Ahead of their fight at Unified MMA 56, Canada’s Powell (6-2) spoke with Cageside Press about the fight, competing on short notice, and hoping to land a super welterweight title shot next.

“For some reason they keep ringing my phone short notice. It was the same way for the last match, this way now,” noted Powell. “They know I’m always down to scrap, there’s a reason they’re calling me.”

The late notice fights work at middleweight, but Powell is working to get to a point where he can also accept a short-notice bout at welterweight. “I walk around pretty heavy, so as of right now I don’t think I can take these opportunities at welterweight on short notice, but I’m working towards being able to. Just like, short notice, any welterweight opportunity would be perfect.”

As for Unified MMA, Powell has spent his last four fights there, as of Friday. “Unified is great. I hope they can see now that I’m a company man, and they sign me in advance,” said Powell. “They gave me two really good fights when I signed with them and I was really appreciative of that, and then I took two years off and stuff and I guess they kind of forgot about me. Because we tried getting on that Dana [White’s] Lookin’ for a Fight card, eight weeks out, like ‘oh we don’t have any room for Pow Pow.'”

“I’m like, ‘that’s okay, I’m gonna stay ready.’ And I stayed ready, so that’s good, but now it’s two times in a row the card kind of falls apart, and I’m filling in for some fights. So I hope they consider me a company man and hopefully after I finish this guy on the 22nd, they give me a super welterweight title opportunity. Because the champ they have right now is not defending it, and I would love to be walking around with that Unified strap. I think it’s the best organization in Canada.”

As for current opponent Curtright, Powell sees a gamer, but one who comes up short in the technical areas Zack Powell himself excels at.

“I think he likes to fight. I think he’s a scrapper. He doesn’t shy away from a fight. I think he lacks the technical game of where I’m good,” explained Powell. “I’m pretty good at exchanging in the pocket, I’m good at taking people down, I’ve improved a lot too at finishing guys on the ground.”

And while you didn’t see it in his last fight, Powell added that “I think you’ll be able to see my dominance on the ground in this fight. If I don’t knock him out while exchanging in the pocket then I’m going to get him down and submit him.”

Watch our full interview with Unified MMA 56’s Zack Powell above.

The post Zack Powell Eying Super-Welterweight Title Shot Ahead of Unified MMA 56 appeared first on Cageside Press.

BRAVE CF 51 | Belarus | Friday

Welterweight, Rinat Sagyntay (9-0)

Kazakhstan fighters have been killing it in 2021, and after taking the full 2020 year off, Sagyntay looks to continue the dominance. Sagyntay, despite an impressive undefeated record, has had a level of competition that has been unfortunately low. He’s performed as expected and has a 100% finish rate. On the feet he has a good straight right but it’s his wrestling/grappling that’s best. Sagyntay times guys coming in and is good at turning to the back and flooring opponents. So far he’s flowed on top into dominant positions and can both end it with ground and pound and submission. He fights Denis Maher (7-0).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VlFxiTE7BM

Flyweight, Badmatsyren Dorzhiev (5-0)

Dorzhiev is someone who popped up on my radar a few months ago and since then I’ve been high on him. My expectations for the 27-year-old Russian will one day be in the UFC. Dorzhiev is well-rounded and every move is thought out and measured. He has a good right hand that’s highlighted. On the feet, Dorzhiev will pick and choose his shots staying technical. He’s a solid wrestler and his ground and pound is really good along with heavy top control. He has it all and even though he’s just 5-0 he’s looked perfect. Dorzhiev fights Almanbet Abdyvasy Uulu (9-4).

Bantamweight, Aydemir Kazbekov (7-0)

Kazbekov is a small 135er and I believe he could and should be fighting at 125 instead. On the feet, the Russian is a bit wild throwing a lot of looping hooks. He is always coming forward and even if he is throwing wild he hits hard. Kazbekov is a master of sports in Freestyle Wrestling and it shows. He’s got strong wrestling and on top, he’s even better. Kazbekov throws excellent ground and pound and is good at flowing on top into dominant positions. He fights Abdul Karim Badakhshi (4-0).

Welterweight, Vadim Kutsy (15-1)

Vadim Kutsy hasn’t lost a fight since early 2016 and has an eight-fight winning streak. Belarus’ own Kutsy is a national champion in freestyle wrestling. On the feet, he does well off his back foot and has some power in his hands. He’s a better wrestler and has dominant top control. Kutsy rains punches down and have finished seven times by submission. I’m not fully sold yet though. He fights Daniyar Abdibaev (8-2).

Flyweight, Muhammad Mokaev (5-0)

Worldwide, Mokaev is one of the MMA prospects with the most hype. Mokaev has an outstanding amateur career going 23-0 and was a four-time IMMAF gold medalist. The young 20-year-old has looked stellar and dominant. Mokaev has excellent wrestling and is very skilled on the mat. His positional grappling and ground and pound are very good. On the feet, he has a nice flow with his kicks and mixes in strikes and kicks together very well. Mokaev is extremely well-rounded and I see no flaws in him yet. He fights Ibragim Navruzov (5-1-1).

BFL 67 | Canada | Friday

Welterweight, Kyran Cameron (5-0)

Cameron trained with Para Bellum MMA, and now Niagara Top Team with other top young Canadian prospects. He has fought for BTC, a good promotion out of Canada that will continue to build him. He’s a good athlete who has dabbled in many forms of martial arts. Cameron is a well-rounded fighter and has a high fight IQ. His cardio could be better but it could easily improve. He fights Dejan Kajić (12-7-2).

Lightweight, Zack Powell (4-0)

Powell is a wrestler with a heavy right hand. He doesn’t have any KO/TKO wins but has dropped people with his right hand. A lot of his striking is to close the distance. Powell is an excellent wrestler. Along with his setups, he’s a strong guy. His double leg is good and in the clinch, he will use the body lock to throw guys around. The Canadian, once he gets the takedown, shows really strong his top position. Transitioning is something Powell does smoothly. He does just fine at making the right moves and taking dominant positions. Powell can grind out wins and he can catch a neck. He fights Dario Sinagoga (4-0).

LFA 109 | US | Friday

Lightweight, Terrance McKinney (9-3)

McKinney had a rough end to 2019 losing on the Contender Series, with that followed by another loss. To his credit, those losses are to Sean Woodson and Darrick Minner who are both current UFC fighters. McKinney is an excellent wrestler and he usually gets right after it right away. He has solid grappling, smooth transitions, and good ground and pound. Still, more needs to be seen is his striking, and he needs more cage time. He fights Michael Irizarry Ortiz (12-3).

Bantamweight, Askar Askar (11-1)

When talking about a complete fighter being able to mix it up everywhere, Askar fits the bill. On the feet, Askar is super polished and technical. He fights with a textbook jab that snaps the head back of his opponents. He throws combinations and mixes up his attacks frequently. The power is there too, but it’s his technical ability that’s super impressive. Despite how good Askar is on the feet, he’s even better on the mat and with his wrestling. Askar is an excellent wrestler, flat out. From his set-up to his execution it’s all very well done. On the mat, his record only shows one submission but he’s more capable than that reflects. Askar is a solid positional grappler with all his transitions and ground strikes sought out. He fights Justin Wetzell (6-1), returning to the regionals after briefly flirting with the UFC.

Clan Wars 39 | UK | Saturday

Featherweight, Shem Rock (5-0)

Rock is still young in his MMA career but he has an extensive background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Rock hasn’t shown a lot on the feet but he does like to kick with his long frame at 6’0″. The last fight he won with a head kicks. Rock’s grappling, though, is top notch. His best weapon is his back take, but on the mat, in general, is where he wants to be. Rock has a 100-percent finish rate and has even won by a rare python trap. He fights Neil Ward (3-3).

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

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