ACA 109 | Thursday | Poland

Welterweight, Kamil Oniszczuk (7-0)

Oniszczuk is a tall 170lb’er standing at 6’3″. He’s good at using his length sticking to the outside picking his opponents apart. He fights behind his kicks attacking the legs, body, and head breaking down his foes. Oniszczuk has a good one-two and mixes punches and kicks together well. Grappling-wise he’s a BJJ NO GI Polish Champion. There isn’t a lot of footage on him but he looks promising. He fights Mindaugas Veržbickas (16-7-2).

LFA 88 | Friday | US

Welterweight, Jaleel Willis (12-2)

Jaleel Willis is quite athletic and a top-notch wrestler. On top, he has the control, the transitions, and the ground-and-pound to excel. Willis is everything you want in a fighter, especially in terms of wrestling. On the feet, he does hold a lot of power in his hands. Willis still has some things to learn but is a bright prospect. He fights Vinicius de Jesus (9-2).

Welterweight, Vinicius de Jesus (9-2)

Vinicius de Jesus is the current CES welterweight champion dethroning a top prospect in Jeremiah Wells. De Jesus is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitu black belt competing in the Combat Jiu-Jitsu Worlds 2019 as well. Despite being such a good grappler he’s no slouch on the feet. Jesus throws a lot of output and is super aggressive. He throws a variety of kicks like wheel kicks and sidekicks. A well-rounded fighter with a lot of upside. He fights Jaleel Willis (12-2).

Light-heavyweight, Nick Maximov (4-0)

Maximov outside of MMA has put in some time in wrestling and jiu-jitsu. He won the American Nationals for Gi/No-Gi at purple belt, was a National Junior College All American (3rd) at Clackamas community college, and has won multiple regional/state titles for jiu-jitsu as well. Currently 4-0 as a pro, Maximov went 6-0 as an amateur. There isn’t much recent footage but he has the hype behind his name. He fights Tresean Gore (2-0) in what is a solid test for both guys here.

Featherweight, Natan Levy (4-0)

Levy is a Karate and Kung Fu black belt and basically has been in combat sports since the age of four. Levy is a solid well-rounded fighter but is still an unfinished product. On the feet, you can tell he has that background in karate with his stance and tricky style. He’s an even better grappler who attacks submissions frequently. Sometimes he’ll lose position but is good at scrambling. The takedown defense needs work and his gas tank is improving. Other than that, he’s someone that needs to be on the MMA regional scene for at least another two years. He fights Ben Lugo (5-3) who is a good test.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co_VhRqI7-E&t=124s

Lightweight, Evan Elder (3-0)

Elder is a young kid at 23-years-old with a high ceiling. His level of competition as a pro is weak but he’s performed as expected. He’s at his best once on the mat and the wrestling to get there has been solid thus far. Elder has solid transitional grappling moving freely on top being very glue-like as well. He has good ground and pound that eventually leads to him finishing with a submission. Elder is also pretty good on the feet with good output and mixing in strikes and kicks together well. He’ll swing some looping hooks and that allows him to close the distance better. He fights Kegan Gennrich (2-1).

Bellator 244 | Friday | US

Light-heavyweight, Vadim Nemkov (12-2)

Nemkov is a three-time World Combat Sambo champion, with his only two losses to top MMA prospects Jiri Prochazka and Karl Albrektsson. Nemkov is very well-rounded, has solid wrestling and sound kickboxing on the feet. Nemkov uses the jab effectively and shows heavy hands with one-punch knockout power. He fights Ryan Bader (27-5) for the Bellator MMA light heavyweight title, which means he’s really shaking the prospect label and ready to arrive.

Heavyweight, Valentin Moldavsky (9-1)

Moldavsky is mainly a wrestler. He knows how to effectively position himself for the takedown, whether that is in the clinch, where he is at his strongest, being able to control the position. Or if he just grabs a single leg for the takedown. On top, Moldavsky is as heavy as you can be as he is strong on top due to his background in Sambo. On the feet, he doesn’t go right for the knockout as he is more of a counter striker with a lot of power coupled with solid defense. Just a few adjustments would make him a complete fighter. He fights the well-known Roy “Big Country” Nelson (23-18).

Bantamweight, Josh Hill (19-3)

Josh Hill is more so a veteran who only has losses to Marlon Moraes twice and Taylor Lapilus. Hill is a solid wrestler with good ground and pound and solid top control. On the feet, his leg kicks are arguably his best weapon. He’s gone the distance at times which has proven that his cardio is one of his stronger attributes. He fights former UFC fighter Erik Perez (19-7). We caught up with Canada’s Hill ahead of this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV4TobV4KHA

Welterweight, Yaroslav Amosov (23-0)

In Yaroslav Amosov’s stand-up, he combines his kicks and punches extremely well. He moves in and out fluidly with his punches and uses his reach well too. Yaroslav doesn’t have a lot of knockout power, but he is a finisher, finishing all but four of his wins. Amosov also has very good submission skills with nine submission wins, using his long arms mostly for chokes. He also has excellent takedown defense. He does need to work on his cardio though. He fights Mark Lemminger (11-1).

Welterweight, Mark Lemminger (11-1)

Lemminger is a wrestling-based fighter, and he’s a high level one at that, excelling on the regional scene. He is a physical powerhouse once he gets control in the clinch. He ragdolls opponents, making it look like a professional wrestling match the way he slings his opposition around. He doesn’t just rely on strength, on his takedowns he uses solid technique as well including inside trip takedowns, outside trip takedowns, and sweeping the legs out on his opponents – all beautifully done. On top, he has fight-ending ground and pound, staying active and always throwing while keeping full control. On the feet, Lemminger doesn’t usually stay striking, as he usually initiates the clinch, but he is getting better and better. He does hit hard, wobbling, and even dropping his opponents, but he needs a lot of refining in that department. He fights Yaroslav Amosov (23-0).

Don’t miss our chat with Lemminger from earlier this week.

GFC 27 | Saturday | Russia

Middleweight, Sergey Romanov (19-3)

After a pair of consecutive losses in 2017-2018, Sergey Romanov is on a current three-fight win streak. Hailing out of St. Petersburg, Russia, Romanov is a well-rounded athlete. He has a solid jab on the feet and mixes in slick combinations along with kicks and spinning attacks. He’s explosive as well which allows him to get off some strikes and bounce back out of the way. Romanov is good at getting takedowns from the clinch and has fight-changing ground and pound. He fights Sergey Kalinin (5-1).

Bantamweight, Sharapudin Magomedov (3-0)

Russian Sharapudin Magomedov is only 3-0 as a pro but has some good experience as he had a 15-1 amateur record. Magomedov has been very dominant thus far in his pro career especially with his ground game. He does have some heavy hands but is a much more dangerous wrestler/grappler. Magomedov is dominant once on top with excellent ground and pound and heavy position control. He fights Vyacheslav Svischev (2-0).

Featherweight, Timur Khizriev (8-0)

Khizriev was a bit unheard of until his last fight when he beat Bibert Tumenov who is a highly regarded prospect. On the feet, the Russian is a sneaky fighter throwing looping uppercuts, big overhands, and a front kick which he has finished with before. Khizriev has excellent endurance going three rounds no problem. He can be a grinder staying in the face and constantly shooting for takedowns. He fights Alberd Zhapuev (13-3).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRYSGXEE8po

Road to WWFC | Sunday | Ukraine

Bantamweight, Denis Bondar (13-2)

Fighting out of Ukraine, Denis Bondar is an excellent 125lb’er moving up to bantamweight for this fight. Bondar fights with a grappling-heavy attack and boasts eight submission wins. He’s not as dangerous on the feet but does strike well to close the distance to get the fight down. Once on top he is very dominant with positional grappling, and flows on top winning the scrambles. He’s diverse with his submissions winning with a RNC, arm-triangle and an armbar. His gas tank may be an issue due to him exerting so much energy early on with his wrestling. He fights Kenan Jafarli (18-12).

The post Weekly MMA Prospect Report: International Talent in Action appeared first on Cageside Press.

In this feature, we take six journalists including our own Shawn Bitter, plus four hardcore MMA fans/Podcasters to get their take on who the UFC should sign by year’s end. So far this year, the UFC has signed major prospects like Jiri Prochazka, Shavkat Rakhmonov, Roman Bogatov, Umar Nurmagomedov, Jai Herbert, Manel Kape, Modestas Bukauskas, Nate Landwehr and more. Here, each member of our panel will give their picks on who they think the UFC should sign by the end of 2020.

The Journalists

Shawn Bitter

Middleweight, Roberto Soldic (17-3): Soldic has beaten some stiff competition in his career including Lewis Long (16-5), Borys Mańkowski (19-7-1), and Dricus Du Plessis (12-2), winning five titles including the KSW middleweight title. Soldic is easily one of the best welterweights on the global scene and the UFC would be very wise to try and pry him from KSW. Soldic is always coming forward and always looking for the finish in a controlled chaos manner. KSW has had talent that went to the UFC like Jan Błachowicz, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Aleksei Oleinik, and others.

Featherweight, Igeu Kabesa (12-1): Kabesa’s only loss is to UFC fighter Danny Henry, which was a rematch of their first meeting, which Kabesa won. Of the two, Kabesa has a much higher ceiling. “Smiley” is one of the two best prospects out of South Africa along with Demarte Pena. He is the current EFC Worldwide featherweight champion and on a four-fight win streak. Kabesa is a very decorated wrestler being a 10-time Wrestling Nationals Champion. He is young and solid everywhere. Kabesa has amazing wrestling and grappling, he can move well on the mat and can reach mount fairly easy. His striking is good too, moving in-and-out with explosive punches quickly and his slips and counters are solid.

Featherweight, Joanderson Brito (11-2-1): Brito has been on a roll since his last loss in 2015, going 10-0-1 in his last eleven fights. He’s fought for the likes of Future FC and Thunder Fight which are two top promotions out of Brazil. He’s also the former Fusion FC champ, a promotion based in Peru. In his most recent fight, he made his U.S. debut for LFA and beat a top prospect in Jose Mariscal. Brito is a bull walking his foes down and throwing huge looping hooks with big power. He’s a power striker on the feet but has some good wrestling and better top position to fall back on. He’s arguably the best prospect right now out of Brazil.

Featherweight, Salahdine Parnasse (14-0-1): Parnasse in my opinion is the best prospect worldwide. Parnasse didn’t really become noticeable until he signed with one of the biggest European organizations in KSW in late 2017.  In April of last year, Parnasse beat Roman Szymański to become the interim KSW featherweight champion. Last December he beat the well-known Ivan Buchinger to retain his interim title. Parnasse would prefer to keep the fight on the feet where he can use his effective movement and a good kickboxing base. This would be one of the biggest if not the biggest signing if somehow the UFC could snatch him up.

Strawweight, Melissa Martinez (7-0): Martinez is currently signed with Combate Americas and is their current 115-pound champion. Recently, Combate champion Gustavo Lopez was able to be released from his contract. Rafa Garcia who is also a champion there has vacated his contract to sign to another promotion. So there is hope for the UFC picking up Martinez. “Super Melly” has the ability to break an opponent down with her chopping leg kicks. She also displays a quick release with her dangerous head kick that she has won a couple of times with. She looks really promising at such a young age and so early in her career.

The post Prospects the UFC Should Sign by the End of 2020 appeared first on Cageside Press.