Introduction
Sunday, October 22nd, Brazilian bantamweight prospect Gabriel Wanderlay will be in action for Fury FC, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Sean Mora. He will be looking for another win, as Wanderlay looks to continue to build his resume early in his pro MMA career. He represents Wanderlay Jiu-Jitsu, an up-and-coming camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Grappling: Wanderley is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist with excellent grappling abilities and top-notch submission skills. The Brazilian-American fighter has shown his abilities through eight amateur bouts and three pro fights, finishing nine of his ten wins by the way of tapout. He’s great at cutting through his opponent’s guard and finding a position to finish the fight. He’s patient and sets traps, which has led to a variety of submission wins, including triangle choke, armbar, rear-naked choke and armbar.
Pedigree: Wanderley is the son of Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Daniel Wanderley, who is better known as the former head jiu-jitsu coach at Roufusport MMA. Obviously, Gabriel has a great coach in his father, who has likely been training Gabriel since he was a young boy. He also likely has had access to training with such fighters as Anthony and Sergio Pettis, as well as other top fighters that call Milwaukee their home.
Needs Improvement
Extended Striking Exchanges: Wanderley has decent striking, but it’s the biggest improvement he can make in his game. He has good basics and simple combinations, but a lot of that is just to set up a takedown to get things to the ground. If he fights somebody that’s able to keep Wanderley on his feet for minutes at a time, he could find himself more challenged. That could happen as he moves up in competition level.
Outlook
Sky is the Limit: Wanderley is just 21 years old and three pro fights into his career, so he has a long MMA career ahead of him. He is still in the developmental stages of his career, so he has some question marks, but a high ceiling. I could see him in the big leagues at some point, which is most likely to be in his mid 20s. He is quite talented already, though, which makes sense given his previously mentioned pedigree. Keep an eye on this young prospect.
MMA Intel 