Flyweight, Jasmine Jasudavicius (4-0) 

Jasmine Jasudavicius’ opponent Gabriella Gulfin was significantly smaller but the aggressor. It was easy for Jasudavicius to get the Thai clinch and bully Gulfin. Jasudavicius landed many knees to the body and excellent elbows to the head. Jasudavicius hurt Gulfin with an elbow off the break and landed a few good right hands. All the punishment forced Gulfin to shoot for a lazy takedown as Jasudavicius defended and landed knees to the body sending the ref in.
Grade: A

Bantamweight, Herbeth Sousa (15-1)

Herbeth Sousa fought Alexander Keshtov in February, which was a battle between two top prospects in the division. The fight, however, wasn’t even close as Sousa dominated all four rounds. Sousa secured five takedowns showing good chain wrestling in the process. Sousa gave Keshtov no room as he was all over him in the grappling department. It wasn’t a flashy performance but a very dominant one.
Grade: B

Middleweight, Kyle Daukaus (9-0)

It was all Kyle Daukaus in this fight en-route to a second-round finish. Daukaus made this a grappling match showcasing his skills. He went for countless submissions such as the d’arce, arm-triangle, guillotine, and the RNC. His long arms led to a huge advantage on the mat. Daukaus was winning every grappling exchange and won every scramble. In the second round, he finally put his opponent away with the d’arce choke.
Grade: B

Welterweight, Iuri Lapicus (14-0)

Iuri Lapicus had his biggest challenge to date going against Marat Gafurov, the former ONE Featherweight Champion. Lapicus started off the fight landing very hard outside leg kicks forcing Gafurov to tie up. Lapicus hit a beautiful judo throw then scrambled to the back to finish with the RNC. Beautiful finishing sequence.
Grade: A+

Flyweight, Erin Blanchfield (5-1)

Erin Blanchfield fought Victoria Leonardo last month, who is a good prospect and someone we’ve featured here before. Coming in this was a grappler in Erin fighting a striker in Leonardo. Blanchfield couldn’t really get the takedown but she didn’t really need it. In the first, Blanchfield dropped Leonardo with a brutal head kick. Somehow Leonardo survived and made it to the second round. Erin threw that head kick over and over until she once again landed it flush this time sending the ref in. Leonardo is a super tough girl and a grappler just took her out with a head kick.
Grade: B+

Lightweight, Kenny Cross (10-3)

Kenny Cross has quietly flown under the radar with four consecutive wins now, and a 100% finish rate. In this fight, he beat a good fighter in Robert Hale handing him his first TKO loss in his career. Light on his feet, Cross landed a straight left down the pipe buckling the knees of Hale. Cross capitalized with a left hook putting Hale down and the extra punches resulted in the TKO.
Grade: B-

Heavyweight, Cody Brundage (5-0)

Cody Brundage beat Erick Lozano last December via decision. The outcome wasn’t good enough so they rematched and this time Brundage got the early stoppage. Brundage quickly closed the distance and got the fight to the mat. He transitioned into the mount and would lock in the arm-triangle for the tap.
Grade: B-

Lightweight, Gadzhi Rabadanov (14-3)

Gadzhi Rabadanov usually dominates opponents with his wrestling. In this fight though, he excelled on the feet. Rabadanov scored four knockdowns throughout three rounds. He dropped his opponent with two short left hands and a short right hand. In round three, he landed a huge overhand right dropping his foe, but he was really tough. Rabadanov did well in burst and picked his shots well.
Grade: B-

Lightweight, Usman Nurmagomedov (9-0)

Khabib Nurmagomedov has a lot of relatives in the sport and Usman (cousin) has quietly grown into a good prospect. Usman displayed a heavy kickboxing attack throwing at range plus front kicks and roundhouse kicks. While looking good from the outside, Usman landed  key knees in the clinch and some good elbows getting the TKO stoppage.
Grade: C+

Featherweight, Ľudovít Klein (16-2)

L’udovit Klein continues to build his resume with seven straight wins now. In this bout he was able to take out a former UFC fighter in Łukasz Sajewski. The Polish Sajewski was heavy for the takedown at the bell. While Klien did show some solid takedown defense he was eventually taken down. Klein worked his way back to his feet and landed a barrage of punches and kicks. Klein would drop Sajewski with a head kick sending the ref in for the stoppage.
Grade: B-

The post MMA Prospect Watch: The Most Impressive Fighters from February appeared first on Cageside Press.

Titan FC 59 | Friday | US

Lightweight: Max Rohskopf (4-0)

Max Rohskopf grew up wrestling and would become quite good at it winning the 2016 ACC Championship at NC State. There isn’t much MMA footage on him, but he has shown some good power in his hands and obviously good wrestling. His top game is slick with dominant transitions especially at taking the back. He fights Paulo Silva (6-5).

Don’t miss our interview with Max ahead of Titan FC 59, which you can find here.

ONE Championship | Saturday | Singapore

Flyweight: Ayaka Miura (10-2)

With only two losses in her career, coming to Viviane Araujo and Emi Fujino, Japan’s Ayaka Miura has looked good — and there’s no shame in losing to those names. She’s mainly a grappler who likes to use the head and arm throw to get the fight to the mat. All six of her finish are all by submission. She favors the scarfhold armlock which she has finished with five times. Miura still has to show a lot to show though. She fights Tiffany Teo (8-1).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3Al-u4-0Ag

Featherweight: Troy Worthen (4-0)

Troy Worthen started wrestling in high school and did in college as well. Worthen became an NCWA All-American and a Southeastern Conference Champion for Central Florida University. Going 3-0 as an amateur, Worthen is 5-0 as a pro showing a bit of everything. Despite being such a good wrestler, he’s shown a lot of good work on the feet with knockout power and good technique. He fights Mark Abelardo (19-6)

Strawweight: Denice Zamboanga (6-0)

On the feet, Denice Zamboanga is consistent with pressure and output. She has a good right hand and is very accurate with her strikes. The jiu-jitsu of Zamboanga is just as good. Her takedown defense needs work but off her back, she’s shown to be very hard to keep still. Zamboanga has potential but needs to show more. She fights Mei Yamaguchi (21-11-1) which could be a step up too soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLomd8UVAZ8

Eternal MMA 51 | Saturday | Australia

Welterweight: Jack Della (7-2)

After starting off his career losing his first two fights, Jack Della is now on a six-fight win streak. Della is also the defending Eternal MMA welterweight champion. On the feet, he hits hard with both his hands and kicks. He’s very technical as well mixing in kicks and punches into combos. Della is solid at attacking the body, going there often and effectively using his elbows. He’s probably a better wrestler who has finished both with ground and pound and submissions. Della does need to work on his takedown defense, but thus far his exceptional jiu-jitsu has done well for him. He fights Glen Pettigrew (7-2). We caught up with Jack ahead of the fight, check that out here.

Flyweight: Casey O’Neill (3-0)

When it comes to young up-and-comers, Casey O’Neill is one of the best. O’Neill on the feet is a good striker from range throwing some powerful straights. She throws a lot of volume and is always trowing more than one strike. Her wrestling still needs work and her takedown defense is her biggest flaw. O’Neill is comfortable on the mat whether that’s on top or bottom. She has some really slick jiu-jitsu, probably being her best weapon. She fights Caitlin McEwen (5-1).

SFT 21 | Saturday | Brazil

Lightweight: Manoel Sousa (4-0)

Mauricio Ruffy was a fighter I was particularly high on, and Manoel Souza beat him last November. Sousa is a heavy-handed fighter who slings powerful right and left hooks. He does a good job going to the body and throwing kicks behind his strikes. He has good head movement and good footwork as well. He looks like a really dangerous fighter that can be a good prospect this year. He fights Vandirson Alves (6-1).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVkGP7mSpBo

The post Weekly MMA Prospect Report: Prospects from the US, Brazil, Australia, Philippines, and Japan appeared first on Cageside Press.

The PFL was back in action, Bellator had a big weekend in Connecticut, and the regional scene was busy as always. Here’s a look at who stood out in October, as we’re back for another installment of the MMA Prospect Watch.

Featherweight, Brendan Loughnane (18-3)

Making his PFL debut, Loughnane dominated a credible guy in Team Alpha Male’s Matt Wagy. Loughnane started off tactical in round one just with his kicks, mainly some hard leg kicks. He started to pick it up more as the fight went on, using his hands more. He never let Wagy really find his range due to superior range control and footwork. The Englishman picked it up in round three forcing Wagy to curl up, with Loughnane finding home with his right hand.
Grade: B

Welterweight, Nikolay Aleksakhin (25-5)

An excellent performance from the Russian taking out a former UFC fighter and vet, Jesse Ronson, in the first. Both started off trading early and Ronson maybe was getting off the better strikes early. Aleksakhin was throwing a lot more how, up to combinations of two to four strikes. Aleksakhin with his rapid combos was just too fast for Ronson. The finish came as soon as the Russian got the thai clinch to land the knee on the jaw of Ronson. The end came shortly after when the ref saved Ronson.
Grade: B+

Strawweight, Casey O’Neill (3-0)

O’Neill would make it 3-0 inside the Eternal cage and though the title was on the line (to reclaim) she did miss weight. In round two the biggest moment was when she dropped Motono with straight punches. The fight mainly took place on the mat and it usually started with O’Neill on her back. It was not the takedowns from Motono but the jiu-jitsu of O’Neill that set the pace. From her back, O’Neill used kimuras, triangles, and armbars to transition to the back. Once O’Neill got top position she stuck there with good control and active ground and pound. Only 3-0 so she’s still green but is talented.
Grade: C+

Welterweight, Jack Della Maddalena (7-2)

In October, Jack Della would defend his Eternal welterweight title for the second time. Della’s original opponent pulled out and Kevin Jousset would step in on short notice. Jousset would just become another casualty to Della and would become the fourth undefeated fighter he took out. Della made this a gritty fight using short strikes to the body and head in the clinch. He also mixed in some trip takedowns. Della in the second round would curl up Jousset with a left hook to the body and a right to the jaw. His ground and pound was his biggest weapon in the fight using slicing elbows. One of those elbows cut Jousset around the right eye and the doctor called the fight off after the second round.
Grade: B-

Middleweight, Isi Fitikefu (6-0)

What was more impressive than his performance was the fighter Isi Fitikefu beat in Kitt Campbell. Campbell was a top prospect and close to the UFC but Isi dominated him en route to a decision win. Nothing was spectacular about the performance but Isi dominated with top control. Fitikefu at the start of each round took Campbell down with the single leg. At no point did Isi come close to finishing but held position and stayed active enough.
Grade: C 

Flyweight, Rasul Albaskhanov (10-3)

Albaskhanov started off aggressive with a heavy kicking attack. He was taken down pretty early, that being his one downfall. His opponent was Jose Maria Tome, a veteran and former UFC fighter. Tome is very skilled on the mat but Albaskhanov was excellent off his back and kept Tome in his guard. Albaskhanov used a guillotine to reverse to get on top in a beautiful transition. Shortly after he tapped Tome to an arm triangle.
Grade: C+

Flyweight, Mariya Agapova (8-1)

A battle between two 2019 contender series fighters, Agapova easily beat Marilia Santos. Using her reach, Agapova used a lot of straight strikes and body kicks to keep the distance. Santos, once she got the clinch pulled guard and that was the beginning of the end. Agapova had to fight through an armbar and using her long length she landed some huge unanswered elbows until the ref stepped in.
Grade: B-

Middleweight, Anatoly Tokov (29-3)

Even though Darpinyan was four years the elder of the Russian, Tokov big-brothers him in this fight. Tokov was using foot sweeps and catching kicks to get the fight down where he was very dominant. He was constantly throwing leather in all positions on top as he was heavy but still floating on top. Tokov as soon as he passed to side control got the crucifix position as he had in rounds one and two. Once in that position in round two, Darpinyan was stuck and took a few elbows before the ref stepped in.
Grade: A-

Former ACB champ Anatoly Tokov (29-2) keeps pace in the MW title picture, outclassing Mousasi stablemate Hracho Darpinyan en route to a second-round, crucifix TKO. Fedor's protégé is 22-1 in his last 23 (5-0 in Bellator). He has stopped 23, 16 by knockout. #Bellator229 pic.twitter.com/O4kZYwb7XF

— Kyle Johnson (@VonPreux) October 5, 2019

Welterweight, Joey Davis (6-0)

Not much happened before the finish but the evolution of “Black Ice” has been awesome. Davis came into Bellator known as a wrestler but has three highlight-reel finishes on the feet. Being a wrestler his opponent expected him to shoot but it was a flying knee to the face knocking the dude out cold. It was his biggest test to date in a 16-fight veteran in Jeff Peterson but it’s time for some top competition.
Grade: A-

https://twitter.com/WhatsUp_MMA/status/1180330623900278784

The post MMA Prospect Watch: The Most Impressive Fighters from October appeared first on Cageside Press.