Promotion: Full Contact Contender
When: Saturday, November 14th, 11:30am ET
How to watch: UFC Fight Pass
Emanating from Toughsheet Stadium, home of the Bolton Wanderers, FCC 48 is one of the best combat events going on this weekend. Full Contact Contender has long been a promotion that features some of the best Britain has to offer. Fighters like Tom Aspinall and Paul Craig have graced the FCC cage. Lerone Murphy, the miracle himself, was an FCC champion prior to his UFC run. The fight card this Saturday in Bolton is littered with very young talent that have immense upside, and the ability to one day fly the English flag on the international scene.
Connor Walsh (7-0, Flyweight)
Fighting out of Liverpool with an unbeaten record, Connor Walsh is just 23 years old. I am certain that sentence alone has UFC matchmakers drooling. “Oh, he’s a kid with a fun accent, weird haircut, and no losses? Give him a 10 and 10 this instant” – Dana White probably. Training alongside Kurtis Campbell at MMA Academy Liverpool, Walsh has been tearing up the British Amateur and pro scene since the day he turned 18. He went 8-2 as an amateur, winning the FCC Flyweight amateur title belt before turning pro at 21 years old.
Walsh has been lethal against his lesser opponents, racking up 5 finishes in his 7 career pro fights. This Saturday in the main event, Walsh faces off with the 14-5 Douglas Cuhna, who hasn’t been finished since 2019. If Walsh can find a way to get him out of there, it will go a long way towards convincing many that he’s the real deal. “The Fly Catcher” has stiff power and little wasted movement on the feet. Kicks are a big weapon for him, with his leg kicks slowing down his opponents very quickly. His high kicks are equally as dangerous, and he even has a KO via spinning back kick to the liver. His jab is thunderous for a flyweight and perfectly timed, and he does well to land punches in bunches with simple combos. Lastly, his right hand can be a little too looping and telegraphed, not hitting home as often as it should.
As his opponents have gotten better on the feet, Walsh has displayed more of his grappling game. He can be suffocating and always one step ahead on the ground, much like his teammate Campbell. When he has the positional advantage, he often opts for damage over submission attempts. He wisely rains down elbows to both the head and the ribs, making life hell for his opponents. Still, he is also capable in BJJ and will likely land a couple of submission wins throughout his career. While his takedowns sometimes lack great technique, he is sticky and very hard to pry off. In grappling exchanges, he has shown good sprawl technique and very calm, methodical submission defense. He’s also displayed a good gas tank, getting a fifth-round finish and a unanimous decision in his two career five-round title fights as a pro. While he isn’t yet in the elite tier of flyweight prospects for me, he isn’t too far off. With a dominant performance this Saturday, he could launch himself into top-50 prospect status for me.
Stephen Clancy (1-0, Featherweight)
Stephen Clancy has huge expectations placed upon him coming into his second career professional fight. The young stepbrother of phenom Sean Clancy Jr., Stephen Clancy has been training in MMA since he was 5 years old. The 19-year-old looks every bit the part of an MMA lifer, with a slick mullet to go with his rabid but refined fighting style. After going unbeaten as an amateur, Clancy got a win in under 2 minutes in his pro debut. The young featherweight makes a quick turnaround, facing Pedro Magalhaes, who has a 2-2 record.
A tall and lanky fighter, Stephen Clancy is big for the division, and there’s a chance he may end up a lightweight after starting his pro career with two straight 150-pound catchweight fights. The 6-foot athlete uses his length well, staying at range and peppering his opponents with kicks. The teenager hasn’t yet grown into being a power puncher, but he has good footwork and fast hands. Where he is most comfortable, though, is on the ground. Fast to get in on the hips and drag his opponents down, Clancy is a natural on the ground. I wish he would use more elbows, but his hammerfists do good damage. He flows well, maintaining a dominant position throughout scrambles. At just 19, he is a dangerous fighter with solid submission skills. His ability to snatch a neck or an arm will become more refined as he grows, but he did start his career off with a slick D’Arce from the mount position, since dubbed the “Clancy Cobra.” The sky is the limit for this kid, and he very well could end up the best fighter from this FCC 48 card in 5 years.
Jack Grundy (1-0, Welterweight)
Another lifelong prodigy who’s early in his pro career, Jack Grundy is the son of UFC veteran Mike Grundy. Larger than his featherweight father, the 21-year-old Grundy competes as a welterweight. Mike has said that his son will “achieve far more than he ever has” in the world of MMA. While it’s typical for a father to say that about his son, Jack is definitely on the right track to end up in the UFC someday. Going 8-3 as an amateur and competing in IMMAF, Grundy was at one point the top-ranked amateur at lightweight in the entire UK. He is a multi-time grappling champion and should have the tools to finish his opponent, Martin Hesoun, a 1-1 fighter with amateur experience in his own right.
As proven by his first fight, Grundy has a plan and sticks to it. He is capable on the feet and moves like a natural athlete. However, being the smart fighter he is, he knows his easiest route to victory is to take his opponents to the ground. He is a strong fighter, as shown by both his grappling and his thunderous ground-and-pound. As long as he is facing fighters with a lesser grappling pedigree than himself, he should be able to stack up wins and build his résumé.
Muhammed Davis (3-0) vs. Danny Hartwell (4-1)
In a division as shallow as heavyweight, Muhammed Davis and Danny Hartwell are capable of turning heads. At 6’3″ with hulking shoulders, Muhammed Davis definitely looks the part coming off the bus. So far in his short career, he has been a force in the cage. The 28-year-old Davis has been training in martial arts for nearly 20 years. He started with Muay Thai and later added wrestling and jiu-jitsu. The American-born fighter has been living in the UK for a while and has trained at both Aspire Combat Sports and Manchester Top Team. Both gyms have produced a multitude of legitimate fighters, and Davis may well be next up.
Supremely athletic, Davis is a brawler with his hands but a savant with his feet. His head kicks have landed him both a 9-second knockout and a broken nose in separate fights. For years, it was hard to get anyone to accept a fight against Davis, but this Saturday will mark his fourth fight this year. While the jiu-jitsu hasn’t shown up, he can bulldoze his opponents with a takedown as well as end the fight on the feet. Well-rounded for this stage of his career, it doesn’t seem crazy to think he could be DWCS-bound in 2027 if his current run of form holds up.
32-year-old Danny Hartwell will easily be the most accomplished and athletic opponent Davis has fought. He is 4-1, with his only loss coming to DWCS veteran Nell Ariano. Hartwell has finished 3 of his 4 career fights and is the reigning HEX Fight Series light heavyweight champion. Moving up to heavyweight may be a smart move given how shallow the division is. Hartwell is a headhunter, exploding at his opponents with limited grace but terrific volume and accuracy. He has solid takedowns in his arsenal and will likely test Davis’ sprawl and takedown defense. I love the matchup here, and while Davis has the much higher upside given his age, I think the winner walks away as a rare legitimate heavyweight prospect.
Charlie Lynch-Spence (0-0, Lightweight)
23-year-old Charlie Lynch-Spence has been tearing up the amateur scene for 5 years now. The son of championship kickboxer Paul Lynch, Lynch-Spence has been fighting his whole life. The young man out of Leeds, England, has already progressed to being a head coach at Leeds Martial Arts College. Going 15-3 as an amateur, including 4-2 at IMMAF, Lynch-Spence is one of the best amateur fighters in Western Europe. His long-awaited professional debut comes against Ammar El Asry and should be a clean and easy victory for Lynch-Spence.
The English fighter has a well-rounded game that has proven deadly, with 12 of his 15 wins coming via finish. His grappling is sufficient; he can hold his own but can be a step behind the best. His striking, however, is a thing of beauty. He is both patient and creative with his strikes. His refined footwork keeps him at a good distance and allows him to unleash deadly shots from all angles. Heel kicks, high kicks, leg kicks, spinning attacks, and even just a simple and deadly straight right hand are all at the disposal of Lynch-Spence. He will likely get very far into his pro career before he finds someone who can match his dynamism on the feet. His exciting style will make him a fan favorite and someone worth watching every step of the way.
Jack McLeod (3-0, Welterweight)
Jack “The Ripper” McLeod is aptly named, as he has been tearing through his competition since he turned pro. Facing fighters who were 3-0, 0-2, and 11-10, respectively, Jack has managed to submit them all in under 2 rounds. Turning pro after an amateur career that saw him rack up 6 wins and 3 defeats, the 25-year-old has fought all 3 of his pro fights under the FCC banner. Having trained for nearly 16 years, McLeod is much more advanced on the ground than the Brazilian fighters he’s been facing.
Even though he is undersized at 5’9″, if he keeps competing at heavier weight classes like welterweight and middleweight, he will likely maintain that competitive advantage in the jiu-jitsu department. Over his amateur and pro careers, he has submission wins via armbar, anaconda, heel hook, and head-and-arm triangle. Almost everything besides a standard RNC. A ground game isn’t all he has, however, as he is a violent fighter wherever he goes. While his stand-up defense isn’t anything to write home about, he throws strikes like he expects to end the fight with each punch. When the fight hits the ground, it’s just as often via a knockdown as it is via a takedown. Jack “The Ripper” doesn’t have the same level of hype as some of the other prospects on this card, but he has shown himself to be a dangerous force with enough momentum to keep stacking wins.
While this card may not have names that stand out to your average MMA fan or even the majority of MMA diehards, there are still plenty of reasons to tune in to FCC 48. This could be one of those cards that ages fantastically, with a multitude of fighters who are capable of reaching the mountaintops. Come early for the amateur fights that boast two FCC belts on the line. Stay for the fireworks produced by Lynch-Spence, Clancy, and Walsh.
