Heavyweight, Brando Pericic (1-0):
I did forget to mention Brando Pericic because his last MMA fight was in 2019. That’s not because of him though as he’s the most avoided fighter I’ve ever seen. Being a six-foot-five monster out of City Kickboxing with a kickboxing background so guys aren’t beating the table to fight him. Pericic has an 18-2 kickboxing record and was an IKBF/ISKA super heavyweight champion. He does already have two fights scheduled coming up so this should be a big year for the Balkan Bear.
Featherweight, George Mangos (3-0):
Mangos is only 20-years-old so time is definitely on his side. The young man from Australia (with Greek roots) has yet to be beaten as a pro and an amateur. He’s 3-0 as a pro and was 6-0 as an amateur. Mangos has shown early on that he’s comfortable to mix it up. I’ll say his main purpose is to get the fight to the ground. Mangos hands do look good and he uses it to close the distance to work in takedowns. His grappling would be his shining spot. With a slick back take he has sticky positioning with a strong body triangle. Six of his nine career wins come by submission. His awareness of his opponent’s neck has been impressive. Overall, I really like his grappling and on the feet, I can see the talent but just need to see more of it.
Two amateurs I’d like to plug in are Tomas Schellhammer and Markell Alaiasa. Both are too green to have an educated breakdown but both look as they have potential.
I’d like to give a big shoutout to Fergus Jenkins who is coming off a loss and still an amateur. He’s already so good as an amateur that I’m confident he’ll be a star one day.
I also want to give a shoutout to Dom Mar Fan, Jonathan Micallef, Kaleb Rideout, and Abdalla Biayda who are all coming off tough losses. I still think all of them have potential in their own right.
I disregarded Cooper Royal who is a stud but is under contract with ONE Championship.
