UFC Vegas 71
From thebodylockmma, cagesidepress, verdict, etc:
Danaa Batgerel is an extremely aggressive fighter. He likes the overhand right and left hook as primary weapons, but he throws very wide and looping often. Yet inside these wide combinations, tight straight and a sharp hook appear and cut through his typical rhythm. Likely he will be the one to take control of the center of the cage, he pours on tremendous pressure and looks to trap his opponents against the fence so as to create opportunities where they cannot evade big punches. However, out in the open, these same punches often get him in trouble as when there is space to move away, he ends up chasing them and can get caught coming in. When he is hurt, he looks to utilize the front kick as a gap creator in order to recover. Danaa has a more wrestling-centric style with big takedowns, especially throws from the rear body lock and looking for the outside trip and following through with the power shots. On top, he has brutal ground and pound especially if he finds himself controlling his opponent in the turtle and defensively he is also exceptionally good at creating awkward positions where he can stall position and land strikes. a consistent problem he has faced is that he has a habit of head hunting and throwing very wide. Batgerel is constantly fainting and changing up his footwork, his punches come at odd angles and to some may look awkward and looping, but his pinpoint accuracy makes it all work. His timing is impeccable as well, and often you see him land massive strikes as his opponents exit or come in. Batgerel’s best combination is a looping overhand right into a rolling step and a left hook, often his first punch is used to direct his opponent laterally into the next strike. Danna is a striker first who does have decent wrestling and better ground and pound. He is a better counter striker who does well slipping punches and firing with his right hand. The Mongolian tends to be drawn into firefights often. While that is exciting and he does frequently find success, his head sits on that center line and he takes unnecessary damage. With Danaa, you will see him throw one to three punches and reset every time, making him too easy to read. His takedown defense at times is good but when it comes to chain wrestling defense that’s where he comes up short. He’s a good striker in terms of power and placement but lacks fundamentals.
Brady Hiestand has demonstrated the skill and determination to be one of the UFC’s most interesting prospects. The young talent can hold his own standing but his true strength is in his wrestling. Many of his striking weapons lead to this, most notably his boxing and front round kick. Hiestand will do a slight hop step to land off the front leg, keeping his opponents at bay and pressuring towards the fence where he can time the double leg. He is a great reactionary wrestler, which is why he is both extremely technical and quick. On top, his biggest strength is controlling the lower body of his opponents, even standing over his opponents his grip control on the ankles allows him to pass safely to half guard smoothly, and he maintains his control on the legs so as to not allow his opponents to hip escape. Side control and knee on belly are particularly strong areas for Hiestand, where he controls and can land brutal ground and pound. Relatively still young in his career, Hiestand does seem to gas out late in some fights, his style is reactionary and comfortable to him but it also requires consistent strength. He can wrestle without much thought so he does still have success late, but he may also walk into dangerous positions or strikes when he is in an area less familiar.
Cachoeira stands very crouched in her stance and loads up far more weight into her punches. wings her shots and drives through completely with her grounded stance. Her stance also allows her to quickly sprawl and force her opponents to re-engage on their feet. However, the biggest knock on her style is that because she knows she has finishing capabilities in her overhand right, she goes to the well too often, to the point where it becomes predictable. good in top position; Cachoeira, as one would expect, is far more concerned with landing damage than control, which means she will allow her opponents to scramble up as long as they eat punches on the way. Cachoeira will always pose a threat from the opening bell to the moment the fight is over. She throws with reckless abandon with enough weight in every shot to potentially spell the end. She stands crouched and extremely heavy in her stance so that she can rotate and drive through on all of her shots. This also allows her a bit of a head start on sprawling which is her primary means of defending takedowns. She is very aggressive and accurate, but tends to go back to her greatest weapon, the right cross a bit to the point of predictability. Her punches are stiff and sharp because they’re always up and loaded in her guard. On the lead, she tends to do very good at staying stable as she attacks, but when looking to counter her weight can sometimes over-extend over her front leg, making the best opportunity to either take her down or attack a leg is when she throws that counter right. The one big knock on Cachoeira’s skill set has been her grappling game, although it’s important to note that she has fought very good grapplers in the division, she does tend to look a step behind. This is largely due to her inclination to settle on her back and close her guard, hoping more for a referee to stand up sometimes than forcing her way to her feet.
Karine Silva is physically strong, a submission threat, dangerous off her back, has solid jiu-jitsu. Her cons are she is slow, has flat movement, gets pressed back easily, has questionable take down defense. She is 29 years old and will have 2 inch Reach advantage. She will be 2 inches shorter. Karine Silva submitted Poliana Botelho in the first round of her last fight with a D'Arce Choke.
Francis Marshall is a well-rounded fighter with reliable cardio and an ability to find the finish if the opening presents itself. Starting on the feet, as all fights do, tends to be more of a boxer than a kickboxer or Muay Thai striker. His movement is a bit stiff, especially early in fights, but he strikes in combination and the more he lets his hands go, the less robotic and more fluid his movement becomes. Marshall prefers to wrestle and grapple on the mat and is adept at chaining his striking and wrestling together. He’s shown a positive pattern of following up a multi-piece combination with a takedown attempt. Even if he is unsuccessful in the attempt, the ability to chain striking and wrestling together shows high-level ability and forces his opponent to defend multiple attacks. Further, Marshall’s strike-to-wrestle and wrestle-to-strike approach forces an opponent to defend for long periods of a fight. Since Marshall has proven he can keep up a high pressure and not only avoid fading but improve as the fight goes on, his style allows him to weaponize cardio. That cardio, coupled with his strong wrestling and intelligent top control makes getting a takedown often inevitable. Once he secures the takedown and gets the fight to the mat, he immediately looks to take the back. While his striking is fundamental and rigid, Marshall’s grappling is more rhythmic and fluid. While his submission game may be his best path to victory and the most identifiable positive aspect of his game, Marshall’s best attribute may be his pressure and ability to evolve as the fight progresses. Looking specifically at his DWCS fight, Marshall was slow on the feet, hittable early, and looked a little out-of-place while striking. Then, in round 2, Marshall took a more movement-heavy approach on the feet, found success with his hands, and turned a boxing match from a concern to a path to victory. He showed that he can land a stiff 1, 2 combination with precision and power. That ability to evolve mid-fight, coupled with his well-rounded game, makes him an exciting prospect. The concerns for Marshall, though, center around his rigidity on the feet and tendency to be a slower starter. It’s imperative that he defend himself intelligently, especially when he faces an aggressive fighter with more creative and natural striking. The bottom line is that Marshall is a well-rounded combination boxer who has strong wrestling and an ability to smoothly transition on the mat.
William Gomis didn’t really jump out to anyone until he beat Tobias Harila in 2021. Gomis has an exciting fighting style (nickname Jaguar) and is only just 25. He will turn 26 in June 2023. Gomis is a really dangerous guy when he blitzes forward and off his back foot. He throws a lot of good kicks and his hands compliment his offensive output. He does a fine job of always staying busy. Not the cleanest on the mat but he can wrestle and grapple when needed. It’s going be tough to figure out William Gomis on the feet where he’s so tricky. 3 inches taller than Marshall and 1 inch reach advantage.
Mohammed Usman has elite knockout power, but he doesn’t throw a ton of strikes. Mohammed Usman is the younger brother of former UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman, and he had a career-best year in 2022. Usman participated in the 30th season of The Ultimate Fighter, where Juliana Pena coached him against team Amanda Nunes. "The Motor" would pick up two decision victories across the season, grinding himself a ticket to the TUF Finale, taking a main card slot on UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Hill. He would face fellow TUF teammate Zac Pauga and knock him unconscious at the beginning of the second round with a left hook, winning the tournament and the UFC contract. Now, Usman will face Tafa in his next matchup and will look to use his explosive striking and wrestling credentials to secure his second UFC win.
Junior Tafa is the younger brother of UFC Heavyweight fighter Justin Tafa, who recently secured a colossal knockout over Parker Porter at UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski. Although Tafa has only four MMA bouts, he's a former GLORY kickboxing fighter with a professional kickboxing record of 3-4 and a boxing record of 1-0-1. All four of Tafa's MMA victories have come by knockout, and he's yet to enter the third round. Not much is known about his MMA prowess, but many questions will be answered when he debuts in the octagon against Usman. "Juggernaught" will look to use his GLORY-level striking and knockout ability to secure victory in his UFC debut.
UFC Vegas 71
https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/events/97433-ufc-fight-night
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