Prospect in the Spotlight (Nov 10-11): Dauren Ermekov

Introduction

Friday, November 11th, Kazakh middleweight prospect Dauren Ermekov will be in action for AMC Fight Nights, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Dmitriy Aryshev. He will be looking for another win, as Ermekov looks to build on recent successes in an attempt to get a crack at the big league. He represents Erkin Kush, a solid camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”

Strengths

Overall Ground Game: Ermekov is a strong wrestler with an excellent grappling ability on the ground. Ermekov uses his striking to set up takedowns, which he achieves at a high percentage. He’s tough to deal with in the clinch and against the fence. Once on the mat, Ermekov gets to work. He is known for very heavy ground-and-pound, which he has used to finish multiple fights. He also has a strong submission base, with the arm-triangle choke being his favorite. Not a shocker, seeing as he’s a wrestler and he has tremendous strength. He has a solid strength of schedule as well, showing he hasn’t been taking lay-up fights. He owns two finishes over Russian vet Gamzat Khiramagomedov.

Needs Improvement

Extended Striking Exchanges: When left on the feet for a long time against opponents capable of striking, Ermekov has been taken advantage of. Ermekov has five career losses, three of which come by way of knockout. One of those losses was to Vladimir Mineev, who dominated him on the feet. The loss before that was to Ayub Gimbatov, who also outstruck Ermekov. Ermekov can strike, but he needs to stay away from pure striking affairs, as his best efforts are when he can utilize his mat game.

Outlook

UFC Prelim Fighter: Ermekov is clearly a UFC level fighter and should be on the roster right now. Kazakhstan has produced many high-level fighters like Ermekov who have been successful at the top level of the sport. There are clearly a number of winnable fights in the UFC for him, but he first must continue his winning ways outside the UFC. He has another tough fight in the form of the aforementioned Aryshev, who will be another good test for Ermekov. If he succeeds, the UFC needs to ink him as soon as possible.