The UFC returns to Sydney, Australia this weekend, with Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland headlining the promotion’s latest PPV offering. A pair of welterweight prospects will make their respective promotional debuts at UFC 293 when Kevin Jousset, a French talent residing in Australia and training at City Kickboxing, takes on Ireland’s Kiefer Crosbie.
Kevin “Air” Jousset
Standing at six-foot-two
Fighting at 170 lbs (welterweight)
30-years-old
Fighting out of France/Australia
Training out of City Kickboxing
A pro record of 8-2
4 KO/TKOs
How Jousset will fare in the UFC:
Jousset was not a surprising signing to fight on this UFC card. He may be from France but he’s lived in Australia his whole career. Also helping his case is he trains out of City Kickboxing. The only two losses Jousset has is to another Australian prospect, Kaleb Rideout, and current UFC contender Jack Dell Maddalena. Jousset has won his last three fights and became the Hex Fight Series double champ (185 & 170).
Jousset is an elite judoka athlete. At 14 years old, he earned his judo black belt. Jousset is a multiple-time French National Championship medallist. His judo has shown flashes in his MMA career. The clinch is where his takedowns come from, whether from judo throws or utilizing trips. His basic wrestling isn’t good which could affect his UFC performances. Even on the mat, his grappling isn’t up to par to where it should be. He throws good ground and pound but jiu-jitsu-wise it’s nothing special.
On the feet is where he will struggle the most. What he does well is land teeps and leg kicks on the outside. In tight in the clinch is where he will be his best. Jousset is nasty in the clinch with his knees and elbows and he can get the takedown at any moment. Defensively he’s too easy to hit. He doesn’t move his head, is vulnerable to body shots, and his chin is questionable. Jousset isn’t technical, doesn’t have any power, and is poor defensively.
I like the signing because, unlike most debutants on this card, he actually deserves to be in the UFC. With that said, I believe he will be in a few fun fights but will never be ranked in the UFC. He isn’t well-rounded enough nor is he dominant enough in any area to be a big threat.
Kiefer “BDK” Crosbie
Standing at five-foot-eleven
Fighting at 170 lbs (welterweight)
33-years-old
Fighting out of Dublin, Ireland
Training out of SBG Ireland
A pro record of 10-3
5 KO/TKOs, 2 Submissions
How Crosbie will fare in the UFC:
Crosbie is someone I didn’t expect to get signed to the UFC, ever. He’s proved in the past to be short of a high-level fighter. As an amateur, he was 6-5 which is not great at that level. Crosbie is a Bellator MMA veteran who fought there for a few years going 4-3. He’s won his last two fights but those wins came against a 6-12-3 opponent and a washed-up Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira. Also, he went the distance in a boxing match with reality star Aaron Chalmers last July.
Crosbie is best known for his patented elbows. Whether it’s in the clinch, defining takedowns, from ground and pound, or to close the distance. Other than that he has good power, heavy ground and pound, and decent enough wrestling. Where he is at his most dangerous would be in the mount or just in sloppy brawls. While he is dangerous in those brawls he also gets hit a lot and takes a lot of damage.
Crosbie has fought more conservatively than not more times than not. If he does get in a firefight early his gas tank is empty in under a few minutes. If he does fight smart he’s low volume throwing single strikes. He hardly uses any feints and fails at mixing anything up.
I don’t understand this signing. If Crosbie can’t beat Bellator prelim fighters he’s not going to do anything in the UFC. This card is a good example of fighters getting into the UFC just because of who they train with. Crosbie is going to struggle to even get a win in the UFC.
How these two match up:
Jousset really shouldn’t lose this fight. If Crosbie can drag Jousset into a slugfest he could knock out Jousset as his striking defense lacks. If Crosbie does finish he will have to inside two minutes. If Crosbie is taking a patient approach then Jousset should pick him apart and win minutes. Jousset has more ways to win and has more basics to win this fight.
