Welcome to the UFC: Richie Miranda

Richie “El Machete’ Miranda is a California boy and wears it proudly. The rough-and-tumble So-Cal boy carries Santa Ana swagger into the octagon, and a wrestling pedigree to back it up as well. A two-time JUCO All-American, Miranda has a great MMA base and the right team to help him expand his game beyond the mat. He trains at Bloodline Combat Sports under the great Cub Swanson, one of my all-time favorites. In the Bloodline room with him are UFC standouts Danny Silva, Lerryan Douglas, and Rafa Garcia. As exhibited by many a UFC fighter over time, you can only go far if you have the right teammates helping you sharpen your skills. In recent memory, skilled fighters like Benoit Saint-Denis and Malcolm Wellmaker have hit their ceilings prematurely because of their inadequate team, but that should be no issue at all for Richie Miranda.

Miranda has cut his teeth almost exclusively in the best regional promotion in the United States, LFA. ‘El Machete’ currently reigns as the LFA lightweight champion, having defended it twice. Legacy Fighting Alliance has been a great feeder system for the UFC, and becoming a champion for them has been a near-surefire way to get a call-up to the big leagues. Of the many LFA champions to make the jump to the UFC, the most notable include Gabriel Bonfim, Anthony Hernandez, Brendan Allen, Brandon Royval, and Waldo Cortes Acosta. Miranda’s very own teammate Lerryan Douglas held LFA gold before getting the UFC call. All of this is to say that Richie Miranda’s 13-1 record didn’t come easy and holds a lot of weight. 

He has experience with 5-round fights and has taken out multiple undefeated fighters in his time as champion. Miranda is, rightfully so, a very confident and brash fighter. He has called out a number of UFC fighters, and labeled himself a contract killer, coming for that bonus in his UFC debut.

Starting with the positives, Miranda has an excellent gas tank. He has shown the ability to fight well through 5 rounds, even finishing Richie Lewis in the 5th via ground-and-pound when he first won the LFA title. He isn’t a knockout artist, but he carries good, natural power that he doesn’t need to load up for. Richie throws good leg kicks and has strikes that come from all different angles. This, coupled with his untraditional timing, allows his strikes to get through at a solid clip despite him not having great hand speed. His elbows are sharp, and he is good at bloodying up his opponents. Miranda shows good patience even when his opponents are hurt, keeping his strikes measured and not gassing himself out by overthrowing.

‘El Machete’ has solid offensive grappling, although it has gotten less effective as the level of competition has risen. His BJJ is pretty slick though, having finished his most recent fight by bulldog choke after dropping his opponent. He is a very smart fighter, well aware of his capabilities. He grapples against strikers and strikes with grapplers, showing he is well-rounded and has a good game plan. 

I believe that his standup defense leaves a lot to be desired. His hands can get low at times, and he has almost zero head movement. While it hasn’t hurt him yet, his chin is just there for the taking at times in his fights, and it is a testament to his durability and cardio that he hasn’t been knocked out. He has a tendency to follow his opponents at times when pressuring, but he has gotten better at cutting off the cage as his career has progressed. For someone with a wrestling base, his takedown defense is just above MMA average. He sprawls well enough, but when a good wrestler puts him on his back, he doesn’t show great urgency in creating scrambles and finding his way back to his feet. He gets pushed up against the cage often and isn’t great at disengaging the clinch. 

His Debut Against Manoel Sousa:

I think Miranda is getting a very rough short-notice matchup here in his debut against Manoel Sousa. Strikes that he has been able to shake off in the past will put him out against Sousa if he isn’t careful. Sousa can be taken down and controlled, but has shown to have a good gas tank himself, just like Miranda. I think there is a path to victory for Miranda if he gets in and out of the pocket quickly and showcases superior grappling against Sousa, but I think that path is narrow. Odds are pretty good that this ends with Miranda out cold, which is no slight against him and just more of a belief in Sousa’s power. 

Regarding his UFC career as a whole, I think Richie Miranda is capable of carving out a long career for himself. He has shown the ability to improve with each fight, and I think his durability will serve him well. I don’t think he ever cracks the top 15, and instead serves as a respected gatekeeper for the lightweight division. I may have to eat crow and adjust his ceiling if he is able to get past Manoel Sousa this Saturday.