Introduction
Friday, June 17th, American flyweight prospect Mitch Raposo will be in action for CES, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Heinrich Wassmer. He will be looking for another win, as Raposo looks to impress and score attention from the UFC. He represents Regiment Training Center, a solid camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Submission Wrestling: Raposo has a good wrestling base and some strong grappling, which is the best part of his game. He has a ground-and-pound win, as well as three submission victories in his six career wins. Because he’s strong and explosive, he’s able to shoot effectively on his opponents and get them down with ease. This was seen against Jake Hadley, where Raposo got him down multiple times with ease. He thrives on top and that’s where he prefers to fight.
Youth/Time to Improve: Right now, Raposo is just 23 years old. That is very young in this sport and he already has some solid experience. He’s shown to improve quickly and with that in mind, he’s clearly going to be a very good soon enough. It will be interesting to see where Raposo is when he’s 26 years old.
Needs Improvement
Defensive Grappling: As we saw in his fight with Hadley, Raposo was exposed a bit defensively when on the mat. Hadley got Raposo down and made quick work of him on the mat. Hadley sliced through Raposo’s defenses and quickly advanced to finishing positions. Once Raposo gave up his back, Hadley quickly secured a choke and ended it. Raposo will need to work on his defensive grappling, especially of his back.
Unproven Against Better Talent: At this point, the couple times Raposo has stepped up against proven talent, he has fallen. Those two fights came on The Ultimate Fighter against Liudvik Sholinian and on the Contender Series against Jake Hadley. His pro wins have come over fighters with a combined record of 16-28. While there is some experience there, there is not a lot of success. Raposo needs keynote wins over guys with some recognition and better records.
Outlook
UFC Roster Member: At just 23 years old, Raposo has a bright future in this sport and he’s got plenty of time to get to the next level. He’s already been featured on The Ultimate Fighter and Contender Series, showing that he’s not only on the UFC’s radar, but that the think highly enough of him that they’ve given him chances at this young of an age. If he continues to improve at the rate he is, he will be in the UFC in the next few years. That’s especially the case given that he’s a flyweight and the UFC could always use flyweights in their company.
MMA Intel 