After a busy weekend of prospect action, we have another strong weekend in the regional MMA scene. Here are quick notes on ten prospects to look out for this weekend:
- Ilias Bulaid (Featherweight, Netherlands, DWCS): A longtime top prospect in this sport, star kickboxer and Bellator veteran Ilias Bulaid seemed to be UFC bound for a while. He has his chance here now on the Contender Series when he takes on fellow top prospect Erick Viscondi. He has nasty striking, including brutal kicks and some solid clinch knees. Viscondi should meet him in the middle for this battle. Bulaid is easily UFC-level talent and makes it there with a win here.
- Smilla Sundell (Women’s Bantamweight, Sweden, DWCS): Muay Thai stud and former ONE Champion Smilla Sundell has made a successful transition to MMA thus far in her career and could be a prodigy of women’s MMA. The striking ace is a tall, rangy fighter with excellent striking and outstanding clinch. Both of her pro MMA wins have come using her Muay Thai tools, especially that clinch. She takes on fellow striker Aline Pereira, the sister of Alex Pereira, with a UFC contract on the line.
- Luis Francischinelli (Welterweight, Brazil, DWCS): You don’t normally find a welterweight that is 6’6″ tall, but that rare exception is Luis Francischinelli. The tall, lanky welterweight is a strong striker with good snap at the end of his punches. He has a lot of power and with his long limbs, he’s also well-adjusted when it comes to the submission game. He takes on Will Rentz on the Contender Series looking for a contract.
- Douglas da Lapa (Middleweight, Brazil, DWCS): Undefeated Brazilian Douglas da Lapa will square off with countryman Davi Cabral this weekend with a UFC contract up for grabs. Douglas is a power puncher with a strong top game on the mat. All but one of his wins have come by way of finish, showing he’s a devoted violence maker in the cage. He’s not the highest quality prospect on this season of the show, but he does come to fight.
- Jason Asher (Featherweight, United States, DWCS): Our under-the-radar prospect of the week is Jason Asher, a 5-0 fighter coming off the biggest win of his career over Cameron Graves. He’s also a violence maker like da Lapa, scoring all of his wins by first-round knockout. He’s a headhunter that has great power for 145 pounds, though this fight against Greg Foster will be at 155 on late notice. We will see if he can continue his finish streak and grab a UFC contract.
- Timur Khizriev (Featherweight, Russia, PFL): Undefeated prospect Timur Khizriev may not be the finisher some of our other prospects are this week, but he’s 18-0 and has done so against top opposition. He’s not the most exciting fighter, using a wrestling-heavy attack, great positional ability and a relentless, grinding style. He won last year’s PFL tournament, but he returns to regular, non-tournament fights here when he takes on Gabriel Braga.
- Kevin Pease (Welterweight, United States, PFL): Speaking of undefeated fighters, 8-0 Kevin Pease makes his PFL re-debut after a strong regional career in CFFC and an earlier win in the PFL. Pease is a quick fighter on the feet, but his ground game is really the best part of his overall approach. Four of his wins come by way of submission, as he’s very aggressive on the mat. He takes on Cassio Barao this weekend in the PFL.
- David Mgoyan (Featherweight, Russia, Rkena vs. PFL): On the other side of the world, PFL will be co-promoting a show with Rkena and they have a couple of good prospects in action, including David Mgoyan. Mgoyan is a Contender Series and MVP vet with really good striking and a solid wrestling base. He is best known for that Contender Series loss, where he had a war with Tommy McMillen and lost by majority decision. This weekend, he takes on renowned striker Asa Ten Pow in an interesting clash of styles.
- Elene Loladze (Women’s Strawweight, Georgia, Rkena vs. PFL): An under-the-radar female prospect who doesn’t have any attention on her right now is Elene Loladze, a gifted Muay Thai stylist who also has a solid jiu-jitsu game in her back pocket as well. She’s undefeated as a pro and amateur, showing off that noted Muay Thai style with excellent striking and clinch. She does have submissions on the ground, though, so she’s no one-trick pony. She takes on Ekaterina Yar on that same Rkena-PFL card.
- Tom Mullen (Welterweight, England, FightStar Championship): The last prospect we look at this weekend is Tom Mullen, a student of Dean Garnett from England who has really come on strong in recent times. He’s a submission specialist that has a vast arsenal of techniques that he’s used to finish fights. He’s fought three times already this year and has looked increasingly sharpd from fight to fight, showing he’s improving. This weekend, he takes on Janderson Conceicao with his FightStar Championship belt on the line.
LAST WEEK’S PROSPECT RESULTS
- Mafalda Carmona was upset by Kate Bacik at UAE Warriors.
- Nell Ariano was knocked out by late replacement Preston LaGrange on the Contender Series.
- Alexander Chavez was choked out by Roque Conceicao at the Contender Series.
- Mateus Soares quickly dispatched Ryuho Miyaguchi via TKO on the Contender Series to earn a UFC contract.
- Summer Onley dropped a controversial decision loss to Alivia Bierley at the Contender Series.
- Akhmad Gasanov fell in a prospect vs prospect fight against Ubaidulla Tagirov at BetCity Fight Nights.
- Evgeniy Ignatiev scored his third-straight win, tapping out Bagashar Koralasov at BetCity Fight Nights.
- Karim Henniene had to withdraw from his PFL Africa fight, so he did not compete.
- Kevin Fernandez scored a knockout win over Enrique Pacheco at the LFA event.
- Vitalii Yakymenko scored a submission win to keep his KSW Bantamweight Championship.
