Introduction
Tuesday, September 28th, Mexican lightweight prospect Daniel Zellhuber will be in action for Dana White’s Contender Series, where he will be looking to stay undefeated against Lucas Almeida. He will be looking for another win, as Weeks looks to score a contract with the UFC. He represents Hulett House MMA, a smaller camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Kickboxing: Zellhuber is long, tall striker with excellent technical ability and power. The 6’1″ lightweight is well-rounded on the feet. He has fast, powerful hands that can land with great power quickly. He also has whipping kicks, especially low kicks. He has sharp elbows when he gets close enough. Speaking of close, Zellhuber is long, but his close quarters striking, especially from the Thai clinch, is very good as well. He lands strong knees and close punches/elbows that do great damage. His ground-and-pound can be thrown in here as well. In all, seven of his eleven finishes come by way of knockout.
Jiu-Jitsu: In addition to his good striking, Zellhuber is also a strong submission grappler with excellent skills on that mat. When he’s on the ground, Zellhuber has excellent technical skills, from his passes to his positional ability. He’s also good on top or off his back. Off his back, he has submitted Brandon Vega via triangle choke. His most impressive submission win, though, came via the rarely seen calf slicer in 2020 over Miguel Arizmendi. Engaging with Zellhuber on the mat can be fun…while it lasts.
Needs Improvement
Wrestling: We have not seen a lot of offensive or defensive wrestling from Zellhuber that really puts fear into the mind of his opponents. While we have mentioned he’s a great grappler that can handle himself on the mat, if he is to encounter a guy with good wrestling, whether it be offensive takedowns or strong sprawling ability, Zellhuber could encounter some issues. He does not want to be on his back with a heavy wrestler that can negate his submission ability. He’s got plenty of time to cork this hole, though.
Outlook
UFC Feature Fighter: The market in Mexico is a hot market; just as Combate Global. The UFC knows this and they are constantly looking for talent from our neighbors to the south. Zellhuber fits that bill. He’s just 22 years old and already this talented, so he’s a guy that the UFC will want to build up to make the next face of Mexican MMA. The UFC will build him up seeing as he’s young. They will get him experience as he continues to add to his already impressive game. Then, once he’s ready, they will push him like they did Yair Rodriguez. I would not be shocked to see Zellhuber headline a card in Mexico at some point in his career or get a featured slot on a pay-per-view in his home country.
MMA Intel 