Best Prospects of the Weekend (1/30-1/31)

After a busy week of regional MMA, we return with yet another packed weekend of prospect action. The majority of those fights take place in the European circuit. Here are quick notes on ten prospects to look out for this weekend:

1. Freddie Vosgrone (Light Heavyweight, Germany, Oktagon): Kicking off the list we have Freddie Vosgrone, an undefeated German with an excellent wrestling and submission grappling acumen. To date, all five of his pro MMA wins have come by way of submission, with two arm-triangle chokes, two heel hooks and a rear-naked choke. He has quickly surfaced as a top light heavyweight prospect in Europe and will look to continue to prove that against fellow undefeated fighter Samuel Chavarria.
2. Emilio Quissua (Light Heavyweight, Germany, Oktagon): The other German light heavyweight climbing the prospect rankings is Emilio Quissua, who is slightly more experienced in MMA than Vosgrone. The Peter Sobotta disciple is a strong wrestler in his own right and prefers to do his fighting from top position on the mat. His ground-and-pound is very effective and does fight-ending damage. Awaiting him this weekend is 10-fight veteran Jorick Montagnac.
3. Alina Dalaslan (Women’s Bantamweight, Germany, Oktagon): 25-year-old Alina Dalaslan has rapidly jumped up the female prospect rankings after turning pro last year and running a perfect 4-0 record. She has shown an exciting, effective striking style that has led to finishes in three of those four fights, including by spinning back elbow. Her biggest win came over TUF veteran Katharina Lehner, a fight which proved she’s ready for the next level. She takes on European vet Karolina Sobek this weekend.
4. Mochamed Machaev (Featherweight, Austria, Oktagon): The final Oktagon participant we look at this weekend is Austria’s Mochamed Machaev, an 18-fight veteran looking to get back into the spotlight. Since his last loss in June of 2024, he has surged back into the win column in impressive fashion. He’s well-rounded, though his striking and wrestling are the best pieces to his game. He main events the card opposite Niko Samsonidse.
5. Jordan Zebo (Welterweight, France, Ares FC): Jordan Zebo is probably most remembered for his knockout loss to kickboxing legend Cedric Doumbe. That’s a real shame, as Zebo has proven to be a really strong prospect from France. He made up for that loss by going on his current five-fight winning streak, which includes an upset knockout of Baysangur Chamsoudinov, Zebo’s keystone win. Zebo is a strong striker that mixes his punches and kicks up well. He has another tough test in the form of Ramazan Mustafaev with Ares FC gold on the line.
6. Magomed-Giri Umarkhadzhiev (Lightweight, Russia/France, Ares FC): The other Ares FC fighter to feature on the list this week is Magomed-Giri Umarkhadzhiev, our under-the-radar prospect of the week. The undefeated Russo-French fighter has been a human highlight reel, using an impressive array of striking to go in unison with his wrestling base. He has two flying knee knockouts, as well as a spinning wheel kick, which shows that he’s quite dynamic and violent. He takes on Dorobshokh Nabotov, notorious for his courting of Dana White before losing his tryout fight.
7. Anvarbek Daniyalbekov (Middleweight, Russia, NWPA): I don’t usually feature fighters coming off losses in this series, but in the case of Anvarbek Daniyalbekov, I will make an exception. His recent loss came by way of DQ, as he was ruled to use illegal elbows in attempting to finish his opponent. Before then, he was dominating, as he’s been one to do in his career thus far. Daniyalbekov is a very good striker and wrestler, which seems to be a theme this week. He takes on Marcos Atila this weekend in a fight that should get him back in the win column.
8. Anthony Drilich (Flyweight, Australia, Eternal MMA): Contender Series veteran and current Eternal MMA Champion Anthony Drilich continues his quest at another shot with the UFC this weekend against undefeated Joseph Larcinese. Drilich is a hard-nosed fighter who is jack of all trades. He doesn’t necessarily stand out in one facet of the game over another, he’s just solid. He looks to extend his win streak to three fights here, which would continue to show his improvement since his close loss to countryman Sean Gauci.
9. Daniiar Toichubek (Bantamweight, Kyrgyzstan, Black Combat): Undefeated and underrated, Daniiar Toichubek has been a dominant force in both the Russian and Korean MMA circuit. He’s just 23 years old and already 11-0 in mixed martial arts. He’s a rounded fighter who is scrappy on the feet and vicious in his wrestling and top game. He’s been hard to judge what his weakness is since he’s been so impressive. He fights Korean vet Jin Se Lee here in another showcase bout overseas.
10. Tae Kyun Kim (Featherweight South Korea, Black Combat): PFL veteran Tae Kyun Kim makes his first post-PFL appearance this weekend when he fights a very tough opponent in Adilet Nurmatov. Kim, a solid striker with a good submission skill set, is never in a boring fight. It’s a shame his PFL stint was only two fights, as he subbed Nathan Kelly before losing to perennial tournament finalist Movlid Khaibulaev. This fight with Nurmatov will be make or break for Kim, as he’s in his early 30s and has two losses in his last four fights (albeit close losses).

LAST WEEK’S PROSPECT RESULTS

1. Renato Canuto continued his successful transition to MMA with an armbar submission of Luciano Ramos.
2. Smilla Sundell won her MMA debut in very Thai fashion, putting away Miranda Barber with knees and elbows in the clinch at the end of the first round.
3. David Mgoyan withdrew from his fight, so he did not compete at Tuff-n-Uff. He will instead fight next weekend at UNF.
4. Marcos Aurelio got destroyed by Carlo Bumina-ang in his ONE Championship debut.
5. Marcos Degli blasted through Luis Aguiar with a massive body shot, keeping his LFA Flyweight Championship.
6. Daniel Araujo took his first career loss, falling via unanimous decision to Derick Borges.
7. Rafael Pereira kept his win streak alive with a rear-naked choke of Lionel Abojer.
8. Icaro Brito shockingly fell via unanimous decision to Aristedes Vinicius.
9. Frank Silva scored a unanimous decision over late-replacement opponent Joao Menezes.
10. Naerti Kezibayi brutally knocked out Hubulan Tuerxunbieke with a knee that made the weekend highlight reels.