Introduction
Friday, March 31st, American lightweight prospect Archie Colgan will be in action for Bellator, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Justin Montalvo. He will be looking for another win, as Colgan looks to continue to impress his bosses with Bellator. He represents Genesis Training Academy, an underrated camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Wrestling: Colgan has top-notch wrestling chops from his days as a high-level amateur. Colgan grappled at the University of Wyoming. where he had an impressive career. Furthermore, he spent time wrestling at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado, showing how regarded his grappling chops were. In the cage, nothing is different. Colgan is a high-level athlete with excellent takedowns and counter-wrestling. He is highly explosive and has great throws. He holds a slam knockout over Ben Simons in his Bellator debut. Also, from top position, he has strong ground-and-pound, which he can use to stop the fight, as seen in his most recent outing against Jesse Hannam.
Power Punching: In addition to his stellar wrestling ability, Colgan also has some big-time power when he strikes. His striking has come long pretty nicely since transitioning to MMA, learning quickly to make him more competent in the cage. His knockout power is important for that reason. He knocked out Bryan Nuro with a right hook in a recent bout, showing that stopping power. He also scored one-punch knockouts as an amateur. That knockout ability makes him even the more dangerous.
Needs Improvement
Step Up in Competition: Colgan has looked very good so far, but he has yet to really take up a step of competition. That is fine, given he’s 27 and he’s only competed officially since 2019 (his first amateur fight). He hasn’t faced absolute cans, which is good, but he hasn’t taken on a fighter that is really a “big-show vet.” I think Colgan has great potential in shit sport, but the sooner he moves up in competition, the better gauge we will get on where his talent level is right now.
Outlook
Future Title Contender: Colgan has the chops to be a top lightweight in this sport. He is an outstanding natural athlete with a top-level wrestling background and ever-improving MMA skills. He has undefeated Justin Montalvo on his plate right now for his current Bellator fight, who has looked good under the guidance of Ray Longo and Chris Weidman. If Colgan looks good in this bout and passes with flying colors, he needs to get a more recognizable name with Bellator. This is a guy that could challenge for a title in the next couple years if he plays his cards right.
MMA Intel 