Introduction
Friday, February 25th, Jordanian welterweight prospect Jarrah al-Silawi will be in action for PFL, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Michael Lilley. He will be looking for another win, as al-Silawi primes himself for a run in the 2022 PFL season. He represents The Source MMA, an unknown camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Kickboxing: The most evident strength of the Jordanian mixed martial artist is definitely his striking, as he possesses an impressive kickboxing arsenal that has lent him well in the cage thus far. Six of his wins have come by way of knockout, including his biggest wins over the likes of UFC vet Ismail Naurdiev, top welterweight prospect Abdoul Adbdouraguimov and current UFC welterweight Carlston Harris. That’s already an impressive resume and he’s put them away with strikes. His kicks are especially nasty, as he mixes them up well between the legs, body and head. He finished Naurdiev with brutal leg kicks, put Ahmad Ibrahim away with a liver kick and began his TKO stoppage of Harris with a head kick that rocked his opponent. He’s a great combination of power and technical prowess.
Offensive Submission Game: In addition to his impressive striking, when on the ground, al-Silawi has a good, aggressive submission game when it comes to his offense. Five of his pro wins come by way of tapout and it’s come with some of the rarer submission techniques, including three kimuras. That’s impressive. He’s also shown he can be aggressive of his back, using a triangle choke to take away the perfect record of David Bear.
Needs Improvement
Counter-Wrestling: Right off the bat, let me say this: Jarrah al-Silawi has definitely improved his wrestling. This was seen in his revenge victory over Abdoul Abdouraguimov, where he weathered some takedowns to eventually sprawl-and-brawl his way to victory. Abdouraguimov is definitely a good wrestler, so it’s encouraging to see al-Silawi grow in that way. However, a wrestler with more threatening striking presence could be more of a challenge to the Jordanian. We will see that during his likely 2022 PFL season.
Outlook
PFL Seasonal Challenger: It’s obvious that the PFL is giving al-Silawi is being given a set up fight here to prime him for a 2022 welterweight season. His opponent, Michael Lilley, is a regional journeyman with a not-so-impressive record. What will happen here is that al-Silawi will score a win, likely in impressive fashion, and cash his ticket to said 2022 season. There, he becomes an immediate challenger to win this season, although it will be in a shark tank of competitors such as Roy Cooper III, Rory MacDonald, likely Magomed Magomedkerimov and others. It will not be easy, but he’s definitely skilled enough to contend. I imagine he will appear in more than one season in an attempt to snag the $1 million loot.
MMA Intel 