Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat is back this Friday with a stacked lineup of title bouts and rising prospects. Atop the card, we have four title bouts. On the prelims, we got three title bouts.
Before we move on to who you should be watching for, I’ll mention the guys I believe are in a good spot. In the main event in Phumi Nkuta. While some may consider him a prospect, we at the Prospect Vault don’t consider him a prospect because he’s 30 fighting at 125. With that said, he’s arguably the best flyweight outside the UFC and has been for the last few years. It’s become quite clear that the UFC isn’t a fan of his style, which is why he’s wasting his career in the regional scene. Personally, I find him exciting, and he has a chance to show that this Friday. Nkuta is fighting Namiki Kawahara for the flyweight title. Kawahara is 9-7-2, so Nkuta has to finish this guy for any chance to get signed to the UFC.
On the card, we’ll see two former UFC fighters who are on win streaks and could win their way back into another chance. Nick Maximov went 2-2 in the UFC, and all the guys he fought are still there in the promotion. He’s won five in a row and will be defending his middleweight title. Bruno Silva was cut after a 0-2 run in the UFC. Since he’s gone 3-3 in Karate Combat and 4-0 in MMA, he’s won both the A1 Combat 135 and 145-pound titles. Both guys are still young and fighting ex-DWCS guys for titles, so it’s an important fight for them.
Bantamweight, Cameron Sandoval (5-0)
I can’t say I’m entirely sold on Sandoval, but a win here could likely get me on board. Sandoval’s style seems to resemble a wrestling background. He’s also spent time in Thailand working on his striking, which is always a great idea.
From what I’ve seen, Sandoval’s striking is more of a tool to get takedowns. He can get takedowns from both in space and against the cage—a strong body-lock trip takedown and a blast double. Sandoval’s top position is heavy. Even when they get back up, Sandoval will mat return you back down. He could be more aggressive in advancing his position, but he is good at maintaining it. He could throw more GnP, which would open up more finishing opportunities. My worry is me not being too sold, as he’s fought nothing but .500 guys, which is a concern.
Bantamweight, Geremy Escolta (4-0)
Fighting Cameron Sandoval is a very intriguing prospect in Escolta. The Cali fighter, if nothing else, is just a cool ass fighter. He grew up in wrestling, which could be both surprising and not so much. Not so much because he has that school. It is surprising due to confidence on the feet. What’s grown that confidence is being in combat sports as a child, and of course, a taekwondo background.
Escolta has a very kick-heavy striking arsenal, utilizing side kicks, spinning attacks, and body kicks to keep opponents at range. He does a good job managing distance with his long weapons, and while his style can be flashy, it serves a purpose as he uses it effectively to control range. Impressively, there’s hardly any load up in his flashy kicks, and he can still throw them deep in a fight. His hands are improving, but they still play a secondary role compared to his kicking game.
His strong, fluid hips help him both in the striking but in the wrestling as well. He’s tough to take down and not easy to hold down. While he is not a pure wrestler, he has enough defensive grappling to stay safe against most opposition. Rather than relying on dominant control, he looks for opportunistic submissions when openings present themselves.
Escolta needs a test like this to really push him to that next level. The winner of this fight could do big things for the winner.
Welterweight, Yusuf Esembaev (3-0)
One of the hottest up-and-comers is Chechnya’s ‘Stormborn.” Some of the guys he’s trained with are absurd: Khamzat Chimaev, Baisangur Susurkaev, Daniil Donchenko, and everyone at Syndicate. He was basically unknown coming to the pros, but has established himself pretty rapidly.
What worries me about Esembaev is his takedown defense. He was taken down in his first two pro fights, and sure, against fine fighters. The bright side is that he is a threat with subs off his back and scrambles very well. Offensively, he’s a threat with the submissions and attacking headlocks.
On the feet is where Esembaev is in his realm. He throws a lot of volume from both sides while using a variety of weapons. You’ll often see spinning kicks, spinning elbows, ax kicks, flying knees, and much more. Esembaev sets the pace with his movement, but it’s his ability to keep his opponent guessing to control the pace of the fight. He’s shown he can even fight on his back foot, countering well. Esembaev could do better at keeping his hands up but he’s managing distance and be ready for takedowns or straight punches.
Esembaev is fighting Jonathan Hanes (5-2), who has won his five in a row. Hanes, in his wins, has handed all his opponents their first loss. After watching his tape, Esembaev should cruise. Hanes is a terrible minute, and Esembaev is gonna control the fight until he finds the finish.
Lightweight, Eric Cortez (3-0)
Cortez is a good prospect to watch for coming out of Team Alpha Male. For just being three fights into his pro career, wins over Kohl Laren and Blake Decourcy are strong wins. My favorite thing about watching Cortez is that he’s a smart fighter who you can tell takes the fight game seriously. He can either but on a relentless wrestling pace or box your head off.
With the wrestling, Cortez is a man on a mission. With some shots being from too far out, he will drive on the hips and chain wrestle. It’s important to know how to chain wrestling in MMA, and Cortez is all over that. He’s yet to steadily set up a submission, but will catch something in a scramble. He’s seen himself in a bad position but has been able to not accept the bottom position.
“Frosty” Cortez is a good striker despite not having any TKO/KO wins. He throws a good jab, one-two, and a right cross. He blitzes through the guard, landing power shots while keeping his guard high on the other end. Cort doesn’t have that TKO/KO win, but did drop his last opponent, and his submission win came from a drop.
Cortez is back at lightweight, which I think he’s better suited for, at featherweight.
Bantamweight, German Doev (8-0 amateur)
Doev is one of the many amateur prospects coming out of Daniel Cormier’s team. The Russian moved to the U.S. in 2022 to train at AKA and is now fully with Team DC. You know what you’re getting every time with Doev—wrestling. It might be easy to prepare for, but it’s still very hard to stop.
Doev was a standout youth Greco-Roman wrestler, winning silver at the 2017 Cadet World Championships and a world Champion. You can really see that background in his body lock takedowns. His entries aren’t pretty, but he makes up for it with relentless pressure and raw strength. He’s a force on the inside, using different grips and positions to muscle opponents around. He does a great job circling to the back, hitting mat returns, and elevating for slams. He’s also effective on run-downs, pulling opponents backward while circling off the hip.
Chest-to-chest, he’s especially dangerous. You’ll often see him lift opponents and dump them with a front suplex to the side. He complements his takedowns with a very quick back take, and all three of his submissions have come via rear-naked choke, which is no surprise.
I do worry about him being a bit one-dimensional. He’s not going to be able to take everyone down, and so far, he’s looked uncomfortable on his feet. Cardio is another concern, especially over five-minute rounds, as he’s already shown signs of slowing in three-minute rounds.
Bantamweight, Ramiro Hernandez (6-0 amateur)
On the other side of Germon Doev is his toughest test in Hernandez. Hernandez’s style is built around movement, length, and volume. He doesn’t set a lot up, but he crowds opponents with output and rarely slows down. He can be taken down, though, which is a massive concern against someone like Doev. On the feet, Hernandez is clearly the faster and better athlete, so Doev can’t afford to give him any room to work.
This is a strong amateur title fight, and it feels like one where both guys could go on to be something.
Flyweight, Miguel Angel Luna (5-0 amateur)
Luna is a ball of energy. He comes from a heavy jiu-jitsu background but will throw down like it’s Black Friday. He comes at you guns blazing, and wherever the fight goes from there, he’s completely fine with it.
That aggressiveness does lead to him having to defend takedowns at times. He can be a bit of a guillotine merchant, but he uses it well to stay safe and create scrambles back to his feet. Luna can attack from anywhere—off his back, he’s constantly throwing up armbars and triangles. In one of his earlier fights, he even finished a triangle-armbar that broke his opponent’s arm.
On top, he’s always working, constantly advancing to dominant positions. Whether it’s the mount, the back, or the crucifix, he’s hunting the finish. All five of his wins have come by finish, with four of them under 1:30.
Luna now faces Thaddeus Stern (7-1) for the flyweight strap. Stern is a solid prospect in his own right and the more proven guy, but to me, Luna is the one with the upside.