Introduction
Friday, March 28th, Brazilian bantamweight prospect Vinicius Pires will be in action for LFA, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Lionel Abojer. He will be looking for another win, as Pires looks to inch closer to a UFC contract. He represents Black Sheep MMA, a smaller camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Jiu Jitsu: Pires is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt that has shown some very strong grappling skills from both top position and off his back. The rear-naked choke is his most-used technique when finishing a fight on the mat, but he can also tap opponents out defensively, as he did in his most recent fight with Jhon Rodriguez Tacha. In that fight, he finishes Tacha with a beautiful triangle choke, showing he’s a danger wherever.
Power Striking: In terms of striking technique, Pires is not going to be confused with Nieky Holzkien any time soon, but he’s a good, aggressive striker that has a lot of power for a 135-pound fighter. He has the ability to finish a fight with one strike, as seen in a recent uppercut knockout of Marlon Basilio at LFA 183. He likes to get aggressive, move forward and throw bombs, which also helps set up his takedowns to get to the mat.
Needs Improvement
Counter-Wrestling Question Marks: Fighting exclusively in Brazil, Pires has yet to really challenge himself with a top-level wrestler like he’d see in the major league aka the UFC. While Pires is a skilled jiu-jitsu player and dangerous off his back, defending takedowns and attempting to win off his back against a strong, heavy top-game wrestler could be exposed and lead to him struggling in those fights.
Outlook
UFC Midcarder: Pires has a chance to claim LFA gold and if he does, he will be within a fingertip’s reach of hitting the UFC. I think he gets there in the next year or two with a win for this belt. When he does, I can see him having some solid success with the company, though my aforementioned concerns about fighting top amateur wrestlers could stunt his ascent. All that remains to be seen.
MMA Intel 