Introduction
Friday, November 25th, American welterweight prospect Dilano Taylor will be in action for PFL, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Sadibou Sy. He will be looking for another win, as Taylor looks to win the 2022 season and cash a $1 million payday. He represents Kill Cliff FC, a respected camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Power Punching: Taylor is a good, lanky striker, especially with his boxing. Taylor pops his shots out from the outside and invites opponents into his kill zone. He also has big-time power when he wants to, as we saw in his most recent knockout of Rory MacDonald. In that bout, Taylor looked very good standing up with the veteran, and when it was closing time, Taylor plastered him with a brutal right cross. He followed up with some ground-and-pound, but at that point, MacDonald was seeing birds and stars.
Submissions: Although I really enjoy watching Taylor strike and get nasty, he does have some very good submission skills. Half of his amateur wins came by way of the tapout. Also, since turning pro, he has a couple of submission wins, including one by a rarely-seen Ezequiel choke. Most of Taylor’s wins come by way of decision, however, he’s not a guy to sleep on if he gets the fight to the mat, as he’s shown competency on the mat.
Needs Improvement
Counter-Wrestling: Taylor’s most recenet loss came to Magomed Magomedkerimov, which is no shame seeing as he’s currently the #1 welterweight prospect per MMAintel. That said, Magomedkerimov’s wrestling is what dominated that fight, and as Taylor moves up in competition, he’s going to see more and more wrestlers like the Russian. Seeing as PFL is already gearing up their 2023 season with some big names, Taylor is likely to see them in the near future.
Outlook
Top-25 Welterweight: Taylor is definitely very skilled and at just 25 years old, the best years are ahead for him. He is well-rounded, athletically gifted and a big man for 170 pounds. He’s already proven he can hang with UFC-caliber talent, seeing as he’s beaten UFC veterans Rory MacDonald, Joao Zeferino and Lewis Gonzalez. He’s got a lot of pressure on him right now, as he’s gearing up to fight for the 2022 PFL Welterweight crown against an even bigger welterweight in Sadibou Sy. It’s a tough test against a guy that has looked very good this season. Win or lose, I can see Taylor being a major player in the near future.
MMA Intel 