Introduction
Saturday, October 10th, Italian strawweight prospect Micol di Segni will be in action at AFL Valkeries, where she will be looking to score gold against Audrey Kerouche. He will be looking for another win, as di Segni looks to impress the UFC brass in her attempt to score a contract with the company. She represents Jackson-Winklejohn MMA, a respected camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Striking Offense: Offensively on the feet (and ironically, the ground), Micol di Segni is strong. She has good power for a woman her size. She likes throwing big power hooks and overhands at her opponents with some serious pepper on them. She scores damage with ease, as she sits down into those punches and generates serious heat. She also likes utilizing leg kicks, which many times she will use to set up her hands as well. On the mat, her ground-and-pound is relentless and effective. From top position, she will use ground strikes to advance to a better position. From there, she will continue to pound on opponents or possibly open up a submission.
Toughness: If there’s one thing you can say about di Segni with ease, it’s that she has heart for days and will not quit. She has a very strong chin and can eat shots. Even when she’s hurt, she doesn’t back down and will try to fight fire with fire. She’s also still dangerous when she’s hurt. She keeps her head about her and continues to try and win the fight in the given sticky situation. See her loss to Maria Ribeiro for proof.
Needs Improvement
Striking Defense: Speaking of her fight with Maria Ribiero (and other fights she’s been in), that bout showed that di Segni’s striking defense could use some work. Her head stays on a straight line often and she does not tuck her chin when being fired upon. Her hands drop a lot as well, especially in exchanges where she can get touched. She does have the aforementioned chin, but she cannot rely solely on toughness. She needs to defend strikes more effectively.
Strength of Schedule: When di Segni has stepped up in competition thus far, she has faltered. Her losses come to UFC fighter Mallory Martin, Maria Ribeiro and Shanna Power. When di Segni has won, it has been over opponents that have a combined record of 8-8. She’s obviously trying to build herself up as a prospect and get in cage time, but she has to score a marquee win. A win over Kerouche here would be a start to that, as Kerouche is a 12-fight vet.
Outlook
UFC Prelim Fighter: At 32 years old, di Segni’s window is closing more quickly than a fighter in their 20s. That said, di Segni is a fighter that will find her way to the UFC. She has an exciting style and a marketable look that the UFC brass likes, so she’s a win or two away from a UFC contract, in my opinion. For this fight (per Shootin’ the Shit podcast episode) she has not been able to train at Jackson-Winklejohn MMA because of COVID lockdowns, so her camp is different this time around. A win here will certainly have her on the UFC’s radar, especially as the champion of the AFL organization.
MMA Intel 