Introduction
Sunday, May 19th, Australian flyweight prospect Lisa Kyriacou will be in action for Road to UFC, where she will be looking continue her winning ways against Qihui Yan. She will be looking for another win, as Kyriacou looks to inch closer to a UFC contract. She represents Absolute MMA, a smaller camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Long Striking: Despite being just 5’5″, Kyriacou is a solid striker that stays at the end of her shots. She has good straight punches and uses them to set up her takedowns. She could utilize kicks more, but her boxing is very solid. She’s better in volume than power. Her striking looked surprisingly solid in the limited time we saw it in her last fight with Nat Jaroonsak, a strong Muay Thai stylist.
Offensive Grappling: Kyriacou’s best asset is her offensive grappler. Everything she does is to set up the takedown and the eventual top position on the mat. She is active from top, looking to cut through her opponent’s defenses and find a spot to land her ground-and-pound and search for submissions. She only has one win by submission, a rear-naked choke, but that doesn’t mean she’s not skilled.
Needs Improvement
Defensive Grappling: Kyriacou is a strong grappler, but her defensive grappling can be exposed. Her takedown defense is decent, but if an opponent gets her down, she can be held down. Her only loss saw her outwrestled and held down by Jacinta Austin, who is actually a weight class below Kyriacou at this point. She has to work on getting from under an opponent who takes her down, as she was stifled in that fight.
Decision Heavy: Something that will get you in the UFC is finishing fights. At this point, she has seven wins and six are by decision.
Outlook
UFC Prelim Fighter: Kyriacou has a really tough opponent in her Road to UFC bout in Contender Series vet Qihui Yan. She has 28 pro fights to her name, so she is ultra experienced and represents the toughest fight to date for the Australian. If she gets past her, she will have proven she is UFC ready. She has the talent to make the UFC roster at some point and last a few fights there. Seeing as she is an Australian, she may be angling to get on the card in Perth later this year.
MMA Intel 