This Saturday, ARES FC puts on their 44th event, and it is full of fun prospects to talk about. ARES has quickly become the top French regional promotion and is starting to produce real talent. You must watch these cards, as they are always filled with prospects top to bottom.
Aboubakar Younousov (8-0) – Bantamweight
Currently Prospect Vault’s #1 prospect, Aboubakar Younousov is an absolute wrecking ball. At just 26 and training out of MMA Factor, he is one of France’s brightest prospects. He defends his belt for the 3rd time against UFC veteran Tyson Nam. Nam was the last opponent UFC prospect Abdul Hussein defeated before being signed. Younousov is a strong pressure fighter and well-rounded, with 3 KOs/TKOs and 2 Submissions. While he didn’t have much of an amateur career, unlike many French prospects, his pro resume is quite impressive.
A crafty, violent striker, Younousov uses overwhelming pressure to set up extremely effective double-leg takedowns. He backs his opponents up to the fence, swinging massive right hooks that could leave him open to counter shots from higher-level strikers. However, he hasn’t had trouble with this so far. He loves to use a brutal spinning elbow, and he’s finished a fight with it twice! An extremely relentless fighter, Younousov seems to be all-go. He’s either on your back teeing off with ground and pound, or shooting double legs and swinging big. He also has great clinch knees and has truly bloodied tons of opponents. He is not to be slept on on the ground, as he is also creative down there too. Specifically, he has a very athletic armbar and a very technical rear-naked choke.
Younousov is a legit prospect to keep an eye on. I know the most recent highly-touted Bantamweight prospect lost a close fight, with tons of mental errors. However, there is still hope at 135. Younousov is intriguing and on a mission. While I don’t like this matchup at all, it will most likely be the final step before getting a UFC call. Most likely, that will be on the next card in France.
Andrii Misiuk 6-0 – Lightweight
At just 24, Andrii Misiuk is already very experienced. He has 18 amateur bouts and 6 pro bouts, and he has yet to lose. I will say, though, there are two glaring losses on his Tapology. However, the database lists these as non-MMA fights. Misiuk started his career out with 4-straight finishes. He is very comfortable off the back foot, which lets him strike and defend well under pressure. His boxing seems to be his strong suit on the feet. However, he does mix in knees occasionally. He has clean combinations and can land some big shots.
Misiuk is definitely more of a wrestler. He seems well-versed on the ground too, with 2 of his pro wins coming by submission. Misiuk will face a tricky 4-4 fighter who shouldn’t be overlooked. Misiuk, coming off his best win yet, is on a 2-fight decision win streak, which may speak to the step up in competition. While he is 6-0, I still haven’t figured out whether he is legit, and I’m not too sure if this next fight will help me decide. However, I am still excited to see if he can keep winning.
Melissa Hurtado 3-0 – Strawweight
The second fighter from MMA Factory on the list is the 27-year-old Cuban, Melissa Hurtado. Hurtado has just only three pro fights, with no recorded amateur career. She’s fought only at ARES so far, including 3 times in 2024, but hasn’t fought since then. She finally returns against another decent fighter in Weronika Cisło. Melissa’s first two fights could not have looked any different. In the first fight, she showed elite wrestling and control. She would finish that fight in just a little under 4 minutes with an armbar. The second fight, however, was quite different, as instead of the quick shot she threw in the debut, she elected to strike. Strike she did, as she went full Clay Guida on the far more experienced and, at the time, unbeaten at 5-0, Fabiola Pidroni.
Hurtado’s striking can only be described as a brawler. She will take punches and dish out bigger ones, landing massive shots that put Pidroni in serious trouble. She even got in a nice trip takedown but just kept hammering away. As a result, Pidroni shelled up standing, turned her back to Hurtado, and the ref had to step in to stop the fight.
Honorable Mentions:
Lasha Gogishvili 3-1 – Bantamweight
A dangerous striker who, after dropping his first fight, is now on a 3-fight win streak. He went unbeaten as an amateur and has some devastating kicks. In his pro and amateur career, he has 5 finishes by kick, 3 of them head kicks.
Benoit Prigent 3-0 vs Jafar Yousifi 2-0 – Featherweight
This prospect match will help decide who to follow. Neither guy is a finisher, and I would go so far as to call Prigent boring, with his last two performances being extremely lackluster. Yousifi also has both his wins by decision; however, his most recent win came against a very good opponent.
Mario Gagliardi 4-0 – Lightweight
After beating Jimmy Vienot by decision in April of this year, the Italian has found a home at ARES for now. The 26-year-old went 7-1 as an amateur and, as a pro, has a 75% finish rate. He faces a tough test this time out again. With a win here, I will start to give him more hype, but he is still unproven in my opinion.
Mohadi Nazirov 1-0 – Middleweight
He is last for a reason. Starting 0-3 as an amateur, Nazirov is now on a 3-fight win streak after turning pro last month on September 12th, when he beat an 0-5 opponent by 1st-round TKO in 64 seconds. His age is unknown, but he looks no older than 24 and is facing a legit opponent in Ibrahima Dosso to open the card.
The Uncles:
A little extra on this card is the two unbeaten former kickboxers in 31-year-old Bilal Bakhouche-Chareuf, who is 3-0, and 36-year-old Youssef Boughanem, who is 5-0. Boughanem is the more famous and accomplished of the two, as he was once a Glory champion; however, he is older. Both fighters are arguably having their biggest test at ARES this weekend.
