Best Prospects of the Weekend (1/16-1/18)

Following our first installment last week, we return this week with a lot of MMA on our plates. Here are quick notes on ten prospects to look out for this weekend:

1. Josiah Harrell (Welterweight, United States, LFA): If it weren’t for a failed medical, Josiah Harrell would have had his shot in the UFC already. Now, the undefeated fighter is on his return tour, which saw him go 3-0 in 2025, including winning the Ohio Combat League belt. Harrell is a strong wrestler that is devastating on the mat between his heavy ground-and-pound and his submission ability. He will get a tough test in the form of Kyrgyz fighter Bekmyrza Dosmatov, who will match up with his wrestling and ground game in an interesting manner.
2. Gigi Canuto (Women’s Strawweight, Brazil, LFA): One of the many Brazilian female prospects that are sniffing the UFC is Gigi Canuto, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace with plenty of credentials. The 23-year-old has spent her career with LFA, where she has built herself up from fighting cans to fighting some solid opposition. She’s finished all but one of her wins, most of which come by way of submission, unsurprisingly. She has the toughest test to date in Janaina Silva, who will test her on the feet and be tough to get down. A win her for Canuto puts her toward the top of strawweights on the UFC’s short list.
3. Arkadiusz Wrzosek (Heavyweight, Poland, KSW): Arkadiusz Wrzosek is a former Glory Kickboxing standout that has taken MMA by storm. Wrzosek is a massive man at 6’7″ who uses his length very well when on the feet. He has blistering power with both his hands and feet, which is why most of his wins come by way of knockout. He is coming off a loss to Phil de Fries, which was for the KSW Championship, but de Fries has been the alpha male heavyweight outside the UFC. Wrzosek’s current opponent is Szymon Bajor, who is a veteran of almost 40 pro fights.
4. Wiktoria Czyzewska (Women’s Flyweight, Poland, KSW): Sticking in KSW with Polish fighters, we next look at Wiktoria Czyzewska. At just 21 years old, Czyzewska is undoubtedly one of Poland’s blue-chip prospects, especially in the female category. She had an extensive amateur career, so she’s far more experienced than her 6-1 record shows. She is a brutal striker, possessing powerful punching power and nasty kicking ability. She has a huge test in UFC veteran Tamires Vidal here, so a win would catapult her up the prospect rankings at 125 pounds.
5. Bagama Nikabagamaev (Featherweight, Russia, ACA): Being undefeated and fighting for the ACA is no easy feat given the talent that company has, but Bagama Nikabagamaev finds himself that way at 16-0. Bagama is a classic Russian submission wrestler, having an aggressive style in the cage where he looks for takedowns early and is successful. Once on the mat, he gets to work early finishing the fight, possessing 13 submission wins to date against some very solid opposition. He takes on veteran Gleb Khabibulin in a fight where, if successful, could net Bagama a title shot in the ACA.
6. Alikhan Musaev (Lightweight, Russia/Turkey, ACA): Speaking of undefeated fighters competing for ACA, 10-0 Alikhan Musaev is one of a number of Russians who have made the move to Turkey for their residence and training. Like many of the guys who moved to Turkey, Musaev came with his strong wrestling base and his aggressive style. He spends his best time on the mat, where he has seven finishes by ground-and-pound or submission. He fights Tamerlan Temirov this weekend in a showcase bout to continue showing he’s a top prospect in the ACA organization.
7. Jora Ayvazyan (Featherweight, Armenia/Russia, ACA): The last fighter being spotlighted from the ACA is Armenian Jora Ayvazyan, who is a very underrated featherweight prospect. He’s a well-rounded fighter, though he’s most enjoyable to watch when he’s creating on the feet. His punches and kicks are very snappy, causing damage quickly. He’s coming off the two biggest wins of his career, so he’s another ACA fighter that can get in the title picture if he’s able to put away tough Kazakh fighter Bagdos Olzhabay.
8. Samuel Bark (Featherweight, Sweden, Oktagon): Samuel Bark is a very unheralded prospect coming out of prospect, for the probable reason being that Sweden has not been as big of an MMA hotbed in recent years. Bark possesses a Muay Thai background, which aids him in his assault on the feet. He has beautiful technique, but he doesn’t just rely on that. He’s rounded out his game to be an offensive threat on the mat as well. He has an interesting matchup with Zafar Mohsen here, who will definitely bring the fight. Bark seems to be a prime candidate for the Contender Series if he can score another win here.
9. Tamerlan Dulatov (Welterweight, Germany, Oktagon): Staying in the Oktagon promotion, our under-the-radar prospect of the week is Tamerlan Dulatov, the brother of UFC roster member Islam Dulatov. There is far less footage on Tamerlan than that of his brother, but it’s obvious they share the same aggressive, nose-to-the-grindstone approach to fighting. He’s very powerful and big for the weight class at 6’3″. All three of his pro wins come by first-round finish, with the longest of those wins being just under a minute-forty. His current opponent, Stefan Koncar, is undefeated as well at 4-0, so this will be another change for Dulatov to add a quality win to his resume.
10. Antonio Figueiredo (Flyweight, United States, Fury FC): Our final prospect of the weekend is Antonio Figueiredo, a young fighter in MMA at 5-0, but a fighter already making waves in the American regional scene. He is an athletic, quick striker that comes swinging out of the gate. All four of his knockout finishes come in the first round, which means if he doesn’t get that quick win, he has to be sure to pace himself. He takes on his biggest test to date in Takaya Suzuki, a Japanese fighter who will have no problem meeting him in the center.

LAST WEEK’S PROSPECT RESULTS

1. Huaxiang Dong dominated Anastasiya Zaytseva via 92-second TKO from punches and elbows.
2. Mansur Khatuev was defeated by ONE veteran Kairat Akhmetov via close split decision.
3. Sulim Batalov blasted through Asylzhan Bakhytzhanuly with a slew of nasty uppercuts to get back in the win column.
4. Islam Omarov quickly choked out Alikhan Suleymanov to retain his ACA Featherweight Championship.
5. Alexandra Tekenah was finished for the third time in her career, falling by TKO to Thalita Soares.
6. Theo Ulrich pounded out David Spira early in the second round to stay undefeataed.
7. Virgil Augen scored the biggest win of his career of Contender Series vet Henrique Shiguemoto via rear-naked choke.
8. Shane Collins scored a quick one-punch knockout win over Tyler Miller.
9. Chance Ikei took his first career loss by unanimous decision to Corvan Allen.
10. Christian Avalos kept his 559 Fight Championship by knocking out Josh Altum.