5 Prospects in Relation to UFC Sacramento

UFC Sacramento is stacked with prospects, so I wanted to look at some other prospects outside the UFC who are connected to fighters on the card. This card also features fighters from some of the best gyms in the world. It’s always great to shine a light on some of the younger, lesser-known fighters in these massive gyms. There is no order to this list. However, I wanted to start with this one kid that is truly something special.

Edwyn Petrea = 1-0 – Nasrat Haqparast – Tristar

At only 17, Edwyn Petrea is truly one of the brightest Canadian and Romanian prospects out there. He made his pro debut last March and had a stunning KO in just 39-seconds with a nasty left hook. Edwyn went 6-0 in the amateur ranks with four wins via finish, three via KO/TKO, and one by 2nd-round armbar. His ability at such a young age is truly impressive; he is very well-rounded. He has great wrestling, and his striking is definitely on another level. He is set to fight this September at Unified 69, and I am super excited to see his growth. You would expect massive leaps between fights with him training at Tristar, the #1 gym in Canada in my opinion.

Sim Smolanoff – 1-0 – Gregory Rodrigues and Reinier De Ridder – Kill Cliff FC

Sim Smolanoff is another one of my favorite young prospects from a big gym. Also known as Simba, Sim is a 1-0, 21-year-old who won via Armbar in the 1st round in his pro debut last January. He was also scheduled to fight at Fury FC earlier this year. However, that fight unfortunately fell through. Since then, I haven’t heard anything about a fight for him. Sim is also pretty popular on TikTok, which you could say is cringey, but I think it’s a really good thing for him and MMA. Young fighters making content brings new eyes to the sport. Also, it helps him grow his popularity and improve his chances for bigger opportunities.

He is a phenomenal grappler, and all four of his wins, amateur and pro, have come by way of 1st- or 2nd-round submissions. I’m not too sure about his striking, but training at Kill Cliff, I’m confident he’s improving in every aspect of the game. He constantly trains with a group of killers at Kill Cliff. He even won an in-house grappling match between fighters from the gym on social media. That included fighters bigger than himself. At only 21, I am optimistic he can be a great fighter and a big star. He could possibly be big in both the UFC and UFC BJJ.

Roslani Ikei – 1-0 – Jackson McVey – MMA Lab

Roslani Ikei is more than just the sister of prospect Chance Ikei. She is a very intriguing WMMA Prospect herself. She went 6-0 as an amateur, with three wins by finish, and recently made her pro debut this March, earning a Doctor Stoppage TKO win at the end of the first round. In this first round versus Paige Wilcox, at about the 90-second mark, Roslani lands a nasty three-punch combo that drops Wilcox badly. Roslani jumps on here and starts going to work. For about 1 minute and 15 seconds, Ikei lands ground and pound. She also threw in a submission attempt. At the bell, the fighters go to their corners, and the fight is called off; it was a real dominant win for the 25-year-old.

In Roslani’s final amateur bout versus Kyle Steele, the fight got off to a much quicker start, and Roslani showed her composure on the feet. Extremely late in the round, Roslani found herself in a great position, kneeing Steele to the body. With about 10 seconds left in the 1st, Ikei jumped on a no-hook rear-naked choke and got Steele to tap. It was quite the submission, just dragging Steele while she was helpless. Roslani is truly a force in the WMMA scene, in my opinion. Training at a gym like MMA Lab with multiple UFC fighters, I can see her career getting fast-tracked if she racks up a few more fights. Her first fight being in CFFC is a promising start. Furthermore, I hope they give her challenging matchups as she is clearly on another level than most girls.

Ricardo Lemos – 4-0 – Vitro Petrino- CM System

At just 19, Ricardo Lemos is already 4-0 as a pro. He also has a 100% finish rate and recently made his LFA debut, securing a 1st-round submission over a 4-1 opponent. While I haven’t seen much of his striking, as there isn’t much film, his ground game is elite. He does, however, have a win that Tapology marked ineligible. In that fight, he secured a ground-and-pound TKO victory in his “debut” fight. Some sites say he is 5-0, counting this win as eligible. So in reality, this kid is a prodigy.

Training out of the stacked CM System gym in Curitiba, Brazil, he has big aspirations to look up to. In the gym are guys like Vitor Petrino and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, plus a group of other regional MMA killers like Luan Santiago and Rafael “Mini Man” Pereira. I expect his next fights to be in LFA if he keeps winning. This will help him reach the top of the sport faster. He is definitely a name to keep an eye on.

Ryan Firinau – 1-0 – Anthony Hernandez – MMA Gold Fight Team

Ryan Firinaiu is a 24-year-old 1-0 fighter out of Sacramento, California, making him perfect for this list. He trains with Anthony Hernandez at MMA Gold Fight Team in El Dorado Hills, a town near Sacramento. I’m guessing Ryan will not be at the event, as he is fighting the day before in Ventura, California, at LFA 239, where he makes his heavyweight debut. He made his pro debut at light-heavyweight, where he put on a show and got the 3rd-round standing TKO. I am guessing his bigger body is used in training for Robocop. That would be ahead of Anthony Hernandez’s main event.

Firinaiu’s amateur record was 9-2, with eight wins by finish, and it lasted about four years, which shows that despite being only 1-0 as a pro, he is much more experienced. He is primarily a striker, with eight of his combined pro and amateur wins coming by KO/TKO. He did have one submission as an amateur but also fell victim to a submission. Ryan has a great stand-up game and mostly sticks to it in his fights, mixing it up with elbows and leg kicks; he is very dangerous. He also seems to have decent takedown defense and is probably not too shabby on the ground, training at a good gym like Gold Fight Team.

Honorable Mentions:

Jeremiah Kent – 4-0 – Kennedy Nzechukwu – Fortis MMA (Kent’s second consecutive appearance in this subject)