Introduction
Tuesday, August 12th, French middleweight prospect Ilia Bouafia will be in action for Dana White’s Contender Series, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Neemias Santana. He will be looking for another win, as Bouafia looks to score a UFC contract. He represents Boxing Squad, a solid camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Striking: Bouafia is an exciting striker that looks for the knockout early and often. He has really good striking at range, possessing strong boxing skills that he’s refined running with the Boxing Squad gym in France. He has solid kicks from the outside as well, using those to diversify his attack and keep his opponent guessing. Five of his six pro wins come by way of knockout, as he possesses one-punch finishing ability that mixes well with his accuracy. Overall, his on-the-feet skills are fun to watch and deadly in practice.
Size: Bouafia is a tall, lanky fighter that has tremendous length on his side. He is 6’5″ with long arms and legs, which helps him set the distance and pace of the fight. He snaps his punches and kicks well, catching his opponents at the end of his strikes, causing good damage. Overall, a middleweight this tall and long is tough to deal with.
Needs Improvement
Strength of Schedule/Inexperience: Bouafia is just six fights into his pro career, so he’s still relativeley young in his MMA career. As far as we can tell, he did not have an amateur MMA career. On top of that, his experience as a pro in the cage has (understandibly) been against mid-level regional talent, with his biggest test being in his most recent fight against Paulin Begai (only fight to go to decision). We have not seen him step up in competition, yet, especially against a high-level wrestler. That is yet to be seen.
Outlook
UFC Prelim Fighter: Bouafia is clearly a talented fighter and the UFC has already identified that, seeing as they tried booking him for the Contender Series last year (Ares FC contract prevented that). He is still young and improving at a good clip, meaning he could be a real solid fighter in the coming years. Under the tutelage of underrated coach Aldric Cassata, he’s got the right guidance to continue his ascent up the 185-pound ladder. He’s got a tough opponent in front of him right now in Neemias Santana, who will have no problem striking with him on the feet. Should Bouafia score the win, I can’t see him not getting a contract.
MMA Intel 