Best Prospects of the Weekend (2/6-2/7)

After a busy week of regional MMA, we return with yet another packed weekend of prospect action. This is the heaviest weekend in the year so far, in terms of the sheer amount of prospects who will be fighting. Here are quick notes on ten prospects to look out for this weekend:

1. Magomedrasul Gasanov (Middleweight, Russia, ACA): Gasanov is the long-running ACA Middlweight Champion who will be looking to defend his title for the seventh time when he takes on UFC veteran Albert Tumenov. Gasanov’s strength of schedule has been insane and he’s been absolutely dominant despite that. He hasn’t lost since 2015, and since then, he has manhandled the competition with outstanding submission wrestling and powerful striking. He could be the best middleweight outside the UFC.
2. Aleksandr Maslov (Heavyweight, Russia, ACA): There are not a ton of legit heavyweight prospects in the world of MMA, as the division is just too thin. That said, Aleksandr Maslov is not only a solid prospect, but a lot of fun to watch. His power striking is nasty, as he has strong kickboxing skills and one-strike KO ability. He will take on a fellow striker in UFC vet Carlos Felipe, which should not only be a fun one, but could show that Maslov needs to be in the UFC as soon as possible.
3. Bibert Tumenov (Featherweight, Russia, ACA): The brother of the aforementioned Albert Tumenov, Bibert Tumenov has long had the eye of MMA scouts. He’s just 28 and has a lot of upside, especially because his striking is so dangerous. He has one-punch knockout power and strong kicking ability. He’s good at using aggression and distance simultaneously, keeping his opponents against the cage as he lands his shots. He takes on 30-plus fight vet Aleksandr Grozin this weekend.
4. Daniil Matsola (Heavyweight, Russia, ACA): The last Russian we feature at the ACA event is undefeated Daniil Matsola, who is 6-0 to this point. The young Russian has dominated thus far in his pro career, never needing more than two rounds to put away his opponents by TKO or submission. He’s very powerful, as well as well-versed in wrestling and striking. He takes on his most experienced opponent to date in Denis Smoldarev, who has been around the game a long time.
5. Ilian Bouafia (Middleweight, France, Hexagone MMA): It’s not often that a winner on the Contender Series is not offered a UFC contract. However, Ilian Bouafia was one of the unfortunate fighters that happened to in 2025. The French striker is technical on the feet and has a solid finish rate from strikes. On the Contender, he barely edged Neemias Santana, though illegal strikes earlier in the fight may have made a visibly affected Bouafia fight far mor timidly. He has a chance to erase that memory against 24-fight vet Leon Krajacic.
6. Damien Anderson (Bantamweight, United States, CFFC): Staying in the CFFC, we next look at undefeated prospect Damien Anderson, a high-level jiu-jitsu player who has made a successful transition over to MMA. His grappling is fantastic and he’s scored submissions in three of his four bouts. He has built cage time quickly, though he did not get an MMA bout in 2025. He looks to take out Hondo Gutierrez this weekend.
7. David Allakhverdiev (Middleweight, Ukraine, LFA): Last year, a little-known Ukrainian named David Allakhverdiev came out of nowhere to become the LFA Middleweight Champion against previously undefeated John Moore. That win brought him from virtual obsolete name to hot prospect, catapulting all the way up the middleweight prospect rankings. Allakhverdiev is a power puncher with solid submission wrestling, which has led to finishes in all of his fights (only one of those left the first round). A bigger sample size could tell us more about this guy, which will start this weekend against Joseph Kropschot.
8. Mackenzie Stiller (Women’s Strawweight, United States, LFA): Our under-the-radar prospect to watch this week is Mackenzie Stiller, a Bellator veteran who has quietly become one of the most dangerous female strawweights outside the UFC. Stiller is a judo black belt with a very nasty takedown and submission game. She is very violent not only with ground-and-pound, but with her attacks at the neck and other submissions. She takes on Invicta vet Kendra McIntyre this weekend in a bout that could solidify her for the Contender Series, or even a straight call to the UFC.
9. Amru Magomedov (Lightweight, Russia, PFL): UFC fans collectively sighed when one of the top prospects in any weight class, Amru Magomedov, decided to sign with the PFL over the UFC. It’s for good reason too. The disciple of Khabib Nurmagomedov looks almost like a carbon copy of his mentor. Despite his strong striking, it is overlooked because his wrestling and grappling game are so gnarly. He’s undefeated to this point against solid competition, though it’s been hard to find opponents for him. His PFL debut will be against Contender Series vet Kolton Englund over in Dubai.
10. Khabib Nabiev (Light Heavyweight, Russia, PFL): Speaking of Khabib Nurmagomedov students and prodigies, Khabib Nabiev is the other student of the former UFC Lightweight Champion that chose the PFL over the UFC. The undefeated submission wrestler has been as impressive as his teammate Magomedov, putting on finishing displays left and right. His PFL debut will be against Ahmed Sami, a veteran of the PFL Mena tournament system in the Middle East.

LAST WEEK’S PROSPECT RESULTS

1. Jordan Zebo edged out Ramazan Mustafaev via split decision to take the Ares FC Welterweight Championship.
2. Magomed-Giri Umarkhadziev suffered an injury and was unable to compete at Ares FC.
3. Anvarbek Daniyalbekov quickly handled Marcos Attila via TKO to get back into the win column.
4. Anthony Drilich was unable to strike Eternal MMA gold, falling to undefeated Joseph Larcinese.
5. Daniiar Toichubek remained undefeated with a TKO win over Jin Se Lee.
6. Tae Kyun Kim fell by decision to fellow prospect Adilet Nurmatov.
7. Mochamed Machaev knocked out Niko Samsonidze to score Oktagon gold in the main event.
8. Alina Dalaslan score another TKO win over Karolina Sobek at Oktagon.
9. Emilio Quissua stayed in the win column via TKO, when Jorick Montagnac was unable to continue due to a knee injury.
10. Freddie Vosgrone injured his shoulder and was unable to compete at Oktagon.