With several MMA promotions taking the week off, and the Tyson vs. Jones boxing spectacle this weekend likely to steal eyeballs, there aren’t a lot of prospects in action inside the cage. But there are some.
ACA 114 | Thursday | Poland
Featherweight, Leonardo Limberger (13-1)
Limberger is well-rounded but he may be better on the feet. He’s shown one-punch knockout power but his high volume output is where he excels. Limberger throws one-twos from a variety of angles, almost never throwing just one strike, and mixes in kicks beautifully. He is an excellent range fighter with great footwork and perfectly-timed counters. He uses leg kicks as one of his main weapons and does a good job switching to spinning kicks that are neither sloppy nor telegraphed at all. Limberger has underrated wrestling, as he has great timing on his double leg and he sets it up and executes perfectly. On the mat, you can’t ask for much more: he possesses good BJJ on top or off of his back. He fights Dmitriy Parubchenko (14-1) who is a good test.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u-AUTGSbt8
UAE Warriors 14 | Friday | Abu Dhabi
Flyweight, Manon Fiorot (4-1)
Fiorot may only have a few MMA fights but before transitioning to MMA she spent time in boxing and karate. In fact, she was a two-time French kickboxing and Karate champion and was the IMMAF 2017 amateur world champion in 2017. Fiorot is the current EFC Worldwide Flyweight champion beating a solid fighter in Amanda Lino. Her karate style is immediately noticeable with her sideways stance, throwing with a high velocity of kicks. She puts her strikes and kicks together perfectly and is always throwing first. Foirot has a diverse skill set, in addition to striking she will use wrestling and pound out her foes from there. She fights Gabriela Campo (6-1).
Welterweight, Shido Soto (5-0)
Soto is quite unknown in the MMA world with five quiet fights under his belt. Soto has competed in kickboxing, Muay Thai, and in many grappling tournaments such as the IBJJF. With little tape available, what can be seen is strong slams, thunderous ground and pound, superb athleticism, and agression. Can’t get a good read on him but he is worth keeping an eye on. He fights Mohamad Ghorabi (6-5).
Lightweight, Islam Mamedov (18-1-1)
A top-level wrestler, Mamedov finds the takedown naturally, and on top, he is as good as it gets. He sticks like glue, he moves well and is even excellent at taking the back. His ground-and-pound is very solid — not heavy strikes but constant strikes. Once Mamedov gets the separation, he has a good submission game. On the feet, he is explosive, and he lunges forward with hooks and flying knees. He has power but his ground game is where he is best. He fights Martun Mezhlumyan (10-1).
Featherweight, Martun Mezhlumyan (10-1)
Mezhlumyan seems to be a promising prospect but fight footage does lack on the young Armenian fighter. He did impress in his last fight though in December. He had that killer instinct from the bell to the finish. Throwing output from the beginning Mezhlumyan really loved to throw his lead elbow over and over. He also mixed in three takedowns as well and landed even more heavy elbows. In his last fight, he beat Valeriu Mircea who is a highly-touted prospect. He fights Islam Mamedov (18-1-1).
Superior Challenge 21 | Saturday | Sweden
Bantamweight, Bartosz Wojcikiewicz (6-0)
Wojcikiewicz is a bit dynamic on the feet but it’s the takedowns he’s precise on. On the mat is where he does all the damage. Wojcikiewicz has been really dominant on top and has some sharp elbows. The fighter from Poland doesn’t have a lot of footage but impressed me in his last fight. He fights Raymison Bruno (12-3).
