being impressed with Neemias Santana in his LFA fight at the weekend. I thought he was a big, aggressive athletic guy and I was interested to see who beat him and saw this guy on his record.

So yeah, I watched a couple of his fights. In the first one he takes his opponent down and beats the fuck out of him with impressive grappling before insta-tapping him with a guillotine when the guy tried to do something back so I figured this guy is an impressive grappling prospect. Then I watch his most recent fight in which he has no interest in grappling and just waits for a pressure guy to make mistakes, kicks the fuck out of his legs and times excellent hard counter punches and then obliterates the dude with a massive high kick.

This guy looks absolutely terrifying everywhere.

2. David Samuel – 2003ish – Russia – Nashe Delo – 4-0 (nc)

Very high level ammy who would probably have been an IMMAF champ were it not for Russian fighters not being allowed to compete after the Ukraine invasion. Very good everywhere, kind of mixes athleticism with Russian wrestling. Quick on the feet, very good boxer and can bob and weave very well. Really good wrestling and top control, excellent cardio. Already shown heart and had to come back from being dropped and hurt badly by a hard shot he didn't see coming to the point where he was mounting the guy by the end of the same round. Superb prospect who has the makings of a future title challenger imo.

3. Khotam Boynazarov - Uzbekistan - UAE Warriors - 11-0 (down 2 places)

A bit of a surprise that he wasn't able to quite get Llontop out of there during their fight but it wasn't like it was particularly close and he retained is UAEW title. Fights up to that have been utter grappling domination, damage and submissions but maybe there was a slight hint of being one dimensional. Even if he does turn out to be one dimensional that one dimension is pretty fucking amazing though.

4. Michael Oliveira - 1998 - Brazil - LFA - 8-0 (down 1 place)

We knew he was a killer early but in his last fight against a tough dude he couldn't get out of there earlier he showed he had cardio too. Just a superb athlete, with speed, power and basically every attribute you'd want.

5. Elizier Kubanza - 1997 - DR Congo - BRAVE - 7-0 (down 1 place)
We knew he was a killer early but in his last fight against a tough dude he couldn't get out of there earlier he showed he had cardio too. Just a superb athlete, with speed, power and basically every attribute you'd want.

6. Isaac Moreno - 1997 - USA - Fury FC - 7-0 (down 1 place)

Dude seems to be good everywhere, came onto my radar by wearing out a wrestler and ended up outwrestling them. Next time I see him he's being elusive, working at range and using oblique kicks in maybe the best way I've seen. Very versatile, good looking, charismatic. A potential star.

7. Samandar Murodov - 1999 - Tajikistan - UAE Warriors - 11-0 (down 1 place)

Should already be in the UFC really, won Road to UFC fight in dominant fashion but maybe visa issues or something are preventing him from getting the call. Road to UFC win wasn't exactly thrilling to be fair so maybe that's putting them off.

8. Luis Francischinelli – 1996 – Brazil – LFA – 5-0 (up 1 place)
No idea why this guy randomly appeared on the scene in his late 20's but he looks like an absolute monster and I have no idea where he came from. He's 6'6 which is obviously absurdly tall for a welterweight and unlike a lot of tall fighters he actually uses his height well, pinging really fucking hard and straight punches down the middle which are taking dudes out with ease.

Kicking game is excellent too, gets his high kick up really quickly and because he's so tall he has the option of turning it into a knee instead of a kick which dudes don't see coming and is super dangerous. Unlike other stupidly tall guys like Anuar Aburto, he doesn't seem to have the tall man defence and actually looks defensively responsible. I haven't really seen anyone push his wrestling yet but how easy can it be to take a dude this tall down?

Five fights, five first round KOs, all very entertaining and brutal. Given that he's 29 we might as well fast track him and see how he hangs at the top level straight away.

9. Temirkhan Temirkhanov - 1998 - Russia - RCC - 13-1 (up 3 places)

Tanky Russian picking up impressive wins over good fighters like Milson Castro and blasting people out regularly with head kicks. Just constant pressure and work and facing him looks like hell in a cage basically.

10. Boris Medvedev - 1992 - Russia - RCC - 19-2 (nc)

Adding UFC vets to his resume for fun at the moment. Thrashed Gleison Tibau with ease, followed that up by putting Gazhi Omargazhiev to sleep. Don't really get why they haven't picked him up and it's getting close to the time when it feels like it's now or never. Looks like he could compete with ranked fighters pretty much immediately.

11. Geovanis Palacios - 1996 - Cuba – Centurion FC - 8-0 (up 2 places)

Absolutely phenomenal athlete, quite possibly one of the best I think I've ever seen in the sport. Ridiculously explosive and just throws guys around early. Don't think he has the gas tank to wrestle full bore for three rounds as he's pretty big for the weight but his BJJ and ground and pound are improving so he might not be letting people get late into the fight with him before long.

12. Jaden Ortega – 2002 – USA – Combate Global – 5-0 (up 2 places)

Very impressed with this kid so far. I first saw him fending off a wrestlefuck/cage clinch attempt from Jimmie Pace up at Middleweight but he looked like he'd really stepped up his game in his annihilation of Marcos Lloreda at his more natural weight class.

Looks a really relaxed and loose striker and I absolutely love his footwork, very good lateral movement and finds angles really well. Moves in and out at speed, allowing him to quickly close the distance and counter with hard straight strikes. Really good high kick to go with the straight strikes and having also fended off takedowns from a middleweight wrestler in his previous fight he should have the ability to keep it on the feet against most.

13. Sean Clancy Jr – 2004 – Scotland – Cage Warriors – 7-0 (up 2 places)

Best prospect to come out of Scotland in ages and getting pretty close to UFC ready. Willing to test himself against decent Brazilians rather than can crush and although that's meant all his fights haven't always been one way traffic, he's learning to deal with adversity. Really good offensive grappler who's big and strong for the weight. Would like to see him get the Cage Warriors belt and look to move to the UFC in 2026.

14. Murad Guseinov – 1998 – Russia – BRAVE – 9-0 (up 2 places)

Amateur IMMAF standout who's cruising very easily as a pro at the moment. Just has a hard time getting guys who can give him a test to get in with him but passes the eye test with flying colours.

15. Saygid Izagakhmaev - 1994 - Russia - Free Agent - 22-2 (up 2 places)

Went undefeated in ONE and somehow managed to be one of the few guys to be released from their contracts. Possibly going to have another crack at making the UFC after losing an unfortunately timed fight to Carlston Harris on looking for a fight a few years ago.

16. Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani – 1999 – USA – LFA – 8-2 (up 4 places)

I kinda go back and forth on this guy. He's had his good nights and his bad nights when I've seen him. What I can't deny is the speed and athleticism is off the charts. He's also really dangerous off his back when you take him down and throws up triangles and armbars quickly. Striking is quick and accurate. I've seen his gas before but since moving up to 170 that doesn't seem to be so much of an issue. Creamed a solid regional guy in Gennrich in his last fight and seems like he'll at least make the contender series.

Reminds me of Anthony Pettis a bit in that he's an athletic dangerous striker who can be taken down but is dangerous off his back too. Not sure how he'll do but if he has half the career Pettis did he can't complain.

17. Felix Klinkhammer - Germany - Ares - 10-0 (up 4 places)

London Shootfighters guy who has the MVP style striking (without the power) mixed with good offensive wrestling and grappling. Either had an injury or visa issues when he was supposed to be on the contender series, so hopefully he gets another opportunity.

18. Busurman Zhumagul – 2004 – Kyrgyzstan – CFFC – 3-0 (up 4 places)
Really big 6'4 US based Kyrgyz fighter. Didn't really see much of him in his CFFC main card debut against Dean Sherry but what we did get to see was very promising. Looks like he uses his height really well with very nice looking front kicks which look snappy and hard. They caused Sherry to panic and try and wrestle to a double but Busurman was able to easily pull him up to an upper body clinch, switch that off to a Thai plum and then proceed to absolutely murder him with a knee.

I'd probably be wise to wait for him to get some stiffer competition before getting too excited, but the physical tools of this guy are quite tough to ignore.

19. Reginaldo Junior – 1999 – Brazil – LFA – 10-1 (up 4 places)
Fighting Nerds guy who hits really fucking hard. Not a flashy karate stylist like some of the guys there but physically a beast and everything he throws seems to hurt guys if it lands, even jabs. Had to prove he had three round cardio against Gama who has a notoriously good chin too.

20. Omran Chaaban – 2001 – Finland – UAE Warriors – 9-1 (down 1 place)

Had a pretty good showing on TUF considering he was a weight division up. Beat LFA WW champ Magomedov on the show and had a close fight where he was winning in the last round against eventual winner Loder. Very easy win against Brazilian can in his return to the regionals, really good grappler and decent striker and probably very much in the mix for a UFC call.

21. Luis Hernandez - 1996 - USA - Fury FC - 6-0 (re-entry)

Also known as the 3 second high kick cop. Absolutely crushed everyone he's fought so far whether standing or on the ground and stepped up a bit against a 3-0 guy and trashed him too. Physically seems an absolute specimen, strong, fast and powerful. BJJ looks good, maybe trusts it a little too much as is willing to put himself in bad positions with kimura traps but able to use them to sweep so far. Top game looks good and tight, decent heavy pressure, good back taker and a nice squeeze on his chokes.

Looks like someone who'll make it to the UFC to me.

22. Yoon Sung Jang - 2002 - South Korea - Zombie Fight Night - 7-1 (re-entry)

Korean Zombie prospect who's a lot of fun to watch. Tends to get involved in scraps and willing to take one to give one at times. Has an opportunity on Road to UFC to showcase his skills to the UFC.

23. Namo Fazil - 1996 - Finland - 971 FC - 9-1 NEW ENTRY

This dude seems like kind of a chad. Very aggressive and just comes forward chucking bombs and trying to get the other guy to die. Seems very strong and with very good cardio. Impressive win against probably a technically superior undefeated ex ACA Dagi where he came from behind to just overwhelm him and knock him out in the third. Just seems like a guy who won't go away.

24. Shamidkhan Magomedov - 1994 - Russia - LFA - 10-1 (re-entry)

Seems to be kind of on UFC standby having won the LFA title. Messed up briefly on TUF and got choked but has been fucking up people quickly afterwards and seems like he could step into the UFC at any time really.

25. Austin Clayton - 1998 - USA - CFFC - 5-0 (re-entry)

Really big guy for the weight and looks a very good wrester/grappler with a really good front head lock series and impressive ground and pound. Really want to see him against some good comp but as a huge guy who trains at a big gym he's probably hard to match up.

 

[David R]

Really great news the ufc signing of Losene Keita weird seeing his first fight in ufc with Pitbull.